I thinking about buying a used jet ski so that I can learn to wakeboard. The only problem is that I don't know anything about jet skis.

Can you wakeboard behind any jet ski or do you need to get one of a certain size (horsepower)?

Should I make sure that I get one that is no earlier than a certain year?

Any features that I should make sure it has?

How much do you think that you need to spend to get a half decent jet ski that you can tow a wakeboarder with?

I did this the other day in my eternal quest to get my board on. My friend has a two stroke kawasaki wave runner that did the job power-wise but the tow point was so low that it was pretty uncomfortable riding. It was cold as $h!t too so the session didn't last too long but I did get to ride my kiteboard which has been staring me in the face everytime I go in the garage.

Another thing, when I loaded up on one side it almost spun the wave runner out which was a little unnerving.

Been riding/racing skis since '86 when it all started with a Kawi 650 standup. Upgraded through the years and still have a '95 Kawi 750 standup and an '01 Yamaha XL1200.
I used to tow people on kneeboards on the 650 standup (50HP?) for fun. It worked but really pulled the ski around.
A '96 Sea Doo GTX with 110HP was used alot to pull a buddy who was a good slolom skier. First time out he had his doubts, but was amazed at how well it worked. Rounding the bouys, he would slightly pull the ski and slow us down a bit, but it did'nt spoil the fun much.
Towed a skier only once with the 155HP XL1200 and there was'nt an issue.
Keep in mind this was always without a spotter on the ski which will add the weight of an extra person.
Also have no idea if a board has more resistance then a slolom ski but I would think they're about the same.

SEADOO we have GTX AND 1200 .. the 3 cyclinder(1200) solid for a pull backend doesn't squirm on most changes. by far the lowest maintenance with seadoo

the big one smooth and ultra stable

In Washington where I live the law requires a spotter to pull someone. It also requires a seat for the the person being pulled so here a 3 seater is minimum. I have pulled tubes with my Yamaha 800 and the back does get affected when swinging wide. I think it would have enough to get a wakeboarder up. So far I have tried tubes and a knee board.
Good luck

Same law here in Georgia. Makes sense. Too cold for the DNR to be out on the lake so we took the chance.

Because of the angle of the pull, I think it would be a lot better for tubing or knee boarding.

Thanks for the input so far. It sounds like I'll need a 3 person machine just to get a big enough ride to properly tow someone. I'll have to look into the spotter thing. That could put a damper on my plans as it will be hard enough to get someone out there to tow me. I don't know how serious I am about this, partly because I haven't figured out how much a decent ski will cost me used yet.

a good reliable ski won't be cheap--well over 10 grand for a new 3 seat turbo. if you can find a HONDA F12x used jump on it. I have a 2003 F12X turbo that runs almost 60mph ($4500). It has never been in the shop and i know of no other honda's with issues either. if you come through fla, stop by and we'll try it out!