Sugar Sand Boats Compared [Tango, Mirage, Calais, Oasis, Sting]

Sugar Sand was one of the most well-known jet boat manufacturers around the Millennium. Their 14-23-footer boats were known for their extreme power, which offered a thrilling riding experience. Unfortunately, their Mercury Jet Sport engines did not prove to be very durable.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at this company and compare their most popular jet boats, including the Tango, Mirage, Calais, Oasis, and the tiny Sting.

History of Sugar Sand Boats

Besides Sea-Doo and Yamaha, Sugar Sand was the third most well-known name on the jet boat market in the ’90s and ‘00s.

Just like Gekko Boats, this brand belonged to the International Recreation and Marine (IMAR) Group.

Production of Sugar Sand boats started in 1993 with the Mirage, which was followed by the Heat and the most popular one, the Tango in 1997. Over the years, the numbers and sizes of the models kept increasing, dramatically.

For the mid-2000s, there were no fewer than 10-12 models in the fleet, with hulls measuring 14 to 23 feet in length.

Except for the smallest Sting, each Sugar Sand boat utilized high-performance Mercury Sport Jet engines, and most models were available with 4-5 different engine options.

Unlike Yamaha and Sea-Doo, the American manufacturer exclusively offered models with single engine packages.

But to the greatest regret of many buyers, these power mills didn’t prove to be reliable or durable.

The early 90 and 120hp Sport Jets with Force outboards especially suffered from various malfunctions, and their larger brothers weren’t trouble-free either.

The quality of Sugar Sand hulls and features also lagged behind its rivals.

Despite their engine issues, these boats enjoyed unparalleled popularity thanks to their amazing power and responsive, “PWC-like” handling.

Compared to other jet boats at the time, they were significantly more powerful, which converted to higher top speeds as well.

Therefore, it was not surprising that these boats won many awards and virtually all the races they entered.

Unfortunately, the 2008 financial crisis did not spare the marine industry. During that year many manufacturers went bankrupt and Sugar Sand was no exception.

In 2014, they tried to revive the brand by introducing some prototypes at the Minneapolis boat show, but sadly they did not succeed.

Let’s look back and talk about the vintage models of this iconic brand in detail.

Sugar Sand Boats Compared

Sugar Sand Mirage

Even though production started in 1993, Sugar Sand actually entered the jet boat market in 1994 with the introduction of the lively Mirage.

Early models were built on 14- and 16-foot hulls and housed the infamous 90 and 120hp Mercury Sport Jet engines with Force powerheads. Fitted with the optional 120hp engine, the top speed of the 16-foot Mirage exceeded 40 mph.

Over the years the length of the Mirage increased to 18 feet, and the revamped version could be opted with larger engine packages.

As an example, the optional 240HP, V6 EFI ensured a top speed of 55-56 mph.

The enlarged Mirage line was also expanded with many new variants including the Sport, Super Sport, LX, and F&F.

For a better comparison, we’ve listed the key specs of the Mirage series from the 2006 model year:

• Length: 18’
• Beam: 97”
• Draft: 12”
• Deadrise: 20°
• Dry weight: 2050 lb.
• Load Capacity: 8 people / 1150 lb.
• Fuel capacity: 30 gal.
• Oil capacity 3 gal.
• Std. engine: 175hp V6
• Opt. engines: 200hp V6 OptiMax, 210hp V6, 240hp V6, 250hp V6 OptiMax

Sugar Sand Heat

The lesser-known Heat was the smallest model in the Sugar Sand fleet before the Millennium.

It was built on a 13.5-foot hull and could be opted with either a 90hp or 120hp Mercury jet engine. Due to its small deck, it was rated at three people but was actually only comfortable for two.

This model was manufactured from 1997 through 2000 in different variants like the XR or XRT.

In a nutshell, the key specifications of the Sugar Sand Heat were as follows:

• Length: 13.5’
• Beam: 81”
• Dry Weight: 850-955 lb. (depending on the model)
• Load Capacity: 3 people
• Std. engine: 90hp Mercury Sport Jet
• Opt. engines: 95hp and 120hp Mercury Sport Jet

Sugar Sand Tango

There’s no question that the most popular Sugar Sand boat was the legendary Tango. This model hit the market in 1997, undergoing many upgrades throughout the following decade.

Without the need for completeness, the most well-known variants in this breed included:

• Tango 4+2
• Tango SE
• Tango Offshore
• Tango Xtreme
• Tango Xtreme GT
• Tango Super Sport
• Tango Super Sport GT

As the name suggests, the 4+2 featured 4 seats in the cockpit and 2 in the bow area. The latter being completely covered with a fill-in bow cushion.

Even though this design offered very limited open deck space, the 4+2 became one of the most popular in the lineup, with a legacy that got carried over to the Xtreme series.

In contrast, the base Tango was designed with a three-across bench seat and an open bow area with a unique, asymmetrically designed seating area.

This model was also rebranded to the Super Sport in the mid-2000s.

As far as performance goes, the Tango could hit 50 mph with ease even with the standard 175hp, V6 engine. At this speed, you could expect its fuel economy to be in the ballpark of 19-20 gph.

The best cruise speed happened at 30-33 mph when it got roughly 4-5 mpg, giving the Tango an estimated fuel range of 120-150 miles.

When it comes to optional engines, the Tango topped out at 52-53 mph with the 200hp OptiMax, and 60-62 mpg with the high-end 240hp V6 EFI.

Not bad from a 16-footer jet boat!

Factory specs of the 2006 Tango series were as follows (Xtreme / Super Sport):

• Length: 16’6”
• Beam: 80” / 81”
• Draft: 12”
• Deadrise: 21°
• Dry weight: 1400/1550 lb.
• Load Capacity: 6 people / 1050 lb.
• Fuel capacity: 20 gal.
• Oil capacity 3 gal.
• Std. engine: 175hp V6
• Opt. engines: 200hp V6 OptiMax, 210hp V6, 240hp V6 EFI

Sugar Sand Calais

The Sugar Sand Calais was originally introduced under the name of Sole in the early 2000s.

Compared to its smaller brothers, the Calais was a far more serious boat. It was built on a 19.5-foot hull and weighed 2300 pounds.

Fitted with the optional 240hp V6 EFI, the top speed of the boat exceeded 50 mph.

Specifications (2006 Sugar Sand Calais/Calais LX):

• Length: 19’ 6”
• Beam: 97”
• Draft: 12”
• Deadrise: 22°/20°
• Dry weight: 2300 lb.
• Load Capacity: 9 people / 1300 lb.
• Fuel capacity: 57 gal.
• Oil capacity 3 gal.
• Std. engine: 175hp V6
• Opt. engines: 200hp V6 OptiMax, 210hp V6, 240hp V6 EFI, 250hp V6 OptiMax

Sugar Sand Oasis

Manufactured from 2005 through 2007, the Sugar Sand Oasis was the flagship boat in the fleet.

It was built on a 23-foot hull and featured a spacious top deck rated for 10 passengers.

This boat could only be opted with the largest 240 and 250hp engine packages.

Specifications (2006 Sugar Sand Oasis/Oasis XL):

• Length: 23’
• Beam: 102”
• Draft: 16”
• Deadrise: 18°
• Dry weight: 2950 lb.
• Load Capacity: 10 people / 1800 lb.
• Fuel capacity: 57 gal.
• Oil capacity 3 gal.
• Std. engine: 240hp V6 OptiMax
• Opt. engine: 240hp V6 EFI

Sugar Sand Sting

Besides the Heat, another of Sugar Sand’s mini jet boats was the 14-footer Sting. This model hit the marketplace in 2006 but only existed for two short years.

Interestingly, this was the only Sugar Sand boat that didn’t feature a Mercury Sport Jet engine.

Instead of the common oil-injected Mercury power mill, the manufacturer used a 135hp Weber motor in this model. It not only delivered less power but also lacked an oil injection system.

Specifications (2006 Sugar Sand Sting):

• Length: 14’
• Beam: 82”
• Draft: 10”
• Deadrise: 22°
• Dry weight: 1075 lb.
• Load Capacity: 4 people / 600 lb.
• Fuel capacity: 20 gal.
• Std. engine: 135hp Weber Motor

Takeaways

Sugar Sand was one of the most successful mini jet boat brands around the Millennium.

The American manufacturer offered several boats like the Tango, Mirage, Calais, Oasis, Sting, and the Heat.

Designed with competition and performance-minded boaters in mind, their engines were tuned for performance rather than durability.

These Mercury Sport Jet engines had outboard powerheads that suffered from various malfunctions. This problem overshadowed the reputation of the otherwise successful brand.

Despite their reliability issues, Sugar Sand boats had remained popular for more than a decade until the manufacturer’s 2008 bankruptcy.

As a takeaway, we’ve compared the key specs of the 2006 Sugar Sand lineup in one chart:

Model (2006)	Length	Beam	Dry Weight (lb.)	Load Capacity (People/lb.)	Fuel Capacity (gal)
Sting	14′	82″	1075	4/600	20
Tango	16’6″	80″ – 81″	1440 – 1455	6/1050	30
Mirage	18′	97″	2050	8/1150	30
Calais	19’6″	97″	2300	9/1300	57
Oasis	23′	102″	2950	10/1800	57