What negative comments have prop boaters made about your jet boat

[robert843]

Looking for some help I want to know what comments prop boaters have made about your boat that were miss conceptions made by someone who has never owned a jet boat? Some that I have heard is that its not a real boat, the jet ski engines won't last, you will always be stuck because of stuff getting sucked into the pump, and they can't go straight at slow speeds. Looking for some others for a project I'm working on.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

I have had my boat 7 seasons and have never even had a conversation about any of that. Call me lucky but it is typically.... slick looking boat... what boat is that.

 

[OrangeTJ]

We had our SX210 for four years and never had anybody say a negative thing about it. People asked questions but never made disparaging comments. Mostly I just got "Nice boat!".

I think forums bring a lot more of that kind of talk out than what actually happens in the "real world".

 

[Dave burke]

The only comment I had was late this summer when our lake level was down (causing some shallow areas). I had just picked up my boat from the dealer who had finally fixed a problem with the gauges. An old timer looked at the boat and said “you’re not going to launch that boat are you? You’ll hit bottom for sure because the water level is low.”

I said “don’t have to worry about that, there’s no prop as it’s a jet boat.”

 

[jEt_jAk]

Never heard anything bad.

 

[Betik]

didn’t someone have a post about a dealer saying that “jet oats are nothing but trouble in salt water “

 

[NewBoater]

I’ve had many “Nice Boat” comments as well on my SX210. A few people have also said that’s a very sharp looking boat.

On a side note, when people ask you what kind of boat do you have what do you say? I told someone who was talking boats just randomly at dinner we had a jet boat and he looked perplexed like he had never heard of one. I said it has jet engines like a jet ski but it’s a nice big 21’ Yamaha jet boat. Not a super small one like the first jet boats that hit the market. Not that he even knew what that was.

I think in that regard though when you say jet boat (assuming your not physically near your boat that they can see it) most people think of the original Sea-Doo speedsters that were so little. I think they think of those things more negatively and not a real boat (or that’s how some of them act anyways).

 

[Betik]

When I tell people it is jet boat and they look perplexed I tell them, same concept as an airplane but uses water instead. They almost always pretend that they get it lol

 

[bumpy]

In our boat ownership journey, we've had a Merc 90 outboard, a Merc 250 I/O, a Volvo 280 Duo I/O and a Volvo 260 I/ O, all before the 242 LS. The 242 was easily the most fun to drive, and we still miss it. But, compared to our new Cobalt, the lighter hull made rough water handling less fun, and the hazards of using power when docking in my shallow (22-28") slip at my house was always an issue. Getting sticks and stones stuck in the bucket linkage sucked! So, not negative, just different. We loved that Yamaha!

 

[zipper]

I did have one comment, nothing negative, from a slip neighbor who owned a new Sea Ray a couple of years ago. We were both leaving the Sand Bar State Park at the same time. The trip back to the marina has no speed zones except at the marina. It's about a 20 min trip by Yamaha but takes 5-10 minutes more for anything with a lower unit in the 12-16" of water for a stretch of about 75-100 yards. This is just after a bridge crossing so there is no way around it. And this section of Lake can dry up in a dry Summer. Here is a thread with pictures from back when the water was really low. https://jetboaters.net/threads/low-water-woes-pics-of-low-water-levels-on-your-waterways.11486/ Having just come thru this "channel" a few hours before in "No Wake" speed I was able to see depth and conditions. So back to the story...We went under the bridge together, at no-wake speed, but instead of having to raise my lower unit for the 75-100 yards of shallow water, I hit the throttles in the deep water as I came out from under the bridge and ran on plane across the shallows. 30 minutes later, back at the Marina, he came over and said "How did you do that?" I replied "It's a Yamaha, a jetboat. I have no lower unit or propellers hanging below the hull". He said "Pretty Cool, you won that one". I didn't know we were racing at the time.

The only thing that might be taken as negative, would be others references to the color Orange. Saying "bright boat" or "you guys stick right out". or " It does not blend in with the others boats at the Marina". We are good with all that criticism, it is subjective.

Sidebar...The local Sea Ray dealer who also owns the Marina started selling Yamaha's this past year. I like to think it is because of the fine outstanding example of an 07 Orange Yamaha AR230 that we kept at his marina for the last few years.

 

[Jeel]

The only negative from a prop boater ive ever heard was that they couldnt get their boat parked as close to the shore in the cove that i go to because of their prop hitting the bottom

 

[Brad460]

Never had so many people come up to me (on and off the water) until we got our ‘19 AR210. All the comments are about how much good things they’ve heard about Yamaha jet boats and how they are thinking about buying one. From a price perspective you really can’t beat the new AR210. This is particularly the case in WI where the boating season is only ~12 weeks.

 

[haknslash]

Never had any prop boaters talk down to us. Plenty of questions and "nice boat" by people. Even if someone did say any of those things you mentioned (mostly true btw) what does it matter other than looking for drama? You're always going to find a few people on either side that will talk out of their ass but I find most people to be fairly knowledgable or if they don't know they're simply curious. Now elitist kayaker's or bass boaters are assholes usually 9 times out of 10 regardless of the style of boat you own.

I’ve had many “Nice Boat” comments as well on my SX210. A few people have also said that’s a very sharp looking boat.

On a side note, when people ask you what kind of boat do you have what do you say? I told someone who was talking boats just randomly at dinner we had a jet boat and he looked perplexed like he had never heard of one. I said it has jet engines like a jet ski but it’s a nice big 21’ Yamaha jet boat. Not a super small one like the first jet boats that hit the market. Not that he even knew what that was.

I think in that regard though when you say jet boat (assuming your not physically near your boat that they can see it) most people think of the original Sea-Doo speedsters that were so little. I think they think of those things more negatively and not a real boat (or that’s how some of them act anyways).

They probably looked perplexed because you said it has jet engines . You have a regular engine but have jet pump drive. Easiest way to describe to uninformed people is that it's a boat with a "jet ski engine" and they typically understand what that means.

When people say "jet boat" there is only one thing I think of ....far from a Yamaha lol.......

 

[Gunner]

Comments from other boat snobs are generally nothing. Only once "not a real boat". Many people around the docks have said "nice boat" which probably really annoy the real boat snobs.

 

[jocolo21]

many good praises when parked at honeymoon harbour and the bahamas from many big boat owners. even when launching the boat at different marinas around FL. They stop and ask lots of questions.

 

[robert843]

I think I got all the fire I need for the video project I’m working on I found the old Mercury post (why you should steer away from jet boats). Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

We were at the ramp launching one morning and I could overhear the conversation between a wife and her husband. She says "honey that's a really nice boat" to which he replied "yeah but it's a lake boat and not for around here". I couldn't help but speak up and tell them it was in the Bahamas the weekend before.

 

[Jp207]

One of my boating buddies who owns a thirty foot Baja often refers to my boat as a vacuum cleaner. He says it in good fun though and loves our boat. And he never turns us down when we offer to take him out while he’s having his worked on because of all the upkeep involved!

 

[Plpbecks]

I have an older colleague that is a hardcore water-skier, he’s semi retired and is out water-skiing all of his off days in the summer. When I got my boat, he told me he would never ski behind one, that the jets create too much turbulence for a pro skier. I honestly laughed at him, I’ll never ski behind it either, that’s not why I bought it, and who the heck still water skis? ( No offense, I was just busting his balls)

Like others, that’s about it for criticism, but many compliments! Had my ‘19 242 LSE docked at the break wall of our waterfront bar area recently, there were 40’+ cruisers, a midnight express CC, and the usual gaggle of idiots with late 80’s early 90’s speed boats. Was watching the scene from the bar across the street and everyone walking down the sidewalk would glance at the other boats, but would stop and seriously look at ours. Usually gesturing to their spouse. They’re a great combination of good styling and accessibility. Not a single-purpose machine, and I think that’s what most people respect, whether they admit it or not!

 

[ptwb]

I go boating with friends that have props. Almost all of them are center console, deep v, bay, flats, etc fishing boats.

The good:
They love the layout of our boat and the transom and the space.
When we are hanging out at the sandbar, everyone is hanging out at the back of our boat.

The not so good:
They have commented how much louder it is when they are riding with us.

The really bad:
When I clog up with grass and then loose plane and can't keep up and they circle around to see what happened to us. ( or in one case, they're not paying attention, and they made it back to the docks and THEN wondered where we went!!!)


Of all of them, only one, someone that has had a prop boat before but currently has no boat, he is considering a jetboat. All the others love our boat, but not enough to switch. They love the boat, just don't care for the jet part. Actually let me rephrase. The wifes love our boat. The husbands want to fish.

After 19 years of jetboating, and with the ever increasing grass issues here in FL, I think our next boat is going to be a prop.