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2011 242LS vs 2019 242LS-E First Thoughts

seabrooktx

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Purchased my 3rd Yamaha Jet Boat earlier this year, having had a 2005 SX230HO, 2011 242LS and now a 2019 242LS-E Boat. I've done various projects and had a chance to work and crawl through all 3 at various points in time. During my research and deliberation to purchase a newer boat, there was a few perspectives from people that upgraded and I thought it would be good to add to this group a few of my initial thoughts on the boat given the perspective of owning (3) different Yamaha JetBoat models.

In my previous ownership experience, other that shift cables breaking on my 2011 when it was new and numerous items of disappointment around delivery of the boat from the dealer, most fixed under warranty at the time, the 2011 was fairly trouble free.

For starters, although purchased in February/March, this weekend was my first outing on the new boat. Other than installing a Garmin VHF 315 marine radio and strategic sound proofing in the engine compartment, the boat has been sitting in storage waiting to be put into the slip. Prior to purchase of the 2019, my wife and I water tested the boat for an hour to make sure there was "enough" improvement to warrant trading up to the newer model. Two big drivers in wanting to upgrade: Handling and Sound Improvement

To start the weekend off, when we got to the ramp Saturday afternoon, it dawned on me that it would be a good idea to verify the gate operation. We received the recall letter, but never got around to taking it in to the dealer. Sure enough, our boat was one of the lucky ones to have the gates backwards. After fiddling with it for ~30 minutes, got the cables swapped around and adjusted. Boat operated as normal so I'm calling it good and will have the dealer double check it when convenient.

Handling:
Positives:
It was Windy with some good chop out in the bay. We did some significant low speed handling through marina's and the channel, higher speed in light chop and medium speed in medium chop. I have to say, this boat handles heads and shoulders better than the 2011 in most conditions. From the low speed maneuvering to the on a plane tracking. It seemed like on the 2011, I was always fighting to keep the boat tracking straight going across wind. The new boat doesn't take near as much effort. Also, neutral is actual neutral on the 2019. On the 2011 and 2005, we would get close to the dock and shut it down. Never could adjust the gates to stay neutral. Spent hours trying to adjust to get perfect, but always seemed that if we lowered the gates some, then they wouldn't open all the way. The 2019 pretty much sits there in neutral.
Negatives:
The 2019 doesn't have the hole shot and doesn't feel as sporty compared to the 2011. From a driving and maneuverability, the 2005 SX230HO was by far the funnest to drive. It seems that in order to combat some of the negatives (rough ride, side steer, etc) that some of the sportiness fun had to be compromised.

Sound:
Shortly after receipt of the boat, we did some sound proofing in the engine compartment based on the countless hours of reading these forums and learning where the high impact areas were. In my opinion, that made a big difference from even the test drive. During the test drive, I remember being disappointed at how loud the motors were, still, even though it was significantly improved from the 2011. To my surprise, you could hear the motors some, but the wind noise was much louder than the engine/drivetrain and we could easily converse going 25 - 30MPH. All I did was hang Quite Barrier Specialty Composite (soundproofcow.com) on the fwd areas of the engine compartment, focusing on the corners that connect to the to rear seating areas AND adding the door seal around the engine compartment hatch. I also did the back side of the false wall that connects the helm to the rear seat, only because it was removed during the VHF installation and easy to do. Seems these 3 items made a big difference.

Overall Quality:

As stated in my VHF install, the overall quality seems to be so-so on this boat as compared to the 2005 and 2011. Several of the mating plywood walls have large gaps (thus the benefit of the sound proofing) that were just covered over in carpet. The interior carpet quality doesn't seem to be as good as in the previous boats and seems to hold a lot of water when damp. I always run a de-humidifier under the cover, so not that big of a deal, but something that could be a lot better.

So we'll see how this one goes, looking forward to using the new boat.
 

swatski

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Great write up and perspective. Thanks for sharing, hope you will keep this thread updated!

The way I see it, it is very hard find anything better, more versatile, than a new Yamaha jet boat in that segment. But their overall quality... could be improved at those prices.

--
 

tabbibus

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great read. Can you elaborate on the noise damping work you did? I would love to do some of that on my 2018 LSE
 

seabrooktx

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Next time I get to the boat, I’ll shoot some pictures and post, but if you look in the forward area of the engine compartment near the corners (either port or starboard) you will see the following:
- Port Side corner will be where the battery cables and wiring harness run across the forward end of the engine compartment. Where the battery cables penetrate into the under seat area, there are (2) pieces of plywood covered with carpet. On mine, these pieces had up to 1.5” gap that was covered by the carpet. Insulation was installed starting ~8” on the ports side of the engine compartment and wrapped it around to the forward until there were too many wires (maybe 4 - 6”), making sure that it was trimmed the accommodate cables and then a piece on the top to fill in that last little gaps. It took 3 - 4 pieces to get there, but to me, the engine compartment is fairly well insulated and this was an easy way to cut down the noise from getting into the passenger seat area.
- Starboard Side corner will be where the wiring harness penetrates and runs along the drivers side. I basically did the same exact thing there. Installed about 8” on the starboard side of the engine compartment and then wrapped it around the forward as far as I could before there were too many wires/hoses.
- If you look under the rear seat on the drivers side, you will see a carpeted plywood wall that separates the forward portion of the seat compartment to the helm. I removed it to run all of the wiring for the VHF and Aux Power so I went ahead and put sound proofing here. Not sure how effective this was, but since it was out might as well.
- The last piece was to follow Julian’s post (I Think) with the garage door seal from wal-mart and install it around the engine compartment hatch. If you follow his post, it turns out perfect.

I’m sure there is more that could be done to knock down the noise more, but this seemed to be the low hanging fruit and had positive results.

Below is the soundproofing material used in the engine compartment. Give me a week and I’ll try to make it down to the boat and load some photos. (Quiet Barrier from Sound Proof Cow)

92964
 

swatski

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seabrooktx

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Below are the photos of the sound proofing. Drove the boat for 60 miles this weekend and am still amazed at how quiet it is. Very similar to an outboard. Now, if I could only figure out how to make the wind noise quieter.🧐

Hatch Seal - Starboard
93600

Hatch Seal - Port
93601


Sound Proofing (Forward Corner of Engine Compartment) - Starboard
93602

Sound Proofing (Forward Corner of Engine Compartment) - Port
93603
 

tabbibus

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what did you use for the hatch seal?
 

seabrooktx

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Picture stolen from swatski! AC23BE1A-8A5D-4BD7-8E80-F80FFC3CED7A.jpeg
 

tabbibus

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I can't find that specific one! Looks ideal
 

BigAbe75

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I actually found 2 of those packages in my garage just now. Possibly bought for my garage, but bring repurposed for the boat now. However mine is 2” x 3/8” x 9’. I see yours is 1/4”. Thoughts about that? Is mine too big for this purpose? At first I was thinking that was the depth of the foam, but now I’m wondering if that isn’t the width of the L?

Also, what do you use to attach?
 

swatski

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I actually found 2 of those packages in my garage just now. Possibly bought for my garage, but bring repurposed for the boat now. However mine is 2” x 3/8” x 9’. I see yours is 1/4”. Thoughts about that? Is mine too big for this purpose? At first I was thinking that was the depth of the foam, but now I’m wondering if that isn’t the width of the L?

Also, what do you use to attach?
That width will be fine but you may need more than two packs of that length, I don’t remember. I think I used a 3M high strength spray glue, it also works on foam pads that fall off the hatch, lol.

Too much thickness and those seals can push the hinges too much, so I wouldn’t double it up or anything. That thickness is about perfect.

 

Jim Davis

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Nice review and spot on. We just upgraded from a 2011 Ar240 to a 2019 242x e. I really miss the hole shot of the 2011. There is something to be said for having 2 teenage boys holding on to the tube with the tow rope tight and still being able to jerk the tube out from under them. haha But I do like the way the 2019 handles the chop and tracks straight. And love the throttle by wire. All about trade offs I guess but would like to see yamaha add a little power.
 

Scott Havell

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Below are the photos of the sound proofing. Drove the boat for 60 miles this weekend and am still amazed at how quiet it is. Very similar to an outboard. Now, if I could only figure out how to make the wind noise quieter.🧐

Hatch Seal - Starboard
View attachment 93600

Hatch Seal - Port
View attachment 93601


Sound Proofing (Forward Corner of Engine Compartment) - Starboard
View attachment 93602

Sound Proofing (Forward Corner of Engine Compartment) - Port
View attachment 93603
Question. Did you put the hangers on the carpet? Or did you cut out the carpet and glue them to the board behind? Your install looks clean but I worry trying to glue something to carpet...
 

seabrooktx

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I screwed the hangers to the existing carpeted plywood. Even though the sound deadening material had a sticky back, it wasn’t peeled and used. In hind sight, a large washer and screw would have done the same job, probably better.
 
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Why do you love throttle by wire so much? I perceive it’s smoother and of course single lever control /sync of both motors and no mechanical cable to wear, but help sell me on the premium cost. Do the cables wear out often?
 

Jim Davis

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No I don't think the cables will wear out easy. I can't stand engines out of sync and it does a great job of syncing the rpms. Before I was constantly messing with 1 throttle to keep them synced it seems. No cables so the throttles don't move if you hit a bump. Its really easy to maintain a speed even without the cruise control or using one of the programs. I keep forgetting to try the single lever control. Is this enough reason to upgrade by it's self I don't really think so. Not with options like ride steady. We bought the X E series to dip our toe into surfing and yet still have the layout of the Yamaha. About 40 hours on it since end of May and so far it's been a great decision for what we want to do.
 

tabbibus

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Dude, you just said it. That's just it. The smoothness is great. Being able to adjust throttle while cruising with just the tip our your fingers is amazing.

A quick search in here will show you all the people who have trouble with throttles sliding and not syncing.
 

granpachuck

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Why do you love throttle by wire so much? I perceive it’s smoother and of course single lever control /sync of both motors and no mechanical cable to wear, but help sell me on the premium cost. Do the cables wear out often?
I will chime in on the E throttles as well. I am the primary pilot, but when my wife drives, or even kids, grandkids, it really provides piece of mind that I can set it for say 20 mph and that way a new driver can concentrate on the heading.
The best part for us is water sports, and being able to pre load the drive sequence. If I am on skis or a board, my wife has one less thing to worry about when driving. Tinkering with throttles to maintain speed can be one too many things for a less experienced pilot to handle. I tell her to just worry about keeping the boat out of trouble, and the spotter watches the person in the water. The drive control sets the acceleration, and desired speed.
I cannot say if it is worth the upfront cost on a new boat, since we bought ours used, and got a pretty good deal on it. But I think now that we has experienced them, it would be pretty hard to buy another boat without it.
 

swatski

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Yamaha cable throttles are really awful as far as working range, there is very little room for throttle binnacles “productive” travel, most of throttle travel is dead range, making it awkward to fine-tune RPM and sync between the two engines - such short is the working range of factory throttles!

That said, those cable linkages are extremely reliable and can provide instant feedback in emergencies, for example w/something jamming the reverse buckets. I would not want to be without those in a jet boat with a single throttle/reverse bucket control handle, not during longer trips in the middle of nowhere etc.

Given the APS modules are still used in most non-E boats, a system such as @Ridesteady completely solves the issue of smooth cruise control, or RPM control, and engine syncing.

The R-S is absolutely amazing, with a knob that permits easy small increment RPM or speed adjustments and full auto engine sync.

I’m on my third season and would not want to switch. The Yamaha GPS factory modules have been less than very reliable...

Now, I would take the X/LS E tower over the AR any day, in a heartbeat. But that’s a different discussion.

 
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