Disclosure: I am a Yamaha dealer.
Secondary Disclosure: I am also a huge boating enthusiast/nerd and love everything boat related
Our first 242 LTDS showed up earlier this week and we finally had a chance to rig her and get her on the water yesterday afternoon. I did not make it to the Miami premiere so I was very excited to get the new boat in the water and check out the new features.
Exterior: The boat definitely has slightly different lines than the previous generation and this particular gray one looks like more of a true runabout than previous years. Personally, I like that and know of several customers that will make a move from stern drive brands based on this alone.
The Tower: Looks fantastic and with the new Gray color and white tower this is a very striking boat! it folds very easily and installs extremely easily as well. Interestingly, there are cables inside the tower that keep it from folding too far forward and hitting the windshield. The bimini top is a little different setup with the forward support poles plugging into the top of the tower. Of course the tower still has two tweeters in it along with 5 LED lights. ETA: Also the anchor light is finally integrated into the tower. It's a small change but for anyone that boats at night it'll be very nice!
Interior: Also looks fantastic. They've dressed it up a bit and made the boat feel very rich inside. Most notable changes are the port side helm seat of course and the new head door. The helm seats are very comfortable and really make you feel secure since there are armrests locking you in on both sides. The head door positively latches in the center with a nice twist to lock style latch and absolutely does not rattle. Finally. The other feature that was long overdo and a HUGE improvement are the hinged seats for all of the compartments. They are a double hinge setup so they lift easily and stay up without issue. They still allow complete access to each compartment with no compromises.
Transom Area: Storage, storage, storage. Whoever thought up the aft locker setup deserves a free cocktail because this is an absolutely wonderful addition to an already functional transom. My only gripe is that the doors need some sort of strap to keep them from opening all the way- it looks like it might be hard on the screws over time. The new decking is a nice touch and looks very rich. Also, I'm really liking the new Polk Audio remote, it looks more substantial and nicer.
Anchor locker: You can now use your anchor without deploying the ladder. Nice.
Articulating Keel: When you're looking at the boat in person it makes total sense. There's a nice deep keel that protrudes from the bottom several inches and runs forward to about the midpoint of the boat. Of course at the transom end is an articulating rudder that is tied into the stbd side jet nozzle. We all inspected it thoroughly and made our guesses on how it would affect steering out on the water but none of us were completely right...
In actuality the new system makes an incredible difference at all speeds. The low speed tracking was as good or possibly even better than a standard I/O. She barely wandered off course and naturally wanted to go straight. It was bit windy while we were out there and the boat hardly moved, so that was nice. Turning the wheel in either direction generates an almost immediate response in your bow direction, even when switching from hard over port to stbd or vice versa. It also has a felt affect when the throttle is not applied but they may have been from our current in the river.
At speed the boat handles distinctively different. She is very predictable and feels incredibly similar to a stern drive boat. One major note: The turning radius is increased dramatically. I had the boat up to almost full speed and threw her hard over only to experience a nice arching turn about 2-3 boat lengths wide. This boat will not spin out or turn a J turn like the old ones. One thing I did notice thought is that this new hull does seem to ride nicer in rough water. I'll need to spend some more time with her to determine that for sure but man the ride sure seemed better. Overall, I think the new keel/rudder design is a win on this particular model.
Sound Deadening: This by far was the most important advancement for me. I'm very noise sensitive and am excited that new boats are much, much quieter. It seems that tightening up the engine compartment along with loads more insulation definitely did the trick. We also noticed that the main floor panel is now bolted in and sits on rubber dampeners. That certainly helped keep the cockpit much quieter and vibration free. Having the sound quieted down to stern drive levels will dramatically help the enjoyment and sales of these boats!
Touch screen: I would rather not have the screen in these boats, but that's just my opinion. I played with it a little bit and it seemed very intuitive and easy to use. It displays tons of info but is a bit cluttered on the main page but i'm sure I'll get used to it after playing with it. On the plus side, it is very easy to see in the sun and with polarized glasses on.
That's it for now. I'll be posting some more pictures and video of the boat as we get to use here more...
Barbie said ... 
and MISS B'HAVEN 1 was "benched" until we swapped boats. Thanks to a little mess up @ Yamaha in Tenn, it took several months for the 2015 to come in. ![[flag]](/flag.gif "Flag [flag]")
