2015 Yamaha Jet Boat Pictures

[txav8r]

Here is my take on it. Yamaha's articulating keel is a rudder. And probably very effective, just as fins have been. The new higher freeboard??? That is smoke and mirrors again. In 2010, Yamaha changed the floor pan liner that is the upper hull of the boat and raised the cockpit/bow floor I am guessing about 3 inches. You can see this if you look in all the compartments of the boat, they are all lowered where they originally were and only the floor of the cockpit/bow is raised up, lowering the freeboard height. So this year, to give the boat more ride appeal and big boat feel, they changed the floor pan back to the original clearances the 230 had. It lowers the center of gravity. You can see this in a 230 vs a 240 easily, look at the clearance under the fuel tank compartment of the two. I haven't seen any of the new 240/242's either, but Yamaha doesn't change all their molds and tooling a bunch one year to another, they tweak them. The 240 hull is basically the same as the 230, but they bumped out the upper bow to expand the bow seating and that didn't change the waterline hull shape too much at all, but the steps seen looking at the boat straight ahead are dramatic to add some space. The floor pan is also how they make changes without doing much, but that is a radical change from one model style to the next IMO and takes as much setup change as a hull would. They want to keep all of us interested and bring in new buyers to the family! And jetboaters.net is here to learn, and then share that info with you! There is no better expert than those that read and write on these pages.

 

[mike cap]

Love:
New tower, hinged seats, added steering control, seadek, Polk speakers, quieter cabin, extra storage on swim deck, extra length/hull design
Hate:
Touchscreen led panel with no GPS/chartplotter (?)
Higher freeboard, no integrated cooler like the older boats, not a fan of the "beverage station" it seems cheesy.

I'd love to know how they quieted down the engine noise and how they redesigned the anchor locker. I hate dealing with the ladder to get to the anchor.

Look at the boat test video it will answer all your question….

 

[maboat]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've read - and specifically this quote from Boattest.com, " An entirely new hull and deck design along with an “Articulating Keel” delivered a crisp, responsive ride that completely changes the way a boater will look at jet boats." (emphasis added)

This tells me they invested in new tooling (molds) to create these new structures. The "Keel" runs for a good length from amidships to the transom. Unless the 2014 boats rear end match that same profile, it looks to me to be a new shape.

Sorry my message was misleading. The new model has many changes, including longer LOA, higher Freeboard, new deck layout. Yes, this meant they invested in new molds and other changes to the production line. My comments were specifically aimed at the new keel itself, not all those other changes.

They refer to it as a dihedral keel. You can't glue that on.

According to the patent filed by Yamaha, "dihedral" is not mentioned. Not sure where that came from but I suspect BoatTest just threw it in there to sound fancy. However, the patent does specifically state "the keel may be manufactured separately from the hull and connected to the hull after the hull has been manufactured". It also allows it to be manufactured with the hull, but the intent of the patented "articulating keel" is to be added to an existing hull design and not intended as a complete redesign of the whole hull.

All this is based on online information only. I have not seen any of this in person so I could be all wet.

 

[Bruce]

Having been through the process of obtaining a couple of patents my guess is that the wording to cover articulating keels built into the hull and separate keel designs added to the hull is to close a loop hope that a competitor might use to add similar keels to their boats.

 

[txav8r]

Well, Randy Vance is a good face for boatest.com, but they put this thing out with lots of mistakes. The referred to the upgraded stereo as polk and then while the video showed the polk speakers, he said "upgraded JL speakers". Kinda stepped on it there! Looks like a nice boat in any regard and I am betting it will sell, as well as drag a few guys with 240/242's into trade!

 

[maboat]

Having been through the process of obtaining a couple of patents my guess is that the wording to cover articulating keels built into the hull and separate keel designs added to the hull is to close a loop hope that a competitor might use to add similar keels to their boats.

Agreed. They are trying to cover all the bases.

My point was that it is considered separate from the hull. Whether attached at manufacturing time or attached later.

 

[txav8r]

It looks to me like they have not only added the articulating keel (rudder), but also increased the keel beam depth, making it more trackable I am sure. The more I look at it, the more significant the change appears to me. One thing that I never liked about steering in the water at speed on a jet boat, was the resistance to steering that it caused. It is pronounced enough when bending (turning) the jet stream of water, now your adding another object that resists and adds back pressure. At some point, this is going to require power steering, just like the I/O's.

 

[maboat]

I absolutely expect it will track better. I'm just having a problem with that word "significant" that keeps getting thrown around. It looks to me like about 2" keel at the stern. Its tapered, so its maybe 1" at midship and 0" at the bow. Not really significant, but noticeable.

In all honesty I feel the same way about fins. Do I need them? No. Do I think they make a significant difference? No. Do I HAVE them? YES. They help at times. Especially for someone else driving besides me.

I like the new boats. I do! These are all nice annual improvements. Still I would have preferred to see bigger/badder engines in the now-over-$60k Flagship. THAT would be NEWS. Maybe next year...

 

[Bruce]

At the end of the 2013 season we looked at the 2014 models and decided that Yamaha did not offer anything that we could not reasonably add to our stock Sx230 at a much better value. After adding A 30 can Refrigerator, A Magma Grill mounted on the Bow, Ray Marine Dragonfly for navigation and fish finding, Fulton F2 Winch, Fulton F2 Trailer Jack, second bilge pump, swim deck cup holders, Full Custom Hydro Teak, Seasense Stainless LED Bow Light, Lectrotab Trim Tabs, Mente Marine ACS - Trim Tab Controller, Fusion IP600 head unit, six Infinity 6912M speakers, Stainless steel retained garboard drain plug, A 16 gallon fresh water shower, Dual AGM batteries, Faria battery gauge and onboard charger we will be enjoying the upgrades for a few years before upgrading boats.

If we were facing the same choice today I would likely have bought the 2015 242 before starting the mods.

 

[Skysurfer2010]

I like the new boats. I do! These are all nice annual improvements. Still I would have preferred to see bigger/badder engines in the now-over-$60k Flagship. THAT would be NEWS. Maybe next year...

I think you and the very small handful of members on here looking for speed are an extremely small minority. The majority that purchase the 242 are the people like myself that want the top of the line or the more luxurious and are willing to pay for it. I assume most of those buyers aren't interested in paying substantially more at the fuel pump for a marginally faster boat. Look at the 190 vs the 192. The price at the pump is drastic. I couldn't, and don't want to, imagine what the fuel cost over a season for twin supercharged engines would be. That would definitely be a deal breaker for me since I very rarely even go full speed and I bet that's the majority of yamaha jetboat owners.

Yamaha does it's product market research. Obviously they read these forums heavily and answered the majority of our want lists. They also addressed the biggest negative the competitors brag about over our boats and that's the low speed steering. They're not out to please every buyer. They're out to make as much money as possible with boat sales. I think they're going to attain their goals!

 

[TechRider]

Will be interesting to see how the new hull handles rough water. The steering seems to be all new which is huge. I hate going in circles when I take my hand off the wheel or can't track straight without many micro adjustments.

 

[TN888]

The 2015 xtra weight(300lbs ar240) should improve the ride alone IMO. I know with a full tank of gas and couple more people added in my boat it cuts thru wakes & chop 10x better.

 

[Magic]

This 2015 AR is the first model since our 2005 AR230HO I actually like better..... Not that I am lining up to trade Magic in or anything, but lots of nice new features!

Sweet boat!

 

[farrelltravis]

My opinion is different than most. I enjoy the way my jetboat drives. I have no fins. I love the freedom it gives you compared to other types of boats. So, with that in mind, I have to say that I don't like the idea of this rudder system at all. These boats, at least to me, drive just fine and great without any type of assistance whatsoever.

I do like the other changes though. But the rudder for me, is a downgrade.

 

[Ronnie]

I think you and the very small handful of members on here looking for speed are an extremely small minority. The majority that purchase the 242 are the people like myself that want the top of the line or the more luxurious and are willing to pay for it. I assume most of those buyers aren't interested in paying substantially more at the fuel pump for a marginally faster boat.

I respectfully disagree. I'm in no rush to pay more at the pump but at over $60k, an $8k premium over the ar240, I expect the performance, not just the interior, to bebetter than the ar240. Otherwise the most limited thing about the 242 limited s is its ability to outperform its cheaper cousin. If yamaha ever put supercharged engines in these boats I hope they are smart enough to add a bigger fuel tank as well. Gas here in Cali has been hovering at $4 a gallon for a while now, $5 on the water but let's face it, a buyer willing to pay over $60k, closer to $70k after taxes and fees, for a boat only used on the weekends several months a year, the price of gas shouldn't be an issue. If it is, maybe a sailboat or raft would be a more appropriate choice.

 

[Williamsone46]

The 240 hull is basically the same as the 230, but they bumped out the upper bow to expand the bow seating and that didn't change the waterline hull shape too much at all, but the steps seen looking at the boat straight ahead are dramatic to add some space.

I heard this before and it is incorrect. The 240 hull is a completely different hull from the 230. I went as far as measuring the chines and comparing the shape and they are completely different. The new hull is also a completely new hull.

One thing that I never liked about steering in the water at speed on a jet boat, was the resistance to steering that it caused. It is pronounced enough when bending (turning) the jet stream of water, now your adding another object that resists and adds back pressure. At some point, this is going to require power steering, just like the I/O's.

I thought the same thing. But after driving one today, it didn't add any resistance. I would even go as far as to say it reduces it, or some aspect of the new steering system had reduced it.

I absolutely expect it will track better. I'm just having a problem with that word "significant" that keeps getting thrown around. It looks to me like about 2" keel at the stern. Its tapered, so its maybe 1" at midship and 0" at the bow. Not really significant, but noticeable.

I would definitely say significant! It tracks perfectly straight. While driving it I can completely let go and it tracks straight. I was extremely impressed!

 

[Julian]

@Ronnie and @Skysurfer2010 .... why not create a poll and see what the members say.....top speed is not my concern.....you can see that from my engine hours (this is old data, but the newer data didn't change much if I recall)

 

[Julian]

I would definitely say significant! It tracks perfectly straight. While driving it I can completely let go and it tracks straight. I was extremely impressed!

This is what I was looking to hear! That is huge!!!! On my boat in no wake mode, you have to steer ALL THE TIME to stay straight. If I need to open a beer....I have to be fast!

 

[farrelltravis]

This is what I was looking to hear! That is huge!!!! On my boat in no wake mode, you have to steer ALL THE TIME to stay straight. If I need to open a beer....I have to be fast!

To me though, that is a downfall. When I read this, it means to me that you can't do the spins and slide around on turns at speed though. Or, am I missing something?

 

[Bousbous55]

Why are the boat prices going up so much? I bought new 232 limited s for 39000 are the new ones really 23000 dollars better?