2018 Yamaha 212x —- about to buy need ADVICE

[Lenny]

Will a Yamaha 2018 212x all stock pull a wake border and a tuber ? I saw a thread on Mastercraft that the Yamaha sprays fizz/foam in the tubers & wakeboarders face ? Does the factory set up set a nice wake ? Will it pull up a 230 lb man out of the water with 4 people in the boat?

 

[MidnightRider]

Has all the power you’ll need and more. As far as the spray, depends on the rope length. For tubing we went to a 70’ rope and the kids no longer complain about that. Haven’t wakeborded behind it yet (sold out wakeboards with our last boat and haven’t bought yet) but skiing on a 75’ rope is no problem. I really can’t see any problem on a wakeboard even on a shorter rope and the wake looks fairly good to me for wake boarding but I’ll let any current wakeboards chime in. Wake surfing though will need some help as you will find info about that all over the forum.

 

[GoVols01]

They implement SurfPoint for the new model yet, but I'll tell you that my '17 212X puts out a very crappy surf wake. I looked at Yamaha's website the other day to see if they're showing anyone surfing behind the 212X in any of their pictures/videos and I only saw the 242X in all media. Even on YouTube, you ONLY see people surfing behind the 242X.

Before you buy it, you better test drive it and take your surfboard along. I really wish I had. I think surfing behind the '17 212X is the biggest bunch of false advertising I've ever fallen for. I'm very disappointed.

As far as tubing goes, like TTZZ already said, it does a good job, but you'll need a 70' rope. My kids and wife also like to kneeboard behind the boat too.

 

[Lenny]

Thank you !! What’s a standard rope size? 75’ sounds long lol !! But I never measured my current one . Is it a good family boat ? We’re not professional wake boarders or surfers. We like to wake for fun and fall and tube the kids .

 

[nate kennedy]

I have a 2015 212x wakebaording is no problem. The spray doesn’t make it to the boarder on my boat. Has more than enough power to pull you up and out.

 

[Scottintexas]

I agree that you should get a test ride and know what your buying, update your profile with your location so we know where your at,

If you want a dedicated surf or wakeboard or slalom boat a Yamaha is not for you. As far as the tube, riders are supposed to get wet, mine don't like it only when I burst it at WOT for a few seconds to drench them, other than that no one complains about spray,

If you want a low maintenance, family friendly boat that can do a lot of things a Yamaha is great, They do have their quirks, cleanout plugs, you'll probably have some water from the drain plug, fit and finish may be suspect but for 99% of us they've been excellent,

 

[GoVols01]

Thank you !! What’s a standard rope size? 75’ sounds long lol !! But I never measured my current one . Is it a good family boat ? We’re not professional wake boarders or surfers. We like to wake for fun and fall and tube the kids .

I think ropes are commonly 60', but you can definitely find 70+' out there. Internet shopping makes it easier.

The 212X is an excellent family boat, but a shitty surfing boat. The configurable seating in the bow is what sold my wife on it. She likes to sit 3 across with my 2 boys in the bow while I captain. She was never able to do that before on our old boats. There's plenty of room onboard the boat as well for all our junk, toys, and people.

 

[Lenny]

Sounds like it will do the trick. I’m coming from a sea ray 22 Select . Inboard/outboard

 

[GoVols01]

Sounds like it will do the trick. I’m coming from a sea ray 22 Select . Inboard/outboard

Have you physically been aboard a 212 yet? If not, I think you'll be surprised to see the amount of room aboard. Professional reviews of the boat say the deck space is comparable to some 24' boats - due to the wide beam being carried all the way forward. When tied up with my buddy's '13 Yamaha 223, my '17 212X seems just as big has his boat.

 

[Lenny]

Yes I test drive it yesterday! I have a deposit on it . The water where we boat isn’t always the smoothest water, the reason I was looking at a vhull and not a wake boat .

 

[Jameson Clark]

I just purchased a 2017 212X and love it so far. The water behind the boat when skiing, tubing, or wakeboarding is more turbulent and choppy than behind an I/O but not enough to create an issue. We, like others, fell in love with the layout of the boat and we ski, tube, wakeboard, etc but nothing to a crazy level so the boat fit us perfectly.

As for ropes... Standard ski ropes are 75' and tube ropes are typically 60'. We ditched the 60' tube rope and pull the tubes with a ski rope with the handle removed. That gets the kids out of the spray.

 

[Lenny]

Thank you for the great response. That gives me some confidence on this huge purchase

 

[MidnightRider]

As for ropes... Standard ski ropes are 75' and tube ropes are typically 60'. We ditched the 60' tube rope and pull the tubes with a ski rope with the handle removed. That gets the kids out of the spray.

Yep what he said ^^.

And for wakeboarding, it depends on the where the sweet spot is for the riders preference on the wake. Our last boat that ended up being around 50' which I don't anticipate being an issue on this boat either from what I've seen.
A ski rope typically isn't rated for the weight of tubing especially with more than one person but we've also used them before and I've never had one break. We had a couple tube ropes rate for 4 riders so I made a 10' extension using one of them to put on the other which works good.

 

[MidnightRider]

One thing I will mention that I wish someone had informed me before the purchase so I knew what to expect is this boat pounds the bigger chop way more than any other boat I've had with no way to trim around it. However, from what I've read on the this forum adding trim tabs gives you the ability tame that right down, so will likely be a mod for me in the future.
If this is your first jet boat, be ready for a really "loose" feel to the steering and control. Its a quite disconcerting at first, but trust me, after a few times out you adjust and for me I now prefer the way the jet boat handles to my past boats. One of the add-on fins systems the you can read about on this forum really helps with that as well. So far no regrets and we absolutely love the layout starting with awesome rear deck.

 

[Lenny]

Sweeeeet!!!! Great feed back . I’m sure it handles choppy water better than a Moomba or Mastercraft vdrives .

 

[GoVols01]

We're actually very pleased with how our boat takes wakes and choppy water. My 18' and 19' I/O Regals were terrible in this area. I was constantly coming down off plane to take wakes, but I rarely back off the throttle with our 212X.

 

[MidnightRider]

We're actually very pleased with how our boat takes wakes and choppy water. My 18' and 19' I/O Regals were terrible in this area. I was constantly coming down off plane to take wakes, but I rarely back off the throttle with our 212X.

Huh. Yeah not my experience. Was out the other day on 1.5-2 foot chop and just got pounded and had to slow down. My I/Os I'd just trim it way down and they'd start plowing through the chop instead of slamming each wave. But sounds like others have solved that with trim tabs so probably be what I try. Smaller chop no problem but the bigger chop has been rough for me.

 

[John Mcpartland]

The difference I notice when wakeboarding behind our ar240 is between the wake. The water is a lot harder from the jet/white wash,where my i/o it was very soft between the wake. If that makes sense

 

[swatski]

Sweeeeet!!!! Great feed back . I’m sure it handles choppy water better than a Moomba or Mastercraft vdrives .

No question about it. These boats make it to Bimini and back, every year.

Pulling is no issue with a properly tuned up twin. The guy one the left is 200+lbs on a heavy ZUP board


Tube and ZUP? no issue whatsoever. Those are all standard 60' ropes. The wake is okay.


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[GoVols01]

My I/Os I'd just trim it way down and they'd start plowing through the chop instead of slamming each wave. But sounds like others have solved that with trim tabs so probably be what I try.

So, trim tabs simply push the bow down into the waves. Since you have a 242X, couldn't you simulate the trim tabs effect by filling your center locker ballast bag?