@ctyke looks like you've been busy - impressive. I've had my 2019 AR210 for 10 months and haven't done as much. I want to put Cobras or Thrust Vectors on my boat. After reading the 8,486 posts discussing the pros and cons of the two, I still don't know.
A couple questions (for
@ctyke or anyone else with a recent AR210 who has installed steering fins):
How long did it take you to install the fins on your AR210? I don't own a trailer - I'll be doing the install standing in the water with my boat up on its lift, and my wife repeatedly going back and forth to the house to hand me all the tools I forgot. So I'm looking for "as easy as possible." Any idea if there's a difference between the 2019 and 2020 model in this regard?
I'm a little unclear from your posts above - the hardest thing for me is pulling on to my lift at low speeds under control - did the Cobras help a lot?
Tim, I just bought a 2020 AR210 and took it out for the first time last Sunday, without any fins installed. And WOW, even with Yamaha's new "articulating keel", docking or turning at low speed was very annoying, uncomfortable. 10 times more difficult than when I've docked a pontoon boat. (Backing up with sharp turning however was amazing - the new built-in lateral thrusters from Yamaha really do their job, no upgrades needed there).
I did a ton of forum research, back and forth between Cobras and Thrust Vectors. I really wanted it to be the Thrust Vectors that would win out simply because they look cooler. In the end for me though, Cobras were the right choice by a landslide for the following reasons:
1. Durability - Cobras are a quality aluminum, look like a solid OEM part that will last the lifetime of the boat. The TVs are plastic.
2. Alignment - The Cobras come with a 2nd tie rod for the other jet and alignment instructions to ensure both jets, the keel, and the 2 fins are all in proper alignment.
3. Safety - The Cobras stay down in the water at speed. The TVs pop-up out of the water at speed. This is the #1 reason to go with Cobras IMHO, and it's a safety reason. If you're going at high speed, see an obstacle and cut the throttle and turn, you can lose control with the stock boat - and the Thrust Vectors won't help you at all in this situation. The Cobras stay in the water and will help you steer in this emergency situation, and help the boat track better at high speeds in general. The TVs don't do anything for you at high speed.
4. Customer Service - Cobra has Jeff - and everyone here attests that he provides great customer service. You can literally just call him up if you need to and he'll talk to you over the phone. (I have, and can vouch for that). And Jeff took my order over the phone and shipped it out to me the same day! (Mine are arriving tomorrow actually).
FINALLY - Jeff also helped answer the one question that was nagging me... IF the 2nd tie rod, and IF the fins staying down in the water are such a great idea, why wouldn't the great minds at JetBoatPilot, or Yamaha ALSO do it??? Answer... they CAN'T because Jeff owns the patents for both.
Hope that helps you, as I spent hours and hours reading about the differences between the two, and these were the main ones that stood out to me and helped solidify my decision. (Didn't mean to open a can of worms). The only argument I could think of maybe in favor of Thrust Vectors.. and this is just a question I haven't answered, is do they perform better at docking, slow speed, steering in neutral than the Cobras? For the record, I haven't seen anyone make that claim. I could theorize that they do, since they have 2 full fins per jet nozzle on twin engines, (versus 1 1/2 for the Cobra on twin engines). However that's just pure conjecture on my part, and not enough to make up for the other big reasons stated to go with the Cobras.
