2020 AR210 Review Continuation

[HangOutdoors]

I took out the boat, 2020 AR210 for her maiden voyage. Launching went ok. Medium depth launch at state park. Water Temperature 58 degrees. Wind 5mph lake very slight chop, more waves from all the boaters. I was a bit nervous before launch since the boat is heavier than I have launched as well as much bigger. Covered the fenders with water just over the top. She floated up in the back and a moderate push and floated back of the trailer. Thanks to advice from members here I put on the 60" C.E. Smith Guide Posts with the foam guards and they guided the boat directly back smoothly.

Started the break with low idle for 5 minutes as we headed out to the lake. The boat is squirrely at very low speeds, at least for me. A Seasoned Jet Boat driver would do much better I am sure. I was over compensating with the steering at 4 mph and moving all over the place.

After each break period I ran her up a bit faster after a float/cooldown engines off period between each. The engines were great. Started up instantly each time. After 2 hours I opened it up to WOT and reached 42.5 mph. I assume I will get a couple few more when everything wears in. The boat gets on plane quickly. Crew was 2 adults, minor gear full tank of gas. I did a couple of hole shots, and I was thoroughly impressed, very responsive, immediate thrust. Will have no problem with watersports. Also made some pretty sharp turns and the boat tracked well.

I did notice a bit of wander crossing wakes.

Practiced with reverse a bit out in the open water, everything engaged fine.

Stock speakers, meh, next thing that must be upgraded. They are marginally average when you are floating with engine off.

Girlfriend drove the boat and was extremely nervous, she has never driven a boat before. After 5-10 minutes she felt at easy and went WOT. No issues. She liked the simplicity of it, had to kick her out of the driver seat.

I was searching the water for any debris that was floating etc. I didn't want something to get sucked up in after all the heavy rains we had.

Swim Platform. Was even better in the water than when I was on it on land. I appreciate the design.

The roominess of the 210 was astounding. I have been on other 21 and 24' boats and they seem smaller. Perhaps I am just biased, but it really felt that way.

Docking was a bit of a chore with all the boats coming in. I had some issues with the boat being all over the place as I used forward and reverse and actually spun it around on a 360. Couple guys on the dock asked me how could I do that. I had some very slow speed control challenges, but was getting better quickly. We got the boat on the trailer, think I had the trailer a bit lower than I should have, but all in all in went ok. I will need to work on that.

Overall, I am very pleased. We agree that this boat will be great for the family and the watersports that we will do. Also for fishing once I Mod it for a trolling motor in the near future.

I will be putting it in Lake St. Clair next week and see how it handles on the big water for me.

Also will be putting Cobra Jet Steering on. I have it in the garage and will do it in the next few days. I wanted to drive the boat stock so I have a common reference point of before and after.

Fantastic Boat.

 

[Gunner]

Do the Cobras you should be pleasantly surprised. Congrats on your maiden voyage, niceboat.

 

[Diamondwatercraft]

Love the AR 210 Congrats on your purchase!! You will not regret it! You will find that if you launch on the west side of Lake St Clair the water will get a bit rough for any boat let alone a 21 ft. I would suggest if you are launching on the west side to go to the Clinton River launch. Its called Harly Ensign DVR launch. It has the quickest access to all the lake has to offer. I would recommend heading out from there due east across to get to some water that wont be as rough. Keep that bow up too! If you have people in the front and back off a large wave coming it has a tendency to dive under and give you a real soaker!

 

[HangOutdoors]

Thanks for the heads up, I appreciate it. Yes Harley Ensign is where we would put in, I have been to the launch before, just haven't launched from there yet. I also had the dealership install a Bow cover with with snaps. It looks pretty good. I will keep it under one of the front seat cushions. It has a center pole as well. I got it just in case I need it for a rough day or if we get caught in something, to hopefully minimize the incoming water if a wave rolls over. it seals around the window and door quite well. I also purchased a Metro Park sticker just in case Harley Ensign if full to go in at Metro Beach if Needed.

 

[Diamondwatercraft]

Very good! I would suggest on that trip across to Strawberry Island keeping everyone out of the bow. Does not hurt to go out a few times as well just you and your first mate to get the both of you familiar and comfortable with the boat before inviting half of town along. I have seen it so many times where you can tell the people are new and they have there entire gang along for the first outing and it just turns into a hot mess! Have a plan rehearsed on launching and docking procedures. It really helps everyone at the launch when your team is aware of what to do and what not to do.

When you see a rough patch of waves coming you need to reduce your speed before you get to them and then power through them. This keeps the bow up and does not dive like it does when you come off power. I've noticed this on all of the Yamaha boats I have had, but you have the latest style which has a higher bow design.

 

[Weeb]

I have an ar240 but I usually put the front top of my trailer fenders a couple inches under water and it works good for me.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Took out the boat on Lake St. Clair Today, wind was low but alot of Anchor Bay was like a Bath Tub. The boat handled fine and better than I thought it would in 3'+ boat chop coming from may different angles. Entire family felt safe. I did purchase a Thetford Porta Potti, the 2.5gallon one from West Marine and I will say that it worked out great for the three women on board and made the time much more enjoyable rather than having to run it from time to time. I had it WOT in some of the flats and again was very pleased. It is a great boat.

 

[HangOutdoors]

It is early July and I just wanted to update my thoughts on the 2020 AR210 we purchased in May.

This last weekend we took it out Lake Michigan and had a range of water conditions, from darn near calm to rolling/whitecap 4+ footers after a strong wind came up 15-20mph during mid-day one day.

The boat handled excellent with 6 of us on board. Had some spray come over the front a few times but otherwise not an issue. At the roughest I was running about 20 mph give or take. Now mind you we were coming in during that time, which felt safe.

During near calm to slight chop, I pulled a Big Mable with 3 on board 8 straight miles up the shore then switched riders coming back. The boat handled fantastic.

Max WOT light chop with Bimini deployed full gear and 6 people on board we touched 40 mph a couple of times but consistently stayed at 38 mph.

Still very pleased with the purchase and the boat and the way it handles all the way around, couldn't be happier.

So...... I bought the boat, I pay for the boat and all I do is drive the boat, clean the boat, hookup the boat, disconnect the boat, maintain the boat, put gas in it, blow up tubes, deflate tubes, change tow ropes, and tow people around in tubes, wakeboards, Zup boards and beach and anchor the boat. And when someone doesn't think I am towing them correctly, I get told I don't know what I am doing. It is like a full time job. Everyone has a lot of fun on it. Gonna have to take it out myself and just do some fishing. Installed 4 rocket luanchers but haven't used them yet. Hoping one of these weekends the family has other plans and I can go and relax.

A few things that annoy me.

1. Stock OEM carpet gets very, very hot. Not sure if Sea Dek gets that hot.
2. Passenger side storage compartment could of been a few inches wider on the door. A decent wave from a boat came through as I was getting stuff out of there for the kids and I got stuck for a minute. (Carrying a bit of Holiday weight).
3. Noise level could be lower, going to work on that in the off season with sound proofing.
4. Wish there was a spot that I could store the Bimini when not in use or towing rather than just on the floor. May mod and hinge the long metal bar so it is not so long and can be folded in half.
5. I have Yacht Blue and it is a bit of a pain keeping some of the water spots off of it at washing so I rub it down with Hot Sauce afterwards where needed.
6. White seats, apparently I cannot keep them clean for long, seems like I am rubbing them down all the time.
7. Wish it had a lockable water tight glove box.
8. Rear Cleat next to swim platform is absolutely worthless for anything I need it for.

 

[buckbuck]

How old are your kids, @HangOutdoors ?

 

[HangOutdoors]

13, 15, 24, 28, 30 all girls.

 

[ctyke]

Having the same boat, I'll comment on your comments.

1. Stock OEM carpet gets very, very hot. Not sure if Sea Dek gets that hot.
   1. YES YES HOT HOT HOT OUCH OUCH Those things get super hot.. Will Sea Dek help???? We want to know.
2. Passenger side storage compartment could of been a few inches wider on the door. A decent wave from a boat came through as I was getting stuff out of there for the kids and I got stuck for a minute. (Carrying a bit of Holiday weight).
   1. No comment.
3. Noise level could be lower, going to work on that in the off season with sound proofing.
   1. totally agree, what do you have planned?
4. Wish there was a spot that I could store the Bimini when not in use or towing rather than just on the floor. May mod and hinge the long metal bar so it is not so long and can be folded in half.
   1. mine has a zip up bag that is attached to the tower, so I am unsure about this comment?? did you get one? See my attached Pic, I don't have one up close, but you can see it stored up on the tower.
5. I have Yacht Blue and it is a bit of a pain keeping some of the water spots off of it at washing so I rub it down with Hot Sauce afterwards where needed.
   1. I leave mine on a lift and ignore the water spots while floating.
6. White seats, apparently I cannot keep them clean for long, seems like I am rubbing them down all the time.
   1. totally agree, after the first 3 spots, it gets easier to accept fate.
7. Wish it had a lockable water tight glove box.
   1. yes!
8. Rear Cleat next to swim platform is absolutely worthless for anything I need it for.
   1. I tie off inflatables to those.

I'll add to your list

1. sound system is weak at best. A box of WetSounds equiment was delivered today, waiting on wiring.
2. Hammock are a good way to relax... see pic.
3. Weeds suck, they were bad this year around the lift, had them sprayed but some managed to make it. I run one engine going out/coming in and have to stop and clean that out every single time. Makes me regret a JetBoat a little, but at least I can clean it out without getting wet!

Overall Like the boat, and only regret not spending double on a newer MasterCraft a little bit until I see my bank account.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I don't like the zip up bag, too involved I guess for me. Maybe I should look at it again and pull it out of the boat locker. When I am going long distance I take the Bimini down completely and just bungee it to the cockpit floor.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

2020 AR240

Agree with the carpet. The sea deck on the swim platform seems to be a a little cooler. I cover my boat the day after every use, I let the sun dry it out for a few hours in the driveway and cover it up after lunch or when I get out of work. I take my shoes off before putting the cover on (I don’t have the fancy Yamaha one, being inside the boat makes it the easiest) I am fine on the platform but my feet get scorched on the carpet.

99% sure we have the same sound system, it does suck.

Workmanship/quality is a little lacking. Multiple cup holder lid things have come off/broken. Motor mounts came out on one mount. Looking at the factory lock tight on the bolts I don’t think they were ever tightened down. Head unit screw holes were not aligned, so the right side screw holes are half holes. Other half of the hole is where the cut out for the head unit is. Anchor locker screws for the arm ripped out, with no abuse on the door by users. I discovered that brisket as well as a lot of the other brackets around the boat only used 3 screws even though the brackets have 4 holes.

Overall I love the boat, my dealer was more than happy to honor warranty work, they ordered me a entire new ski locker door, I have a couple other little gripes I’ll get taken care of at the end of the season, just wish Yamaha put a little more care/effort into manufacturing. As I talk to people it seems to be pretty common in just about all the manufacturing companies outside the super high end market.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

I don't like the zip up bag, too involved I guess for me. Maybe I should look at it again and pull it out of the boat locker. When I am going long distance I take the Bimini down completely and just bungee it to the cockpit floor.

If you have a second set of hands the bag is pretty easy once you and your helper get a method down, one holding the top and one zipping the bag. It’s a pain solo.

 

[Crob83]

If you have a second set of hands the bag is pretty easy once you and your helper get a method down, one holding the top and one zipping the bag. It’s a pain solo.

Yep completely agree. That thing would piss me off and have me frustrated everytime trying to stow it away the first few times. After 4-5 times it is very simple and easy now, with 2 people of course

 

[HangOutdoors]

I started just using some a couple of bungee cords wrapped twice around which worked fine, unless I went to highway speeds for an extended time. I didn't like part of it blowing around. So I switched to dropping it in the cockpit. I will pull out the bag and look at it again.

 

[ctyke]

I am able to close it up by myself, but it took a few times to figure out how to make it happen.

 

[buckbuck]

@HangOutdoors I hope you are in the process of training every one of your girls to operate the boat. Even the youngest. Years ago I felt I had arrived when my wife and I were cuddled up in the bow on a cool morning and the kids operated the boat, set up the boards, tended ropes and everything else. You will get there.

 

[HangOutdoors]

They have all taken boaters safety and I am integrating them into doing certain things on every trip.

 

[212s]

I started just using some a couple of bungee cords wrapped twice around which worked fine, unless I went to highway speeds for an extended time. I didn't like part of it blowing around. So I switched to dropping it in the cockpit. I will pull out the bag and look at it again.

Use bungee cords or buckle straps to hold the bimini poles and fabric in place when folded, and then put the boot cover on it - makes it much easier to manage without the wind pulling it out all the time. We use our boot cover all the time, when trailering and when parked. After a few times, it becomes quite easy to roll up, hold with a strap, then pull the boot over the whole thing. It's a lot easier than pulling the whole thing off.