2021 275sd initial thoughts/ review

[mrcleanr6]

ok, so i took delivery this afternoon of my black cherry 275sd. what a difference since i was coming from an 08 232 limited. i took it out for a quick 45 min spin after doing all my paperwork at the dealer. i have read i think all the 275 threads on this forum and i do know there have been some concerns in the past on a few different item so i took note of these and will give some feedback on those.



#1 the drive (paddles) on the steering wheel. i always thought this was a cool idea but maybe a little gimmicky. let me tell you that this is the one of the best things for controlling a boat i have ever used. it truely is unbelievable how awesome theses things are. the control you have around the dock is amazing. i am able to maneuver a 27 foot boat as easily and exactly like my waverunner. took me 5 min of using the system and it was like second nature. cant say enough how awesome it is and i totally recommend getting a "D" model in any size boat.

#2 the stbd oil filter. there has been concern about being able to access it because the stbd engine is stuffed under the hatch and the filter is on the left side. i am putting a pic below showing that this is of zero concern. the filter is super accessible. far more than my fzs. its literally right there in front of you.



#3 its nice to see yamaha put all stainless latches in the boat instead of the plastic/aluminum ones



#4 the tower and tow point. for 2021 yamaha added a tow point onto the tower which is great. there is also still the low one on the rear grab handle but im sure this will make way too much spray since its only 4" off the water. there were also reports of the tower and hardtop shaking and being unsturdy. this has all been fixed. there was a 2019 on a storage rack near my boat so i can compare. the 2021 tower has been completely redesigned. it is now super beefy with heavy tubes and braces. the tubes have to be 2.5" dia. i cant come close to getting my had around any one of them. tubing work is fantastic. its really night and day from the old one. i took a few pics below of the tubing work they did. its really nice. from the pics you cant really get a feel for the size of them or how beefy it is.



#5 connext chart plotter. i think this applies to all models of our boats but many in the past have said the system is slow and that its set to north is always up. i can confirm that north up is not the case any longer. you can now have north up or boat direction up just like on the nav in your car or truck. i have not changed or updated any maps as of yet but in stock form i experienced no lags in the system. for the 1/2hr i used it, i had no issues with the plotter function. i will update the maps before next season and maybe that will add more data. not sure on that yet.

#6 fit and finish. i work for a yacht and high end center console company. i have been on and around very expensive boats my whole life and i saw no issues with fit and finish. with all the delays getting the boats out and covid, i saw no evidence of anything being rushed or $hit out the door. the interior is very nice and of very good quality. the vinyl material is night and day better than on my 232. vinyl is much thicker and more heavy duty.

#7 hinged seats. i dont know if yamaha only does this on the 275 or they started this on older models but the hinged seat cushions are so nice. no more trying to yank up cushions to get access to the storage under them. i used to have to open the engine hatch just to get the cushion off to get access to the battery switches because the seats were all locked together. what a pia. the hinges on these seats are very sturdy and strong as well. i assumed they would be some thin stamped metal but they are made of thick alloy.

#8 wiring. wiring and wire management is one of my pet peeves. this was absolutely atrocious on older yamahas. when i look under the dash on my 232 i almost have an anxiety attack. i can even open that door. not sure when it happened but at some point yamaha really cleaned that up under there. that is probably mostly due to the connext screen. i would say its not completely to the level i would like it but its not a 2 mil dollar yacht either. definitely acceptable though

i will update this more as time goes on. i am going out tomorrow for a few hours so im sure i will have time to get into it more and give other feedback. these were just my initial impressions. if there is anything specific someone would like me to look at or get pics of, let me know.

 

[mrcleanr6]

i forgot

#9 steering. i have to say that this boat steers night and day from my 232. i have the cobra fins on my 232 which really do wonders for slow speed steering. the 275 steers slightly better with no fins than my 232 does with the cobra fins. i have a set of thrust vectors here that i picked up on the group buy. i would be perfectly happy with this boat without even installing them. of course i will install them anyway since it can always be improved. im not sure if this is just the 275 that is greatly improved or yamaha made changes on earlier 21 and 24 models as well. def a huge improvement from my old boat though.

 

[buckbuck]

Thanks for the report @mrcleanr6
I am sure many will find it useful.

 

[Stan M]

Thanks for the update. Regarding steering, I just had my new 252S on the water for the first time yesterday. First time on a jet boat (other than on the water orientation Friday after I picked her up). I was nervous after reading all of the posts about steering. I backed off the trailer (1st time ever), had to immediately pull back to the dock to retrieve my cellphone I left in the truck (1st time ever), drove to my dock to pick up my neighbor who took the trailer back after launching and docked again, went to pickup a friend (docked again), went to lunch and had to dock between 2 large boats, then to drop friend, then home to my dock. All went flawlessly and I had absolutely no issue with stock steering or low speed maneuvering!

 

[DonnyC]

ok, so i took delivery this afternoon of my black cherry 275sd. what a difference since i was coming from an 08 232 limited. i took it out for a quick 45 min spin after doing all my paperwork at the dealer. i have read i think all the 275 threads on this forum and i do know there have been some concerns in the past on a few different item so i took note of these and will give some feedback on those.

View attachment 134645

#1 the drive (paddles) on the steering wheel. i always thought this was a cool idea but maybe a little gimmicky. let me tell you that this is the one of the best things for controlling a boat i have ever used. it truely is unbelievable how awesome theses things are. the control you have around the dock is amazing. i am able to maneuver a 27 foot boat as easily and exactly like my waverunner. took me 5 min of using the system and it was like second nature. cant say enough how awesome it is and i totally recommend getting a "D" model in any size boat.

#2 the stbd oil filter. there has been concern about being able to access it because the stbd engine is stuffed under the hatch and the filter is on the left side. i am putting a pic below showing that this is of zero concern. the filter is super accessible. far more than my fzs. its literally right there in front of you.

View attachment 134646

#3 its nice to see yamaha put all stainless latches in the boat instead of the plastic/aluminum ones

View attachment 134647

#4 the tower and tow point. for 2021 yamaha added a tow point onto the tower which is great. there is also still the low one on the rear grab handle but im sure this will make way too much spray since its only 4" off the water. there were also reports of the tower and hardtop shaking and being unsturdy. this has all been fixed. there was a 2019 on a storage rack near my boat so i can compare. the 2021 tower has been completely redesigned. it is now super beefy with heavy tubes and braces. the tubes have to be 2.5" dia. i cant come close to getting my had around any one of them. tubing work is fantastic. its really night and day from the old one. i took a few pics below of the tubing work they did. its really nice. from the pics you cant really get a feel for the size of them or how beefy it is.

View attachment 134648View attachment 134649View attachment 134650View attachment 134651

#5 connext chart plotter. i think this applies to all models of our boats but many in the past have said the system is slow and that its set to north is always up. i can confirm that north up is not the case any longer. you can now have north up or boat direction up just like on the nav in your car or truck. i have not changed or updated any maps as of yet but in stock form i experienced no lags in the system. for the 1/2hr i used it, i had no issues with the plotter function. i will update the maps before next season and maybe that will add more data. not sure on that yet.

#6 fit and finish. i work for a yacht and high end center console company. i have been on and around very expensive boats my whole life and i saw no issues with fit and finish. with all the delays getting the boats out and covid, i saw no evidence of anything being rushed or $hit out the door. the interior is very nice and of very good quality. the vinyl material is night and day better than on my 232. vinyl is much thicker and more heavy duty.

#7 hinged seats. i dont know if yamaha only does this on the 275 or they started this on older models but the hinged seat cushions are so nice. no more trying to yank up cushions to get access to the storage under them. i used to have to open the engine hatch just to get the cushion off to get access to the battery switches because the seats were all locked together. what a pia. the hinges on these seats are very sturdy and strong as well. i assumed they would be some thin stamped metal but they are made of thick alloy.

#8 wiring. wiring and wire management is one of my pet peeves. this was absolutely atrocious on older yamahas. when i look under the dash on my 232 i almost have an anxiety attack. i can even open that door. not sure when it happened but at some point yamaha really cleaned that up under there. that is probably mostly due to the connext screen. i would say its not completely to the level i would like it but its not a 2 mil dollar yacht either. definitely acceptable though

i will update this more as time goes on. i am going out tomorrow for a few hours so im sure i will have time to get into it more and give other feedback. these were just my initial impressions. if there is anything specific someone would like me to look at or get pics of, let me know.

Thanks @mrcleanr6 - I have a 2021 255 XE on order, thinking that the paddle thing was unnecessary. But after reading your post, I'm considering upgrading to the XD!

 

[mrcleanr6]

took the boat out for a few hours today. docked a few times. a friends house, a place for lunch and at the marina. i have to say that i like the paddles even more now than i did yesterday. totally badass.

 

[mrcleanr6]

so after a few hours on the water with the boat today i dont really think i have too much more to add. there is one issue i found that i will mention... the svc dept needs to take a look at. bilge pump keeps kicking on so its taking on water from somewhere. it is doing it while just sitting with engines off so probably not engine or exhaust related. not a whole heck of alot it can be. underwater lights, in water seat brackets, control cables, or transom plate. seemed to be maybe once per hr so i dont think it would be hard to find. i have had 3 yamaha water toys so far and every one of them the transom plate leaked so it wouldnt surprise me lol. other than that one issue which should be easy to resolve, the boat is just awesome.

 

[Fourjets]

Check the inside of your Through hull exhaust mounts at your transom . Will need a strong flashlight.

 

[mrcleanr6]

yes, could be that too. i believe they are supposed to look at it this week. hopefully they find it. it should be leaking at a good enough rate that i dont think it would be too hard to find. we will see i guess. working on boats the better half of my life, my first instinct is go and start taking things apart to figure it out but i keep having to remind myself its a new boat and under warranty. just let the dealer do their thing and take care of it.

 

[tkeru408]

I think I remember seeing in the manual that the bilge pump kicks on every 2 minutes while the boat is on, whether it needs to or not. Don't have my manual handy to look it up but if you've got your manual close by see if you can find anything about that in there. Hopefully it's something simple like that and there isn't actually a leak in the boat.

 

[tkeru408]

Here you go, just found it in the online version of the manual. It's page 39 of the 2020 275 manual, not sure if it's the same page number in the 2021 manual but it's in the instrument operation section under Bilge Switch. "TIP: Even if the bilge pump is turned off, the pump will operate every 2 minutes when the house battery switch is in the on position."

 

[mrcleanr6]

Oh no, when it kicks on it pumps out prob 5-7 gal of water. Does that maybe once per hr. My 232 kicks on every 5 min or so to sense a load. I will look at the pump in the 275 closer this weekend. It is a different pump. I think its float activated but the float is built into the pump.

 

[BigAbe75]

Here you go, just found it in the online version of the manual. It's page 39 of the 2020 275 manual, not sure if it's the same page number in the 2021 manual but it's in the instrument operation section under Bilge Switch. "TIP: Even if the bilge pump is turned off, the pump will operate every 2 minutes when the house battery switch is in the on position."

True... but it shouldn’t actually be pumping water out every 2 minutes. ?

 

[mrcleanr6]

lol yeah then i would be in real trouble. I did notice in the manual for 2021 they did make the change that the bilge pump is on even if both batt switches are turned off.

 

[tkeru408]

Gotcha, wasn't certain from your post that it was actually pumping out water when it kicked on. Hopefully the service dept can get it figured out for you!

 

[Fourjets]

yes, could be that too. i believe they are supposed to look at it this week. hopefully they find it. it should be leaking at a good enough rate that i dont think it would be too hard to find. we will see i guess. working on boats the better half of my life, my first instinct is go and start taking things apart to figure it out but i keep having to remind myself its a new boat and under warranty. just let the dealer do their thing and take care of it.

Be sure your warranty mechanic makes the obvious decision to look for the leak while the boat is in the water....seems silly to say but my mechanic had the boat for a week and couldn't find the leak(on the trailer). I said OMG friend...put it in the water and look. He still didnt find it. So, I waited for a calm night on the lake. Removed the rear hatch and clean out covers. Shined a 2million watt light from may angles and located the drip. (Initially by listening carefully) and looking for the running water. Which was nothing more than a drip every second or two... The hull (mold) was a smaller diameter at the bottom of the exhaust,therefore water leaked from day one.
Removed starboard exhaust bellows=repaired by filling the gap with 4200. Zero issues after.... I assume there must be alot of 230's out there w a slow leak...mine was a 2005 230sx. (Non Ho.)
Loved that boat for 10 years. Looked new when i sold it. Hope this helps

 

[mrcleanr6]

Lol yeah i would hope they would put it in the water. That would i ly make sense to me but you never know with some people?

 

[Fourjets]

Right. My tech actually took the time to fashion an outdoor shower over the boat... i was blown away by the lack of common sense...

 

[mrcleanr6]

lol good lord

 

[Dsiege]

Man... I was angry when my $55k ar240 had bilging issues on its first run out... I couldn't even imagine how I would feel spending 2x that and dealing with it... How is 'hole in boat' not on the top of the quality control checklist?? I have been back to the dealer, Im on drain plug 3, I have sealed the anchor drain, I will be sealing tray around the clean out ports before winterizing this year ... and now im adding this exhaust bellows to the inspection... but c'mon Yamaha - we shouldn't have to do any of this!!

Good luck - and if you find any secrets for the rest of us to check - please share!