2021 275sd initial thoughts/ review

[mrcleanr6]

If you have a leak that you cant find then i can almost guarantee its the transom plate. Everything i have had from yamaha starting back on 07 up until 16, the transom plates leak and it comes in while under way right where the coolant hose comes through the hull. On my fzs i mounted a gopro in the rear hatch along with a big flashlight so i could see where it was coming from under way. Yamaha ises silicone to mount these and it just cant take the pressure in the pump tunnel so water squeezes through. Its a pretty easy job to pull the plates, clean then remount them with 5200. Youll never have a problem again. They floated my boat yesterday and said no water accumulated all day so i am going out tomorrow and ill pay attention to this and see what happens. Ill bring my floodlight to stick back in the hatches to see what i can find

 

[mrcleanr6]

Found the leak. I believe its the anchor locker drain. Water is flowing through that drain at no wake speeds, going between the hull and locker liner. If you look in the ski locker, fwd of the front bulkhead has filled with water and is spilling over into the ski locker then down into the bilge from the ski oocker drain. Well should be an easy fix. Im glad is not something back at the stern if the boat since you hardly have any access back there to get at anything. Not like my 232 that is wide open.

 

[BGN123]

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.

I have been out on my 2021 275sd 5 times and put about 15 hours on it. It is really great. Before you buy it the price tag vs the other Yamahas doesn’t make a lot of sense. But when other boaters join me for a ride they all say “wow this is the perfect boat”. Holds a ton of people and has separate areas for kids and grown ups. Rides great on rough water (took on a 12 mile ride in the ocean in 2’ seas). And awesome for wakeboarding and tubing. And all the gimmicky tables and seats in the back are a huge hit with kids (so all the kids are in the water when anchored). Only complaint is the stupid sun roof. What’s the point of sunroof if it lights the sun in! But I Love it.

 

[mrcleanr6]

yeah same here. i took min out in the ocean the other day too. not far, maybe 5 miles but it was prob 3' or so. the couple guys that were out with me both were impressed how it handled out there. funny you say that about the glass in the top. i thought the same thing but all in all that top is massive and the tubing work of the arch and supports are a real work of art. its a night and day difference from the 2019 models. if you didnt tell me the cost and what boat that was for and i just saw it sitting in a welding shop being made with that top, i would have guessed $15-20k easy. with that i do see the price justification. or maybe i have just been around expensive boats too long and i have gotten numb to the cost of things. lol

 

[mrcleanr6]

Ran the boat today all the way from the dealer in south jersey all the way up home to my marina. 2/3 up the state. Ran the intercoastal all the way up. Was a good 5.5 hr trip. Boat performed flawlessly. No more leak from the anchor drain. That drain pipe was just too short to make it through into the locker liner. Thats all been corrected. I filled up before i left and with the trip i was actually surprised by the fuel mileage. Thought it was going to be a gas guzzler compared to my 232 with the mr1 ho’s but overall i my 232 would have used about the same amt in that trip. Cruise is 5500 on the boat which is 30mph. Thats a little slow so i found 6k to be a good compromise. Its a small jump from 1.7 to 1.6mpg according to the connext and am running at 35mph which is what i cruised my 232 at. Wide open 52mph she sucks some gas though. I dont run wide unless im passing someone or running from a storm. Engine noise is loud but not quite as bad as my 232. 232 had that high pitch whine like there were some open turbos spooled up. The svho are deeper and less annoying. Overall a little quieter. And easier on the ears.

 

[BGN123]

Ran the boat today all the way from the dealer in south jersey all the way up home to my marina. 2/3 up the state. Ran the intercoastal all the way up. Was a good 5.5 hr trip. Boat performed flawlessly. No more leak from the anchor drain. That drain pipe was just too short to make it through into the locker liner. Thats all been corrected. I filled up before i left and with the trip i was actually surprised by the fuel mileage. Thought it was going to be a gas guzzler compared to my 232 with the mr1 ho’s but overall i my 232 would have used about the same amt in that trip. Cruise is 5500 on the boat which is 30mph. Thats a little slow so i found 6k to be a good compromise. Its a small jump from 1.7 to 1.6mpg according to the connext and am running at 35mph which is what i cruised my 232 at. Wide open 52mph she sucks some gas though. I dont run wide unless im passing someone or running from a storm. Engine noise is loud but not quite as bad as my 232. 232 had that high pitch whine like there were some open turbos spooled up. The svho are deeper and less annoying. Overall a little quieter. And easier on the ears.

Tell me more about the anchor drain. When I take the drain plug out after boating there is always substantial water. Probably at least a gallon or two. And that’s with the sump pump automatically on I think.

 

[mrcleanr6]

Ok so you have the hull then the anchor liner goes in. There is a space bewen the two. They drill the hole to press in the anchor drain tube. The drain tube is sometimes too short to make it into the anchor liner. So the water comes in the drain then dumps out into the hull. It fills the fwd bulkhead then dumps over into the ski locker or down into the bilge.

 

[Lawman25]

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

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#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.

On the 4 pictures of the tower, 2nd from the right, is that the tow point in the middle on the bottom side of the tower? If so, and at the risk of sounding stupid, how does the tow rope stay on there?

 

[mrcleanr6]

yes 2021 they added a tow point. and to answer your question...i have no idea lol. i asked that question in another thread about skiing and tubing. i dont think you just stick the loop of the tow rope on there. you make a loop that tightens on to the tow point. its too cold here now so i have not used it. next season i will try it out

 

[Seoul76]

Found the leak. I believe its the anchor locker drain. Water is flowing through that drain at no wake speeds, going between the hull and locker liner. If you look in the ski locker, fwd of the front bulkhead has filled with water and is spilling over into the ski locker then down into the bilge from the ski oocker drain. Well should be an easy fix. Im glad is not something back at the stern if the boat since you hardly have any access back there to get at anything. Not like my 232 that is wide open.

I thought the anchor locker drain has a pvc pipe that goes directly from locker to outside? Mine looks that way in 2021 SD? How does water get into hull?
Also, i noticed there is no drain plug in ski locker just a hole? I came from a 2013 and there was a drain plug?

 

[mrcleanr6]

yes you are right. that plastic drain fitting is supposed to go into the anchor locker but sometimes its too short to reach into it so it dumps water at slow speeds directly into the hull. the anchor locker is a separate piece. its just a liner that sits in the hull so there is a space between the hull and liner for water to enter if the pipe is too short. its a really crappy design yamaha has on this. that should be a stainless thru-hull fitting sealed with 5200.

my 232 had a drain plug in the ski locker as well. now i have what looks more like a shower drain. large stainless grate with holes.

here is a good link i found for the anchor drain. scroll down to the pic in post #79. you can see the gap and the end of the pipe there. also a good shot in post #7 second pic. https://jetboaters.net/threads/anchor-locker-leaks-in-models-with-current-hull.12266/page-4

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Seoul76 I Used some 3M 4200 I believe. I took out the insert which was not fun, did the sides of the locker hole then put the insert back in. I noticed a tiny gap between the anchor locker and the hull. Been bone dry ever since. Although it was a small leak before. Some have covered the whole completely, I chose not to because I wanted to continue to self drain since I use the anchor locker for all my tow ropes and mission fenders

 

[JetMania]

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.

I saw this in the manual too. The tech at check out told us the tower navigation light comes on in addition to the bilge LED on the dash when the bilge is running. I’ve never seen it, does anyone know if this is true?

 

[JetMania]

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.

Beautiful boat. Love the Black Cherry. Saw one of these beasts at the dealer a few weeks ago at first service. Very nice! Congrats!! Enjoy!!

 

[mrcleanr6]

Hey thanks! I am loving it so far. Its a shame the season is over. I managed to squeak 15hrs on to it.

i didnt notice when the bilge kicks on that the anchor light does as well. Seems kind of odd but ill take notice now and report back.

 

[tkeru408]

I've never noticed the anchor light turning on when the bilge comes on, either (on my 252SE). And the light around my bilge switch definitely does not turn on every 2 minutes when the bilge kicks on.

 

[mrcleanr6]

Yes that i can confirm. The light doesnt kick on wvery 2 min. Only if the pump senses water and is actually pumping. I get the button light as well as bilge in red on the connext

 

[JetMania]

That’s my experience. I’ve never seen the bilge LED, bilge indicator on connext or the anchor light. I was wondering because I saw in the manual that the bilge ran every 2 minutes which seemed a bit excessive. In fact, I’ve never seen our bilge run. Never seen water in the ski locker or the engine compartment or anywhere else. Just a little bit of water from the transom plug when leaving the lake. Weird because our bilge ran regularly on our Glastron and we always had a fair amount out of the transom when pulling out of the lake.

It’s good though as I like a dry boat. We’ve taken water over the bow once when hitting a large wave from a boat, but overall wasn’t that much water. Thought some would get in locker, but it remained completely dry. Our Glastron locker always filled up and we used to have to remove it with a siphon style super soaker every time out.

The only water I’ve ever seen on our 212s was in the anchor locker which should be normal. Some day we will get caught in some rain and we’ll find out. Might have dealer check the bilge operation in the Spring.

 

[mrcleanr6]

im bummed, i hauled the boat out today so thats it for the season. i did confirm that the anchor light DOES NOT come on with the bilge pump. i tried with pumping water out automatically and with turning it on manually. i also confirmed that with both battery switches off, the bilge pump does still work. this is for 2021. im not sure if its the same on the 25's and below. in the 2020 275 the manual says it works only when battery switches are on.

now for the anchor locker drain leak. i really didnt want the dealer messing with it even though they said they would. i just dont think it would be done in the proper way. i am posting pics below. it took some digging but i found a very small 3/8" stainless thru-hull fitting. this is a direct replacement for the yamaha plastic drain fitting. the OD is exactly the same so no drilling is required. i pulled the plastic out, applied some silicone and slid the new thru-hull right in and put the nut on the inside. the length was exactly correct also. i found the fitting on amazon but i must have gotten the last one because the link now takes me to the 1/2" version which is too big. 3/8" is what you want

 

[Faraim97]

How long is the fitting?