210FSH vs Hybrid 211 vs Masters 227

[RockyHill]

Howdy Y'all,

I probably have greater than 150 hours of research on the fsh and about the same on the Nauticstar Hybrid 211 and Sportsman Masters 227. I have really started to lean towards the FSH. Has anyone had the other boats or been around them and can offer a direct comparison? A compare and contrast from others would be great to make sure I am making the right decision. Things like quality, fit and finish, features, performance, ride and comfort, etc.

One specific worry I have is the lack of trim on the FSH. I can't help but think that in some situation on the water, the lack of trim to pitch the boat up or down will be sorely missed. I have read threads saying otherwise but more comments on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brandon

 

[Scottintexas]

450 hours in research, It seems you're approaching this in classic Aggie engineering style;

Have you owned a boat before?
Where will you primarily be fishing?
What type of fishing will you primarily be doing?

Have you had a chance to ride an any of them yet? I don't have an answer for your question but strongly urge you to get a test ride before you buy any of them.

 

[RockyHill]

450 hours in research, It seems you're approaching this in classic Aggie engineering style;

Have you owned a boat before?
Where will you primarily be fishing?
What type of fishing will you primarily be doing?

Have you had a chance to ride an any of them yet? I don't have an answer for your question but strongly urge you to get a test ride before you buy any of them.

Ha! I would say I just have a lot of downtime while traveling sitting in the airport/hotel.

Had a boat since I was 13, so 14 years now. Fishing all of central/south Texas lakes and coast. Freshwater would be on the trolling motor for bass and saltwater would be drift or anchored in the bays, with the occasional trip to the rigs. I assume when going to the rigs I would troll, which seems to be a downfall of the FSH.

p.s. you most likely have the best tow rig on this site.

 

[Speedling]

I would install trim tabs for the trim aspect.

 

[Liveto99]

If your only worried about the tabs just install them. @Foobar did a great write up on his, mine will go on this spring when I get my boat up from Fl.

 

[RockyHill]

Trim tabs don't do the same thing as trimming the outboard.

Went to the San Antonio Boat show today. The only boat I was disappointed in was the FSH. It was a joke for 50k IMO. The fit and finish just wasn't there. Just seemed cheap, and at 50k, I don't want it to feel cheap.

Also looked at the Nauticstar 231 and 211 hybrid, Scarab 255 open and 195 open, Sportsman Masters 227, and a few other non center console boats. The scarab was definitely better fit and finish. Features were there and the power was there. They also promise a 215 open will be out 2020 but can't say if it'll be duals. The masters was a nice bay boat, but not the hybrid i'm looking for. A very nice boat though. The nauticstar 231 and 211 hybrid was the best boat in the show I think. Also received the approval from the other half so that shoots it up the list quick (although she liked the scarab 195 ID the most, and i can't blame her, good looking boat.)

At this point it's an easy choice for the 231 hybrid. Hoping the layout on the 215 open will be a mix of the 195 and 255 and that would be perfect. Also hoping yamaha makes so changes to their manufacturing and makes the 2020 210 in to a competitor because right now there's no way i'd buy it. The great thing about boat shows is seeing them all side by side.

 

[Liveto99]

But the Yamaha will still be worth $20,000 10 years from now. And will be running long after the Scarab is junked.
Just my $.02

 

[RockyHill]

Care to elaborate? What parts of the scarabs are junk? Why is the yamaha better? The scarab sure looks a hell of a lot better when new.

 

[Ancient canoe]

A lot of the older Yamaha's have really held their value well. That's in part because a lot of the early Yamaha's were bargained priced and you were getting a lot of value for your buck. Newer Yamahas aren't value priced any more.

Scarabs seem to lap Yamaha on the style department but they generally cost more as well. A 215 open will cost significantly more than the FSH though. At least the MSRP will be significantly higher. I have no idea how far down from MSRP dealers will go on Scarabs.

 

[RockyHill]

A lot of the older Yamaha's have really held their value well. That's in part because a lot of the early Yamaha's were bargained priced and you were getting a lot of value for your buck. Newer Yamahas aren't value priced any more.

Scarabs seem to lap Yamaha on the style department but they generally cost more as well. A 215 open will cost significantly more than the FSH though. At least the MSRP will be significantly higher. I have no idea how far down from MSRP dealers will go on Scarabs.

I agree. If they do have a 215, most likely it'll be duals and be mid 60's. Thanks for the insight on the yamaha value.

 

[swatski]

I agree. If they do have a 215, most likely it'll be duals and be mid 60's. Thanks for the insight on the yamaha value.

Speaking of Yamaha value, what I see is a lot depends on a model: budget models SX, AR tend to still hold their value ridiculously well. But a 20-30k upgrade to top-of-the-line X will be associated with depreciation that seems a bit more pronounced.

Scarab has come a along way from theur 2014 debiut - when the first year of production jet boats had a chock-full of issues. You don’t hear about many issues with the newer Model Years. And their fit and finish is better than Yamaha for sure.

The other thing to consider though is the service, which has been a little bit more tricky with BRP products, and Rotax engines are not serviced by every mechanic or boat dealer, unlike Yamaha.

—

 

[RockyHill]

Speaking of Yamaha value, what I see is a lot depends on a model: budget models SX, AR tend to still hold their value ridiculously well. But a 20-30k upgrade to top-of-the-line X will be associated with depreciation that seems a bit more pronounced.

Scarab has come a along way from theur 2014 debiut - when the first year of production jet boats had a chock-full of issues. You don’t hear about many issues with the newer Model Years. And their fit and finish is better than Yamaha for sure.

The other thing to consider though is the service, which has been a little bit more tricky with BRP products, and Rotax engines are not serviced by every mechanic or boat dealer, unlike Yamaha.

—

Good points. Especially on the service. Next steps would be going to dealers and checking out their service departments.

 

[jocolo21]

And careful with the carbon seals, this is how BRP seals the watert from coming into the hull if the engine mount is misaligned, started for too long outy of the water or just not properly looked after, this will happen,

 

[Liveto99]

It was a bit of opinion mixed with the fact that Yamaha‘s last a long time. They have a proven history.
Just like Toyota
You can buy a 2000 Ford Explorer around here for $100 to $ 500 most go to the junkyard.
The 2000 4runners are still $5000 with double the mileage on it then the Ford.

If you have limited funds and we’re buying a used boat with equal hours one had a 2000 250 OMC outboard on it and the other had a 2000 Yamaha 250 outboard on it what one would you buy?

If you finance it through Yamaha credit the payments will end15 years from now what will the boat be worth will it still run?

 

[RockyHill]

I would make the comparison of the fsh more to the dodge truck. The powertrain is good and people will brag about it but it still looks bad and doesn't have the QC that ford/toyota have. Like i said, my thinking now the is nauticstar hybrid powered with a yamaha (because their powertrain is better).

To each their own, just offering my opinion.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

SeaDoo boats have held there value don’t understand why we think Scarab would not. With Scarab I think it’s just more important to buy right up front and we’ll under MSRP as that is where you’ll see the difference IMO. With Yamaha the imbalance in what people pay has a much less variance.

 

[Liveto99]

I love this place! People can all have there own opinion and discuss it nicely.
Just because you have a Scarab and I have a Yamaha does not mean we can’t all stare at the topless woman at the sandbar together.
And the girl with the SeaDoo she can raft up and look also.

 

[Foobar]

There was a very noticeable difference with trim tabs installed on my 210 FSH. Maybe people notice less with the manual control, but the auto control is super nice.

 

[Liveto99]

I got your setup with the auto, but 12”by 12” bent down. They were in stock that’s y. Will try them out more first week of the year