212X or 203 VRX

[packattack12]

Hi all,

New to the forum but love the info so far. Looking at buying a Yammie 212x or the Chap 203 VRX in the next couple months. In terms of basics, obviously curious how big a deal the clean out ports will be (or lack there of) and only having a single 250 Rotax on the Chap as opposed to the twin 150s on the 212x? Not too concerned about the closed loop vs open loop as I'll be in freshwater only. Also curious from past experience if the Chap is worth spending the extra $5-7k when the yamaha has almost identical features?


Leaning toward the Yamaha for the bang for the buck but the appeal of the VRX is also super attractive. Just looking for some thoughts. I'll be doing most of the boating on the chain up in northern IL/ lake geneva area so any advice would be great.

 

[Bryan mazanec]

I have a chap 243, one day boating made friends with a Yamaha owner and we checked out each others boats. He said he liked the easy passage from the rear, and that my boat had better insulation (not coming loose after limited use). I checked out his and liked the interior layout but I felt really low in the boat, and the back seating area felt more constricted. Both look great and have advantages. I would spend time on each and see what feels better/has more features you are looking for.

 

[Bruce]

Do you want a boat that spends it's time on the water or one that lives in the shop?

Chaps seem to be the best built, best supported and most reliable of the BRP powered jetboats but there have been so many issues with BRP powered jet boats.

Occasionally Yamaha builds a boat with issues but for the vast majority the drivetrains are rock solid.

Yamaha is not big on releasing horsepower numbers but the 1.8 liter engines in the 190, 212 and 240 models are generall considered to be 180 HP.

 

[BobJohnson]

@packattack12 ( having hard time with typing that name. Go Bears! )

I have a chap 223vr and boat on the chain. We looked at both Yamaha and chap.
To me the chap was more solidly built. Fit and finish as they say.

My wife really wanted a open pass thu from swim platform. Chap has this. Yamaha had a bigger hump to get over. Not huge issue, but Chap made wife happy in this regard.

Sitting in the Yamaha we felt lower or more closed in than in the Chap.

The BRP engines and jet pump are very reliable. Scarab boats which also BRP Engines have had many issues. But from what I can tell from reading here, all these issues come from how scarab incorporated the engines into the boats. The BRP engines are very reliable. Yamahas make their engines and boats. I really like that. So, this was kind of a push for me. Either way ok.

Yamaha has history. Great history. Many more owners with knowledge of the boats. Just having that knowledge base out there in the world is very valuable.

I would love clean out plugs, but decided they were not worth all the other positives of the Chap. When I made the buying decision.

Now - about the chain o' lakes and the boat. The chain has weeds. Not really a problem unless you get in one of the side channels late in the summer when the weeds get chopped up, float and sit in the channels. I have my boat at Sequoit harbor off lake Marie. In August this year, ever time I left the channel my intake grates got clogged up with weeds. But I was able to clear the weeds by doing the reverse maneuver. Some times they were a little more stubborn and I had to reach under while at a sand bar. Talking to a Yamaha guy at the lake one day, and he told me that his grates got clogged too. But it was easier for him to clean his grates from in the water than using his plugs. Said couldn't really reach that far.

Don't let my weed talk discouraged you from either model. The weeds are really only an issue late in the summer and only in not heavily used areas of the lakes.

Let me know of any other ?'s. @davel501 and @Devildog are a couple Yamaha owners on the chain. If they see this, maybe they can chime in.

I vote for Chaparral. Want to see more of my boats sisters out there.

 

[packattack12]

Appreciate the feedback guys. I thought the Chap was also better built but that would be the only advantage I would give it over the Yamaha. Sounds like the plugs help but aren't a lifesaver. I'll most likely be buying used so that might come into play as well as I've seen a ton of Yammies and limited inventory on the VRX's. That could change with the season nearly over but i might be finding a 212 for much cheaper than a 203 VRX as well.

 

[swatski]

@packattack12 I would definitely try to drive one or two of these boats before pulling the trigger. Especially if you are coming from conventional o/b, i/o. For me the sound and the sound level were the two biggest surprises (negative).

Needless to say, didn't stop me. In fact, I'm hooked on jet propulsion.

 

[Speedling]

@packattack12 I would definitely try to drive one or two of these boats before pulling the trigger. Especially if you are coming from conventional o/b, i/o. For me the sound and the sound level were the two biggest surprises (negative).

Needless to say, didn't stop me. In fact, I'm hooked on jet propulsion.

Which always leads me to wonder why not a v8 jet in a nice chap/yami package?

 

[swatski]

Which always leads me to wonder why not a v8 jet in a nice chap/yami package?

I know... Any they know how to make those engines both powerful AND quiet as in their large outboards. Price it is.

 

[Devildog]

@packattack12 ( having hard time with typing that name. Go Bears! )

I have a chap 223vr and boat on the chain. We looked at both Yamaha and chap.
To me the chap was more solidly built. Fit and finish as they say.

My wife really wanted a open pass thu from swim platform. Chap has this. Yamaha had a bigger hump to get over. Not huge issue, but Chap made wife happy in this regard.

Sitting in the Yamaha we felt lower or more closed in than in the Chap.

The BRP engines and jet pump are very reliable. Scarab boats which also BRP Engines have had many issues. But from what I can tell from reading here, all these issues come from how scarab incorporated the engines into the boats. The BRP engines are very reliable. Yamahas make their engines and boats. I really like that. So, this was kind of a push for me. Either way ok.

Yamaha has history. Great history. Many more owners with knowledge of the boats. Just having that knowledge base out there in the world is very valuable.

I would love clean out plugs, but decided they were not worth all the other positives of the Chap. When I made the buying decision.

Now - about the chain o' lakes and the boat. The chain has weeds. Not really a problem unless you get in one of the side channels late in the summer when the weeds get chopped up, float and sit in the channels. I have my boat at Sequoit harbor off lake Marie. In August this year, ever time I left the channel my intake grates got clogged up with weeds. But I was able to clear the weeds by doing the reverse maneuver. Some times they were a little more stubborn and I had to reach under while at a sand bar. Talking to a Yamaha guy at the lake one day, and he told me that his grates got clogged too. But it was easier for him to clean his grates from in the water than using his plugs. Said couldn't really reach that far.

Don't let my weed talk discouraged you from either model. The weeds are really only an issue late in the summer and only in not heavily used areas of the lakes.

Let me know of any other ?'s. @davel501 and @Devildog are a couple Yamaha owners on the chain. If they see this, maybe they can chime in.

I vote for Chaparral. Want to see more of my boats sisters out there.

I have a Yamaha SX240 and have enjoyed it on the Chain. The Chaps sure look awesome and have heard similar things that the quality is a tick above the Yamaha. Once I saw the Yamaha, I was sold and I did not even consider the Chap.

I have never had an engine clog with weeds, etc., so I can't comment on this......but I do feel confident that when this does happen, I have the option of not having jumping into the water to clear out the clog.

I don't think that you can go wrong with either model. I have been very happy with my Yamaha purchase this year. Good luck and maybe we can catch up next year. I keep my boat on the no-wake channel between Lake Marie and Channel Lake at Webb's Marina.

 

[packattack12]

Thanks guys. Seems like I can't really make a poor choice which is a good problem to have. Hopefully with the season ending some of the 16' inventory will be slightly marked down and I can score a sweet deal.

@Devildog @BobJohnson hows the maintenance on the VR and Ar240?

 

[BobJohnson]

Knock on wood, maintenance has been a non issue. Did my own oil and filter change in spring, and very simple. In the future, when needed, antifreeze change looks to be simple also from the videos I've seen. Winterization is a matter of cleaning, running engines to clear water from exhaust (I actually this year also pumped RV antifreeze through the exhaust system, but this is just extra safety) and pulling batteries.

 

[swatski]

Thanks guys. Seems like I can't really make a poor choice which is a good problem to have. Hopefully with the season ending some of the 16' inventory will be slightly marked down and I can score a sweet deal.

@Devildog @BobJohnson hows the maintenance on the VR and Ar240?

Ten hour service is oil, filter, check spark pugs, pump some grease into the intermediate bearing housing. All well documented here are really easy.
I like to take my time and take hours doing it, but it is just kind of fun.

I spray lubricants and 303 everywhere. The trailer comes in completely dry - its a shame, needs proper lubrication EVERYWHERE.
If you buy the boat new - wax the hell out of that new hull - before you put it in the water. You will be very surprised how much wax that new gel coat sucks in. It helps a lot to keep it clean in the long run.

--

 

[Devildog]

Thanks guys. Seems like I can't really make a poor choice which is a good problem to have. Hopefully with the season ending some of the 16' inventory will be slightly marked down and I can score a sweet deal.

@Devildog @BobJohnson hows the maintenance on the VR and Ar240?

My Yamaha was brand new, so didn't have to do much maintenance this year. Except Boat Bling'ing the interior and boat cover on a regular basis, cleaning the exterior and adding the fuel additive stuff. Unlike Bob, I am not comfortable winterizing the boat, so I had the marina do it. It wasn't cheap ($250 per engine), so I plan to look at some other winterizing options next year. I did pull my batteries .....had to create a schematic based on all of the wires that were attached to each battery.

For next year, I do plan to keep a closer eye on everything from a maintenance perspective. And use this site to help with some of this.

Also wanted to mention that I did not buy my boat at our local Yamaha Dealer in Lake Villa. A frustrating experience, so I went up to the guys in Oshkosh and had a much better experience. It was a pain to drive the extra distance, but they comp'd an extra discount for me to balance out the extra gas $$, etc.

Good luck!!

 

[packattack12]

@Devildog I had the same not so great experience with Nielsen. Didn't really treat me as a customer. Which is fine I'm more than happy giving my business elsewhere. They also told me I'd need to be doing oil changes every 15-20 hours which I thought was somewhat frequent. Took it with a grain of salt after listening to everything else they said.

 

[Micah Thompson]

Above all else, be sure you do a proper demo of both boats. High speed, out of the hole, cornering, slow speeds, reverse, dock maneuvers, etc. I was just recently in the same boat (hah!), and the two brands, although similar, feel very different in just about every way. Both are very good in many ways, yet there are distinct differences too.

A few things I haven't seen mentioned. The VRX 203 is available with twin 150hp non-supercharged engines as an option, which I'd personally pick over the single 250 option. Also, all Vortex boats have full electronic, throttle by wire, with full twin-engine synchronization, true GPS speed control, acceleration profiles (iST), etc. You have to go way up to the Yamaha E-Series to get that, even on the 2017 models.

You can get all the feedback in the world, but until you drive them, you won't know. My experience on the water was way different than I expected, based on what I'd read. Don't buy one without demoing both.

 

[Bryan mazanec]

Another thing to consider is, dealer support for warranty repairs. I'm experiencing this now, I live in Tampa and got my boat in North Carolina. I have o2 sensor issues now and the local chap dealer won't work with me as I didn't buy the boat from them. The next closest dealer is Orlando so I will have to drive 400 miles round trip to resolve my issues. Love my chap, really disappointed over the owner support/network they have here in Tampa.

 

[Devildog]

Another thing to consider is, dealer support for warranty repairs. I'm experiencing this now, I live in Tampa and got my boat in North Carolina. I have o2 sensor issues now and the local chap dealer won't work with me as I didn't buy the boat from them. The next closest dealer is Orlando so I will have to drive 400 miles round trip to resolve my issues. Love my chap, really disappointed over the owner support/network they have here in Tampa.

That's insane Bryan. I can't believe that your local dealer won't work with you. That warrants a call to someone higher up in the food chain at Chap.

@packattack12......I have had no local issues with what Bryan is talking about. Even though I had issues with the local Lake Villa Yamaha dealer and bought elsewhere, they have been okay to work with. I had a small issue with my bimini and they helped explain the problem and how to overcome it. They did ask me where I bought the boat and I was very honest with them on where I bought it and why.

 

[Bryan mazanec]

That's insane Bryan. I can't believe that your local dealer won't work with you. That warrants a call to someone higher up in the food chain at Chap.

@packattack12......I have had no local issues with what Bryan is talking about. Even though I had issues with the local Lake Villa Yamaha dealer and bought elsewhere, they have been okay to work with. I had a small issue with my bimini and they helped explain the problem and how to overcome it. They did ask me where I bought the boat and I was very honest with them on where I bought it and why.

I did escalate to customer service. The first issue was port speakers not working. Local dealer told me "you're not our priority since you didn't buy the boat from us" so chap paid to have an independent stereo company fix the boat. Regarding these sensors now, I asked to have chap lean on the local dealer and I was told I t would be better for me to take it to Orlando as opposed to local which I could have gotten to on the water.

 

[Devildog]

I did escalate to customer service. The first issue was port speakers not working. Local dealer told me "you're not our priority since you didn't buy the boat from us" so chap paid to have an independent stereo company fix the boat. Regarding these sensors now, I asked to have chap lean on the local dealer and I was told I t would be better for me to take it to Orlando as opposed to local which I could have gotten to on the water.

Well, that just stinks that you have deal with all of that. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if you are a dealer of any brand, then you are the face of that brand. I know that these dealers have to compete against one another, but to make you go out of your way to get warranty service is just bad business.

 

[McMark]

I've had a Yamaha dealer tell me when I was shopping for my boat that buying from them gets you bumped to the front for any work done over folks that didn't buy the boat there.

I also had a Chap dealer refuse to inspect my trailer since I didn't buy a boat from them.

What business turns down money?