Advice on buying first jet boat

[TimmyH]

I've been a boat owner for years but getting jet boat. I like Yam, Scarab, Vortex, all have their benefits, but leaning towards scarab mainly because how back seats adjust to sun pad for my wife. I found some decent deals, a sweet deal on a 2014 and 2019. Both are ID models, but I remember reading some issues with the 2014s. Being 6 years old, it's in cosmetic great shape, but should I stay away from this model year?

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

How many hours? There were some issues... but presumably a boater who has ran it for a while would have solved these. It was stuff like clamps (still an issue at times), misalignment of the shaft through the carbon seal (would probably be an issue by now), etc. If the owner has a decent number of hours on it, I wouldn't worry too much about those issues. But like you said, definitely make sure to consider all the brands. As you said, pros and cons for all. I'm no Scarab fanatic, but I do love mine. Every boat can have issues, especially if it's not maintained well. So in conclusion, no, I wouldn't shy away at this point. Those issues (if they existed) are most likely gone by now.

 

[TimmyH]

How many hours? There were some issues... but presumably a boater who has ran it for a while would have solved these. It was stuff like clamps (still an issue at times), misalignment of the shaft through the carbon seal (would probably be an issue by now), etc. If the owner has a decent number of hours on it, I wouldn't worry too much about those issues. But like you said, definitely make sure to consider all the brands. As you said, pros and cons for all. I'm no Scarab fanatic, but I do love mine. Every boat can have issues, especially if it's not maintained well. So in conclusion, no, I wouldn't shy away at this point. Those issues (if they existed) are most likely gone by now.

146 on the 2014 which I can get for $21k, 26 hours on the 2019 for $30k

I'm still considering a new Yami SX190, love the roominess and storage, but dealer prep/freight is a killer. Ugh. I don't like lack of warante when buying used private party but both of these seem like good deals

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

This is the very definition of a first world problem lol. But I hear ya! With 146h, I wouldn't shy away from it because of potential early on issues. In my opinion, they would have been resolved by now. I have about 144h on mine, 2015 model. With the usual maintenance AND making sure ALL hose clamps are tight at the end of every year, she's been purring the whole time. I haven't had any issues with the engine, etc. I do my own maintenance on it... easy to do even with limited knowledge.

Good luck pondering this decision!

 

[Compatico]

I've been a boat owner for years but getting jet boat. I like Yam, Scarab, Vortex, all have their benefits, but leaning towards scarab mainly because how back seats adjust to sun pad for my wife. I found some decent deals, a sweet deal on a 2014 and 2019. Both are ID models, but I remember reading some issues with the 2014s. Being 6 years old, it's in cosmetic great shape, but should I stay away from this model year?

Personally I think in-person experience is the only way for you to really decide. You can ask for suggestions, but those are biased.

We really liked the Scarab models when we looked at them online as they have sex appeal and the colour combo options worked for my wife, until we actually sat in them. NOTE this was the 2017 MY we checked out. We found the convertible sunpad had pokey hinges which made it less than ideal. It's a good idea, but we felt it was not implemented well and not padded enough. The captain's arm rest was a plastic afterthought and mounted too high to hold the throttles comfortably. The back-swept tower and bimini poles was a fail for us. Bow too narrow for the size of the boat. Dealer was ok we thought, but it wasn't for us.

The Vortex line has really nice fit and finish mostly, with sturdy hinges and clean design. But the lack of co-captain's chair was a fail, and after a test drive where the throttle-by-wire failed three times, we had reliability concerns. Two dealers who didn't know a bolt from a nut was the clincher and we had to cross them off the list as we all want a dealer within range who knows what the heck their doing. That's not a ding against Chaparral, but the dealers.

It's little things but sometimes the little things are what make the experience more enjoyable. Overall they're very similar between Scarab, Vortex, and Yamaha, and they all have issues of some kind. You just need to find what works for YOU. Think of it like buying a new vehicle, there's lots of options out there - why doesn't everyone buy the same car/truck/SUV? Because what I want isn't what you want. In the end you need to weigh the cost to value ratio for what YOU want. Buying used just adds more headaches.

 

[TimmyH]

I decided to go new and get a 2020 Yam SX190. The Scarab was cosmetically nice but had a few issues I didnt want to deal with

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Welcome to the club!

 

[W3bexec]

I looked at both Scarab and Yammy. Admittedly, I only looked at one Scarab at one dealer but what I saw turned me off bigtime. The boat looked awesome from a few feet back. Up close... off axis gauges, switches, and other controls. Misaligned hatches and seats. Missing screws. Stuff like that. Just overall bad production quality. I had no idea why they even shipped the unit I looked at to the dealer.

 

[pmustico]

I decided to go new and get a 2020 Yam SX190. The Scarab was cosmetically nice but had a few issues I didnt want to deal with

Welcome! 210 FSH owner here. Love it! The firm is about opinions and some facts.you made the best choice for you! Good going. No regrets.