2kwik4u
Jetboaters Fleet Admiral
- Messages
- 7,593
- Reaction score
- 9,954
- Points
- 562
- Location
- Buffalo, NY
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2017
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 19
This ended up being longer than I anticipated TL;DR at the bottom.
So, we've been boating with our 2017 AR190 since new. Bought in early 2017, and used it all that season. It's been an amazing little boat for us. Handles the family of four really well. It's cheap to own, operate, tow, and store. We've largely been inland lake boaters on smaller lakes in the southeast/Midwest. Southern IN, KY region with vacations to places like Destin, FL, Douglas Lake, TN, Old Hickory Lake, TN, and St. Augustine FL. We moved to Buffalo, NY this summer, and have had the boat out on Lake Erie a few times, as well as Chautauqua Lake twice now.
We are having some REALLY mixed results with these northern lakes. They're much different than what we're used to in terms of shape/size. Obviously Lake Erie is absurdly HUGE compared to the little ponds we used to spend time on. Chautauqua Lake is also an anomaly to us, as it's not overly large, but it's straight and relatively wide. I'm sure that's a function of it being a glacier formed lake, not a man made dammed reservoir. We're finding we're just getting beat to dammit on these lakes with waves and wakes. There's nowhere to "take shelter" from the main lake like we were used to. Previously we might have some rough going getting to the favorite cove/anchor spot, but once there is was relatively still and easy to deal with. Up here, there's no escaping other boats wakes and the wind appears to never stop, creating a constant battle to find "smooth" water. I don't know how any one does watersports up here unless you're on the water at sunrise, even then it feels like it's likely too choppy/wavy to do much of anything.
SO, yesterday was kind of the "final straw" for us. We launched at Buffalo Harbor and went north up the Niagara River. Total route was ~10mi from launch to where we found a spot to anchor. We were absolutely beat to dammit due to water conditions. We never felt in danger, but it certainly wasn't a comfortable ride at much of any level. I have no idea how big the waves were, or how much the current is around that area, but I couldn't find a speed on plane that wouldn't just pound the boat and passengers. When we dropped back to idle speed, we had a few times where the waves were large enough that the rub rail on the nose of the boat was near the waterline. I don't think it was a traffic issue, but just a "this is what the waters like up here" issue.
We're near the end of the season, so finding a solution isn't an emergency. If I was a betting man, we likely only have 1-2 more outings this year, and we want to explore a few other local area lakes before the cold sets in. Doubt we'll be back on Lake Erie/Niagara River again until we find something different to do with the boat. The new house is ~6mi from the ramp to get onto Lake Erie. Would really like to find a way to capitalize on that proximity to water with a solution that lets us get out more often in the summer, especially considering the relatively short season up here.
Do I need to look at trim tabs? I'm worried about scrubbing speed with them deployed, as coming back up river yesterday I was nearly full throttle (7.2k rpm) and only running about 25mph. Boat drops off plane at ~17mph or so, and while I know that goes lower with tabs deployed, I'm not a fan of running that close to the edge of capability. Would trim tabs keep the bow more "tucked" in heavy wavy water like this? Would it make any appreciable difference in ride comfort? Ideally, I would keep the AR190 another few years until we really get sorted here, but if it's the wrong tool for the job all around, I'll move onto replacing it with something more appropriate. At this point, I think a boat upgrade might actually be the easier sell to the "finance committee chairwoman".
Do we need just go to a bigger boat? If so, how much bigger? We like the Yamaha's, but is something like an AR250 enough? Do we need to look at something with an OB, and a deeper vee shape with a flared bow? We're not trying to go out in storms, or honestly, even relatively windy conditions. Is a 255FSH a better option for ride quality over an AR250? I've been a SouthEast/MidWest boater my whole life, and have never really paid much attention to things like deadrise, freeboard, and specs like that, as it never really mattered much before. Goals are going to be something we can still "day boat" on. Not much watersports currently, but want to leave that as an option. Something with a tower (or hard top) is preferred. No idea on budget, as I have no idea what's out there, but not going to spend $250k on anything, honestly $100k would be a stretch I would rather not make. Don't mind used, especially if it's a Yamaha based solution. Still want to be towable, preferably with my current Q7 (7,700lb tow rating), I have no idea what direction to head here, aside from looking at the 25ft Yamaha's.
There you have friends. Help me choose the next step. I'm really looking for ideas and where to go from here. TIA!
TL;DR - We've moved from the SE to the NE and the water is "bigger" than I'm used to. it's beating us up. Do I mod the AR190, or replace. Please discuss and support your answer![Big Grin :D :D](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png)
So, we've been boating with our 2017 AR190 since new. Bought in early 2017, and used it all that season. It's been an amazing little boat for us. Handles the family of four really well. It's cheap to own, operate, tow, and store. We've largely been inland lake boaters on smaller lakes in the southeast/Midwest. Southern IN, KY region with vacations to places like Destin, FL, Douglas Lake, TN, Old Hickory Lake, TN, and St. Augustine FL. We moved to Buffalo, NY this summer, and have had the boat out on Lake Erie a few times, as well as Chautauqua Lake twice now.
We are having some REALLY mixed results with these northern lakes. They're much different than what we're used to in terms of shape/size. Obviously Lake Erie is absurdly HUGE compared to the little ponds we used to spend time on. Chautauqua Lake is also an anomaly to us, as it's not overly large, but it's straight and relatively wide. I'm sure that's a function of it being a glacier formed lake, not a man made dammed reservoir. We're finding we're just getting beat to dammit on these lakes with waves and wakes. There's nowhere to "take shelter" from the main lake like we were used to. Previously we might have some rough going getting to the favorite cove/anchor spot, but once there is was relatively still and easy to deal with. Up here, there's no escaping other boats wakes and the wind appears to never stop, creating a constant battle to find "smooth" water. I don't know how any one does watersports up here unless you're on the water at sunrise, even then it feels like it's likely too choppy/wavy to do much of anything.
SO, yesterday was kind of the "final straw" for us. We launched at Buffalo Harbor and went north up the Niagara River. Total route was ~10mi from launch to where we found a spot to anchor. We were absolutely beat to dammit due to water conditions. We never felt in danger, but it certainly wasn't a comfortable ride at much of any level. I have no idea how big the waves were, or how much the current is around that area, but I couldn't find a speed on plane that wouldn't just pound the boat and passengers. When we dropped back to idle speed, we had a few times where the waves were large enough that the rub rail on the nose of the boat was near the waterline. I don't think it was a traffic issue, but just a "this is what the waters like up here" issue.
We're near the end of the season, so finding a solution isn't an emergency. If I was a betting man, we likely only have 1-2 more outings this year, and we want to explore a few other local area lakes before the cold sets in. Doubt we'll be back on Lake Erie/Niagara River again until we find something different to do with the boat. The new house is ~6mi from the ramp to get onto Lake Erie. Would really like to find a way to capitalize on that proximity to water with a solution that lets us get out more often in the summer, especially considering the relatively short season up here.
Do I need to look at trim tabs? I'm worried about scrubbing speed with them deployed, as coming back up river yesterday I was nearly full throttle (7.2k rpm) and only running about 25mph. Boat drops off plane at ~17mph or so, and while I know that goes lower with tabs deployed, I'm not a fan of running that close to the edge of capability. Would trim tabs keep the bow more "tucked" in heavy wavy water like this? Would it make any appreciable difference in ride comfort? Ideally, I would keep the AR190 another few years until we really get sorted here, but if it's the wrong tool for the job all around, I'll move onto replacing it with something more appropriate. At this point, I think a boat upgrade might actually be the easier sell to the "finance committee chairwoman".
Do we need just go to a bigger boat? If so, how much bigger? We like the Yamaha's, but is something like an AR250 enough? Do we need to look at something with an OB, and a deeper vee shape with a flared bow? We're not trying to go out in storms, or honestly, even relatively windy conditions. Is a 255FSH a better option for ride quality over an AR250? I've been a SouthEast/MidWest boater my whole life, and have never really paid much attention to things like deadrise, freeboard, and specs like that, as it never really mattered much before. Goals are going to be something we can still "day boat" on. Not much watersports currently, but want to leave that as an option. Something with a tower (or hard top) is preferred. No idea on budget, as I have no idea what's out there, but not going to spend $250k on anything, honestly $100k would be a stretch I would rather not make. Don't mind used, especially if it's a Yamaha based solution. Still want to be towable, preferably with my current Q7 (7,700lb tow rating), I have no idea what direction to head here, aside from looking at the 25ft Yamaha's.
There you have friends. Help me choose the next step. I'm really looking for ideas and where to go from here. TIA!
TL;DR - We've moved from the SE to the NE and the water is "bigger" than I'm used to. it's beating us up. Do I mod the AR190, or replace. Please discuss and support your answer
![Big Grin :D :D](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png)