Bigger or newer?

[OrangeTJ]

This may be too far out in left field, but for the use you described, if it were me, I'd be looking hard at a 22' pontoon or tritoon with maybe a 150 or 200 hp outboard. Those are very hard to beat for the use you're talking about. Smooooooth ride, nearly silent engine, the most possible space, lots of shade, etc.. Just a thought.

 

[OCMD]

Assuming this one is in good shape, this is a great buy for a great boat. From the other forum

Yamaha Jet Boaters • View topic - For sale 2008 SX230HO

yamahajetboaters.com

 

[Waterjet]

I had to make a similar choice a few years ago. Although I wanted the 23/24 foot model (room and head compartment), I ended up searching out of my local area (17 hours away) for a newer but smaller boat (2014 212x). The power out of this thing is insane and other boat owners laugh the entire time they are with me.

We usually have 7-9 people every time we go out and don’t have any problems with room. The larger lakes around here put out some serious chop which reduce my speeds to about 35, so I do sometimes wonder if a 23/24 would handle the waves much better.

I agree with the others in that it is personal preference and you should try to get some time on both. Don’t be afraid to shop around and go some distance.

 

[jEt_jAk]

Depends on your needs. For me I do not want any bigger as the AR195 is the biggest and fastest that will fit in my garage, and I am really not interested in remote storage.

Secondly, I prefer the smaller/sportier feel. Coming from a Scarab 165 16ft boat that thing was a blast to drive, but a bit TOO small even for me. The 195 is not quite as nimble, but close.

 

[gthh]

If you were talking about an '07 or later (award winning design changes) I would say "older" but with the '11 you will have the benefits of proven design and engineering (motor and Hull) that you can't ignore.

Plus keep in mind that both are deck boats designed to pull skiers & toys around bodies of water with enough room for 6 to 8 people to enjoy the water any more and you would be better off getting a Pontoon PARTY boat. So, in my opinion I'd go with the AR210

 

[BlkGS]

I may be biased, but I say bigger.

When I was looking for my first boat (and only), I started off looking at 18nfoot seadoos. They were inexpensive, and seemed like a good size for us (keep in mind, the seadoos are a bit better on space so it's probably closer to a 20' Yamaha). We got aboard a few, and while the space was OK, it wasn't great. We have no kids, but do bring groups of friends fairy often. That means a couple coolers, bags, etc. On the 23, we often wish for more space. With anything smaller, we would be unhappy. We typically limit ourself to groups of 6 to 8 people on the 23, the space works out about right then.

Regarding pontoons... We rented them extensively prior to buying our boat. They're fun, and the space is nice. We have several friends with pontoons. That said, they weren't for us, the price point to get what we would Want in one was far less attractive, and the capability of them is lower. While it'd be easier to social dock at the sandbar on our lake in one, we don't regret going jet vs pontoon. We have been out on our lake a few times when pop up storms approached, and we're able to speed back to the marina and be drydocked before the storm hits. In a pontoon, you're just gonna have to ride it out (been there done that on friends boat - it is more not fun then heading back in a little early to avoid weather.

I don't know what your budget is like,, but if I was doing it over again, and was willing to nearly double my budget, I would seriously look at the 21 and 23 foot seadoos. They're not as reliable as the Yamaha, but their space usage is better, so a 21 foot seadoo is about the same in space as a 23 foot Yamaha (we lose a lot of length to have clean out ports and a swim platform, the seadoos have much smaller swim platforms and a ni e rear sunpad instead). Those were still in the 40k range when I was buying, and rare. We wanted a non supercharged boat for easier maintenance, which eliminated the seadoos 23 foot, and made finding a 21 foot hard.

 

[shrivel]

Newer is temporary, bigger is permanent.

 

[Ronnie]

Avoid the 2foot-it-is virus for a little longer, buy bigger instead of newer.

 

[John83]

I disagree with this statement. If you've never been boating before, you have no idea what you want in your second boat, you barely think you know what you want in your first boat. It gives little to no good advice other than perhaps insinuating that the majority of people go larger on the second one. A better saying would, IMO, be....."You rarely hear people say 'I wish I had a smaller boat' ", or "You rarely hear people say 'I wish I got the smaller motor' ".

We're on our second boat, and it's actually the same length as our first. The big changes for us were propulsion system, fuel injection, lower maintenance, and a generally improved layout. We had ZERO idea that any of those things were even remotely on the list of items to consider when we bought the first one. We're still not even sure what we want for a 3rd boat. I like the idea of a 212X (for the twin 1.8's in a 21ft), but I would have to raise the header in the garage, or store offsite. If we're storing offsite, might as well get the larger 242SE (large bimini and E-Throttles, I don't want the wake stuff really). But this is more of a storage consideration than anything.

@Grown Azz Kid I would probably get the 210 in your case. I like the 1.8L engines over the smaller MR1's. Not quite as many revs, but similar real world performance. I kinda like the look of that 210 over the older 230's as well. Completely personal preference there, I think either will suit your wants just fine.

I disagree with this statement. If you've never been boating before, you have no idea what you want in your second boat, you barely think you know what you want in your first boat. It gives little to no good advice other than perhaps insinuating that the majority of people go larger on the second one. A better saying would, IMO, be....."You rarely hear people say 'I wish I had a smaller boat' ", or "You rarely hear people say 'I wish I got the smaller motor' ".

We're on our second boat, and it's actually the same length as our first. The big changes for us were propulsion system, fuel injection, lower maintenance, and a generally improved layout. We had ZERO idea that any of those things were even remotely on the list of items to consider when we bought the first one. We're still not even sure what we want for a 3rd boat. I like the idea of a 212X (for the twin 1.8's in a 21ft), but I would have to raise the header in the garage, or store offsite. If we're storing offsite, might as well get the larger 242SE (large bimini and E-Throttles, I don't want the wake stuff really). But this is more of a storage consideration than anything.

@Grown Azz Kid I would probably get the 210 in your case. I like the 1.8L engines over the smaller MR1's. Not quite as many revs, but similar real world performance. I kinda like the look of that 210 over the older 230's as well. Completely personal preference there, I think either will suit your wants just fine.

Look at the 212s,21' with the 1.8l motors without the wake series.

 

[gwrace1]

We are on our third boat. The previous two were 2 cycle engines. 200+HP outboards. For a family of 4 the 19-20 foot size works really well. Easy to tow, easy to store. Also loving the 4 cycle modern engine and simpler jet pump drive train. Blast to drive.