Bought my first boat! New 2019 212X Owner Joining Team JetBoaters

[slickstick]

I have been lurking here all summer learning and looking for "the one" and this place has been a lot of help for a rookie. I debated a Chaparral which is also a nice looking boat, but really like the redundancy of dual engines having been stranded on boats with engine problems way too many times already. The Yamaha engines seem to be among the most reliable as well. Wakesurfing seems fun to try, so the Yamaha's seemed like a no brainer. First I was looking at AR210s, but didn't want to have any regrets about missing out on the extra HP and the ballasts are a plus, so I set my eyes on a 212X.

A few deals got pulled out from under me but ended up finding a 2019 212X almost exactly 1 year old with 2 years extended warranty left, surf package, mooring cover, upgraded anchors, fenders, and a few other goodies. Found her on a Monday, put a deposit down Tuesday, flew to Chicago on Friday, bought her Saturday, and trailered her home to Orlando 1,200 miles by Sunday night. She's been at the Yamaha dealer since last Tuesday for the inspection/warranty transfer, and I've been feverishly buying the basic gear which has mostly arrived, except for some more life jackets which are on backorder (freakin' COVID...).

Boat came with a painted trailer - hoping to find someone with a galvanized to swap before I can't hold off any longer on dropping her into the salt. Here is a thread looking for a trade if anyone is interested, let me know: https://jetboaters.net/threads/want-to-trade-212x-painted-trailer-for-a-galvanized-trailer.29926

Wrap/graphics - I prefer the "dark" hull boats, but think some graphics to add more color would really set it off. Is it feasible to wrap the entire hull to where mine turns black? Not sure how low you can go and how it would hold up. Any recommendations on where/what to buy for those who have wrapped their boats? I'd love to see some examples.

Other Potential Mods - looks like the EZ Locks are a must. Stereo upgrades probably in my future, reviving my car stereo glory days. I like the idea of a fixed-mount VHF but is it worth it without a large antenna or is there any way to do a permanent antenna that isn't an eyesore?

Reading through the manual it says to cut engines when boarding the platform. It would seem pretty hard to get injured in the engines are in neutral. Does everyone else really cut the engines every time getting on/off the back? Seems like it would be a lot of unnecessary starting/stopping.

Probably more questions to come as I make my way through the manual, thanks for all the help! The forum has been great already, I'll try to give back as I get my sea legs (zing...).

 

[slickstick]

 

[mistercool88]

Nice, I just picked up a very similar boat a 2019 242X with one hour! So far only minor complaints.
As far as cutting engines it is not a hard choice better safe than sorry. Also the exhaust is dead center and the potential is there for an accident.
Only complaints I have are:
1) Small wave for surfing, I can add a extra ballast but I like the ability to sit on the back without draining a bag. Also my wife is goofy footed and we switch the wakebooster often.
2) Loud engine sound from engine compartment. I am sure this is due to 1.8L running at high RPM
Other than that the boat is great and I look forward to years of enjoyment. If there is something you have a question on this is the place to be. I have already had to trouble shoot a couple of issues.

 

[InmyElement]

Beautiful Boat...Congrats and now your part of the fastest of the fleet group!

This site will be very expensive for you and full of priceless insight.

I cut the engines every time someone is in and out.
1. I've sucked up a rope like many and when you do you get a real reminder of how powerful those impellers are and within a blink of an eye its wrapped up so tight I've had to cut it apart to get it off. I can't even imagine a child's life jacket strap, bathing suit accessory or even someones foot gets sucked up..its a no brainer. Some might argue, but I rather replace a starter every other year, before I even worry about the minute wear and tear from starting and stopping.
2. Obviously the exhaust fumes are big issue you can read up on that...
3. With jet boats your never really in "Neutral" so the boat is always moving and impellers are spinning which causes a little havic when someone is trying to lower the ladder or catch up to the boat after falling from a watersport and they want to board.
Hope this helps.
Happy Boating!

 

[mistercool88]

14 running hours in and I have sucked up a rope. SMH. Mind you I am not a noob to boats or skis.

 

[buckbuck]

@slickstick beautiful boat
But let me do something very unusual for us and tell you not to buy EZ Locks for your boat. You have the twist in type cleanouts and EZ Locks only work with the plunger type. Now I am sure we could come up with some other items to spend your excess money on.

 

[slickstick]

Nice, I just picked up a very similar boat a 2019 242X with one hour! So far only minor complaints.
As far as cutting engines it is not a hard choice better safe than sorry. Also the exhaust is dead center and the potential is there for an accident.
Only complaints I have are:
1) Small wave for surfing, I can add a extra ballast but I like the ability to sit on the back without draining a bag. Also my wife is goofy footed and we switch the wakebooster often.
2) Loud engine sound from engine compartment. I am sure this is due to 1.8L running at high RPM
Other than that the boat is great and I look forward to years of enjoyment. If there is something you have a question on this is the place to be. I have already had to trouble shoot a couple of issues.

Built in ballast with wakebooster and still not enough wake to surf? I will be disappointed.

I've definitely heard the noise becomes annoying, might be some sound deadening in my future as well.

 

[slickstick]

Beautiful Boat...Congrats and now your part of the fastest of the fleet group!

This site will be very expensive for you and full of priceless insight.

I cut the engines every time someone is in and out.
1. I've sucked up a rope like many and when you do you get a real reminder of how powerful those impellers are and within a blink of an eye its wrapped up so tight I've had to cut it apart to get it off. I can't even imagine a child's life jacket strap, bathing suit accessory or even someones foot gets sucked up..its a no brainer. Some might argue, but I rather replace a starter every other year, before I even worry about the minute wear and tear from starting and stopping.
2. Obviously the exhaust fumes are big issue you can read up on that...
3. With jet boats your never really in "Neutral" so the boat is always moving and impellers are spinning which causes a little havic when someone is trying to lower the ladder or catch up to the boat after falling from a watersport and they want to board.
Hope this helps.
Happy Boating!

Thank you! Yes I can see how this can quickly become an endless money pit

How exactly does the rope get sucked up typically, do you have to completely run it over or does the inlet in the bottom have enough force to pull it down if its on the surface close to/behind the rear deck?

 

[slickstick]

14 running hours in and I have sucked up a rope. SMH. Mind you I am not a noob to boats or skis.

Ah dang! Sounds like a common problem. Checkout my question above.

 

[slickstick]

@slickstick beautiful boat
But let me do something very unusual for us and tell you not to buy EZ Locks for your boat. You have the twist in type cleanouts and EZ Locks only work with the plunger type. Now I am sure we could come up with some other items to spend your excess money on.

Thank you!

Good to know, I didn't finish watching the video to learn all the nuances. Happy to hear I have a redesign unit and should be good to know. Appreciate the heads up.

 

[slickstick]

How many people are really limiting themselves to 1,000 pounds (~5 people) on board with the ballasts full?

 

[slickstick]

Another seemingly oddball from the manual it talks about disconnecting the trailer lights before backing into the water. Are they not water proof? Anyone had issues with this?

 

[Miitch]

Another seemingly oddball from the manual it talks about disconnecting the trailer lights before backing into the water. Are they not water proof? Anyone had issues with this?

Well, nothing is "WATERPROOF", just water resistant to a certain extent. Im sure modern trailers/vehicles are fine, but there's always a small chance you could short something out. I always unplug mine. Just saves me the worrying.

Im not sure which trailer lights you have, but an old trick my Dad taught me is to just completely remove the bottom part of the brake lights. (to deliberately let water in). Reasoning behind is water will find its way in one way or another, so having a bigger hole just lets the water out quicker. I noticed on my trailer when i bought it, one of the lights had the bottom completely off (maybe lost by accident) while the other brake light was fully intact. Guess which one i ended up having corrosion issues with - the fully intact one. Because water would sit in there for longer.

Food for thought LOL. Most modern systems should be okay though.

 

[captras]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS turn the engines off when someone is in the water behind the boat! You never know what might happen. If a throttle is bumped, those jets could almost cut you in half.

And BTW, congrats on the new boat... she is a beauty!

 

[shnknapp]

Reading through the manual it says to cut engines when boarding the platform. It would seem pretty hard to get injured in the engines are in neutral. Does everyone else really cut the engines every time getting on/off the back? Seems like it would be a lot of unnecessary starting/stopping.

I agree with other, always cut the engines. My wife works at at a children's hospital and has seen some horrific injuries as well as two fatalities from the output of the jets on PWC.

 

[JetSet407]

Another seemingly oddball from the manual it talks about disconnecting the trailer lights before backing into the water. Are they not water proof? Anyone had issues with this?

Congrats on the new boat! I also live in Orlando so reach out if you have some questions or need suggestions of where to boat. I boat in salt water frequently and over 6 years and 2 Yamahas I've never disconnected the trailer lights. I rinse boat off when home and never had an issue. Definitely turn motor off when people are boarding. Ive had a couple ropes sucked up and it has to be literally next to the intake. I would designate someone to watch the rope and over emphasize the importance of the rope getting under the boat. It usually happens when someone isnt paying attention.

 

[JetSet407]

@slickstick Protip: Keep a sharp knife onboard your boat with a large long blade just in case. You'll need it one day.

 

[IvanRZB]

I hadn't heard of the disconnecting trailer plug when pulling in/out of the water. Seems like that would make it more likely for the dangling connector to dip into the water every time and have earlier corrosion.

One note on shutting down the engine: if you've been running the engines hard be sure to let them idle for a bit to cool off before shutting down. In other words, don't pull a tube for 30 minutes and then stop and shut down right away.

 

[Daren and Heather]

@slickstick, congrats, and great looking boat!

What everyone said here is spot-on so far; you don't need ez plugs, always turn engines off if you're walking away from the helm, and always keep a sharp knife on board... at some point you'll suck up a tow rope or dock line, and you will likely need to reach into the cleanout port and saw through it if it's wound around the impeller shaft (been there). TIP - You can minimize this risk with dock lines by cutting them shorter than the distance between your front cleat and the intake grates.

If you're a new boater, I would not recommend unplugging your trailer plug - I think it will cause you more issues than the risk of a burnt out bulb that is easy to replace. The reason is that your trailer plug is critical to going in reverse. Trailer breaks work as a result of part of the trailer tongue sliding back when there's pressure, to actuate the hydraulic brakes. This happens automatically anytime you break, the pressure from your vehicle slowing and the trailer tongue getting compressed, creates corresponding pressure that is applied to the trailer brakes. It would also happen if you backed up your vehicle in reverse, the trailer brakes would lock up - IF not for a signal from your vehicle which goes through the trailer plug when you're in reverse that tells the trailer brakes to not engage.

If you disconnect your trailer plug, but then try going in reverse, the trailer brakes will lock up. There is a manual way to disengage the trailer brakes for this purpose, a small clip that hangs off the side of your trailer tongue that can be put in... but then you need to do this every time, and also remember to REMOVE it when driving on the highway, or you will have NO trailer brakes.

Therefore, save yourself more potential headaches, by just leaving your trailer plug, plugged in.

I'm a first year boater like yourself. I was looking at your pictures and it looks like you've got the stock bow roller, and no steering upgrades. In my opinion, the most valuable first upgrades to me as a new boater were in this order:

1. Trailer Guide Posts: makes it WAAAY easier to load the boat back onto the trailer, plus you can see them sticking out of the water. Low speed steering and thus loading our boats is very difficult, but this helps a bit. You can get lighted ones like I did, so you can see easier at night too!
2. Cobra Jet Steering Kit: The only upgrade that actually helps the boat steer better at low and high speeds. Our boats need all the help they can get in this department.
3. Bow Roller: One of the easiest/cheapest upgrades. The stock yellow bow roller scratches up the bow of the boat, so replace this sooner than later.

You can see links/install videos for what I'm talking about, in my footer below. Make sure to make a checklist for yourself before taking it out the first time, don't forget to put the cleanout plugs, drain plug in, and release the transom straps!!

 

[mistercool88]

Built in ballast with wakebooster and still not enough wake to surf? I will be disappointed.

I've definitely heard the noise becomes annoying, might be some sound deadening in my future as well.

You can surf with stock set up you will just struggle to go rope less. Right board and ballast set up and I have my fingers crossed.