Considering a AR195, Looking for Advice/Input

[Ratket]

The place, Parker Az/Havasu/Colorado River up to Laughlin. - The main places we will be boating.

Was looking mainly at 210 options but honestly the price is becoming a big factor.

Only Premium or above fuel? What about Non Ethanol OHV Fuel?
Does the SvHO motor require more maintenance/ or incurred more cost of maintenance?

What kind of hours are these svho motors seeing before having issues/ if any at all?

How do they do with say 4 adults and 4-5 kids under age 10?

I welcome any and all input,

 

[Blue Hawaiian]

i enjoyed my 195, powerful the only additional cost are fuel, the performance will really depend on the total weight of all !

 

[Bdog]

I recently purchased my 19’ AR195 in March. So far so good of course it only has five hours on it living in Minnesota I have had zero issues thus far and with a little practice I would say you don’t need the additional steering mods either... at least not initially get used to it practice if you’re going to be doing a lot of docking then maybe. Very happy with performance of two adults two kids, four adults two kids etc. this of course is a ton of gear a cooler lifejackets, tube and the usual accessories. Very happy with the way it trailers and the maneuverability overall. With this new model AR it actually seems like you are getting a 21 footer as they have maximized the space.

 

[jEt_jAk]

195 is great at Havasu ?

 

[Tayhadasuperjet]

I was really leaning towards getting a 190. But they were hard to find and a 195 was available in my area.

Nonetheless - I am happy about the upgrade. The power is nice, the vinyl carpet is great, and the pull out cleats work well. I think the 195 is a great boat and I am very happy with the purchase.

 

[S1LV3R4D0]

This was good info to read. I've been torn between the ar210 and the 195. We went with the 195 as its just me and the wife on East Tennessee lakes and this seemed like a good start for first boat owners. Glad to read that i may not have to add the steering mods at first if at all. But i guess time on the water will tell.

 

[2kwik4u]

We chose a 190 over a 195 based on fuel burn and colors. Wife liked the look of the 190 better than the 195. I liked that we could go longer on a single tank of fuel in the 190 than the 195. I'll be adding some of the other options to our 190 eventually....Like the aluminum grab handles, and pop-out cleats. Otherwise we're really happy with our 190.

We've had 2 familes on ours a couple times. It's snug, but not uncomfortable. 4 adults and 4 kids. Kids were 12, 12, 6, 5. Adults were two 220lb guys and 2 160lb ladies. Also had a couple coolers for drinks (one kids, one adults), and a cooler of food for the day. The boat did well. Tubing and boarding for a good portion of the day. Easily planed with that load. I think the fastest we got was around 30mph, ladies started getting worried about the little ones in the bow and crossing waves/wakes. Probably could've gotten 37-38mph out of it with smoother water.

What kind of watersports are you looking at doing? I assume since you're considering a '19 with two familes you aren't going to be surfing (no where to put ballast with that many people on a 19' boat), so space and price are driving the decision......Honestly.....My neighbhors 23' tri-toon has TONS and TONS of space, and was about the same price as my 190. With a 150hp outboard it runs out at 37mph with a full load of people, and pulls a tube really well. If you aren't going offshore, and don't need/want a giant wake. That might be a better option for you.

 

[d_coyne1984]

You won't have any extra maintenance with the supercharged engine. The beautiful thing about the 190/195 over the 210 is that you only have half the maintenance, which comes down to 4 spark plugs, and 4 quarts of oil per season. It literally doesn't get any easier than that. I have not heard anything negative about the supercharged engines outside of an issue with a run of motors in the 2013-2015 model years with timing chain problems, but that was very small percentage of the motors. I had a 2014 with the SHO motor (basically the same engine as the 195 with a smaller supercharger and intercooler) with 160 hours when I sold it. It would sit for 7 months through a MN winter and it always turned over in the spring like it was brand new. Never had a problem with it. The 195 does require the use of premium fuel, non-ethanol premium would be the best choice, especially if the boat is going to sit for a period of time, but it is definitely not necessary. You are only looking at about $7.50-15.00 more for a full tank of fuel over the 190 boats.

 

[Ratket]

I appreciate all the feed back. Only time we would have two families on the boat is when friends or family showed up, it wouldn’t be a constant.

 

[mwalker4]

This was good info to read. I've been torn between the ar210 and the 195. We went with the 195 as its just me and the wife on East Tennessee lakes and this seemed like a good start for first boat owners. Glad to read that i may not have to add the steering mods at first if at all. But i guess time on the water will tell.

We are in a very similar situation. Just the two of us, our puppy, with a few guests. Boating in Ohio with sometimes visits to Lake Cumberland and Norris. I have been out around 10 times this year. After much debate I ordered fins. We just wanted the added security for windy busy launches and docks. I'm very happy with 19', my left and right brain still disagree about 190 vs 195. 6 people comfortably for an afternoon cruise. An all day excursion, 6 would be tight.

 

[S1LV3R4D0]

We are in a very similar situation. Just the two of us, our puppy, with a few guests. Boating in Ohio with sometimes visits to Lake Cumberland and Norris. I have been out around 10 times this year. After much debate I ordered fins. We just wanted the added security for windy busy launches and docks. I'm very happy with 19', my left and right brain still disagree about 190 vs 195. 6 people comfortably for an afternoon cruise. An all day excursion, 6 would be tight.

What fins did you end up putting on it? I have over informed myself and now i dunno which is better. JBP or Cobra

 

[Blue Hawaiian]

great thing with 195 is, you know there is "after burner" stand by whenever you need/like/enjoy, otherwise no one burn it all the way till tank empty

 

[Blue Hawaiian]

What fins did you end up putting on it? I have over informed myself and now i dunno which is better. JBP or Cobra

I have JBP, easy for wind docking and for family to learn (will be very painful if any damage to my wallet )

 

[2kwik4u]

great thing with 195 is, you know there is "after burner" stand by whenever you need/like/enjoy, otherwise no one burn it all the way till tank empty

I've made two trips now (Nashville late last year, and then a long weekend early this season) where I wouldn't have made it back to the dock on a 195's fuel burn.

So while operating cost might be negligible, it's worth noting you simply won't go as far on a tank of fuel in the 195. For most this is of ZERO concern. Honestly, it wasn't even on my radar when I bought either. Now that I've made a couple trips in the 190 where I've used over 25gal fuel in a single day, the 195 would've left me paddling or waiting on a tow. Again, it's most likely a non issue for the vast majority of trailer boaters, but I think it warrants a mention. If range is a consideration then the 190 will go further than the 195 on the same fuel capacity.

 

[Peter simon]

We want with the 190 and it is sufficient for the 3 of us. Limited water sports, mainly tubing and it pulls 2 teen age girls faster than they want to go anyway.

Running in the 6000-6500 rpm it is very efficient.

I have loaded the boat with 8 people and we burned alot of gas but still maintained 28 MPH around 7500 RPM. If you plan on large outings thats probably where the fuel economy crosses over on the 195 as it would not work so hard.

We had the boat in the ocean twice and the power was fine,

Our main deciding point was the $6000 price difference is probably 5 years of gas for us.

 

[mwalker4]

What fins did you end up putting on it? I have over informed myself and now i dunno which is better. JBP or Cobra

I chose Cobra, but it was a hard decision. They both seem to improve low speed steering and are a little north of $200. The pros on the Cobra for me were:
1. They do not hang down below the keel on the 19' boats. The JBP will hang down an extra 4" which is a concern for my driveway and some gas stations in the hills. To mitigate this I could lift up the TVs, place a noodle in the jet nozzle, and rest the TVs on the noodle. It's a fix, but one more thing to do.
2. The Cobra's can either be in the water or out of the water when under way. I like the flexibility. The big one here is the accident avoidance at speed. If presented with an obstacle, normal reaction is to power down and turn. With the fins in the water I will turn with fins out no turn. Yes I can learn to power up and turn but I may not be driving my boat.

Given that, if the TV wakes were troublefree, I would have purchased them for tubing use. But I need a couple of years on the market before I will want to put them on my boat.

 

[S1LV3R4D0]

Good to know and that just cemented the decision i was leaning towards. Thanks mwalker4

 

[malibu Dan]

The only thing I would add would be because of the size of body of water carrying a 5 gallon gas (flat) can onboard when you plan on a lot of water activity or sightseeing will give you good peace of mind as these boats at WOT will drink...

 

[Arcadyus]

My AR195 30 hours is for sale

 

[Skierdad]

Wow. seems like I wasn't the only guy in this situation. I had the dealership set the 210 and 195 next to each other. It was hard to leave the 210 because of its size but at the same time there was the 2 motors to maintain, lower hp on a larger boat worry, and price. I pick up our AR195 this week once everything is added to it. Ours will be used for a family of 4, wakeboard/kneeboard, and tubing. 90% of the time will be just my family but occasionally another family or just me a bunch of kids. Not going to add anything right away. Just going to get used to the boat. Not on a huge lake so hopefully the gas doesn't burn my pocketbook up too much. Most of the time it will be 2-4 hours in the evening playing with a few long Saturday/Sunday fun.