Greetings Folks! (and shallow water question...)

[msavold]

Greetings all!

After a couple of years with a place in South Bethany, DE, renting boats to get a bit of a feel for what would suit us best, 'management' had a couple of outings last summer that were so much fun that she agrees we need our own boat. (Her only condition: it has to have an emergency head for her and when the parents are visiting.)

We'll be running mostly between Ocean City MD and Lewes DE, in the Assawoman bays and Indian River inlet, where shallow doesn't begin to define the place. There are plenty of "deep" (5'-6'+) areas but still there isn't a boat in the area without a finely polished skeg, and many with polished props from running into sandbars. Heck, I hit bottom on one occasion, in a pontoon - while squarely in the middle of the channel!

That got me thinking and looking at Yamahas and immediately I liked what I saw. Initial thought was an AR210 as I thought that would be big enough but now the head issue has us looking at an AR230 or AR240. And this week end I was at the Annapolis boat show and got a demo ride in a 2014 242 Limited! Wanting to move up already and we haven't even bought the first one yet!!! (Oh, and do Yamahas fly or what? The acceleration is incredible.)

So, as I continue the search, any advice/comments on running in shallow water?

 

[cwoav8r]

Welcome aboard @msavold ! Even though I live on the Gulf of Mexico, I spend a ton of my boating time in very shallow water (3 - 6ft) and I have never regretted my Yamaha purchase. I am sure others will chime in... but for the price, purpose, fit and finish, my Yamaha has exceeded expectations. And... I don't think you will ever find a more dedicated group of individuals that can provide the advice and support that you will find here at jetboaters.net.

That being said... research is crucial to buying a boat. Make a list of pros and cons, and get all the information you can... it was this group of folks that solidified my decision to go Yamaha, but ultimately it depends on your intended use.

Reach out to this group and you will have all the best (and honest) information that can be provided about Yamaha boats. Ultimately the choice is yours... but we would love to have another jet boat owner here. Choose wisely...

 

[GTBRMC]

Welcome aboard! You have come to the right place.

 

[OCMD]

I have run my LS2000 and SX230 for years, all over those bays, from the Delaware line to the inlet south of the Route 50 bridge. Personally, I think it is a pretty rough ride in that bay, even in my 230. If you swing around the back and head up the St. Martin's River towards Ocean Pines , it does a bit calmer. The only thing is, it is not a great environment for tubing or skiing and the like. Too choppy most times, and crowded often. Plus, lots of jelly fish and jelly fish remnants, which do sting. In addition, there simply are not many places to explore - you get bored quick as these bays are small. If you are a big time partier, then there are alot of places to dock up and have at it, such as Seacrets and the places down south. To me, dealing with the multitude of drunks that frequent those places makes it a turn off. My boat is used for water time with the kids, but that's just me. To answer your question about depth, I have explored every square inch of this bay, and the Yamaha does fine. In fact, that's why I bought an LS2000 many years ago,when it was the flagship of the Yamaha line, pre-4 strokes. The jet boats do wonderful in the bay and can go anywhere. I even docked up at the Convention Center once, to pick up passengers. It was about one foot deep. If you have a place on the water, then I suppose you will be married to these bays. If not, drive about 20 miles south and put in at Byrd Park in Snow Hill. Use the Pocomoke River. Smooth as glass, and you will be the only boat on the river. I ran the 26 miles from Snow Hill to the Chesapeake earlier this week and we encountered one or two boats the entire trip. You might say "Well it was October" but it is this way during the summer, also. Glass river, clean, no drunken a holes and a great restaurant to dock up to in Pocomoke City, halfway to the Chesapeake. You can spend a few days here and not get bored. 2 State Parks, clean river, no jelly fish, deep, clean water. I will add, if you go Yamaha, you will notice a huge power difference between a 210 and a 240, I have driven both. So get your second boat first. Also, buy your boat from Bayside Jet Drive, in Berlin. This is the absolute best dealership to deal with within hundreds of miles. They only deal with jets, and are simply a superb, family owned business. Just for grins, I will post two videos for you. One from last season on my first trip with my 230; the other from earlier this week on the Pocomoke.

 

[buckbuck]

Number 1 reason we bought a jet boat is the shallow water capability.

 

[Bruce]

We live in a half mile wide by mile long bay that averages less than four feet deep. We can ski, tube, kneeboard and surf there while propped boats are scared of the shallow water.

As for which to buy, if you are going to be in rough waster I recommend a 230 or a 2015 24x. The 2010 to 2014 24x series does not handle rough water as well.

 

[msavold]

Thanks for the quick replies and the "welcome" messages folks! Glad to be here.

OCMD: sounds like we're on the same page - we have a place in South Bethany, on one of the canals so yeah, our thought for the first while is to just explore the bays but there are a number of places I would like to trailer the boat to (friend's place on Lake Anna, for example, and now I'd add your river to the list). Like you, we have no interest in Seacrets but a run to Catch 54 for dinner, on the other hand, sounds appealing. Your "first day out" video, particularly the high speed run near the plants, is exactly what has me interested - I would never think of heading there, let alone at that speed, because I'd be scared to death that I'd leave bits of lower unit everywhere! Have you ever tried going down past Assateague? Based on what you're saying and the numbers on the charts (for what they're worth around there...!) it would seem doable and an interesting trip. What about ocean running (out OC and into Indian River, say)?

Buckbuck: great photos! That's exactly what I fear with a "conventional" motor - having seen water like that come up as the engine is bogging down while the prop runs through an unmarked sandbar. Does it not trash the impeller?

Bruce: I would have thought that the extra foot of the 24x would have improved things over the 23x... is there a hull design difference? The ride I had in the 242 limited this week end seemed ok until we got into about a 3 foot chop... Still, the boat has SO many other great things going for it. (I'd love to get into a 2015 but I doubt we can stretch the budget that far... and it leaves a buffer for mods!) Aside from the (IMHO) pointless digital display, the other thing that baffles me with the 2015 is the change to the head compartment - removing the "notch" at the top makes it even more of a pain to get in and out of.

 

[GTBRMC]

Thanks for the quick replies and the "welcome" messages folks! Glad to be here.

Bruce: I would have thought that the extra foot of the 24x would have improved things over the 23x... is there a hull design difference? The ride I had in the 242 limited this week end seemed ok until we got into about a 3 foot chop... Still, the boat has SO many other great things going for it. (I'd love to get into a 2015 but I doubt we can stretch the budget that far... and it leaves a buffer for mods!) Aside from the (IMHO) pointless digital display, the other thing that baffles me with the 2015 is the change to the head compartment - removing the "notch" at the top makes it even more of a pain to get in and out of.

The 2010-2014 24 footers had two design changes from the 2007-2009 23 footers that (arguably) could make them less desirable in heavier chop:

1). The bow was modified from a more conventional vee design to a semi-pickle fork design, making it a bit less of a slice and a bit more of a smack going through heavier chop

2). The bow was modified (driven by styling) to have a more pronounced nose droop - making it easier to swallow a wave into the bow cockpit area

The 2015 has a much less pronounced nose droop than the 2010-2014 24 footers. I am not sure how it compares to the previous generation of 23 footers.

Note: I say the nose droop was styling-driven as all Yamaha boats have very little bow rise on acceleration to planing speeds given the characteristics and geometry of the jet drives (and visibility during acceleration-induced bow rise with outdrive propulsion systems is the only functional reason for nose droop I know of)

 

[txav8r]

Welcome to the forum first of all! And good luck on the search no matter what you choose. I want to comment on a few things here. First off, the bigger the boat the better the ride, period. But, as @Bruce points out, there may be a mismatch in certain wave/swell/chop conditions that expose any hull to a weakness. I know Bruce saw this crossing the gulf stream and felt he could run at a greater speed than his counterparts in their 240's. The 230 and 240 are virtually the same hull. There are minor differences in them but the boats are really within 6" of the same size and most of that is in the upper hull, not the longitudinal waterline. The '15 240 is another 6" long and it is a bigger boat, with additional longitudinal stability built into the keel as well as the articulating keel (rudder). It is more about loading, weight, and conditions at the time that dictate how one boat handles vs another. I have owned both the 23' and 24' boats and I think overall the 240 rides better, but like I said, you can find conditions that will single out weaknesses. I also don't find the lower nose on the '10-'14 240/242 to be as big an issue as it visually looks like it might be. Most chop you hit splashes out and not over. Any wave your running too fast into the wind can cause it to land in the boat in both my 23' and 24' models, and like I said, in certain conditions, you may find that you have to run slower in either model. They both have sweet spots and weaknesses. But they both are excellent boats and provide a great deal of comfort, performance, and safety.

Shallow condition capability is a double edged sword. Yes, these boats draft both static and at speed, much less than their I/O counterparts, but they have components that can be chewed up just like a skeg or prop. The wear liners of the pump and the impellers can be damaged by sucking up debris, rocks, or sand even once, let alone on a continuous basis. But, like many have said, they run in these conditions and have not had any issues that couldn't be handled! But making a routine of ingesting mud/sand/grass/weeds/debris, would be something you want to avoid as much as possible. These engine/pump combinations are pretty fool proof but like the hull, they have limitations and aren't designed for it, they just have better shallow water clearance than other boats. Yamaha says you need 2' under your keel at all times, and that means water depth of 3' minimum. Most Yamaha owners never power off a beach and some that have, have in a single occurrence, picked up a rock and caused a cavitation causing ding in an impeller, or even locked up an impeller and had to pull the boat out to clear it. Experience is a teacher of good practices. And we all find creative ways around all sorts of limiting conditions, but sometimes what we say we can do just hasn't bit us yet! I would listen to what @OCMD is telling you about the area...sounds like it is totally doable with these boats! Once again, welcome aboard!

 

[itsdgm]

@msavold welcome to the site. Good luck with your search for a new boat. Sounds like the guys have already pointed you in the right direction.

 

[msavold]

Thanks again, folks.

@GTBRMC : that confirms something I was wondering about - the need for the nose droop! I noticed it on the '14 242 when we were on a test drive and wondered why the heck they would do that since one of the great aspects about it IMHO is how flat it stays. Rented a Hydra-Sports last summer and until it got on plane you could not see JACK unless you were standing up - and that didn't happen unless you were almost flat out. (Scratch that boat from the list!) Also had a laugh - I fell prey to the marketing types, assuming that a 240 was a foot longer than a 230!

@txav8r : certainly not planning to make running in the weeds a regular sport and from what @OCMD was telling me today, where we plan to boat we should be o.k. I'm looking at it as a margin of safety thing. Thinking about the distance from the intake to the reverser nozzle, the idea of reversing off a sandbar or beach in shallow water strikes me as just too dumb for words.

It's going to be hard to go back to work tomorrow - so many more forum posts to read! More info here than I ever imagined - and great advice too.

 

[Rigger]

Welcome @msavold - Yep, you better get reading Good luck in your search. You can't go wrong with a Yamaha and what these boats offer in all around performance is really hard to beat.

 

[Evildwarf]

Msavoid,

Welcome aboard. Tons of great discussion and info on Yamaha and jet boating in general to be found here.
Great community of boaters too.
We love our '14 242, room for the whole family plus the extra teenagers we collect on a regular basis.
We don't boat in "big" water (our lake is generally calm) so no advice there but I would say that the 242 is an excellent family boat for the money.
Good luck with your decision.

 

[BoaterGuy]

FF to 1:14 to get to the boating part. This was coming out of ocean pines and cruising around the isle of wight bay.

 

[fairpilot]

My thoughts are these boat are great for running fast in shallow water, but operating at idle in 2' or less will bring problems. Sand and mud will end up in cooling passages of engine, damage liners and impellars, weeds are an issue but easily remedied with the clean out plugs, but you must pay attention to pee holes on side to make sure pumps are not clogged. We go to a familiar fresh water springs, at times there are weeds, I have seen other yamahas come in and there is not water coming out just a stream of steam. . these are the best boats for shallows but owner must be aware on what to watch out for while operating in these areas and how to correct issues.

 

[scokill]

I'm with fairpilot.

 

[msavold]

@fairpilot Thanks for the input. The situation where we are going to be using the boat (Indian River, Ocean City MD, etc.) is mostly in the 4'+ range (http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/12211.shtml and http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/12216.shtml) but the problem is that every time there's a significant storm - a common occurrence on the east coast - the bottom "shifts", so the charts are somewhat theoretical. It's mostly these sandbars that cause me no end of stress now with a "conventional" propulsion system. When we used a Sea-Ray i/o, with it's 37" of draft to the bottom of the skeg... Nothing like the sound of a motor bogging down in mud when you're in a marked channel that's supposed to be 4' or more deep!

I did see something in one of the tips about reverse/engine off/forward to clear the pumps - right? (I would think that once you start getting steam out the pee holes, however...)

 

[txav8r]

That reverse move is to clear grass/weeds out of the intake and off the intake grate. It won't clear a y ingesting into the cooling loop once picked up by the intake screen. That screen is in the pump itself.

One thing to remember, ingesting sand or other bottom material won't be an issue in 3' or more water. And it is probably revving while the boat is static that causes sand to be sucked up. @JetBoatPilot published a video of the vacuum action that is clearly visible in the video. Many of us boat in shallow conditions without issue. And reading replies to you from your region, I think with smart management, these boats will serve you well!

 

[Julian]

 

[OCMD]

@msavold don't believe those charts. Your lucky to be in 3 feet depth in the Assawoman Bay, unless you are in the channel. As for the sandbars, they are not a worry in that bay except down near the Route 50 bridge. That one is always there; just depends on the tide whether you will see it or not. It's big and easy to avoid. You can easily cruiser anywhere else with no worries.