Hello, about to buy my first boat

[in2repid]

Hi everyone! It is great seeing an awesome community here - there is such a wealth of information!

I am likely a few days away from buying my first boat, and I would love to get some advice as I close in on my decision. Here's a bit about me:
- We are a family of 4 with two teenagers
- We have a second home on a freshwater lake, where we can easily get a boat in and out of the water
- We are interested in a variety of activities, including cruising, swimming, fishing, and wakeboarding/surfing
- We've never owned a boat before, but we have friends with boats and we're interested in finally getting one of our own
- I am looking for something that his nice a decent price-to-performance ratio, some nice tech features, is reliable, and is a bit of a Swiss army knife in capabilities
- A bit lower priority, but I do care about aesthetics

My search for various options has led me to exploring Yamaha boats - specifically the wake series ones. I am looking at the following options:
- 2024 or 2025
- 222 or 255
- XD or XE

I gravitate most heavily toward the 255XD due to the tech features (Drive-X), color, and power. A local place nearby offers a 2024 255XE at $91k, while a 2025 255XD is listed at $121k. Both are within my budget, but it is hard for me to feel great about the $30k price difference. Any advice on this?

As I mentioned, I'm leaning toward the 255 version, but the 2025 222XD is at that $91k price point. Would anyone recommend the 222 over the 255 to get the Drive feature, as a new boater?

 

[Acard7]

Buy your second boat first, 255XE or XD hands down. If you can, go sit in both, you'll enjoy the extra space over the 222. Jet boats do indeed move differently in the water, but once you get the hang of it you'll be a pro. I'm not sure I could justify 30k dollars more for the XD either, but if money wasn't an issue I probably would get the XD just to have the Drive-X function. Many have figured out how to captain the jet boats long before Drive-X features, so I wouldn't necessarily say it is a must have even if you're new to the jet boating world. I like the colors for the 2024 255 XEs more than the 2025 255XDs, but that is totally up to you, .

 

[anmut]

Addressing these line-by-line:

- We are a family of 4 with two teenagers
* Either the 22' or 25' boat will fit your family, but the 25' will allow for more gear and teenage friends
- We have a second home on a freshwater lake, where we can easily get a boat in and out of the water
* Either boat is easy to tow and launch. I would make sure your dock is set deep enough. Get a lift if you're not going to store on the trailer.
- We are interested in a variety of activities, including cruising, swimming, fishing, and wakeboarding/surfing
* These boats are great for cruising, swimming. They are only OK at water sports like skiing, surfing, or wakeboarding. If that's more of a primary function for your family, you'll eventually sell the Yamaha. Tubing is fine. Fishing - unless you're getting an FSH model Yamaha, you're not going to want to fish out of your boat. The interior isn't made to handle hooks and fish blood and the layout isn't setup for casting and tackle boxes.
- We've never owned a boat before, but we have friends with boats and we're interested in finally getting one of our own
* Get out and drive as many as possible before settling on a brand! Another big consideration should be your level of mechanical competence. If you're not able to be a shade tree mechanic during the time you own your boat, make sure your dealer is close and you've budgeted for repairs. All boats have issues eventually.
- I am looking for something that his nice a decent price-to-performance ratio, some nice tech features, is reliable, and is a bit of a Swiss army knife in capabilities
* Yamaha is for sure the swiss army knife of boats... however, while cool, when was the last time anyone carried a SAK and actually used it... I mean, you might own one, but you're not cutting your steak with it. I'm a Yamaha owner for five years now - it does everything I want it to do, but at a level less than boats that are specifically made to do those things.
- A bit lower priority, but I do care about aesthetics
* The look that Yamaha has is very impressive from the sandbar. The quality of those aesthetics, once you're an owner and using the boat regularly, can be disappointing (thin plastics, cheaper vinyl, etc.) - but all relevant to expectations of course.

 

[jetboatjay]

Just thought I would weigh in here as well.

I like the comment: "Buy your second boat first." With a budget like yours, consider how you will use the boat 3-5-7 years from now. Among all the other great advice given on this site, I also like the comment "buy as big as your budget can afford." I can guarantee you wil want "2 more feet" within a couple years of owning a boat.

Finally, I have left the world of Yamaha not becuase I hated our boat, but becuase we grew out of it. After 4 years, the boys wanted to surf more, bring more friends, and tube with 5-6 teenagers at one time. The Yamaha was just not set up to surf, big enough, and did not have to power for us to continue to own it. We are now owners of a Malibu 24 MXZ.

Welcome to boat ownership.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

So you’ve never owned a boat before.. and you want to possibly step into a boat with 500hp. Do you have any experience with high performance vehicles? These boats like the 255 XD have twin super charged engines that put out 250 hp each and will accelerate hard from a stand still. Even the 222 SD with normally aspirated 1.9L engines will leave the line really hard. That is one thing about jet boats, they have very rapid acceleration from a stand still. Not trying to scare you off, just trying to keep it real.

Depending how much of each activity you listed should dictate the your decision on which one to get. Me? I’m FSH centric, but, the FSH series of boats does not have a high tow point, just the transom one. But for an all around boat that you can fish out of and that has massive storage spaces for all of your “stuff” you should at least get on a 255 / 252 FSH and check it out. The FSH, Family Sport Hybrid, boats are excellent fishing platforms with snap in mats that can be removed for a day of fishing so you can just wash the deck down with the raw water wash down thats included, and the insulated bow fish box can serve as a second cooler in addition to the carry on ice chest. The forward live well can also be used as an ice chest or storage, and the aft live well is also a place you can put all of your water bottles and throw some ice in there to keep them cold. Aesthetics are nice but for me function over form is the rule of the day.

The other boats you have listed are bad ass boats for sure.. my friend has a 255XD and it is super sexy boat. Just wanted to point out the FSH models’ attributes since you want a do it all boat and that is the realm of the FSH series of boats.