Here are some 2021 AR250 pics

[Jeel]

Seeing a blue AR240 on the water earlier this year is what got me interested in looking at buying a boat to begin with. Looked around a little but heard next year would be a bigger boat so I waited only to see the styling that got my interest disappeared. Give me the option for the graphics on the wake series boats without having to actually get a wake series. For what I will use the boat for...I prefer the storage over the ballast boxes they are using now.

Now imagine if you could have gotten that 2020 or 2019 AR 240 with the svho engines

 

[adrianp89]

They cant keep up with demand because they shut down for covid , every prior year there has been leftover units to buy ...i bought my 2019 in August of 2019 just before the 2020s were released..i bought a 2006 in August of 2007 ...no large company would ever say they arent interested in increasing their sales...

Plenty of large companies do. I work for one, our goal for the past two years has actually been to cut low-margin customers and improve margins with our current. We were a Fortune 100 before going private this year. Plenty of reasons a company may want to do this. I do not have statistics, but I assume Yamaha has been improving market share while improving their margins. Introducing a step into the manufacturing process to please some people more than likely does align with their goals.

 

[SCP1]

Seeing a blue AR240 on the water earlier this year is what got me interested in looking at buying a boat to begin with. Looked around a little but heard next year would be a bigger boat so I waited only to see the styling that got my interest disappeared. Give me the option for the graphics on the wake series boats without having to actually get a wake series. For what I will use the boat for...I prefer the storage over the ballast boxes they are using now.

Yeah I would love to have the ballast, but not at the cost of losing the storage space.

 

[SCP1]

Its obvious people forget that these aren't "normal times" and that just because there's a limited supply right now doesn't mean it has always been like this. You are absolutely correct in that if they offered something extra to make them better looking that they would sell more...this is why wrap companies exist and make so much money today. This whole "pay up now or you wont have a boat at all next year" is craziness. My local dealer...sitting on the same 212S he's had for over 2 months and also has an AR195, AR190, and a 195S that's been there for several weeks. Remind me again why I need to pay over sticker for those. I've actually pulled my deposit since seeing more up close pics of the AR250 because of how underwhelming it is but I had already picked out a wrap that I was going to purchase so that I could remove the graphics from the factory. The more I thought about everything I would need to do to it to make it fit my standards the more I leaned towards not buying it. The 2020 AR240 was a very good looking boat in my opinion but they went backwards in overall style in 2021

Overall styling I like, except the non complete window and the hang over on the tower. However I will agree with you on cutting corners. The AR240 came with a stainless steel rubrail and sea dek and these are no longer available on the AR250.

 

[mike220022]

So today I got the call from my dealer that the AR250 that I originally ordered came in so I went to look at it. I had talked myself out of buying it but now after seeing it in person I really like it. Pictures do not do the boat justice and the fit and finish on it was really nicely done...none of the rough edges and things like Ive seen pics on here so far. The boat is huge...Dealer is checking on getting parts together for a price of adding the underwater swim seats and supposed to let me know in the next day or 2 about that. Also I think after being on it and seeing the room...I don't know that I even want the rear sliding loungers. As much as my kids like to hang out in the water and jump off of a boat I think having kind of a stadium style platform back there for more standing room might work better for me.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Its a good looking boat, the lower tower and window Irk me though. Non the less a sharp looking boat. TBH I would pass on the underwater seating, personally we wouldn't use them much. I guess if you are a heavy sit all day lounger in the water it would be nice. We are more active and they wouldn't get much use.

 

[KCAR250]

I like the loungers! I wish I could get those on the 250. Not sure why it’s not an option.

 

[tdonoughue]

Might look at https://gailforcewatersports.com/product-category/saddle-pro/

I got a couple of these and their float rope. Hook it to the aft cleat or the aft tie down. Put a floating cooler on one carbiener, your saddle on one side, your mate's saddle on the other side and use that to chill aft. These saddles are pretty thick and you float pretty high with them--well worth the extra money. At any rate, much cheaper than adding loungers to the boat, I am betting...

 

[Jeel]

Looks like the front AR250 stickers are missing , it actually looks better. Without it

 

[mike220022]

Looks like the front AR250 stickers are missing , it actually looks better. Without it

Yea they werent on yet and when I ordered it I had mentioned to him about not putting any on but he said they come from the factory already stuck on. Not sure why the front one wasnt done but I like it better that way too.

 

[KCAR250]

I’m thinking if I got the blue I’d take the front and back sticker off but leave the stripe that goes across the side...

 

[mike220022]

I’m thinking if I got the blue I’d take the front and back sticker off but leave the stripe that goes across the side...

The stripe on the bottom is not a decal, its actually painted on.

 

[KCAR250]

Well then I guess I have no choice but to leave it. That’s good to know! Thanks!

 

[haolegirl70]

@haolegirl70 ,,,you are our only hope for people in the market for a AR 250, you are the only person to post real pics of this Unicorn , please dont disappoint us....lol ..We arent falling for the excuse you are out enjoying your boat either ...give us your thoughts of the fit and finish of the boat and id love to see a pic of the bimini top open because it looks like the tower is wider and im wondering if the top is bigger than previous years

Sorry it has taken me so long to post - I was out enjoying the boat lol. We are thoroughly enjoying it! It does have some quirks but nothing that can't be fixed or lived with. My biggest complaint is the Bimini. I don't know how the previous Biminis worked but it's a bit of a pain in the ass to put up and down and if you don't have it 100% latched at the back, it will pull out and flap around. You have to climb all over the seats to put up and take down and it's pretty tall up there unless you're just a tall person anyway. We were told by the dealership that the two battery switches had two purposes so you could turn the start battery off while leaving the house battery on to run your electronics and radio (I guess previous versions, this is how it was). Not any more, you have to leave both on to keep the radio and electronics working if you'll stopped anywhere. I do fear this will end up stranding us at some point but we'll see but the swear it's designed that way. Only other issue are the floor mats. They get EXTREMELY hot in the direct sun. Wish they could have found a material that didn't absorb the heat so much since you're walking on it barefoot. For me, it's a bit difficult to drive at slow speeds because you have to keep turning the wheel to adjust for the two jets but I'm sure that's always been a thing. This is our first jet boat. I don't know what was on previous versions so it's hard for me to say what the differences are but I can just tell you that we love it. The screen is nice with all its features such as a home feature and you can pin a location should you want to go back. We're still playing with it all. It's very smooth on plane and we've gotten up to 46mph (still somewhat in the break in period). It's just a gorgeous boat though and we have no regrets! I don't have a picture of it with the Bimini up. I will try to remember to do that and get it posted.

 

[topgun7214]

We picked up our 20 AR240 in June and love it. I seen your post on the bimini, i leave our up all the time and ours is docked. The best advise I can give you, newbie to newbie, is take your time at low speed and use the throttle a lot. I am constantly using the wake mode and push the + and -, but you have to learn the boat and it takes time. Best wishes and chill out, thats what you got it for!

 

[tdonoughue]

As to the tracking, yes it is probably not as precise as you were expecting. I found that the first 6 times out or so I was oversteering quite frequently. Once I learned how much to steer to keep it where I wanted it, I had to steer a lot less... Try turning the wheel a little less when you correct and turn back a little sooner. You will still need to steer it (it does not track like a car, obviously), but when you get used to that it gets much better.

 

[212s]

Sorry it has taken me so long to post - I was out enjoying the boat lol. We are thoroughly enjoying it! It does have some quirks but nothing that can't be fixed or lived with.

Congrats on the new boat!

My biggest complaint is the Bimini. I don't know how the previous Biminis worked but it's a bit of a pain in the ass to put up and down and if you don't have it 100% latched at the back, it will pull out and flap around. You have to climb all over the seats to put up and take down and it's pretty tall up there unless you're just a tall person anyway.

The rear seats flip up and I stand on the fiberglass sides to reach, never on the seat cushions. It's a reach to flip the front bars over the top but if you're short perhaps a small folding stool will help?

Also we use a folding 3-step ladder to board the boat when out of the water rather than use the pull-out ladder.

We were told by the dealership that the two battery switches had two purposes so you could turn the start battery off while leaving the house battery on to run your electronics and radio (I guess previous versions, this is how it was). Not any more, you have to leave both on to keep the radio and electronics working if you'll stopped anywhere. I do fear this will end up stranding us at some point but we'll see but the swear it's designed that way.

The dealer was mistaken - when floating you need to keep both battery switches on or the Connext system will sense a problem and sound the alarm. The batteries are wired separately so only the house battery will power the stereo and electronics. The start battery should not drain at all while floating. You can look on the Connext screen and it will show the battery voltages, just monitor them to ensure the start does not drop when using the stereo and you're fine.

Also when you stop to float and turn off the engines, the Connext system shuts down after a minute. All you need to do is turn one key back on to the run (not start) position briefly till the Connext starts to boot up again, and then turn the key off. This will boot up the Connext without leaving the keys on all day.

Only other issue are the floor mats. They get EXTREMELY hot in the direct sun.

That's normal...and one of the reasons we opted for a model with Marinemats (like Seadek) instead of carpet...much softer and cooler on bare feet.

For me, it's a bit difficult to drive at slow speeds because you have to keep turning the wheel to adjust for the two jets but I'm sure that's always been a thing. This is our first jet boat.

You'll get used to it...as mentioned, use the "No Wake" mode to get more speed which gives more control, and you don't have to turn No Wake down or off when docking so you can make use of the higher revs to get more control around the docks.

I don't know what was on previous versions so it's hard for me to say what the differences are but I can just tell you that we love it. The screen is nice with all its features such as a home feature and you can pin a location should you want to go back.

You can update the Maps with Navionics data for free to get much more detail. Unless you're really picky like me, the Maps does a really good job to help you safely navigate the waterways.

Enjoy your new toy - post some pics when you can for those of us who have to put our boats away for the winter now.

 

[KCAR250]

46 for a top speed? I was hoping for closer to 50, that’s a little disappointing.

 

[usmanager]

46 for a top speed? I was hoping for closer to 50, that’s a little disappointing.
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I have a 2022 AR 250 and on smooth water top speed is 47. Normally with a little chop its 45.