Jet Boat...would you do it again?

[mwalker4]

I bought my 190 a year ago. My assessment is for freshwater / fairly clean lakes. I think I would do it again but I'm not as sure as I was before I bought the boat. If you hang out anchored, you love the rear lounge and lack of prop. If you cruise most of the time, you will dislike the fuel consumption, noise, and possibly steering. The simplicity of the engine / drive was the tie breaker for me. The way I look at it, it has the maintainability of a outboard with an even better swim deck than I/Os. The noise is the one thing that ended up getting on my nerves more than I expected.

 

[Matts18]

I would buy another Yamaha, but would not recommend a Scarab or Chap jet boat. I think they are probably fine boats, but having had to use my clean out port several times I can't imagine buying a jet boat without one. Also, my gut tells me neither Scarab nor Chap will be selling jet boats in a few years. I just don't think they sell enough of them and the Chap dealers I have talked to have a lot more trouble selling them than their I/O counterpart.

 

[sananvet]

I've owned a 2019 210 FSH for about 7 months. I fish and do some family water sports in Tampa Bay every weekend. The weeds can definitely be a pain. At idle speed at night I sucked up some weeds and overheated the starboard engine. Can't really dive under and clear the intake at night in cold water LOL. After letting it rest for 30 minutes I tried the reverse maneuver and was able to clear enough of the seagrass to power up and get home. Despite a couple of other issues (dual batteries came wired wrong as both "house" which caused a battery failure while out all day fishing-thank god for TowBoatUS) Id definitely do it again. I love this boat and have thoroughly enjoyed the versatility.

 

[buckbuck]

Welcome @sananvet
Is there a reason why you did not pull the clean out plug and remove the grass?

 

[sananvet]

Welcome @sananvet
Is there a reason why you did not pull the clean out plug and remove the grass?

The grass was really jammed into the bottom of the intake and I couldn't reach it by hand-I tried. Maybe somebody has a hack for how to reach clogs like this through the plugs?

 

[drewkaree]

M

The grass was really jammed into the bottom of the intake and I couldn't reach it by hand-I tried. Maybe somebody has a hack for how to reach clogs like this through the plugs?

My experience has been that it's not really stuck in the intake grate, it's usually wrapped around the shaft. I keep a folding hawksbill knife on the boat, cut through everything on the shaft that I can reach, then do the reverse maneuver, and I'm good to go.

Even with the overheat alarm going off, I found that by the time I got both cleanout ports sliced up, it's cooled enough (or at least doesn't go off for a few minutes) for me to be able to try the reverse maneuver.

 

[Steve Risley]

I would buy a jet boat again in a heartbeat. We are on our second. First was a Yamaha and then we upgraded to a Chaparral. We've enjoyed both brands, just happen to fall into a really good deal with the Chap. Both have there plus and minuses, but we are very happy with our Chap in regards to quality, service, etc. We are fortunate to boat on a weed less lake, so no issues with this. We really like the layout of the jet boats, swim platform, lack of prop and the very easy maintenance and upkeep of these boats. There is only 1 drawback that I see and that's the noise level while underway, but you get use to it. For the value, it's hard to beat a jet boat (IMO).

 

[Whisky]

I would also buy one again! We are on our second (AR190 to 212X) and I would have trouble going to anything else. These boats offer so much in terms of versatility, comfort, space, and simplicity.

When we look to evaluate our options we sometimes become distracted by the one thing another platform excels at (space on a pontoon, or surf wake behind a dedicated surf boat) but we always end up back at our jet boat because, though it may not be a master in these areas, it is by far the most versatile boat on the water.

Jack of all trades, master of none is the saying that comes to mind, but I feel a more fair commentary would be "Master at being a jack of all trades!"

 

[rkim808]

YES YES and YES, my family and I would. We have 2 Yammies right now a LS2000 and AR240, and love them. Everybody blows there mind when they see us out on the open ocean, especially the tourists on the tour boats. They tell the captains “that guy is crazy is he lost or something, what’s that boat doing way out here”. The Captains reply that’s “Brother Rueben” he’s not lost he goes everywhere with his boats. When I get in the harbor or bump into the Captains in Walmart or wherever they tell me the stories and I love it. I wouldn’t go to any other boat I/O or Outboard, Jets all the way.

 

[sananvet]

wish I could run my FSH in Hawaiian waters. I named her Namaka. My old lady is a proud Hawaiian descendant and we love the islands. Tampa Bay is beautiful and we call it home but visit her family every summer.

 

[sfadchi]

If I had it to do all over again I'd get an outboard and a deep v-hull. We spend a significant amount of time in salt water. The Yamaha does great, but I'd like to be able to go off shore. The Yamaha will beat you up in the ocean! My daughter is young and we spend a good amount of time on the sand bar right now so it's great for that.

 

[bumpy]

Not from a former Scarab owner, but if the only use was in deeper water than my fresh water dock, a jet boat would be the only choice. The fun factor can't be matched by an I/O or an OB. With my shallow lake front, our new OB is a better choice, and I think more ocean friendly with the combined (approx. 4700 lbs) heavier weight. We loved our jet boat!

 

[Maccam26]

I bought my 190 a year ago. My assessment is for freshwater / fairly clean lakes. I think I would do it again but I'm not as sure as I was before I bought the boat. If you hang out anchored, you love the rear lounge and lack of prop. If you cruise most of the time, you will dislike the fuel consumption, noise, and possibly steering. The simplicity of the engine / drive was the tie breaker for me. The way I look at it, it has the maintainability of a outboard with an even better swim deck than I/Os. The noise is the one thing that ended up getting on my nerves more than I expected.

Funny I find that the noise level has decreased and bugs me less now but I agree with other point on consumption

 

[rkim808]

wish I could run my FSH in Hawaiian waters. I named her Namaka. My old lady is a proud Hawaiian descendant and we love the islands. Tampa Bay is beautiful and we call it home but visit her family every summer.

Aloha @sananvet thats awesome that u named ur Yammy Namaka, Love that we have yet another Yammy on the EastCoast representing With a Hawaiian name. Not sure how Pele would feel if it were here but, Just saying lol. Happy Holidays

 

[Neutron]

For me, no regrets and would get a jetboat again and again.
Where i boat there is many submerged cypress stumps along the banks of the rivers.
Plus many shallows, sand bars, etc Jets are just super practical here.

 

[dzeppos]

I couldn't be happier with my 2016 242LS. The safety, simplicity, extra space and overall acceleration make it a no brainer and I came from an IO I had for seven years. In addition, its about 500-700 lbs lighter than a comparable IO boats of the same length - so its much easier to tow.
With the addition of Lateral Thrusters and Cobra Fangs (yes - you can do both), it went from very good to incredible. Only downsides, the jet drives burn a bit more gas than an equivalent IO, but otherwise, love the entire boat and couldn't think of anything better.

 

[4x15mph]

Definitely - I did it again and unless my use changed, I would do it again and again. For the kind of boating we do it is the right setup

 

[zipper]

Aloha @sananvet thats awesome that u named ur Yammy Namaka, Love that we have yet another Yammy on the EastCoast representing With a Hawaiian name. Not sure how Pele would feel if it were here but, Just saying lol. Happy Holidays

We would buy Yamaha again, but why?. Our 07 Ar230 has been a great boat for how we use it on Lake Champlain. Adding trim tabs add to the ride quality greatly in choppy conditions. It is a comfortable boat to hang out in. The MR-1's can be loud. Maintenance/winterizing is the easiest/cheapest of most boats I have owned. Our cost of ownership is very low. @rkim808 , thanks for the thought but our Yami is named "Sweet Waters". It is our "high Maintenance" sailboat that we renamed "Panana", the Hawiian navigational compass rose and my wifes name.
She goes by Willow, but Panana goes way back in her ohana. I digress, we Love all of our boats. It all depends on how/where you boat.

 

[FLBulldogger]

YES, We did DO IT AGAIN! The new to us '18 SX195 that replaced a '13 SX190, love the setup and the ease of use and maintenance.

 

[haknslash]

The grass was really jammed into the bottom of the intake and I couldn't reach it by hand-I tried. Maybe somebody has a hack for how to reach clogs like this through the plugs?

Use a plastic yard sign stake. It’s long enough to reach, has hooked end to grab debris and it floats in case you drop it (unlike a knife for example). I don’t have a jet boat anymore but I always carried a plastic yard sign stake in my emergency kit.