Looking to Purchase My First Boat! Complete Newbie Open to Feedback.

[Bill D]

Info from Boattest...

AR190 -

• Best cruise for the Yamaha AR190 (2016-) is 28.4 mph (45.7 kph), and the boat gets 4.51 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.92 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 122 miles.
• Top speed for the Yamaha AR190 (2016-) is 43.2 mph (69.5 kph), burning 11.9 gallons per hour (gph) or 45.05 liters per hour (lph).

AR192 -

• Best cruise for the Yamaha AR192 (2016-) is 28.5 mph (45.9 kph), and the boat gets 2.68 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.14 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 72 miles.
• Top speed for the Yamaha AR192 (2016-) is 48.6 mph (78.2 kph), burning 21.35 gallons per hour (gph) or 80.81 liters per hour (lph).

 

[Jason Talley]

WOW! That is a pretty huge difference. Definitely something to think about. Almost half the range of the 190.

 

[swatski]

@Jason Talley Welcome to the club! Glad you found this forum, it is AMAZING. I'm a jet boat newbie. Coming from outboards, for me the push to get a jet was strictly about safety of the kids. My kids are nuts, and I just couldn't have fun anymore - constantly worrying about the meat grinder hanging at the stern...

I looked at several twin Yammies, almost got a used 230 on at least two separate occasions... before finding an almost new SX190 for about 20k in my own neighborhood - and I jumped on it. My thinking was I would just see what these boats are all about... Well, I ended up liking the stupid thing so much, no way I'm getting rid of it anytime soon...

What really surprised me was these 19fters do not feel like 19fters, if you know what I mean, they are SO well designed inside, and the hull is superb, handling like a much bigger boat. And I love how I can still shove it around the driveway on my own, push it off a sand bar, super easy tow, and crazy easy maintenance with one engine.

As far as performance, there is a couple of very inexpensive mods that will make a 190 go 45+mph, and pull like a mule. However, it costs several thousands to mod a 190 to the performance level of a stock 192. So, the superchargers have their merits, and really shine at elevation. But either way, a properly dialed-in 190/192 will not disappoint performance wise, single engine notwithstanding. And if you don't care for performance mods as a hobby - it is an awesome platform strait from the factory. With one notable exception: sound level.

That has been my biggest complain, by far, about these boats. I was aware of it before I purchased, and thought I was prepared... But, when I went out for the test drive... I just started laughing hysterically at some point, it was so unreal how loud this little boat was...

I have spent ridiculous amount of time and money deadening the beast, which overall has been successful enough. I'm okay with the sound level and eliminated most of the rattle, but be aware that there are limits to what you can do post-factory to deaden the noise. If the new 190s were offered with sound reduction similar to the new 240s I would consider getting one.

 

[Wayloncle]

@Jason Talley
Have you looked as far as San Antonio? The dealer down the road from me has a few 19 footers that I am pretty sure are 2015 leftovers. Kent Powersports is the name.

I can stop by there Tuesday and see what they are for sure, they are closed Monday.

 

[Jason Talley]

@swatski ! Thanks for that info! Very insightful. The noise levels do appear to be loud from what I hear. I'm sure most days we will be anchored and swimming with the young ones leaving me to deal with it when I'm out solo, having fun.

@Wayloncle , I've just started looking a little further out. I have seen a few but none with pricing attached or listed. I need to call them when they open again on Tuesday! I appreciate your assistance.

Id love to store the boat in our garage for ease of access to it when we want to take it out as well as saving $100+/month on storage. My wife refuses to park/load the kids in the driveway on rainy days...so done more research on that is needed.

From what I understand, the AR won't fit due to the tower height. I'm leaning towards the SX due to the captains chair and lower height.

 

[LTM1964]

I have a 2015 SX192. It does burn a lot of fuel for the size but we don't really cruise at all. Every lake we go to has a ramp near where we want to be. And, like others have said, it is kind of noisy so it isn't like cruising on a pontoon. Also, since cruise speed is 28.5 mph, it doesn't take long to get anywhere on a lake anyway so most of our "cruises" are less than 20 minutes. We always burn more fuel towing to the lake than operating the boat.
I do believe a 21 foot twin engine would be nice but a top priority for this boat was to fit in the garage. Even if the 21 foot would fit in the garage, the tandem axle trailer wouldn't have made the turn. I can easily maneuver the single axle trailer in the driveway and garage with a manual dolly. When I do need to get a larger boat, storage will be another expense of that purchase.
The 192 is plenty comfortable for four adults to spend the day at a cove. I can feel that the time-to-plane is slightly longer with four adults but not by much. It would get crowded pretty quickly with more than four adults.
Here is a reason you may want to try to find a leftover 2015 model: I think the 2016 boats have a rudder hanging below the nozzle. I don't think I would be able to pull the trailer into my driveway if I had that. I think there are other places where I might have clearance problems also. Also, one of the benefits of a jet boats has been the shallow draft. You can add Thrust Vectors to help low-speed steering. They don't hang down far and will pivot up if they strike anything.

 

[Jason Talley]

Thanks for that input @LTM1964 . We will rarely have more than 4 adults and 4 small children. Most of the time it would be our family of four.

I'm at the show today and plan on telling the salesman that we are not going to put a deposit down just yet as we want to search around for a new 2015, first.

I'll let you all know how it goes. The wife is with me today to give her input.

 

[Jason Talley]

I went to the boat show again yesterday with my wife. She really liked the boat. She understood the differences between the four 19' models and still liked the 192's features. She also seems to be making SOME concession on the use of the garage to store it given she pointed out the AR won't fit in the garage. Hmmm.

We put a refundable deposit down on the Black SX192 and will be setting up a test run soon.

I attempted to call a few places around Texas/OKC that have similar 2015s but don't feel the cost difference really pays off. The best was a 2015 in OKC that they have listed for 31k (boat show pricing) that they are offering no additional incentives on. Additionally, it has the painted trailer. Once we make the trek, pay for gas, time, and upgrade the trailer, we would be close to where we are with the 2016 her in Houston.

Any opinions.

 

[skrip345]

The AR towers fold, I put mine in my garage. It would take some driving, but mines for sale. If you are serious pm me and we can discuss sharing the drive and price... https://jetboaters.net/threads/2013-ar192-in-missouri.8101/