Looking to upgrade from 210 FSH to a 255 FSH Sport H

[TeenGee]

We mostly boat on the Banana River which seems to be frequently choppy. When the water is not choppy our 210 is a great boat. We feel our 210 does not handle choppy water well and are wondering if the 25' boats do better in choppy water.
We live in East Central FL. Can one of you take us for a test ride in a 252 or 255 FSH? We will meet you wherever is convent for you.
TIA.

 

[MilesPrower]

I had an AR210 (same hull as the 210 FSH) before I sold it and purchased a 255 FSH. I was hoping the 255 would handle Gulf chop better than the 210, but the 255 is slightly better in rough water only because it's heavier. It doesn't handle chop nearly as well as my neighbor's 23 ft Sportsman bay boat or my other neighbor's 24 ft Cape Horn offshore boat.

IMHO, Yamaha's 25 ft hull is suited more for wake-sports on lakes than it is for riding in chop.

If the forecast is for waves greater than 1-2 ft in the Gulf or 1.5 ft in Pensacola Bay, or there's any wind-chop from 15+ kt winds, I don't bother taking my 255 out. Meanwhile, the Sportsman and Cape Horn have no problem cutting through waves and chop in those same conditions.

 

[TeenGee]

Do you think these would help?

Seakeeper Ride Underway Stabilization | Replace Trim Tabs Today

Check out our Vessel Attitude Control System for small boats. The system auto levels & provides running angle perfection making trim tabs & interceptors obsolete.

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[MilesPrower]

Do you think these would help?

Seakeeper Ride Underway Stabilization | Replace Trim Tabs Today

Check out our Vessel Attitude Control System for small boats. The system auto levels & provides running angle perfection making trim tabs & interceptors obsolete.

ride.seakeeper.com

There are a few threads here on jetboaters describing how stabilizers improved the ride in waves and chop. For opinions on Seakeeper and other ride stabilizers, I'd recommend doing a search if you haven't already. I myself have never ridden in a boat with stabilizers.

I do have trim tabs, and they are crucial for controlling list and keeping the bow down — and I'll never own another boat without tabs — but they can't turn a lake boat into a near/offshore boat. I didn't have trim tabs on my 210, so I can't say if adding tabs/stabilizers to a 210 would offer a bigger or smaller improvement than adding them to a 255, but you might want to try riding in a 210 equipped with tabs or stabilizers to see if adding them to your own 210 might work for you, instead of buying a whole new boat.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I boat in Lake St. Clair, and the Great Lakes. When Lake St. Clair is a Bath Tub 1-3' rollers or the wind is higher and with Tabs I can run 1-3' no problem in my 210. Like night and day after I put the trim tabs on. Highly recommend the trim tabs.

Of course tabs don't do much for you when you are standing still.

 

[TeenGee]

I've got Lectrotabs with the ALC-1. They seem slow to respond and I find I need to adjust them based on the wind direction. On the plus side, I can use the tabs to bring the steering back to center when there is a cross wind or swell.
If I get a 255, I think I will try out the Seakeepers.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Yeah, I didn't like the ALC controller. I have the SLC-1.

 

[TeenGee]

We got to test drive a 2024 252 FSH. It handled the chop better and seemed quieter than our 210 FSH. Trim tabs are a must. On our 210, When there's a cross wind I can adjust the tabs so the wheel is close to centered. On the 252, I needed to crank the wheel almost to the 6:00 position and the boat heeled into the wind. Since Seakeepers will fit the 25' boats, I think we will go for those.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

We got to test drive a 2024 252 FSH. It handled the chop better and seemed quieter than our 210 FSH. Trim tabs are a must. On our 210, When there's a cross wind I can adjust the tabs so the wheel is close to centered. On the 252, I needed to crank the wheel almost to the 6:00 position and the boat heeled into the wind. Since Seakeepers will fit the 25' boats, I think we will go for those.

How did you like the power with the 1.9’s?
Do you think it was quieter / smoother than your 210?
How did you like the extra 4’ of boat? Enough additional deck space?
How did you like it around the dock?
Helm seat?

 

[TeenGee]

I babied the boat because it only had 5 hours on the clock and the dealer was kind enough to let me test drive it. I only ran it up to 30 mph.
It did seem quieter which might have been because it was running lower RPM, not sitting on the top of the engine cover, and / or the engine is 4 feet behind the helm.
The extra length was mostly in the stern. Forward of the helm might have been a foot longer than the 210.
I did not maneuver around the dock it did not have Helm Master so I can't judge it.
I liked the helm seat. I did not feel that the rails in the seat were uncomfortable like the Jetboat Pilot reviewer said. The helm seat was the correct height. I feel the seat on the 210 is about 6 inches too high.
One last note. The wake seemed smaller than our 210 at similar speed.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I babied the boat because it only had 5 hours on the clock and the dealer was kind enough to let me test drive it. I only ran it up to 30 mph.
It did seem quieter which might have been because it was running lower RPM, not sitting on the top of the engine cover, and / or the engine is 4 feet behind the helm.
The extra length was mostly in the stern. Forward of the helm might have been a foot longer than the 210.
I did not maneuver around the dock it did not have Helm Master so I can't judge it.
I liked the helm seat. I did not feel that the rails in the seat were uncomfortable like the Jetboat Pilot reviewer said. The helm seat was the correct height. I feel the seat on the 210 is about 6 inches too high.
One last note. The wake seemed smaller than our 210 at similar speed.

Thanks!