My new boat 2.0

[Ronnie]

A 2021 Yamaha GP 1800 R with a naturally aspirated 1,812 cc motor, like my other Yamaha boats.

I just picked it up from my local power sports shop (not Costco) on Friday (April 2nd) for just a few dollars short of $18k.

I broke it in yesterday, April 3rd. After the 1 hour and 35 minute process (5 mins under 2k rpms, 30 mins under 5k and 60 minutes under 6k), i got it to 66 mph according to its speedo with nearly a full
tank of 91 octane gas (interestingly my wife was keeping up on her 2021 FX but said her speedo read 59 mph, I’m sticking with 66 mph to help me reconcile the purchase price).

Top speed aside, this by far is the best PWC I’ve ever ridden and I’ve been riding them for over 35 years now. With the auto trim (aka launch and turning control), acceleration and high speed turns are excellent.With cruise control and no wake modes gone are the days of jet-skiers claw. Docking and slow speed maneuvers have never been easier with the reverse and brake functions








since my wife has a new Waverunner as well, and she loves it, it’s clearly going to be primarily a pwc season, our 242 can take a well earned break.

on a related note, the factory sound system was $880 including tax, and consists of 2 enclosed 4.5” speakers, a remote and an amp or 2. I was totally against it, at first, but after using it, I love it. At full blast and traveling against the wind I could not hear it so I think it needs more/should have come with a more powerful amp(s).

my only regret is not buying it and my wife’s Waverunner sooner (just couldn’t afford/justify it).

Kudos to my wife for sticking it out with me all day (11a to 8p door to door, including 3 hours of non stop riding in cold and cloudy conditions).

 

[Dave burke]

Beautiful PWCs. Congrats. I’ve owned boats all my life but never a PWC. Have been looking around for the last couple of years for a used pair. What made you decide to spend quite a bit of money on the two you bought?

 

[Ronnie]

Beautiful PWCs. Congrats. I’ve owned boats all my life but never a PWC. Have been looking around for the last couple of years for a used pair. What made you decide to spend quite a bit of money on the two you bought?

Actually, my son and I were against replacing our 03 and 06 fx waverunners but my wife fell in love with the 2020 fx limited we saw late last season (it didn’t help that the owner was a woman). After riding her ski for just a few miles i knew I had to get one of my own just for the cruise control and reverse features. I also decided to go with the 2021 gp because of its new auto trim (launch and turning control) feature, otherwise i would have gone used or to a new vX limited which is very much the same pwc (side by side and on paper). Plus at 51 I realize that I’m in the downward slope and I don’t want to go under ground with regrets that could be avoided this is also a great way/thing to bond with my wife and son over. I’m running out of time, whether I spend the money or save it won’t change that but it can/will change the quality of time that I have left. TMI ? Maybe but I’ve been to enough funerals in the past year that support my decision. On a more selfish note, although I want my family to be financially secure when I die, I am not bust my ass my a$$ at school and work all my life just so that they get a windfall.

In addition to the items I’ve purchased so far the spending is not over yet. We are looking to have a cover made for both skis and the trailer which would go from the side or our home to the fence over the area where we store the skis. It would have the same roofing material as our home so it won’t look jury rigged and should prolong the lives of the covers and paint. Surprisingly this is my wife’s idea. She really likes her new toy and wiped it and my ski down last night when we got home. We don’t wipe down our boat and have never done so to our skis before last night. When she was done she said, “this is the first and last time I will do that”.

 

[1WetBoat]

Awesome ski and great choice. It's just so much easier taking the ski out compared to the boat, logistics wise, lol.
When the craziness dies down I will also be looking for another ski for the wife, too many areas to explore by ski that you cant go with the boat.

 

[haknslash]

Did I read that right? These things are going for $18k now brand new?!?! Holy moly! Geez I remember paying maybe $5k back in 1996 for a new SeaDoo XP. Guess that settles it if the fam ever wants a PWC we will be going old and used lol.

Nice ride though I like the lines. I really want one of the new Superjet stand-up ski but they are rare af and also pretty expensive for what they are. I do wish the wife and I had our own beater 90’s PWC’s sometimes.

 

[Dave burke]

Actually, my son and I were against replacing our 03 and 06 fx waverunners but my wife fell in love with the 2020 fx limited we saw late last season (it didn’t help that the owner was a woman). After riding her ski for just a few miles i knew I had to get one of my own just for the cruise control and reverse features. I also decided to go with the 2021 gp because of its new auto trim (launch and turning control) feature, otherwise i would have gone used or to a new vX limited which is very much the same pwc (side by side and on paper). Plus at 51 I realize that I’m in the downward slope and I don’t want to go under ground with regrets that could be avoided this is also a great way/thing to bond with my wife and son over. I’m running out of time, whether I spend the money or save it won’t change that but it can/will change the quality of time that I have left. TMI ? Maybe but I’ve been to enough funerals in the past year that support my decision. On a more selfish note, although I want my family to be financially secure when I die, I am not bust my ass my a$$ at school and work all my life just so that they can enjoy the money.

In addition to the items I’ve purchased so far the spending is not over yet. We are looking to have a cover made for both skis and the trailer which would go from the side or our home to the fence over the area where we store the skis. It would have the same roofing material as our home so it won’t look jury rigged and should prolong the lives of the covers and paint. Surprisingly this is my wife’s idea. She really likes her new toy and wiped it and my ski down last night when we got home. We don’t wipe down our boat and have never done so to our skis before last night. When she was done she said, “this is the first and last time I will do that”.

Thanks. Good advice. I’d love to get my wife back in the boat. She used to love it but hurt herself tubing a few years ago and won’t get back in it, or at least very rarely. Getting her a ski (and one for me of course!) sounds like a great idea.

 

[Ronnie]

The ski retails for $12,500. Dealer prep and sales tax were another $4,000. My original out the door price was just under $17k, the last $1k was the incremental price of the sound system. My wife’s ski retailed for $750 more but ended up being a little less because of the gp’s sound system cost. We both got the lowest models in the fx and gp line ups. Yamaha’s top of the line ski is the fx school, it comes with a tube, board, lines, depth finder and extra storage bag as well as a retail price of $17,500 before dealer prep, taxes, etc. for comparison I saw a seadoo selling for $23,500 before taxes. My friends bought two with a trailer last year for just under $50k.my first jest ski was a new 1988 Kawasaki x2 with a 650 cc two stroke, $4,200 fully unloaded. I bought my 06 fx in 2010 for $5k unbundled. I sold it a few weeks ago for $5 k and my dealer said I severely underpriced it during the pandemic as he just sold an 08 for $13k. Pricing has been ridiculous for years it’s out of control now during the pandemic and more so because of lack of supply this year.

 

[Dave burke]

Yikes! But you can’t take it with you...

 

[Ronnie]

Yikes! But you can’t take it with you...

Exactly, just don’t run out before you leave.

 

[the MfM]

Yikes! But you can’t take it with you...

IDK... an f550 with the skis on a switch n go flatbed towing the 242 could work.

 

[the MfM]

Did I read that right? These things are going for $18k now brand new?!?! Holy moly! Geez I remember paying maybe $5k back in 1996 for a new SeaDoo XP. Guess that settles it if the fam ever wants a PWC we will be going old and used lol.

Nice ride though I like the lines. I really want one of the new Superjet stand-up ski but they are rare af and also pretty expensive for what they are. I do wish the wife and I had our own beater 90’s PWC’s sometimes.

The skis are going for what the boats were selling for twenty years ago.

 

[Toby]

Ronnie,

Did the sound system problem work itself out? I know you had some troubles at first with the speakers pairing and working...

 

[RobbieO]

The ski retails for $12,500. Dealer prep and sales tax were another $4,000. My original out the door price was just under $17k, the last $1k was the incremental price of the sound system. My wife’s ski retailed for $750 more but ended up being a little less because of the gp’s sound system cost. We both got the lowest models in the fx and gp line ups. Yamaha’s top of the line ski is the fx school, it comes with a tube, board, lines, depth finder and extra storage bag as well as a retail price of $17,500 before dealer prep, taxes, etc. for comparison I saw a seadoo selling for $23,500 before taxes. My friends bought two with a trailer last year for just under $50k.my first jest ski was a new 1988 Kawasaki x2 with a 650 cc two stroke, $4,200 fully unloaded. I bought my 06 fx in 2010 for $5k unbundled. I sold it a few weeks ago for $5 k and my dealer said I severely underpriced it during the pandemic as he just sold an 08 for $13k. Pricing has been ridiculous for years it’s out of control now during the pandemic and more so because of lack of supply this year.

Nice Jetski Ronnie....Looks like you were in the Delta?

 

[VitaminSea]

@Ronnie
So between the two skis, do you favor the GP or the FX?
Also, in the 2nd photo above, the nose really appears to plow through the water at no wake speeds. Do you know if the trim has any impact on this? It’s my biggest complaint on my 16 VX Cruiser HO, when ridding in the ICW and going through no wake areas where there’s boat wakes and chop to content with = a very wet ride!

Thanks for sharing your experience, happy for you and your wife!
I agree with other’s taking the ski(s) out for a short excursion is certainly less effort than launching the boat.

Oh, I tried the 303 Graphine Spray the other week on the ski. When I took it out, the water instantly beaded right off of the top side of the ski (like rain-x on the windshield). By the time I got back home, the ski was dry and without water-spots (its black)!!!

 

[Ronnie]

Ronnie,

Did the sound system problem work itself out? I know you had some troubles at first with the speakers pairing and working...

Thanks for asking. Yes, they operated great once I got on the water. I have to Re-pair sometimes when I kill and restart the engine but I assume that is normal. It didn’t take me long to really appreciate the integrated speaker system (not as much as my wife, I heard her singing along and at no wake mode with her DIY setup) but still wish the speakers were a little larger and/or more powerful as I couldn’t hear much at all at wide open throttle (WOT) into the wind but again assume that is normal. improvement wise, it would be nice if my playlist and current song info were displayed on the connext screen like Apple car play does in many modern cars.

misc note:
A guy in a side by side asked about the speakers. When I told him the price he said he would stick with his AirPods.

generally speaking the fx is more comfortable as it should be for the luxury class v. The sport class that the gp is in. Other small differences that i noticed are: lack of a cup holder, smaller connext screen and decals for the Yamaha badge (instead of raised letters) on the gp. Performance wise the gp is much more reactive to slight adjustments in the bar side to side weight shifting.The gp should smoke the fox off the line but I don’t know for sure yet.

 

[Ronnie]

@Ronnie
So between the two skis, do you favor the GP or the FX?
I favor my new gp1800 but bought it for the features the FX does not have, specifically for the auto trim and because it is shorter and lighter than the fx.


Also, in the 2nd photo above, the nose really appears to plow through the water at no wake speeds.Do you know if the trim has any impact on this? I don’t know if my wife took the pick when I was screwing around with the trim settings or not but I didn’t notice any water coming over the bow at no wake speeds. At the same time I’ve read a few reviews and seen a few videos all indicating it is a much wetter ride than the FX and my wife was complaining that the bow of my gp 1800 throws out a lot more spray than my 2006 fx and here 2021 fx.

I agree with other’s taking the ski(s) out for a short excursion is certainly less effort than launching the boat. This has been my experience as well. Now my general guideline is 4 or less, including myself, will be on the water, we take the skis. If more than four we take the boat out.

Oh, I tried the 303 Graphine Spray the other week on the ski. When I took it out, the water instantly beaded right off of the top side of the ski (like rain-x on the windshield). By the time I got back home, the ski was dry and without water-spots (its black)!!!

 

[Ronnie]

Nice Jetski Ronnie....Looks like you were in the Delta?

You are correct, we launched our of orwood and cruised to Tracy and back, passing skiers beach along the way. Even for as cold as it was there were still boaters beached and hanging out in bathing suits. Our next trip may be an overnighter to old Sacramento or Petaluma.

 

[anmut]

The ski retails for $12,500. Dealer prep and sales tax were another $4,000. My original out the door price was just under $17k, the last $1k was the incremental price of the sound system. My wife’s ski retailed for $750 more but ended up being a little less because of the gp’s sound system cost. We both got the lowest models in the fx and gp line ups. Yamaha’s top of the line ski is the fx school, it comes with a tube, board, lines, depth finder and extra storage bag as well as a retail price of $17,500 before dealer prep, taxes, etc. for comparison I saw a seadoo selling for $23,500 before taxes. My friends bought two with a trailer last year for just under $50k.my first jest ski was a new 1988 Kawasaki x2 with a 650 cc two stroke, $4,200 fully unloaded. I bought my 06 fx in 2010 for $5k unbundled. I sold it a few weeks ago for $5 k and my dealer said I severely underpriced it during the pandemic as he just sold an 08 for $13k. Pricing has been ridiculous for years it’s out of control now during the pandemic and more so because of lack of supply this year.

The f does anyone need a depth finder for on a PWC?! ? ? ?

"I wonder what the depth is here?"
* looks down
"Got it."

 

[RobbieO]

You are correct, we launched our of orwood and cruised to Tracy and back, passing skiers beach along the way. Even for as cold as it was there were still boaters beached and hanging out in bathing suits. Our next trip may be an overnighter to old Sacramento or Petaluma.

Do you enter any saltwater on any of those trips?

 

[Ronnie]

The rivers consist of brackish water which is technically a mixture of fresh and salt water. But the salinity of the water decreases and get colder the further up river you go, so the Petaluma route would be much more salty than the old Sacramento route.
One of the arguments against building more tunnels to route water to Scal is that would make increase salinity further up the rivers and change eco-systems for a lot of the wildlife. For instance, increase the chances of sharks swimming up river.