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My scarab 215 review

Brett Thomson

Jet Boat Lover
Messages
2
Reaction score
3
Points
72
Boat Make
Scarab
Year
2014
Boat Model
HO Impulse
Boat Length
21
The vibration in the windshield is the 215 plate. Have your local dealer take them off and put new adhesive on them.
Pull the carpet out and order the smart mat. It's expensive but awesome on the feet and way easy to clean and adds a whole new dimension to the look of the boat.
 

Brett Thomson

Jet Boat Lover
Messages
2
Reaction score
3
Points
72
Boat Make
Scarab
Year
2014
Boat Model
HO Impulse
Boat Length
21
Frogboy
The vibration in the windshield is the 215 plate. Have your local dealer take them completely off and put brand adhesive on them. It solved my issue. Take the carpet out and order the smart mat. It's expensive but doesn't move at high speeds. It also feels awesome on the feet and adds a whole new look to the boat. Thanks for the review. Good stuff!
 

Aces_Over_Kings

Jet Boat Addict
Messages
64
Reaction score
42
Points
117
Boat Make
SeaDoo
Year
2010
Boat Model
Other
Boat Length
16
@Frogboy, How's that 215 HO Impulse treating you now that you've had some time to break it in and learn its idiosyncrasies?

Any new lovable features or pet peeves? Revised thoughts on initial quality? Is that 500HP massive overkill or just what the doctor ordered? Not that those are necessarily two different things, I guess. Haha.
 

Simon Bedard

Jet Boat Addict
Messages
45
Reaction score
11
Points
87
Location
quebec
Boat Make
Scarab
Year
2014
Boat Model
HO Impulse
Boat Length
21
It's my third boat with the rotax engine, push them to the limit and never had any problems with them. Even do some submarine with my 2007 sea doo chalenger 180 supercharged.. a lot of time and didnot break anything. After I bought a speedster 200 with 2 rotax engine, a 2004. was more than 350 hours when I change it for my new scarab this spring, Only do the scheduled maintenance, gonna do the same with my scarab, and with the 5 years rotax warranty..... cannot see any probs to come that the warranty will not cover for a long time. For the Mat, take the optional Scarab Mat , its heavy, have a great look, let the water pass and stay dry. And it never wanna fly! and I try the yams, no handling in comparaison, and I don't talk about the quality of the seat and of the finition, it is at the state of the art, better lookin even than the mastercraft and Malibu boat
 

Simon Bedard

Jet Boat Addict
Messages
45
Reaction score
11
Points
87
Location
quebec
Boat Make
Scarab
Year
2014
Boat Model
HO Impulse
Boat Length
21
The vibration in the windshield is the 215 plate. Have your local dealer take them off and put new adhesive on them.
Pull the carpet out and order the smart mat. It's expensive but awesome on the feet and way easy to clean and adds a whole new dimension to the look of the boat.
did the same . done a good job, for the mat and the 215 plate
 

Danny Alto

Jet Boat Lover
Messages
1
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Points
70
Location
San Diego, CA
Boat Make
Other
Year
2001
Boat Model
Other
Boat Length
21

HawkTX

Jet Boat Junkie
Messages
490
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211
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142
Location
McKinney, TX
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2013
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
24
That is a great looking boat!
 

octavio3311

Jetboaters Admiral
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342
Location
Brookfield, Ct
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2013
Boat Model
X
Boat Length
21
I'm not too far from 60mph - we can do 56-57 with the right conditions. Bimini closed, no boards on the racks, 1/2 tank, no wife, no daughter, and glass waters. No wife is the big 1, cause if she's on board, she'll start bitchin around 40.
But honestly - this speed thing is overrated. My lake is busy and real choppy on weekends. 60 isn't comfortable unless it's a weekday.

A buddy has a big block powered Checkmate. It'll do 70 all day, but it is not fun. Can't tip a beer back without chipping a tooth at that speed.

I've said if before - if you're looking for a 65+ mph boat, get a Baja or something. But those fast boats will sacrifice comfort. Every boat has it's pros and cons.
 

ScarabMike

Jetboaters Admiral
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Location
Green Cove Springs, FL
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2022
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
19
Since buying mine I've only been past 40 once. My boat rides the inter coastal, and inlets and its rare to get glassy conditions there unless your boating late at night. The speed thing IS over rated, at least for me. The biggest thing for me was the safety, warranty, styling, and the after sale experience from my dealer.

I would be more inclined to want to know how the 215 handles in the chop/rough water? Or maybe how the single throttle with dual engines feels compared to a dual throttle system? How about the optional ballast system? How good is it on fuel?
 

cane.mba

Jetboaters Commander
Messages
689
Reaction score
350
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197
Location
Nashville, Tn
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2012
Boat Model
Limited S
Boat Length
24
@ScarabMike, have you sucked anything up yet? We Yamaha owners tend to place a huge amount of importance on clean out ports, but I've never had to use them (knock on wood). It never seemed to be an issue for Sea Doo owners over the years, and in my mind it would be nice not to have to worry about a plug blow out.

The only feature I would want is dual throttles for maneuverability. It's pretty awesome to be able to walk the boat sideways, or pivot the boat in a circle as if a pole was extended from the lake bottom to the hull. However, it would be nice not having to deal with throttle sync issues.... ;)
 

ScarabMike

Jetboaters Admiral
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Location
Green Cove Springs, FL
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2022
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
19
@cane.mba I haven't sucked anything up yet. I have made a nice smoothie out of some seaweed,lol.

As far as spinning the boat like a top. This thing does that. You can stop it to a halt, and spin the boat to either side on its axis like the bats with two engines. Im pretty sure the dual engine Scarabs are even better. Yoy can see what Im talking about on the Caparral's boat test video. The Scarab is identical.
 

Brendon

Jet Boat Junkie
Messages
55
Reaction score
16
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127
Boat Make
Scarab
Year
Other
Boat Model
HO Impulse
Boat Length
Other
@ScarabMike what kind of range and fuel mileage do you get? any idea what it is for the 210 vs the 195 ho's
 

ScarabMike

Jetboaters Admiral
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Location
Green Cove Springs, FL
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2022
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
19
I honestly cant say. Most of the time I have the digital gauge set to depth, and speed. I can tell you I have gone from Jensen Beach to Juptiter (31 miles), carved the heck out of the water, and came back with plenty of fuel to spare.
 

johnnytan

Jet Boat Lover
Messages
2
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70
Boat Make
SeaDoo
Year
2003
Boat Model
Other
Boat Length
20
What is the draft on the 215? I have read specs from Scarab that describe both 12" and 15". Does anyone know the actual draft?, because the dealers and owners seem to read off the spec sheet they are reading at the moment
 
Last edited:

d_coyne1984

Jetboaters Admiral
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252
Location
Chanhassen, MN
Boat Make
Other
Year
2020
Boat Model
Other
Boat Length
21
I wonder why Yamaha hasn't gone to using a reverse gate similar the that on the Rotax engines? They have a similar design on their skis now. Patent issue?
 
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