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I agree with 99% of what you sat here @Julian, however in discussion with the Yamaha engineer we discussed slow speed handling and I told him that I had Thrust Vectors XL (@JetBoatPilot) and that they made a tremendous difference. He said that the guys he works with mostly think that the benefit that we consumers perceive is just that, a perception on our part and that there is no real hydrodynamic change or benefit to the fins. I called bullshit, but he seemed unconvinced of my position.
I agree with you @primedoc. Referring to your Yamaha engineering contact, I love people who render an opinion without any "real life" input. That does not make for a good engineer or scientist. You must keep an open mind. Fortunately we on this forum do and therefore are willing to experiment and push the envelope to Yamaha's benefit. It would be beneficial to have a "back channel" to Yamaha on this forum whether clandestine or not.
I drove my boat naked for a week after having the orginal cobra's for many years. The boat was actually more fun for me to drive naked (aka spin), but it just wasn't as easy to direct coming off plane or at idle. I put on the TV's and I can say both fin sets make a difference. I call bullshit.
To fix the spin when coming off plane, dont chop the throttle to idle. Slowly bring it back and let the stern plow for a second before settling off plane. This works well for me and I dont have the spin issue anymore.
As for as idle, the newer boats have the TDE which makes a huge difference IMO. Without it, I would consider fins. If you get a chance, drive a 2012+ boat with TDE and see how you like it...
Ok, re: fins v.s. no fins. . . . . So even though I took delivery of my 14' with Cobra's installed have driven Jet propelled boats and watercraft quite a bit, I am absolutely certain they are an improvement over stock steering at slow speeds. . . . In combination with TDE I have ZERO control issues at idle.
I purchased a 2014 242 LS a couple months ago and we have put about 30 hours on it so far. I was finless for the first month or so and added ThrustVector XL's to the boat. They made a huge difference to the low speed handling of the boat, although I can see how you would get the skills to *not* need them after a while.
In any case, love the boat, I guess the fact that mine is the last year of the current production design, means that it should have the least design and manufacturing issues, or that they are all known and *fixable* with tried and test solutions. I like that too.
It sounds to me like the engineer or developer mentioned above is closed minded about the aftermarket fins, saying the fins make no difference is like saying the sun doesn't rise in the east... At idle speed I would say I get 100 percent better steering response than without them. My LS does not have the TDE so I cannot speak to that, but on my boat they make a huge difference.
I had gotten really good in my sx210 with no fins.....But I soon learned that my AR240 was a different animal. I deal with tides, currents and crosswinds every time I go out, and the higher freeboard and tower made the new boat a beast to handle (comparatively speaking). I added TVXL's early this year and it helped tremendously.
I had gotten really good in my sx210 with no fins.....But I soon learned that my AR240 was a different animal. I deal with tides, currents and crosswords every time I go out, and the higher freeboard and tower made the new boat a beast to handle (comparatively speaking). I added TVXL's early this year and it helped tremendously.
A little bit on the Yammi engineer. I've been reading a book about a Grumman test pilot who worked for them in the 40's-50's. He'd test a plane and it wasn't flying right or would do something weird. He'd tell the engineers and they'd say it was his fault. He'd try again and something would break. Then the engineers would say, "Well, maybe that could happen"! He figured out the engineer pride wouldn't let them admit they were wrong. As for me, my 2013 240 drives like a regular boat in the first forward throttle detent. I've got the fins.
I'm done with the rumors. Yamaha needs to put some balls out there and release something innovative. This "ooch" approach is boring as hell, conservative business model be dammed. They're fattening up their wallets with a huge price increase over the last 5 years - now do something with it!
At the price point Yamaha is at, these boats should have a hand laid fiberglass shell and the flimsy board material on the sides removed.
Picture my dream....... At speed our steering would remain as it is now, but at slow speed the nozzles would swing 90 degrees left and 90 degrees right. A full 180 arc. Talk about some cool docking and low speed steering tricks!!
Of course the hull and steering would need to be replaced but an industry leader would be born.
Ahem .... Mother Yamaha you can send that royalty check via PayPal to jetboaterspayment@ gmail dot com!!
I agree about the level of refinement these boats should have at the price point where they now reside. Sure, the MSRP is less than what most comparable I/O boats carry, but the difference is that you can typically get big discounts on those boats where you can't on a Yamaha. I paid less than $30K for my SX210, but if I were paying 40 - 55K, I'd expect a greater level of refinement.
