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New Boat?????

TommyMcK

Jet Boat Addict
Messages
72
Reaction score
204
Points
122
Location
SW Florida / Middle Chesapeake
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2023
Boat Model
Wake
Boat Length
22
So, the conundrum...

I've had my AR230 since 2003. I originally purchased it because I had a place on the lower Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake (Crisfield, MD) and at the end of my 300' pier I had a grand total of 2' at low tide. The jet boat with its shallow draft seemed like a good idea. The boat served me faithfully for nearly 15 years with countless hours of wake board sessions, but trips across the bay seemed brutal at the times. I always attributed it to the hull shape of the jet boat, which I figured wasn't really designed for rough waters.

More recently I purchased a place on the Magothy river farther up the bay on the Western shore of the bay. The AR230 was still down in Crisfield at the time so I got a 21' Key West dual console. The Key West hull design was in theory designed for rougher waters, and in any case, the upper bay wasn't as rough anyway.

After a year or so with the Key West I was happy enough with it. The Yamaha 150 outboard seems bullet proof, and in general it's a great boat. Problem is, I recently sold the place in Crisfield, so I brought the AR230 back up. After sitting for a couple of years, the reverse gate cables locked up, but thanks to this site, I got fixed that right up. Now that the AR230 is back in action pretty much everybody I take out likes it better than the Key West. The back swim platform is great, the overall layout is great, and in general it's a great party barge. And the thing is damn fast. It clocks 55 easy peasy. And more than that, I swear that it handles chop significantly better than the Key West. And the way it gets up on a plane is just better for a variety of applications.

So, the question is...... Do I ditch both the AR230 and the new Key West and get a new AR240? I love the overall layout of Yamaha jet boats, but I also like the idea of being able to take a smallish boat out in less than optimal conditions. Does anybody have a sense of the relative handling of older Yamaha hull designs to newer ones? I see posts here with folks making runs to Bimini, so I figure there must have been some improvements.

I could keep the old AR230, but I'm in a financial position where I can afford new (or new-ish). Is there a real advantage to the newer designs? I don't really care about automatically synchronizing engines or other modern conveniences. But close-quarters handling or improvements in hull design would be significant for me.

Any advice appreciated.....
 

2kwik4u

Jetboaters Fleet Admiral
Messages
7,352
Reaction score
9,384
Points
532
Location
Georgetown, IN
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2017
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
19
I can't speak to the old vs new on the Yamaha platform specifically. I can say that our new '17 Yamaha AR190 rides 110% better than our '98 Rinker 182. Not certain if that is the 19 years in hull design catching up, or just a better platform in general, but for us, it was a night and day difference between the two hulls. The 182 beat us silly at times, and we've had the AR in similar conditions and it's MUCH smoother.

Any chance you can get a local to help you out with a test drive of a new AR240 before you plunk down the cash? Best way to get an answer on "how does it ride" is to.....well.....ride in it :D :D
 
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