New to jet boat - versatility versus wakesurf boats

[jcnst1]

Hello. I'm currently in analysis / paralysis mode trying to figure out what boat to buy for the upcoming summer. I started thinking a traditional bowrider with wakeboard tower was fine, but given my kids are 12 and 15, it's only a matter of time until they want to wake surf I'm sure. Then I started looking at wakesurf boats, but it seems crazy to buy a specialized boat for wakesurfing based on my assumption they'll want to do that. I know wakesurf boats can pull tubes and wake boarders, but after much research I stumbled on jet boats, which I wasn't too familiar with.

Soooo, while I know there is likely some bias here, I also assume many of you at one point owned stern drive, V drive and / or direct drive boats. I'd love your honest opinion on the versatility of a jet boat that we'll use for water sports (current interests are tubing, knee boarding and wake-boarding) but may grow into wake surfing. Before taking the plunge on a dedicated wake surfing boat, I figured if they could do it off a jet boat (which they can't off an I/O or outboard boat safely), it would help me decide on the next boat. My question, long story short, is how versatile is your jet boat? Can you wake board and wake surf, especially for novices? We'd use primarily on a fresh water lake and for water sports, cruising and hanging out at the lake. I really like the look of the Yamaha AR 240 and will be seeing one in the water in a couple weeks. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[tabbibus]

9 and 7 yo kids. And a baby. Last season we used our 242 for tubing and kneeboarding. Adults did wakeboarding.

 

[Stang7tl]

your riding on lake or ICW ETC? Have owned all 4 type(jet,inboard, I/O,and Outboard)

 

[jcnst1]

your riding on lake or ICW ETC? Have owned all 4 type(jet,inboard, I/O,and Outboard)

We'll be on lake's only.

 

[jocolo21]

Land locked? what is your location?

 

[jcnst1]

Land locked? what is your location?

Yes, land locked. We live in Wake Forest, NC so will mainly boat on a lake called Falls Lake. We also have a lake house in Western NC on a lake called Lake James, which I'll be trailering it to when we get up there for visits. Both are land-locked lake's.

 

[anmut]

Are you at all concerned with prop strikes?
Do you like boat maintenance and winterizing?
Is your wake boat dealership close by?

 

[jcnst1]

Are you at all concerned with prop strikes?
Do you like boat maintenance and winterizing?
Is your wake boat dealership close by?

Not too concerned about prop strikes. Less maintenance is better because it means more time on the lake. I haven't identified a wakesurf boat, which is why I'm looking for your experiences about versatility of a jet boat. It seems like I'm seeing more of them for sale, but many hard core boaters have told me to be careful because jets can cause problems. I wonder if that's just because they're tied to traditional motor boats, so am looking for your experiences.

 

[Schil]

i will be picking up my 2021 Yamaha 195S with options of the wake surf and sound system upgrade.
I was in the same boat as you but my decision was on jet drive or V drive (true wakeboarding/wakesurf boat)
I ended up picking a jet boat cause I will be going to a lot of unknown inland lakes. I was worried about taking the bottom end out of a sweet V drive wakeboarding boat.
Plus a wakeboarding boat here in Canada are very expensive compare to a jet drive.
if I new I was staying on a big lake, deep lake and had the money I would buy a true wakeboarding boat.

 

[four_the_kids]

We've raised four adults boating, literally. Our first boat was a 18' deckboat with an outboard where we tubed, skied, and wakeboarded behind. As they continued to grow (in age and quantity), we followed with a 20' I/O boat where we did pretty much the same. Our last purchase was a Yamaha boat. With years of reading articles (previous "Motorboating" magazine subscriber) of their advantages, (no props, layout, performance, maintenance, versatility), we've never regretted it. And there's not much that we can't do with it, wakesurfing included. And the memories made (and continue to be made) are limitless.

 

[haknslash]

@jcnst1 ,

I use my wake boat exactly the same as I did my jet boat. I go to the same places, coves etc. Yamaha states I would stay in at least 3’ of water and the draft of my vdrive is a little over 3’ of water so it was really no different where I took the vdrive or how I behave while navigating compared to my jet. I relax on my wake boat just as I did on my jet boat, if not more relaxed due to all the additional space. The jet boats do have a nice two tier stern and swim deck so I will give them that. Jet boats are more of a jack of all trades master none kind of boat. It can do a lot of things good but doesn’t particularly excel at any one thing. Maintenance on the jet boat is a little less involved than a v drive but there’s also two of everything if you get a twin engine boat so it’s kind of a toss up I suppose at the end of the day. Both boats have wear items that need to be maintained as well so again kind of a wash IMO.

Dealer support for a wake boat is important. Same for a Yamaha as there are some crappy dealers out there that really don’t treat their customers as anything other than another notch in their belt. At the end of the day you want to trust your dealer and get to know them before ever spending a dime with them and that goes for any boat, brand etc.

If you’re looking into water sports and you’re not scared of the big bad prop lol I’d say definitely give wake boats a hard look. I loved a lot of things about my Yamaha jet boat but one of the things that was frustrating was all the setup to try and make a wave. It’s just a chore to do, especially if you’re using throw over pumps to fill bags, tying them off and man handling them is just a lot to do in the middle of the hot ass summer days. I knew eventually the surf bug was going to eat at me until I caved so when I got the itch I started giving the wake boats a more serious look. Their prices weren’t too much more than a top of the line Yamaha X series but the overall foundation was going to be much better suited for what I wanted to do and that’s water sports, mainly surfing. I can’t tell you how nice it is to simply flip a switch, fill a crapload of ballast in minutes, flip a switch to surf a side and you’re off to the race. Minimal sweat involved. No cursing hot ass sun while I labored setting up my jet boat to make a wave. The engine in my wake boat is more powerful, more fuel efficient, quieter and just sounds nice with the v8 growl compared to the high pitch and revving of the Yamaha engines.

I could go on but you get the idea. There’s a long massive thread that kind of goes over my journey into researching them, to finding a dealer and brand I liked, to finally ordering a custom wake boat. There are others that also had a jet and eventually went to v drive wake boats In that thread so it may be of value to you,

My advise is to crawl over lo the boats you’re interested in. Drive and demo them all. Your gut will tell you what you want to do.

 

[jcnst1]

@jcnst1 ,

I use my wake boat exactly the same as I did my jet boat. I got to the same places, coves etc. Yamaha states I would stay in at least 3’ of water and the draft of my vdrive is a little over 3’ of water so it was really no different where I took the vdrive or how I behave while navigating compared to my jet. I relax on my wake boat just as I did on my jet boat, if not more relaxed due to all the additional space. The jet boats do have a nice two tier stern and swim deck so I will give them that. Jet boats are more of a jack of all trades master none kind of boat. It can do a lot of things good but doesn’t particularly excel at any one thing. Maintenance on the jet boat is a little less involved than a v drive but there’s also two of everything if you get a twin engine boat so it’s kind of a toss up I suppose at the end of the day. Both boats have wear items that need to be maintained as well so again kind of a wash.

Dealer support for a wake boat is important. Same for a Yamaha as there are some crappy dealers out there that really don’t treat their customers as anything other than another notch in their belt. At the end of the day you want to trust your dealer and get to know them before ever spending a dime with them and that goes for any boat, brand etc.

If you’re looking into water sports ad you’re not scared of the big bad prop lol I’d say definitely give wake boats a hard look. I loved a lot of things about my Yamaha jet boat but one of the things that was frustrating was all the setup to try and make a wave. It’s just a chore to do, especially if you’re using throw over pumps to fill bags, tying them off and man handling them is just a lot to do in the middle of the hot ass summer days. I knew eventually the surf bug was going to eat at me until I caved so when I got the itch I started giving the wake boats a more serious look. Their prices weren’t too much more than a top of the line Yamaha X series but the overall foundation was going to be much better suited for what I wanted to do and that’s waterspouts, mainly surfing. I can’t tell you how nice it is to simply flip a switch, fill a crapload of ballast in minutes, flip a switch to surf a side and you’re off to the race. Minimal sweat involved. No cursing hot ass sun while I labored setting up my jet boat to make a wave. The engine in my wake boat is more powerful, more fuel efficient, quieter and just sounds nice with the v8 growl compared to the high pitch and revving of the Yamaha engines.

I could go on but you get the idea. There’s a long massive thread I created that kind of goes over my journey into researching them, to finding a dealer and brand I liked, to finally ordering a custom wake boat. There are others that also had a jet and eventually went to v drive wake boats In that thread so it may be of value to you,

My advise is to crawl over lo the boats you’re interested in. Drive and demo them all. Your gut will tell you what you want to do.

Thanks for all the detail. I'll check out your thread as well.

 

[Crob83]

Not too concerned about prop strikes. Less maintenance is better because it means more time on the lake. I haven't identified a wakesurf boat, which is why I'm looking for your experiences about versatility of a jet boat. It seems like I'm seeing more of them for sale, but many hard core boaters have told me to be careful because jets can cause problems. I wonder if that's just because they're tied to traditional motor boats, so am looking for your experiences.

Usually just uneducated people on jet boats say that, the maintainence and reliability of these is second to none. Even a novice like me can handle most things, one of my buddies likes to give me shit and call it a big jet ski. Last time out at the lake I was out rolling while he was at the dock working on his motor that wouldn't go in gear...lol

 

[ripler]

I had a jet boat for 10 years and I switched to a V-Drive for this year. My Yamaha was 100% reliable for 10 years and I never had an issue with it. The jetstream behind a jetboat is rough, so if you are tubing, skiing, or wakeboarding you will want to stay on the sides. We wanted to take up wake surfing and when I bought my new boat and I didn't even give Yamaha a look. If you are looking to buy a non wake series boat from Yamaha, be prepared to add a bunch of aftermarket things to make it surf worthy. If you are looking at Yamaha's wake series boats then you are getting into the price range of V-drive boats. Some reasons I didn't go back to Yamaha is they are loud, I didn't want a boat with all of the expensive electronics that Yamaha is using, their warranty isn't that great and they are no longer an inexpensive boat which is what drew me to Yamaha in the first place. There is a big misconception about the maintenance on a V-drive, I guarantee that when I have to change oil or winterize my new boat it will be way easier and take less time than my Yamaha did. I won't miss sucking the oil out using an extractor hoping that I got enough out and didn't put too much back in. I won't miss laying over a warm engine while trying to get the oil filter off and trying not to spill oil everywhere in the bilge. Having dealer near buy is huge and neither my Yamaha dealer or the dealer for my MasterCraft nearby, so this wasn't even part of my decision. That being said if you do need to have work done out of warranty, it will be a lot easier to find a marine mechanic that will work on a V-Drive, Inboard, or I/O than it will be to find a mechanic that will work on a Yamaha. I do have to say that one of the biggest advantages of having a Yamaha is the support that you will get from this forum. The amount of members here and the knowledge that they bring is second to none. There are a lot of good people here that will go out of their way to help a fellow jetboater. Even though I don't have a jetboat anymore, I still like to come here to add any of my limited knowledge where I can.

Good luck in your search for a new boat, the are harder to find than bigfoot.

 

[anmut]

Not too concerned about prop strikes. Less maintenance is better because it means more time on the lake. I haven't identified a wakesurf boat, which is why I'm looking for your experiences about versatility of a jet boat. It seems like I'm seeing more of them for sale, but many hard core boaters have told me to be careful because jets can cause problems. I wonder if that's just because they're tied to traditional motor boats, so am looking for your experiences.

I did extensive research, lurking, and dealership visits over the last 6 months looking to buy a legit vdrive. Here’s the pros and why I wanted to trade my 2020 Yamaha:

Easy surf setup. All automatic and can switch regular and goofy in seconds. Setup and switching sides are the biggest problem with Yamaha.

Fit, finish, and luxurious options. Both the Tige 23 ZX, Nautique G21, and the Supra SL and SE we nearly bought were floating Cadillacs. Power towers, amazing out of box sound systems. Heated seats, power everything, LED lighting, reverse cameras, stern thrusters, and the list goes on. These hand built boats are nothing short of amazing when put beside a Yamaha.

Resale value on a wake boat holds much better than a Yamaha.

So after all of that I kept the Yamaha and DAMN am I glad I did!

First, all of these hand built boats require an amazing amount of constant maintenance. I became aware of this after joining all the brand fanboy groups on Facebook and by downloading all the user manuals and reading them. All the impellers need to be replaced at 100 hours. Oil changes at 50. All engines required at min 89 gas, most required 91+. Winterizing requires pulling a half dozen plugs, flushing, etc.

Secondly, vdrives by their nature draft a lot of water. The boats I mentioned all draft at least 2.5 feet. Brass props start at about $700 and you need a kit to change them out. Unlike a outboard prop, the slightest prop ding will throw everything out of alignment and you’ll need to pull the boat out of the water to change props. Just yesterday I read a post on Facebook where a guy had a prop strike on a brand new Nautique in the prop not only got wrecked but it bounced up enough to hit the lower hull and cause $10-$15,000 in damage to the boat structure. Guys do swap on the water, but you have to go under and hold your breath!

Finally, these boats as not “sandbar friendly.” They require deeper water mooring to keep from damaging fins and props. And while the three models I mentioned above have transom seating, it’s just not as friendly and open as a Yamaha at the sandbar.

For me it was these issues that I did not give up my Yammie:

Maintenance and winterizing is a breeze. Sandbar time is easy and inviting to all. Setup for water sports sucks and the waves, in comparison, suck. But also, our main body of water was 4’ lower than it usually is this time of year, so I can still hammer down through 2’ of water if need be without risking much.

The other thing that we found out, and that many people that bought a boat built during Covid times, is that quality control seems to have really gone out the window. I have read many stories of new $150,000 plus boats needing immediate warranty work after less than 10 hours on the water. We’re talking engines, failed electronics, and other “show stoppers.” I can even attest to that personally as the Tige boat that we looked at already needed warranty work on the windshield and the sound system (which didn’t work when we went to see it).

if you have any specific questions feel free to DM me.

Someday a vdrive might be in my future but for now, and for our family, the Yamaha still takes every check box.

 

[Acard7]

I think your absolute best bet is to look up some YouTube videos on the wake series jet boats vs wake boats, plenty of people have surfed behind jet drives and look pretty good. Maintenance on a jet boat is far easier, and I really mean FAR easier than a V drive ever will be. The reason we switched from I/O to jet boat is because the maintenance and more bang for your buck (along with safety and layout). And in the future we plan to buy a Yamaha 252X/255X since those have all the mods standard for surfing (Our 3 year old loves tubing for now). I’m not sure what your budget is but my friend bought a wakesetter recently and he still had to get some mods for it as well (wake shaper being one of them). So definitely do your research when finding things standard on

As for the discussion of the “loudness” of jet boats over others.. When we had our first ride in our jet boat I had the expectation that the engines were going to drown out everything and anything. Well I can say it didn’t and I could talk to another person and my wife was running around 7-9k RPMs. We have an 08 AR230 so it doesn’t have really any sound deadening compared to newer models. So I was pleasantly surprised that it was only slightly louder than our I/O. To be honest when you’re cruising along the wind gets louder anyways.

like anything just do your due diligence, there are plenty of forums, videos, etc at your fingertips to really make an informed decision! And when you do show us the pics of what you went with!!!

 

[haknslash]

I did extensive research, lurking, and dealership visits over the last 6 months looking to buy a legit vdrive. Here’s the pros and why I wanted to trade my 2020 Yamaha:

Easy surf setup. All automatic and can switch regular and goofy in seconds. Setup and switching sides are the biggest problem with Yamaha.

Fit, finish, and luxurious options. Both the Tige 23 ZX, Nautique G21, and the Supra SL and SE we nearly bought were floating Cadillacs. Power towers, amazing out of box sound systems. Heated seats, power everything, LED lighting, reverse cameras, stern thrusters, and the list goes on. These hand built boats are nothing short of amazing when put beside a Yamaha.

Resale value on a wake boat holds much better than a Yamaha.

So after all of that I kept the Yamaha and DAMN am I glad I did!

First, all of these hand built boats require an amazing amount of constant maintenance. I became aware of this after joining all the brand fanboy groups on Facebook and by downloading all the user manuals and reading them. All the impellers need to be replaced at 100 hours. Oil changes at 50. All engines required at min 89 gas, most required 91+. Winterizing requires pulling a half dozen plugs, flushing, etc.

Secondly, vdrives by their nature draft a lot of water. The boats I mentioned all draft at least 2.5 feet. Brass props start at about $700 and you need a kit to change them out. Unlike a outboard prop, the slightest prop ding will throw everything out of alignment and you’ll need to pull the boat out of the water to change props. Just yesterday I read a post on Facebook where a guy had a prop strike on a brand new Nautique in the prop not only got wrecked but it bounced up enough to hit the lower hull and cause $10-$15,000 in damage to the boat structure. Guys do swap on the water, but you have to go under and hold your breath!

Finally, these boats as not “sandbar friendly.” They require deeper water mooring to keep from damaging fins and props. And while the three models I mentioned above have transom seating, it’s just not as friendly and open as a Yamaha at the sandbar.

For me it was these issues that I did not give up my Yammie:

Maintenance and winterizing is a breeze. Sandbar time is easy and inviting to all. Setup for water sports sucks and the waves, in comparison, suck. But also, our main body of water was 4’ lower than it usually is this time of year, so I can still hammer down through 2’ of water if need be without risking much.

The other thing that we found out, and that many people that bought a boat built during Covid times, is that quality control seems to have really gone out the window. I have read many stories of new $150,000 plus boats needing immediate warranty work after less than 10 hours on the water. We’re talking engines, failed electronics, and other “show stoppers.” I can even attest to that personally as the Tige boat that we looked at already needed warranty work on the windshield and the sound system (which didn’t work when we went to see it).

if you have any specific questions feel free to DM me.

Someday a vdrive might be in my future but for now, and for our family, the Yamaha still takes every check box.

There is some misconception there in that post I feel should be clarified a little.

There is only 1 impeller on an inboard engine so there is no plural there. I’ve had my boat since 2018 and this will be the first year I’ve had to swap the impeller. Oil changes intervals are no different than a Yamaha. I change my oil once a season just as I did with my Yamaha. Yes there are 16 spark plugs to change in a Raptor engine which was a bit of an eye opener for me lol. There are a handful of engine water plugs that need to be removed for winterizing. Thankfully access to the engine in an inboard is usually pretty good as you can remove the side panels and work on the boat. It sure beats laying on top of an engine like I had to do with my Yamaha.

As i mentioned before, Yamaha states not to operate these boats in less than 3’ of water. Can you technically get in less water? Sure but you’re rolling the dice there. If you look around or have been on the forum long enough you’ll know why...

Plenty of people in inboards beach their boats. Tons of pictures of this so not sure where this is coming from. Personally I’m not a fan of beaching a boat as it’s seems kind of not smart to purposely put your boat in a situation where it could easily get damaged but hey, it’s your gel coat, fiberglass, time and money....not mine lol. My point is you can beach an inboard and there’s plenty of pictures and videos out there of drunken fools and hot babes all partying on some sand bar with a bunch of vdrive s and other boats beaches.

Yes COVID has played a role in manufacturing industry. The same goes for Yamaha. IMO now is NOT the time to buy or sell because the future is so unpredictable right now. Yes I could probably make money on my boat if I sold it right now but I’d also be without a boat likely for all of this year and possibly into next year or worse. You can’t put blame on one type of boat and pretend it’s not affecting everything. Every single sector of the manufacturing industry is being affected by procurement sourcing issues, doesn’t matter if it’s making pencils, boats, fire extinguishers you name it.

 

[captras]

20 years with a 21 foot stern drive. Switched to jet... never looked back

 

[anmut]

There is some misconception there in that post I feel should be clarified a little.

There is only 1 impeller on an inboard engine so there is no plural there. I’ve had my boat since 2018 and this will be the first year I’ve had to swap the impeller. Oil changes intervals are no different than a Yamaha. I change my oil once a season just as I did with my Yamaha. Yes there are 16 spark plugs to change in a Raptor engine which was a bit of an eye opener for me lol. There are a handful of engine water plugs that need to be removed for winterizing. Thankfully access to the engine in an inboard is usually pretty good as you can remove the side panels and work on the boat. It sure beats laying on top of an engine like I had to do with my Yamaha.

As i mentioned before, Yamaha states not to operate these boats in less than 3’ of water. Can you technically get in less water? Sure but you’re rolling the dice there. If you look around or have been on the forum long enough you’ll know why...

Plenty of people in inboards beach their boats. Tons of pictures of this so not sure where this is coming from. Personally I’m not a fan of beaching a boat as it’s seems kind of not smart to purposely put your boat in a situation where it could easily get damaged but hey, it’s your gel coat, fiberglass, time and money....not mine lol. My point is you can beach an inboard and there’s plenty of pictures and videos out there of drunken fools and hot babes all partying on some sand bar with a bunch of vdrive s and other boats beaches.

Yes COVID has played a role in manufacturing industry. The same goes for Yamaha. IMO now is NOT the time to buy or sell because the future is so unpredictable right now. Yes I could probably make money on my boat if I sold it right now but I’d also be without a boat likely for all of this year and possibly into next year or worse. You can’t put blame on one type of boat and pretend it’s not affecting everything. Every single sector of the manufacturing industry is being affected by procurement sourcing issues, doesn’t matter if it’s making pencils, boats, fire extinguishers you name it.

Yes, one impeller for the motor. And one impeller for each ballast pump. Those all need to be changed as well.

Oil changes on Yamaha is 100 hours, 50 hours per Tige and Supra.

 

[ripler]

There is some misinformation about V-drives in this thread, so I would suggest visiting some dealers that carry V-drives so you can form your own opinion.