New to me 2017 AR210

[motomark73]

Hello to all, I recently moved within 3 miles of Lake Lanier in the northern Atlanta suburbs and immediately bought a kayak and paddle at least once a week if temps reach 50F... out on the lake even now I still see plenty of boats out. So of course I think a powerboat would be fun for the family. Initially, I was looking solely at sterndrives of upper middle tier lake boats- Chaparral, Regal, SeaRay, Four Winns, Crownline. Then I realized I may find myself in intracoastal waters in Florida (Merrit Island area) and maybe an outboard motor made more sense. So I started looking at Chapparal Suncoasts and Regal OBX's... and my money sure did not go very far. I lurked and read for many months, this board has many kind and patient people on it. One of the allures of a Yamaha jet boat vs a sterndrive is ease of maintenance and as an avid DIY'er in most things- this forum as a reference source. And the layouts of the transom area for sitting in a cove is basically like 2' of free space for like size boats. So I am now a jet boat owner. I did buy a boat with known issues on both motors (TR-1). I think one will be rebuildable the other has no holes in the block, so is probably a good core. Interior cleaned up extremely well and the boat had some nice JL Audio upgrades.
I have it with a reputable local shop but have already been warned parts availability is a nightmare. Two quick questions: Are there any good shops that routinely rebuild TR-1's? I have read enough questionable feedback on SBT specific to the newer TR-1 that I would not use them. I am bent to get this boat on the water by May 1st and that includes if I need to buy a VX ski just to take the TR-1 out of it. Hoping folks have ideas, but I am planning for the dreaded message that I am missing a couple of gaskets with delivery dates measured in months. Prefer not to buy a "running" eBay TR-1 but that option is on the table, too.

 

[212s]

In the wake of this covid crap, parts could be an issue. How about like you said, buy a used ski and have the motor pulled? Probably save you a lot of trouble.

 

[Sean R]

A 2017 with eng issues don't like the sound of that. Welcome, I am on Allatoona haven't ventured to Lanier yet.

 

[Brad460]

How does a 2017 have bad engines? Got any details on what happened? What’s the failure mode?

 

[motomark73]

Sad story, not a Yamaha quality issue. Previous owner beached it on intracoastal island for several hours, apparently at low tide. He forgot to leave bilge pump on, tide came in with waves coming over transom and when he realized what happened he tried to start it and get it moving, but the starboard intake was already underwater and ingested a bunch of saltwater, port allegedly runs poorly- still a question mark.

 

[motomark73]

So a long overdue update...The starboard block was shot, bent rod, head might be OK. Port motor was actually good. Picked up a pair of <60 hour 2018 Yamaha EX Sport jetskis that were freshwater only skis from upstate SC just a couple hours delta between them. So I decided to swap the "matching pair" of ski motors on the boat and took the higher hour port motor from the boat and put it in one of the jet ski hulls. So I have a ski to play on, too. I got the boat back Saturday afternoon and we put about 4 hours on it Sunday. My wife enjoyed it so much, I knocked off work at 4:30 yesterday and we watched the sunset over Lanier yesterday after messing around another 3 hours on a Monday evening. It was glassy on the south side of Lake Lanier, pretty magical (and soon to be rare). Sitting on the back of the boat watching the sunset... the design folks at Yamaha really nailed the stern layout on this series of boats.

Highly recommend Jet Thrust Performance in Lawrenceville who did the motor shuffle and were super flexible in working with me to find the total lowest cost to make this a reliable boat. Supply chain is very challenging right now, but they made it happen and were extremely fair on pricing.

 

[Mesa50]

Glad you got it going. Sounds like you found engines just in time. Once these 80 degree days start happening more often, any type of watercraft will be hard to come by. Make sure to take a ride a few hours over to lake Jocassee in SC. There’s 7 waterfalls, and it’s surrounded by mountains.

 

[motomark73]

Wow thanks for the tip on Jocassee. My wife and I met at Clemson University and we were talking about hitting Keowee sometime this summer. Jocassee was not even on my radar, but it just leapfrogged Keowee. Thanks for the great tip, those waterfalls look like awesome spots to spend a summer afternoon.

 

[Mesa50]

Here’s a couple of them. We just went today.
It’s about a 2 hour drive for us. The dock is not parallel to the ramp, so you will have to launch, drive the boat to the dock, and then park the truck. Unless you have someone who is able to handle parking the truck and trailer. I would suggest a weekday over a weekend. It’s first come, first serve and once the parking lot is full, they don’t let any more boats out. Mid-week it feels like you have the whole lake to yourself. You can reserve a parking spot on-line for the weekend but they charge $50.00.