Newbie - AR210 vs 203 Vortex VRX

[BleacherBum16]

Need some opinions. Haven't bought my first boat yet but I have been eyeing Yamaha for well over a year. A few weeks back I put a deposit down on an AR210 that is supposed to be in by spring (fingers crossed). Stopped at a local Chapparal dealer today and they had a still new 2020 203 Vortex VRX on the showroom floor. Dealer is looking to move it since it is a 2020. With all options it is listed at $52K. The dealer made me an offer of $49K plus an additional $2K slip for the 2021 season. Any thoughts on this? I had my mind settled on the AR210 but this Vortex really caught my eye. The Vortex seems to have a few more bells and whistles but I am concerned over performance, quality and general ease of maintenance. Any thoughts or opinions is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[HangOutdoors]

Single Engine, Capacity for persons is less, boat is much lighter though. Beam is a bit narrower. Boat is about 1' shorter LOA. Closed cooling system I believe, which could be a big plus. I looked at that specific boat before I called up a dealer and bought the Yamaha sight unseen. Vortex Finish felt a bit better though and more polished, in hindsight. Good Looking boat. This forum I found while reviewing boats and it appeared to me that the Yamaha may be more maintenance friendly. Although that may not be the case in reality. Admiral wanted the bench seat and the ability to carry 10. I felt better about having a spare engine in case 1 goes down, whether or not that is something that will come into play every, I dunno.

I also felt the extra weight would help in the bigger water chop that I see in the Great Lakes. Of course this assumption is unfounded since I have not ever been in that Vortex on the water.

Just my two cents. Hopefully some owners will chime in for you.

 

[BleacherBum16]

Excellent info. Thank you for the reply! You brought up some good points that I was not really considering. The boat will located at a Marina on Lake Michigan so how it handles the big lake is of great importance to me. We have a ton of inland lakes around us too so having the ability to throw it on a trailer and easily drop it in another lake is also something we want. Based on what I've read on here (great resource, I agree) the Yamaha's are more maintenance friendly. Being a first time boater, just didn't want to make the wrong decision. I didn't think about the twin engine as a safety net either, another great point! The last thing I want to do is pass up a great deal or make a bigger mistake in buying the wrong boat. Thanks!

 

[Dave burke]

Agree with everything that’s been said. When I bought my 212X in 2017 I seriously considered the 223 VRX. I tested it as well. I liked the fit and finish better than the Yamaha and the performance was similar depending on which engine options you chose.

Ultimately I went with the 212x because I liked the Yamaha all-in pricing (chaparral nickels and dimes on the options), the swim platform, clean out ports and the fact that the engines were also made by Yamaha, not a third party.

I don’t regret my decision at all but still believe that the Chaps fit and finish is better.

 

[dadofral]

I have had two twin engine Yamahas and have always been happy, living close to Lake Michigan myself our newest boat has been out a few times on the "Big Lake" and does pretty well all things considering. I can't echo enough the ease of operation, maintenance, extra motor, etc. on the yamaha set up. Having room for extra friends and family is always a plus too.

 

[ripler]

Having clean out plugs is the reason I would choose Yamaha over any jetboat.

 

[HangOutdoors]

As a side note with the clean out plugs, In LSC in late summer the weeds float around pretty decently and I sucked some up about 10 miles off shore in a heavy chop. With the clean out plugs it was trivial to get on the swim platform and clean them out although it was pretty rough and I was bouncing around a good amount. I couldn't even imagine having to try and swim under the boat in that 3' + chop to try and get weeds out, would of probably taken me out. With out the clean out plugs would have either tried to make it in on one engine or call for a tow to calmer waters to alleviate the issue.

 

[GeauxDeep]

Last summer My brother traded in his 2 year old Vortex because the e-reverse module went out. The buckets were basically stuck in forward. The parts were going to be 5-6 weeks to get there and there were three other Vortex boats in line ahead of him. His dealer was dropping the Vortex line and I've heard that Chaparral is taking their name off the line. I haven't done any more research on that so you'd have to look that up for yourself. Agree with what they said above regarding the Vortex being lighter.....that's not always a good thing. I wouldn't want to be in anything any lighter than what i have now, 2015 AR210. We only boat on lakes and on busy days we still get a little beat up. I cant imagine something like Lake Michigan or any really big water. Anyway, I've been happy with the Yamaha and when the time comes I'll upgrade to another. Unless we decide on V-Drive for surfing. That's the only other boat I'd buy besides Yamaha.

 

[AZMark]

If you’re storing in a marina on a giant lake why wouldn’t you be looking at larger boats?
If I didn’t have to trailer I’d have a 24/25’ for sure and my next boat probably will be anyway.
They get a whole lot smaller once you get them out of the showroom & on the water!

 

[212s]

I don’t regret my decision at all but still believe that the Chaps fit and finish is better.

I agree with this from you and @HangOutdoors the Chap is nicer for fit and finish. I would have bought the 223 if the wife didn't nix me on the passenger seat. Turns out 8K more for the same features and options wasn't worth it either. Really happy with the Yamaha!

 

[212s]

Lake Michigan so how it handles the big lake is of great importance to me

The Vortex 203 with the 300hp ACE engine performs well, but for choppy water the more weight and deadrise, the better the ride. For casual use, I don't think it would be an issue and the 203 would be a great boat. We looked at the single engine models from all jetboat brands, but started to lean toward the twin engine models for the added weight, room, and deeper V deadrise which means a smoother ride through chop. We often boat in shallower lakes/rivers so the chop can get nasty.

Note that the shallower the water (say 5-30ft), the worse the wind-driven chop gets. Deep water has less wind-driven surface chop due to hydrodynamic energy displacement. Shallow water can't disperse the energy of the wind-waves, so they build up with constructive wave energy into short frequency waves which is horribly choppy. Deeper water allows the energy to deconstruct into the fluid and disperse allowing longer frequency waves and less of a "choppy" feel.

I gleaned this from my brother who has a degree in hydrodynamics and I have a degree in physics. Funny though, neither of us work in our educated fields of expertise...we both work in unrelated areas in which we excel beyond our fields. As my mon once said, "Life is funky"...maybe she meant to "swear" which makes it even better!

 

[212s]

They get a whole lot smaller once you get them out of the showroom & on the water!

Funny...we think our boat was BIGGER once we got it on the water. I think the vastness of the lake compared to the walls of the dealer made it appear smaller at the dealer. LOL

 

[poe14]

All I can say is don't buy the Chaparral vortex. I purchased a 2018 vortex 203 vrx this year and it has been non stop problems as soon as I put it in the water! eReverse module errors which put your boat into a limp mode and no throttle. I've even had my boat at my local Chaparral dealer, they replaced the module and it still is throwing errors and putting the boat in limp mode. I had to get towed back this weekend. Go with the Yamaha! On the water reliability is the most important thing and the Chaparral is the most unreliable boat I've ever been in!