OK Screw it I'm In

[NewGuy]

I'm a little queasy as a natural born tight wad, but I went ahead and bought an AR250 despite the fact I still believe the tower and windshield are suspicious Covid workarounds. Tims Ford Powersports in Tennessee was great to work with. I know I've bought at the very top of the market and bought a boat I've never seen or driven, but another season of crappy rentals was not for us. Still nuts! and I actually sold boats (Cobalt, Crownline, Rinker, Formula, Misty Harbor, Maxum, Crestliner) a loooong time ago in a land far far away. Never sold one to a guy without at least a test drive. Wow! Who am I?

 

[Yambers]

Right there with ya. I fell in love with the overall usability and design. The rest is trivial. I guess I will see if I like it during my water test in a couple of months..

Welcome aboard!!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Who knows, buying a boat without driving it first is what put me where I am , had I driven it I would never have purchased it and never invented aftermarket jet boat steering 20 years ago.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I never drove one, haven't walked or even seen a Yamaha up close and didn't even consider buying a boat till last April when I realized all of the family's vacations and plans went out the window for the year cause of the Pandemic. I was sitting at my home office desk reading an article on things to do during the outbreak. There was discussion of boating. Called up several dealers, looked at Chapperal, Bayliner, and others. Did a lot of reading the next couple of days and decided a jet boat is what would be the best, mainly for the lack of props and the kids. Called up Wonderland Marine. Bought it sight unseen over the phone through a dealer I didn't know and picked it up a few weeks later and drove it home in a crazy hail and thunderstorm alone not able to see the road wondering what the hell am I doing......

In Hindsight, Best decision I have made in a long, long time......

 

[NewGuy]

Thank you guys for easing my cognitive dissonance! I went with new and Yamaha due to reputation, so hopefully it works out. Hard to take a chance on used here in Nashville because labor is sooo tight and you could easily miss half the season if something breaks. I do miss boat life and selling boats (20 years ago through my college years). We had a great dealership and customers loved us. One rather rotund lady was so happy with her purchase (Rinker 232), she even picked me up and hugged me about 3 times after our deal. Boat people are the best!

 

[212s]

Never sold one to a guy without at least a test drive. Wow! Who am I?

Congrats on the new boat!
Don't fret it...these are great boats and we didn't test drive a twin Yamaha before purchase either, although we did test some others. No regrets with this boat, handles great, has tons of power, and a joy to drive.

 

[Onnieray]

I'm a little queasy as a natural born tight wad, but I went ahead and bought an AR250 despite the fact I still believe the tower and windshield are suspicious Covid workarounds. Tims Ford Powersports in Tennessee was great to work with. I know I've bought at the very top of the market and bought a boat I've never seen or driven, but another season of crappy rentals was not for us. Still nuts! and I actually sold boats (Cobalt, Crownline, Rinker, Formula, Misty Harbor, Maxum, Crestliner) a loooong time ago in a land far far away. Never sold one to a guy without at least a test drive. Wow! Who am I?

I may have missed it but what is the workaround with windshield and tower

 

[marcham]

There's a uniqueness and something about these boats that just makes sense. Last year We went from waking the boat show just for fun to boat owners in under 2 hrs.
We cruised, fished, tubed, surfed, etc... last summer. Kind of like an suv. Not great at anything, but it can do it all...

You don't have to drive em to understand them.

Welcome to the asylum...

 

[Dean P]

I test drove the Yami (after I purchased it) but not the Chap. I have no regrets. Kinda reminds me of finding that hole in the wall restaurant/bar with the best food and drink. Who'd a thought, you feel great and can't wait to tell all your friend. Good luck @NewGuy for you're gonna love it!!!

 

[kgower]

You are not alone we were sure we were going to pull the trigger on a Chaparral, and about two weeks ahead of time we started looking at Yamaha and jumped in head first. Haven't seen a 195S but confident it will be the right boat for us for now. We've only ever ridden in one 21' I think about tens years ago. We were out on our jet ski meet a couple with a you boy and the wife didn't drive the boat, so I drovethe boat for while trying to get the husband up on a wakeboard. Long story short we will see when we see.

 

[FTBS311]

We were looking at Chaparral, since our friends had one. But when the dealer said a June/August delivery timeframe back in October i looked around and put a deposit on the Yamaha 195S. Having just moved to the lake we wanted a boat for this coming summer. Now after alot of research i am happy with our decision and excited for the arrival of our Yamaha.

 

[Dean P]

We were looking at Chaparral, since our friends had one. But when the dealer said a June/August delivery timeframe back in October i looked around and put a deposit on the Yamaha 195S. Having just moved to the lake we wanted a boat for this coming summer. Now after alot of research i am happy with our decision and excited for the arrival of our Yamaha.

Glad to have you as part of the family! Boating is exclusive to owning a boat and being on the water. Love it!

 

[Yamahaul]

I'm a little queasy as a natural born tight wad, but I went ahead and bought an AR250 despite the fact I still believe the tower and windshield are suspicious Covid workarounds. Tims Ford Powersports in Tennessee was great to work with. I know I've bought at the very top of the market and bought a boat I've never seen or driven, but another season of crappy rentals was not for us. Still nuts! and I actually sold boats (Cobalt, Crownline, Rinker, Formula, Misty Harbor, Maxum, Crestliner) a loooong time ago in a land far far away. Never sold one to a guy without at least a test drive. Wow! Who am I?

I bought mine sight unseen, simply based on what I read on this forum. Never even laid eyes on one in person. First time I saw one was the day i showed up to sign papers. Loved the look, the rear swim deck and no prop which was a win for the wife and kids.

 

[tkeru408]

I may have missed it but what is the workaround with windshield and tower

Because of the unique look of the rear base of the tower (ends at an angle a couple inches above the fiberglass) and the side windows (with part of the window cutout), some people initially speculated that they were workarounds based on what materials were actually available in the supply chain-constrained COVID environment. However, I don't believe it's true for two reasons:
1) Last September during the traveling Yamaha tour (where they were showing off the 255XDand 255FSH prototypes), I asked one of the Yamaha reps about those two things and he gave specific reasons for why they were like that. The angled tower was just meant to be a sweeping design look, and the partial window cutout is supposed to give more airflow to the passengers. Of course, one can argue that's just reverse-engineered marketing speak for what they had available to use.
2) The guy that owns the design firm that has worked with Yamaha for many years on their boat designs is a member of the Yamaha FB group and some of the early mockups (presumably from well before COVID) on his website show these features. I'm blanking on the guy's name and website, but if I can remember it I'll edit this post to add it.

 

[tkeru408]

I'm a little queasy as a natural born tight wad, but I went ahead and bought an AR250 despite the fact I still believe the tower and windshield are suspicious Covid workarounds. Tims Ford Powersports in Tennessee was great to work with. I know I've bought at the very top of the market and bought a boat I've never seen or driven, but another season of crappy rentals was not for us. Still nuts! and I actually sold boats (Cobalt, Crownline, Rinker, Formula, Misty Harbor, Maxum, Crestliner) a loooong time ago in a land far far away. Never sold one to a guy without at least a test drive. Wow! Who am I?

Cograts! We purchased our 252SE (our first boat) without ever seeing it in person. I had seen 242 and 212 boats before at boat shows, but that's it. And those were just sitting on the trailer, not actually in the water. I had never been on a Yamaha in the water until I was on mine with the dealer doing the seatest when finalizing the paperwork. I first fell in love with the Yamaha's in 2013 when I saw one in the Charleston (SC) Harbor while on vacation. It was a 2012 242S, I believe, and it struck me as a gorgeous boat. I semi-obsessed over them for the next seven(!) years before pulling the trigger on one.

 

[rad1026]

My friends son just bought a 2014 AR240 and I saw the boat and knew right away. I was in the process of towing my 1989 Chaparral home to Albuquerque from Lake Havasu to replace the starter and decided to leave it in Havasu on a sale consignment. I just got back from St. George UT with a 2016 AR 240. Had a test drive at Lake Powell on the way back to Albuquerque. I can't wait for summer. Its supposed to be 9 degrees here on Sunday. yuck!

 

[Bayou boater]

We too were in the purchase without see it category. Definitely had a bit of anxiety in doing this but are 100% glad that we pulled the trigger. Completely satisfied with the boat and even happier we did so now seeing how backed up the supply chain is.

 

[NewGuy]

Thank you all for your counsel. I am getting more excited about the purchase and will be ready to enjoy hours on the lakes. And thank you, tkeru408 for the nod on the wake tower and windshield design. Not sure if I like the design on those, but I'll feel much better knowing that's the way it was drawn up. Cheers!

 

[1WetBoat]

Thank you all for your counsel. I am getting more excited about the purchase and will be ready to enjoy hours on the lakes. And thank you, tkeru408 for the nod on the wake tower and windshield design. Not sure if I like the design on those, but I'll feel much better knowing that's the way it was drawn up. Cheers!

To be honest, i kind of felt the same way about both until I actually took delivery of mine. You don't really notice the windshield design much at all unless you are specifically looking for it. It does help reach the mid cleat easier and it did seem to allow better ventilation when sitting behind the captain's chair.

As for the tower, it doesn't seem like an afterthought in the design. I'm guessing just a change in the way it looks. Doesn't serve any real purpose but it doesn't cause any issues either. I raised and lowered mine several times so that I can get used to the mechanism. Haven't been out much bit honestly after the first 15 mins it became a non-issue.

My family and I love the design of it and everyone that has seen it so far has given us kudos for such a nice looking and roomy boat.

 

[212s]

Thank you all for your counsel. I am getting more excited about the purchase and will be ready to enjoy hours on the lakes. And thank you, tkeru408 for the nod on the wake tower and windshield design. Not sure if I like the design on those, but I'll feel much better knowing that's the way it was drawn up. Cheers!

Just FYI - here's the REAL reason they put the cut out in the window:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/window-cutout-on-2021-ar250.31353/