So help convince me to buy a jet boat versus a outboard or I/O

[McMark]

If you don't necessarily need new, the Carolina cat is made from the old caracal molds I believe. The Carolina cat was on my short list as well and some days I think maybe I should have bought it but in the end the Yamaha is a sweet boat and 30k cheaper, I don't worry about dinging a manatee or getting stuck because I buried the prop. Hehe. Plus the Yamaha is faster

 

[robert843]

Question: What's the average cost for changing out the water pump impeller and lower unit fluid every 2 years ?

I/O Drives = More maintenance, more after-purchase costs, additional troubles, and more.

2nd question: What's the cost of a new propeller ? Isn't the average propeller life on an I/O drive approx 1 every 3 years ?

What is it worth in terms of BOATING COMFORT & FUN. !

My anual service cost in my I/O right now is $380 that includes the lower unit and spark plugs I do those every year. Water pump is not that expensive I want to say it was like another 50-100 in a year I do it. My current prop is seven years old and still in good shape.
The service cost on a I/O really isn't bad. I don't what the Yamaha service cost is but In a year that you do spark plugs it's probably about the same as mine or more. This and fuel enconomy our two things that are not major concerns of mine as they are both part of owning a boat and the cost is not that significant if anual service like 1500 then I may factor it but it seems that 500-600 is the high end on all three.

 

[robert843]

@MrMoose thanks for the input. Your input is exactly why I'm torn on which way to go. I also know Andy had no issues on the crossing and didn't pull anything out during the crossing but was getting slapped around fairly good. I think one of the reasons I have become torn is before my daughter was born we had a offshore capable boat we sold it for several reasons but mainly because it was to big. We moved to a boat more manageable to trailer and have never looked back. So I'm going to stick with something we can trailer but the Bimini trip did make me miss having a boat that was offshore capable. I guess I'm going to keep looking through the off season and keep an open mind to all options and try to hit as many boat shows as possible. Most campanys are starting to release the 16's so I will try and find a good deal on a left over 15 and my choice may come down to the best deal I find Yamaha or another option. I'm sure sometime in the next 10 years maybe Yamaha will make my perfect boat for me with a large free board 21 degree dead rise or higher and keep that swim platform on it. The day they announce it I will order it.

 

[Bruce]

@robert843, I am curious about how much difference switching from 20 degree to 21 degree dead rise could make?

 

[robert843]

@robert843, I am curious about how much difference switching from 20 degree to 21 degree dead rise could make?

It doesn't sound like much to me either but I'm told by some offshore guys it makes a big difference. The biggest difference between a Yamahas 20 degree rise and a deep vee 21 degree rise is how far back they carry the vee. The Yamaha hull flattens out giving it that great very low draft on most deep vee hulls with a high degree of dead rise they carry the progression of the vee further back which helps stop that slapping feeling when landing down fall is the deeper draft. I really do Beleive if the Yamaha just had a higher freeboard it would probably do a better job off shore. I also noticed the older models such as yours and Andys seemed to carry that vee further back and I'm not sure why they went away from that. I would almost be willing to bet if I drove your boat in rough conditions it would handle it better then a 13 or 14 model year.

 

[Bruce]

I am certain that the 230 hull handles rough water better than the pre 2015 240s. That is one of the reasons that we have a 230. You could buy a low hours 230, lots and lots of upgrades and several trips to Bimini for the cost of the boats you are looking at.

I have always believed that the slap felt after crossing a large wave or wake was primarily because the boat has a tendency to jump and the transom hits first.

Adding trim tabs allows my boat to keep the bow down significantly reducing impact in up to 3' waves.

Have you seen this picture from factory testing? That slap is about to happen!

 

[njmr2fan]

^Is that test pilot wearing a motoX helmet?!!!

Here's a crazy idea probably no one will like, what if you used part of your rear storage or under floor storage as an extra gas tank and plumbed it into your OEM tank to increase capacity? Someone must've done something like this? Then a 24' Yamaha would be your ideal boat hitting every mark...

Dont flame me, just thinking out loud....

 

[Bruce]

A fuel bladder in the ski locker is probably the best option for adding extra fuel. I believe you could easily get 80 gallons (560 pounds) in there. On a smooth day that would be a great way to extend range. But I would not want the extra weight in rough water.

Boattest.com rated the SX230s range as 168 miles at 28 mph. But that was in smooth water. The rougher the water the more that range drops.

 

[PEARCE]

Our beloved Yamahas are great boats, in the right conditions. To me, like others have said, these are lake and river boats. Yes they are capable of going off shore, in ideal conditions. The Bimini trip this year was the prime example that things can go south in a hurry on the open ocean. If I were to boat on the open ocean on a regular basis I'd want a boat that's designed and built to take whatever is thrown at it and can keep my family safe. I've told my wife on many occasions that if we were to ever move to the coast that the jetboat would be traded for a boat with twin or triple outboards hanging on the transom. The kind of boat that @tim h has is what I have in mind. His appears to be trailerable. I don't know what kind of truck that he has though. Or that you have for that matter. Something that has an a\c and genset with a small cabin to sleep in would be ideal in my opinion. Of course trailering a boat that size would not be the easiest to handle or the most ideal though. You'd more then likely have to have a minimum 3\4 ton truck and ideally with a diesel engine to handle the towing duties.

 

[njmr2fan]

Maybe you should ask @Julian whats coming up in 2016? Yamaha may have your dream boat after all!

 

[robert843]

@njmr2fan no idea is bad idea. Maybe that is a great question how hard would it be to replace the factory fuel tank on one of these with a larger one and is there room to do so? @Bruce you are correct its from the transom hitting but on jet boats and even my current hurricane the transom is fairly flat so it doesn't displace water well on landing which cause the rough slap on an off shore designed hull they carry the vee all the way back allowing it to displace water easier acting more like a shock absorber on landing by allowing the boat to sink into the water gradually by displacing the water below it. I'm curious about the fuel tank replacement though any thoughts on that would be great but I think I remember seeing somewhere on here it was a pretty monumental task just to get the factory tank out. Also Bruce if I put trim tabs on a 15 ar240 do you think that it would help?

 

[Bruce]

The fuel tank is easily removable on Yamaha boats after 2007. But I do not believe that you could put a larger tank in there. It is simply a question of which storage area would you like to give up and solid tank or bladder. The ski locker is in front of the factory fuel tank so plumbing is easy and avoids causing a list. I would use a transfer pump to pump fuel from the bladder to the factory tank.

Moeller makes a ~$200 24 gallon topside fuel tank that could easily fit on the floor inside the boat or on the swim deck. It would increase range by 50%.

But I am uncertain that the additional fuel is needed. I would want it as a reserve for something like an Exhuma trip. But I believe the following logic comes into play; The MR1 HO and 1.8 twin engine Yamahas have a tested 90% capacity fuel range of 140 to 168 miles. They will allow you to boat your 100 miles on a tank in any water that you would want to boat 100 miles in. I burned a little over 1/2 a tank on the 2014 57 mile Fort Lauderdale to Bimini crossing with the boat loaded with four people and too many supplies for the five days. I burned 38 gallons in 2015 with two weeks of food, a margarita maker and slightly less clothing weight than we had in 2014. But the majority of that 38 gallons was consumed during tv first 20 miles of the crossing where we were following in the 9 mph off plane duck trail. We would have arrived in Bimini near empty or had to borrow fuel if we had stayed with the group. By getting on plane we arrived with 14 gallons left in the tank.

Trim tabs will make a huge difference to the handling of almost any boat. For my boat they made up to 3' waves much more manageable and the turned down sides of the trim tabs improved straight line tracking. On the 2014 crossing I was able to use them to smooth out the waves. I actually ran ahead of the group and got up to 44 in 1 to 2 foot seas for a while without any complaints from the wife and kids. I was afraid to trim much in 2015. I was using perhaps 30% trim. I think it took a little bit of the edge off but those waves were frequently breaking right under us.

 

[McMark]

The 2015s look to carry the deep v pretty far back. At the transom its 20deg. Way sharper up front.

 

[Morrowcat]

You say that the yamaha fits 95% of needs and wants....so you would be 95% happy all of the time....vs the other boat fitting your 100% needs vs 70% of wants....put 5% back for the needs and you now become happy 75% of all the time? I say it's called pleasure boating....take what puts the biggest smile on the family