SX,AR-195s

[GWC69]

I am looking at a SX or AR 195 boat probably wont buy untill spring now as I like the new colors better.
Main question I have been reading as much as I can on here buy am not seeing very many threads talking about problems, so are there any known problems with these boats a person should be aware of ?

Hows the quality and are they holding up well with some hours on them ?
Are they reliable or having issues with anything , I guess what Iam asking is any common problems with them ?

I have a 95 18' Crown line that I will be replacing with the Yamaha that has been a great boat except for the interior, it seems they used wood behind all the seats and cushings and its rotting out now other wise the rest is in great shape.
I also bought a 2016 EX Sport Waverunner tbis spring that has been great/fun but I dont have very many hours on it to have a real feed back on it.

Any problems with dealers and service ? getting work done or parts. ? Have not had to take them back for work ?

Anything you would suggest doing to it after purchase?
Anything about the AR that makes it the better buy over the SX other than the wake tower ?
Would love any and all feed back on these boats.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Jp207]

Hey @GWC69 i have an SX195 that I took delivery of on Memorial Day weekend. I have so far put almost forty hours on it and have had no issues to speak of. When we purchased the boat I was not sold on the tower as I have young children and thought I would have no need for it. But looking back on it now I would have bought the boat with the tower! Higher resale value and something sturdy to grab hold of rather than the Bimini top. Only other difference is the cockpit seating. Ar models have a bench while the SX has an additional captains chair. We do like the chair over the bench. But plenty of guys prefer the bench! Good luck and either boat will be a great choice!

 

[GWC69]

I did not realize the AR did not come with 2 captians seats that might be the deal breaker for us, thought it was a option bench or chair.
The wife would rather have the captains seat so that might be the deciding factor for us.
I do like the tower and could see us using it some but would rather have two seats.
going to haft to do some thinking on that one for sure..

Thanks for the reply.

 

[2kwik4u]

The tower is much better than the seats IMO. gets ALL the things off the gunwales of the boat. bimini top and anchor light most notably. Sight lines are better as well without all those poles in the way. Works really well when docking for someone to grab a hold of as well.

We were concerned about the J seating being a "weird" place to sit, but more often than not that seat is empty now, and we have people lounging in the rear or the front. Only when at full capacity does someone sit there. No big deal really as it's impossible to talk when on plane anyway due to wind and engine noise. The storage under the bench is great for tossing things like shoes and wet towels. Really doesn't make near the impact we expected, and honestly makes the interior feel much larger than it really is.

Sneaking up on 40hrs on our AR190 as well for this season. No major problems to this point, just put gas in it and go. Had to charge the battery once, but I left the switch on for 3 weeks and didn't run the boat. OOPS.

 

[GWC69]

Thanks for the reply, all good points to sway me.

Thanks.

I have to say I like the black/white with Red tower and stripe AR .

 

[kyle]

Having a bench was mandatory for us. The wake tower was just an extra perk. The storage under the bench and extra seating is great.

 

[SCP1]

I would agree as I have had both, the J seating makes the boat feel bigger.

 

[GWC69]

Has anybody compared the Glastron GTS 187 to the Yamaha SX-AR 195s ?
Really like the looks of the 187s I like the color packages they have, did notice it looks like they have less storage.
Did you guys even look at the 187s ? if so what turned you off of it?

Just not wanting to rule out another brand without looking them over real good but its hard to find info about the "bads" of each brand.

 

[SCP1]

The main reason I upgraded was for the tower.

 

[Jp207]

So the glastrons are nice but IMHO they can't touch Yamaha for fit and finish. I looked at one up here and wasn't blown away. Also I was back with a rotax which I was trying to avoid!

 

[GWC69]

Cool thanks for the info, is there reason you dont like the rotax set up other then its not Glastrons own motor?
I was under the impression they were good motors. Do they have the same issues I have read about in the Scarab forum ?

 

[Jp207]

Correct they are the same motors! To my knowledge and if I'm wrong someone here will correct it Yamaha is the only one to make everything from bow to stern including the engines!

 

[Lpennington]

I liked the GTS colors better than the '17 Yamaha 19 feet colors however the big draw for Yamaha was the clean out port. I'm new to boating and having to get under the boat while in the water is a lil' intimidating to me. Prolly will end up being a non-factor but it is one of the important factors from my research. Performance-wise, Glastron has a great rep and I didn't come across anything that would have turned me off of the boat.

Has anybody compared the Glastron GTS 187 to the Yamaha SX-AR 195s ?
Really like the looks of the 187s I like the color packages they have, did notice it looks like they have less storage.
Did you guys even look at the 187s ? if so what turned you off of it?

 

[GWC69]

I was kinda thinking along those same lines.
Really thinking the SX or AR 195 is the all around best bang going but I just don't want to buy one and then go oh chit I did not look at that model and have any buyers remorse...lol

Think my problem is going to be between the SX and AR, do I want the second chair or a bench and tower.

Thanks.

 

[kyle]

I think Yamaha is the only one to have a clean out hatch from the top side. I don't know that for sure but I thought it was patented by them. There is no way I would buy anything else.

 

[GWC69]

Pretty sure you are correct. It's a great feature as well.

 

[kyle]

I didn't really think it was a big deal at first. At 32 hours I sucked up an entire unused garbage bag that probably unknowingly flew out of someone's boat. About 5 minutes of pulling it out piece by piece I was back underway. No way I could have gotten it all if I was in the water.

 

[Lpennington]

If we didn't have two boys who will want to do all the wake sports in the next couple years then I'd consider the SX for the bigger bimini. However, I was suprised that my wife preferred the AR's J-seating configuration. Those are really the differences:

1) do you have a strong preference for the j-seating for the 2nd chair
2) will wake sports be a big part of your boating experience
3) is the extra bimini coverage a factor for you (not sure how much bigger it is ...).

Think my problem is going to be between the SX and AR, do I want the second chair or a bench and tower.

 

[GWC69]

Yeah 1 and 2 are the problem, 3 Does not matter to much as we dont use the one we have now very often.

I would do the AR with no question if it came with the extra captain chair.
Might have to ask my dealer if and what It would cost to get that extra chair installed.

 

[Moose]

I did not realize the AR did not come with 2 captians seats that might be the deal breaker for us, thought it was a option bench or chair.
The wife would rather have the captains seat so that might be the deciding factor for us.
I do like the tower and could see us using it some but would rather have two seats.
going to haft to do some thinking on that one for sure..

Thanks for the reply.

We bought the ar. We were concerned about the bench seat but we love it. We had made arrangements to install the captains chair before we bought the boat and then had to cancel. The bench feels more roomy and kind of gives it a pontoon boat feel when your cruising with a group and of course it works well with the water sports.