Where abouts are you in Ontario? I boat on some lakes including the Frontenac region (near Sharbot Lake), the Ottawa river (near the city) and lake Nipissing (North Bay area). I can't speak to Yamaha, I own a Scarab. But at least with my boat, the weeds are generally chopped up and spit out at the back as long as it isn't super thick. Sometimes, a clump of weeds will get stuck on the intake grate, but that's been relatively rare. If that happens, you lose some efficiency and top speed since the intake is limited. But otherwise, it hasn't caused any issues. I would just pull out the weeds when I happen to be in the water next time. With all of that being said, I generally do avoid going through thick weeds... but I definitely boat across areas with weeds at times with minimal effects. Third year of using this boat.
You DO need to be extremely careful with ropes though. If it gets sucked up, it's very likely you need to be towed to shore and out of the water to get it out. Hopefully no major damage.
My personal experience with the impeller/ring.. third year. Got a pebble sucked up once which was ejected on its own within seconds. The other time was a piece of wood about the size of my pinky that got stuck once in the impeller after I was stupid and went through 10-12" of water at practically idle (i.e. I sucked up the wood because I was stupid). In that case, I was able to pry the wood out using a piece of rebar. Yamaha has the port access which is an advantage for that part for sure. But again, I can't properly compare a Yamaha since I don't have one. You can read the same stories from many members here, but it seems both brands have their pros/cons. Pick the best boat for you/your boating area.
Zero dollars for me on maintenance of any kind except normal oil change, etc.
