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Thoughts on 255 FSH Sport E

dels

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Year
2021
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Hey guys,

I have been reading LOTS of posts here in the last few days (thank you for the great advice and information!) and I would like to get your thoughts on the new 255 FSH Sport E. We are in northeast FL and have been part of a boat club for 3 years but with COVID it is getting hard to get a boat when we want so we are now ready to purchase our first boat.

I have looked at basically all brands/models/engines/configurations and learned a lot over the last few weeks, and in my head I was settling for a decent outboard center console until I saw that Yamaha was coming up with the new 255... I was just struck by lightning and now I can't get it out of my head. It has the perfect configuration for everything for us - from cruising to towing on top of obviously being a beast for fishing. The one thing I am a little concerned with is the jets for offshore, especially with the crazy amount of sea weeds we have been seeing lately. Can anyone from the east coast comment on that?

Any other thoughts/concerns/tips? I read about the trim tabs and thrust vectors as potentially good upgrades in the long run...

Thanks a lot in advance!
 

Tailwaters

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Yamaha
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2019
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21
I purchased a new 19 which I ran for 3 years and last year picked up a new 21. There are certainly a lot of things to like about the FSH. Layout in my book is about as good as they get. Lots of room and most importantly storage. Prior to buying the new 21 I looked at several other boats that I wanted to love but always came back to the Yamaha. I will tell you the hull construction, is a bit on the thin side. But gets the job done. Power and performance is adequate. Fuel consumption is fair to poor for a boat of this size compared to an OB. Transom/swim platform goes without saying, the best in the industry. Based on your location I certainly would be concerned with the grass. I know when the 19 first came out several folks bought them and ran them in Florida. Several of them complained about the jets plugging up constantly and ultimately sold the boats and went back to OB. The 25 could be a different animal. Much larger and heavier boat which means the intakes will be deeper in the water, thus the potential to be less likely to suck in floating nearby seagrass. Now that certainly may not make much of a difference while on plane. I think you concerns with seagrass are valid. Aside from that, they really are a great value. I certainly would not have bought another one had that not been the case.
 

Elliott

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FWIW, I have never had to pull the clean out plug in 3+ years of boating around Savannah - much of it in shallow water. Around here, trash lines of rack (dead marsh grass) are very common. After I plowed through at cruise an extra/extra large trash line (20 yards thick of solid rack that extended are far as I could see to the left and right), I continued to my destination about 10 minutes away. I pulled my clean out plug just to inspect, and there were just 2 strands of rack hanging on the intake grate.

I will defer to others about seaweed; we do not seem to have it here.
 

TommyB

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I have had a 190 for past 3 years in MD. Fortunately we don’t run into much weed. I’ve never had to clean anything out of the plug. Love everything about the boat, features, ride. We just need a larger vessel for hauling more people and having more room to fish. The 500 hp will be a welcome addition as well. I waste enough money on all kinds of other things so I’m not worried about the gas consumption.
Good luck with your search, in my opinion these boots are easy to maintain, reliable, and very fun to drive. I’m really looking forward to getting my 255.
 

dels

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I spoke to a couple dealerships here and the sales guys were all saying the same thing... you don't run into sargassum as it doesn't float all that much and if it was to be there, you'd just drive around it as you'd see it so I am definitely not as concerned as I was before!
 

jdkaeser

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I would lean towards the 252 with the NA motors. Twin SVHOs will cost some $$$ at the pump. Also, if you plan on filling up on the water more often than pulling the boat out every time, finding premium on the water might be an issue.
 

TommyB

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I’m going 255. No brainer. If I can’t afford a few hundred extra in gas per year then I shouldn’t be buying an $80k rig. Haha. Whatever anyone decides I would do it sooner rather than later. Getting delivery in a timely manner doesn’t look like it’s going to be guaranteed. Looking forward to 2021!
 

sananvet

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I own a 210. Live in Tampa. Sea grass has definitely caused some frustration. I flats fish and find it challenging at times to avoid repeated clean out of seaweed from the from the pumps during the course of a day on the water.I have in fact overheated while at low speed due to grass- this can be especially challenging early in the morning or late in the evening when there is not enough light to avoid floating grass. It’s not a deal breaker. I love the boat, but I don’t think I fully understood what I was getting into given that one of the selling points of this model is skinny water fishing.
 

Reasy

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I also own a 210. I travel inshore and offshore. Sea grass has stopped me only once. What I miss most when traveling offshore is - autopilot.
If someone could figure that out the 255 or 252 would be hard to beat as an offshore option. Trolling with the 210 needs constant attention from the driver. On calm days it's ok, but if a breeze is blowing the boat can turn 90 degrees faster than a deer in the headlights. However, bottom fishing with a Minn Kota Ultrerra holding your position is and checking out the botton with a Garmin livescope is great.
 

sananvet

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I also own a 210. I travel inshore and offshore. Sea grass has stopped me only once. What I miss most when traveling offshore is - autopilot.
If someone could figure that out the 255 or 252 would be hard to beat as an offshore option. Trolling with the 210 needs constant attention from the driver. On calm days it's ok, but if a breeze is blowing the boat can turn 90 degrees faster than a deer in the headlights. However, bottom fishing with a Minn Kota Ultrerra holding your position is and checking out the botton with a Garmin livescope is great.
How do you like the Ulterra? What speeds are you able to maintain? Did you use the bow mount that came with the boat or did you purchase after market?
 

Reasy

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The factory bow mount holds the Ultra 80/60" shaft and it is a good fit. I haven't checked the speed but it is close to max displacement speed which is around 4-5 mph. In high wave action the 60" shaft can pull out of he water. When this happens it's time to head in. Fished the St Johns River in 20K winds and the Ultrerra 80 held the location with little effort.
The single battery supporting the Minn Kota is a 24V lithium ion marine battery made by Torqeedo. Very pricy, but the 3.5Kw of power it will run a long time. Properly maintained this waterproof battery should last into the next decade with no maintenance.
This combonation makes a nice package for the 210 FSH.
 

sananvet

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The factory bow mount holds the Ultra 80/60" shaft and it is a good fit. I haven't checked the speed but it is close to max displacement speed which is around 4-5 mph. In high wave action the 60" shaft can pull out of he water. When this happens it's time to head in. Fished the St Johns River in 20K winds and the Ultrerra 80 held the location with little effort.
The single battery supporting the Minn Kota is a 24V lithium ion marine battery made by Torqeedo. Very pricy, but the 3.5Kw of power it will run a long time. Properly maintained this waterproof battery should last into the next decade with no maintenance.
This combonation makes a nice package for the 210 FSH.
Awesome. I’ve been looking at them for a year now. I think I’ll pull the trigger on it as soon as my boats out of the shop. I fish mostly flats in and around Tampa Bay and occasional near shore for Kings. I haven’t braved offshore yet but I’m pondering it in the Spring. I’m thinking the Ulterra will be a great addition.
 

Zackdadams

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I’m going 255. No brainer. If I can’t afford a few hundred extra in gas per year then I shouldn’t be buying an $80k rig. Haha. Whatever anyone decides I would do it sooner rather than later. Getting delivery in a timely manner doesn’t look like it’s going to be guaranteed. Looking forward to 2021!
For me, it's not about fuel costs.
It's about travel distance offshore.
It's 40 miles out to the rigs.
FSH 252 for me. 😊
 

TommyB

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For me, it's not about fuel costs.
It's about travel distance offshore.
It's 40 miles out to the rigs.
FSH 252 for me. 😊
Gotcha. I understand and agree with ya. I’ll likely run 20 tops.
 

Reasy

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Note:I used the quick release mounting plate with the OEM bracket when mounting the Ulterra on the 210 FSH. I split some vinyl tubing, bedded it with silicone and sealed the curved outer area of the bracket. In case of some flex this will stop any scratches.
 

FSH 210 Sport

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I just love my little 210 CC! It does everything very well.

Having said that, I’m kind of glad the 255E came out after I bought my boat or I may have had to have it!

I did some checking on fuel consumption / range between the 252 & 255. At best economic cruise the two boats are very close in gph. However, once you start using more power the SC engines consume more fuel. If I was buying one of these boats I would definitely go with SVHO engines of the 255 E. Overkill is underrated. Plus, with the extra power you will not be affected by adding a lot of people + cargo to the boat as far as getting up on plane, towing a skier, tube or getting some place in a hurry... top speed is right at 54 mph.

Both boats appear to come equally equipped in every other way, with the engines being the main difference. Except, you can get the “cool” interior colors on the 252. Too bad this color interior doesn’t come optional on the 255E. Who knows, maybe it would if you asked.

From what I understand the 12“ Simrad is an excellent electronics package.

There is no factory trolling motor mount on the 252 or the 255, so either a custom one or a universal one would be in order. The 252 and 255 boats sit higher out of the water than its 21’ & 19’ counterparts so I’d imagine a 72” shaft for a troller would be required. Unfortunately the Simrad will not connect with the Ulterra or other minnkota trollers.. if it was me, I’d probably get a Solix 12” control head, pull the out the Simrad and replace it, then just sell the Simrad so I could tie in the trolling motor with the control head. I don’t know these units intimately, so I’m making that statement based on my limited knowledge.

So far on my 21’ I have not felt the need for thrust vectors, other steering enhancements or trim tabs. I have trolled in some pretty heavy winds from all directions. Yes, you will need to pay attention to your heading as the boat will turn quickly on its own. One huge advantage the jet boats have is infinitely adjustable thrust. This is a pretty big deal if you have found that magic trolling speed and need to maintain that in any condition. A prop driven main engine will deliver X amount of thrust when in idle ahead, most prop boats from what I understand will move at approx 5mph in idle ahead, wayyyy too fast for my needs. I’ll share one experience where having twin jets was such an advantage. While out trolling on a pretty windy day, probably 15 mph gusting to 25, at one point the wind was a quartering wind from 7 O clock and I was getting pushed faster, 5-6 mph, than my magic 1.8 mph, and the boat was skidding. I was able to use the jets in reverse, had to split the throttles, starboard engine to straighten the boat, and port just enough to keep the speed where I wanted it. While I operated the helm, my guests were able to catch a lot of fish in these conditions.. we kept the youngster on board very busy reeling in all of the fish.. at times three fish on at once-what a hoot!!! I just realized as well that the first position forward on the throttles is what Yamaha calls the TDE or Thrust Directional Enhancer. The buckets raise just enough to make forward motion, the thrust is back and down, and you can use the No Wake mode to increase speed in small increments. I’m looking forward to trying that as opposed to just opening the gates up all the way to allow the full water flow rearward at idle-if that makes sense. I’m hoping for a little more low speed steering authority. The twin jets take a bit to get used to handling wise but with just a little practice you‘ll get it down.

It also goes without saying that operating in shallow water without having to worry about a prop strike. Yes, you can suck stuff up if you are not careful in super shallow water, just use common sense. Since I use my boat for water sports and swimming as well, I don’t have to worry about kicking an outdrive when re boarding.

One thing you may notice on this boat is that it will list to port some if the rear starboard live well is not filled with water On my 21’, 26 gallons equals 221#. That was a vexing issue one day when I was on the water and finally figured it out. When my 26 gallon live well is full, the boat is perfectly balanced left to right. I think on the 25’ FSH’s the rear starboard live well is 30 gallons, 255#. And speaking of the live well, it serves double duty as an ice chest when not being used for fish, toss in a couple of bags of ice and put your drinks in there, pretty convenient way to keep the beverages cold. The live well aerator works very well at keeping fish alive and perky! The aerator can be run in manual or automatic. When it automatic you can adjust the run and off times on the connex screen. We had 25 good sized trout in it for hours on end and they all stayed alive and well. On some days as I get ready to leave, the fish in the live well get a stay of execution and are returned to the lake alive and well.

4D628EBC-A906-4AC9-84F3-6F524FC7FB12.jpeg

Yes, all of those fish were in the live well and were perky.

On the 252 and 255 you get the aquarium live well up front which is great for entertainment, and can be used as another ice chest if you were using the boat for a three hour cruise.. (sadly I just heard that Dawn Wells aka Mary Ann passed away today).

The hard top on the 252/255 is also a big improvement. Full glass windscreen, storage box, spreader lights front and rear, and the red map lights are a huge plus for not messing up your night vision. The hard top would be easy to have some canvas / iseinglass panels made up for less temperate wether conditions to keep you out of the wind and rain. Six wet sounds speakers are on the boat with a blue tooth capable stereo so you can play your tunes, or your guests tunes.

The courtesy lights switch also turns on the rear starboard live well light, found that on my boat by accident.

I also like the rear bench seat. The center section can be folded down to make for easy transition from the main deck to the swim deck. These boats also come with a table for the front and I believe there is a mount on the rear for the table or a bbq. The table also makes the bow section into either a large casting platform or put the pad in there and have a sun deck up front... pretty dam bitchen if you ask me. The jet boat pilot one is in my future..

There are ton of rod holders with 8 under the gunnel holders for the ride to the water... and a built in tackle box, sweet.

That’s my two cents..
 

TommyB

Jet Boat Lover
Messages
79
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Location
Ocean City, MD
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2018
Boat Model
FSH Sport
Boat Length
19
I just love my little 210 CC! It does everything very well.

Having said that, I’m kind of glad the 255E came out after I bought my boat or I may have had to have it!

I did some checking on fuel consumption / range between the 252 & 255. At best economic cruise the two boats are very close in gph. However, once you start using more power the SC engines consume more fuel. If I was buying one of these boats I would definitely go with SVHO engines of the 255 E. Overkill is underrated. Plus, with the extra power you will not be affected by adding a lot of people + cargo to the boat as far as getting up on plane, towing a skier, tube or getting some place in a hurry... top speed is right at 54 mph.

Both boats appear to come equally equipped in every other way, with the engines being the main difference. Except, you can get the “cool” interior colors on the 252. Too bad this color interior doesn’t come optional on the 255E. Who knows, maybe it would if you asked.

From what I understand the 12“ Simrad is an excellent electronics package.

There is no factory trolling motor mount on the 252 or the 255, so either a custom one or a universal one would be in order. The 252 and 255 boats sit higher out of the water than its 21’ & 19’ counterparts so I’d imagine a 72” shaft for a troller would be required. Unfortunately the Simrad will not connect with the Ulterra or other minnkota trollers.. if it was me, I’d probably get a Solix 12” control head, pull the out the Simrad and replace it, then just sell the Simrad so I could tie in the trolling motor with the control head. I don’t know these units intimately, so I’m making that statement based on my limited knowledge.

So far on my 21’ I have not felt the need for thrust vectors, other steering enhancements or trim tabs. I have trolled in some pretty heavy winds from all directions. Yes, you will need to pay attention to your heading as the boat will turn quickly on its own. One huge advantage the jet boats have is infinitely adjustable thrust. This is a pretty big deal if you have found that magic trolling speed and need to maintain that in any condition. A prop driven main engine will deliver X amount of thrust when in idle ahead, most prop boats from what I understand will move at approx 5mph in idle ahead, wayyyy too fast for my needs. I’ll share one experience where having twin jets was such an advantage. While out trolling on a pretty windy day, probably 15 mph gusting to 25, at one point the wind was a quartering wind from 7 O clock and I was getting pushed faster, 5-6 mph, than my magic 1.8 mph, and the boat was skidding. I was able to use the jets in reverse, had to split the throttles, starboard engine to straighten the boat, and port just enough to keep the speed where I wanted it. While I operated the helm, my guests were able to catch a lot of fish in these conditions.. we kept the youngster on board very busy reeling in all of the fish.. at times three fish on at once-what a hoot!!! I just realized as well that the first position forward on the throttles is what Yamaha calls the TDE or Thrust Directional Enhancer. The buckets raise just enough to make forward motion, the thrust is back and down, and you can use the No Wake mode to increase speed in small increments. I’m looking forward to trying that as opposed to just opening the gates up all the way to allow the full water flow rearward at idle-if that makes sense. I’m hoping for a little more low speed steering authority. The twin jets take a bit to get used to handling wise but with just a little practice you‘ll get it down.

It also goes without saying that operating in shallow water without having to worry about a prop strike. Yes, you can suck stuff up if you are not careful in super shallow water, just use common sense. Since I use my boat for water sports and swimming as well, I don’t have to worry about kicking an outdrive when re boarding.

One thing you may notice on this boat is that it will list to port some if the rear starboard live well is not filled with water On my 21’, 26 gallons equals 221#. That was a vexing issue one day when I was on the water and finally figured it out. When my 26 gallon live well is full, the boat is perfectly balanced left to right. I think on the 25’ FSH’s the rear starboard live well is 30 gallons, 255#. And speaking of the live well, it serves double duty as an ice chest when not being used for fish, toss in a couple of bags of ice and put your drinks in there, pretty convenient way to keep the beverages cold. The live well aerator works very well at keeping fish alive and perky! The aerator can be run in manual or automatic. When it automatic you can adjust the run and off times on the connex screen. We had 25 good sized trout in it for hours on end and they all stayed alive and well. On some days as I get ready to leave, the fish in the live well get a stay of execution and are returned to the lake alive and well.

View attachment 139442

Yes, all of those fish were in the live well and were perky.

On the 252 and 255 you get the aquarium live well up front which is great for entertainment, and can be used as another ice chest if you were using the boat for a three hour cruise.. (sadly I just heard that Dawn Wells aka Mary Ann passed away today).

The hard top on the 252/255 is also a big improvement. Full glass windscreen, storage box, spreader lights front and rear, and the red map lights are a huge plus for not messing up your night vision. The hard top would be easy to have some canvas / iseinglass panels made up for less temperate wether conditions to keep you out of the wind and rain. Six wet sounds speakers are on the boat with a blue tooth capable stereo so you can play your tunes, or your guests tunes.

The courtesy lights switch also turns on the rear starboard live well light, found that on my boat by accident.

I also like the rear bench seat. The center section can be folded down to make for easy transition from the main deck to the swim deck. These boats also come with a table for the front and I believe there is a mount on the rear for the table or a bbq. The table also makes the bow section into either a large casting platform or put the pad in there and have a sun deck up front... pretty dam bitchen if you ask me. The jet boat pilot one is in my future..

There are ton of rod holders with 8 under the gunnel holders for the ride to the water... and a built in tackle box, sweet.

That’s my two cents..
good assessment. I ordered a 255E.

Couple of things:

You can get cool or warm interior.
Also, the 252 and 255 come with factory trolling motor mount.
 

FSH 210 Sport

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good assessment. I ordered a 255E.

Couple of things:

You can get cool or warm interior.
Also, the 252 and 255 come with factory trolling motor mount.

Thanks for the information!
 

dels

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Very nice write-up @FSH 210 Sport , thanks!

We ended up putting a deposit on the 210 after much consideration. We couldn't really justify going to the 252 after seeing how great the 210 with all the options is... and of course the $20k difference, even after upgrading the stereo, MFD/transducer, casting platform/table...
 

FSH 210 Sport

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Very nice write-up @FSH 210 Sport , thanks!

We ended up putting a deposit on the 210 after much consideration. We couldn't really justify going to the 252 after seeing how great the 210 with all the options is... and of course the $20k difference, even after upgrading the stereo, MFD/transducer, casting platform/table...
Right on.... I think you will be happy with it! It’s a very capable boat! If you live at much elevation you may find a set of higher altitude impellers are in order.. I have not done mine yet but intent to this spring / summer as I’m operating at 5000 ASL most of the time.

As far as upgrades go, I think my Solix with transducer & maps of everything, 60” Ulterra troller, battery bank, on board charger and installation was right around $8K.

Yamaha boat cover was $750, I also bought an Empire one that gets used most of the time for $250. I keep the Yamaha one for traveling. Figured I’d let the sun eat the cheaper one.

So far the stock stereo has worked for me... on the list is, magma bbq, JBP front casting / lounger / table, VHF radio, and perhaps the JBP hard top. I like the stock rag top as I can take the whole tower off to get it in the shop for the “difficult boating season” by myself, but the hard top has the lights and storage, ability to add a set of canvas, or a set of out riggers.
 
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