undecided on jet or prop

[justason]

I too have been horrifically mentally scared by my prop drive......I didn't read thru all these replies but what sold me was a few key points.

I LOVE and respect my Waverunner, I had it for a couple (HARD) years and it never skipped a beat, When I learned Yamaha made a jet boat, I was all over it.

TRIM: I don't see many folks referring to this, I find it a biggie: ....I was constantly feathering the trim on my outdrive.., as people/dogs shifted in the boat, cornering, speed changes, porpoising......screw that, it was a chore...Granted my prop was a small 18ft'r......having this Yamaha go straight to plane and RUN..in any condition....HELLO !!

jetboat floorplan.....awesome...access to engines and areas..awesome......quality---awesome..storage is everywhere..
performance: I'll take my Yamaha anywhere now, and for the most part..I have !....only water over the bow was by choice !!

negatives to the jet:
same ole same ole: slow speed maneuvering....but overall, you will learn it, and when you do you look like an accomplished pilot !! chicks come running !!
the spray behind the boat on a tube can be there, keep them outside the wake, makes them tougher.....not a big deal...

not sure where you live, but winterizing is a snap, cleaning it is easy.....and if you look hard enough, you can find ALL sorts of accessories for it !!
lastly.....you'll love this group of people !

 

[96Pirate]

Thanks for the advice so far. Yes i know this is a jet forum but i posted on the chaparral forum and only got one reply. I will be boating on a large lake that is clean for the most part. No i have not had a chance to drive a 223 vr yet. I have looked at the yamaha page and see the sx 240 but my question is with each drive at 180hp will there be much difference to a boat with twin 250hp to pull skiers and tubers ? I really don't care to much about top speed....although it is nice lol. One other thing , is there jet spray that will splash in the eyes of a tuber?
Thanks,

I have an '07 with the MR1's with 160hp each. Never had an issue pulling anything. The newer 1.8s with 180hp shouldn't have an issue either and I have never heard anything about it on here. Mine has plenty of speed for me as she topped out at 53mph with 4 on board and perfect conditions although it was actually probably only 49-50 as most guys on here refer to the speedometer as a dreamometer. But still fast enough and fast..fast..fast off the line where you want it.

Jet spray has not been a big issue for us. We use a 60ft rope off the tower for tubing. No one has ever complained but when I think the spray is getting close to them I just toss them outside the wake (they like it out there better anyway)

One thing to consider is I believe the twin 250's on the Chap have superchargers and they will eventually need to be rebuilt..much sooner than the Yamaha 1.8s. Might not be an issue for you but keep that in mind. The Chaps and Scarabs are really nice looking boats but me personally would be concerned with the 1st years models as some of the kinks still need to be worked out.

Another pro is definitely this site. Look how many responses you received in just the same day you posted. Wow! Talk about people having your back

Good luck with your search! Post your location on here and maybe somebody will take you for a ride.

 

[carlos]

Hi All, Thanks for the great advice. I am leaning to the yamaha as the clean outs are a big factor. Also as 96Pirate mentions the rotax super chargers will need maintenance . I was concerned about needing more horsepower on a jet drive than a i/o , but as some have said twin 180 will be enough. I will be boating in Canada , on the St Lawrence . I have watched a few videos and can't believe how easy and fast it is to winterize a jet boat.

 

[Evil Sports]

I have the twin 180s. Sick amount of power.

 

[jetboater4life]

I love my Yamaha for all the reasons stated above.

One of the cons on the 2014 and older is the higher or perceived higher noise level when compared to most I/Os. Some on here have soundproofed their boat with varying degrees of success

 

[Bruce]

Thanks for the advice so far. Yes i know this is a jet forum but i posted on the chaparral forum and only got one reply. I will be boating on a large lake that is clean for the most part. No i have not had a chance to drive a 223 vr yet. I have looked at the yamaha page and see the sx 240 but my question is with each drive at 180hp will there be much difference to a boat with twin 250hp to pull skiers and tubers ? I really don't care to much about top speed....although it is nice lol. One other thing , is there jet spray that will splash in the eyes of a tuber?
Thanks,

My old LX210 with twin 135s pulled my 275 pound college football playing buddy out of the water on skis like it was nothing. The biggest problem with our jet boats and skiers is not pulling their arms off.

Lets compare a few boats here to get an idea of the power. I ordered these in descending order of time to plane, i.e. the fastest is last.

Chaparral 203 Vortex VRX http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=3167
Dry Weight 2500 pounds
Time to Plane 4.2 seconds
0 to 30 7.7 seconds

Chaparral H20 21 with 1 x 260 HO, Prop Driven, MerCruiser http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=3074
Dry Weight 3,100 pounds
Time to Plane 3.2 seconds
0 to 30 8.9 seconds

Yamaha AR190 1 x 180 HP http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=2583
Dry Weight 2,183 pounds
Time to plane 3.3 seconds
0 to 30 6.8 seconds

Sea-Doo 230 Wake 2 x 215-hp Rotax Supercharged 4-TEC http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=1464
Dry Weight 3,775 lbs.
Time to plane 3.3 sec
0 to 30 6.0 sec

Yamaha AR192 1 x SHO
Dry Weight 2,176 pounds
Time to Plane 3.1 seconds
0 to 30 5.1 seconds

Yamaha AR210 2012 2 x 110 HP http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=2613
Dry Weight 2,939 pounds
Time to Plane 2.7 seconds
0 to 30 6.0 seconds

Yamaha AR240 http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=2058
Dry Weight 3,369 pounds
Time to plane 2.5 seconds
0 to 30 4.2 seconds

Yamaha AR210 (2003) 2 x 135 HP http://www.boattest.com/Partners/Partner-Main.aspx?lp_id=403&T=BOAT-TEST&Videoid=505&p=0&s=
Dry Weight
Time to plane 2.3 seconds
0 to 30 4.4 seconds
Dry Weight 2,150

Unfortunately I could not find numbers on the twin engine Chaparalls or any of the Glastron jets. I added the Sea-Doo 230 Wake as it was the most recent twin rotax that I could find numbers for.

I think it is safe to say that all of the jet powered boats have plenty of power to pull any skier, tuber or boarder.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Just a slight correction to the above - the 2012 AR210 is not 2X160. 2X110. Important to note that even at that power level the boat gets on plane very quickly, as has been my experience with our identically powered SX210.

 

[Bruce]

Just a slight correction to the above - the 2012 AR210 is not 2X160. 2X110. Important to note that even at that power level the boat gets on plane very quickly, as has been my experience with our identically powered SX210.

Thanks, I corrected it.

 

[cwoav8r]

When I bought my Waverunner FX Cruiser HO in '07 I was torn between it and the Sea Doo Wake. I wise man told me to just take a look at what make skis all the rental guys use... there is a reason the majority run Yamahas. Then a Sea Doo dealer told me that they had a rash of engine problems with the Rotax superchargers and talked about the expense of replacement parts. That pushed me to Yamaha. Things have probably changed over time with the Rotax, but just do your homework... I have plenty of power with my MR-1's and I never second guessed my decision to go propless... but that's just me, YMMV.

 

[carlos]

Thanks all for the input and advice. I have been researching the rotax and the 1812 's . I am glad to see so many people happy with their yamahas. How has the support from yamaha been for their products? Do they stand behind their product? Also does yamaha use wood in building their boats?

 

[OrangeTJ]

There is wood in the construction, though it doesn't appear to be used in structural support areas.

 

[cwoav8r]

My only warranty experience was with the bimini / tower. The boat was a year old... from the start the bimini poles were to wide and you had to push the bimini past the tower to stow against the tower... it was rubbing really bad and left marks on the tower. I finally took it to my dealer and they took measurements and sent pics to Yamaha. They called in a few days to schedule a repair which was the next week allowing for the new bimini poles to arrive. When I went to pick it up I had an entirely new bimini, canvas and all. The dealer told me that I would need to bring the boat back again in a few weeks for the new tower... uhhh why. Turns out that Yamaha was not happy about the marks on the tower and wanted to replace it. I told him that I could buff them out myself and didn't see the need for Yamaha to replace the tower just for that (also saving my warranty cred). Just that they offered meant a lot.

I know others have has less than a stellar experience with warranty claims... not sure if it is dealer related or not.

My boat has quite a bit of wood in it... if you are asking about stringers and such, not sure. I know there is quite a bit under the swim platform, engine compartment, head and ski locker etc... but I would assume not more than any other. I can tell you this, after 6 years, my boat is just as solid (sounding) as it was the day I bought it.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Can't how well Yamaha stands behind their product from personal experience because I have had precisely zero problems with our 2011 SX210 so far. That's not to say something couldn't happen, but I'm out of warranty now anyway. There really is a lot less that can go wrong on these jet drive boats than there is on an I/O, but of course things can and do happen.

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

There is nothing wrong with wood in boats as they have been built of that for centuries. What does work the wood over is fresh water intrusion that cannot drain and air dry and it is usually effected in boats left in the water since they are notopened up to air out and dry completely. My dad spent the last of his working years rebuilding boats and he always saw the issues due to improper penetrations caused by owners or installers. The biggest place he saw rot was decks that were cored with it when someone would drill holes and not seal them and transoms from hanging motors and various add ons. Our boats have wood that I can see as added support for like the muffler etc. but not structural as I can tell. I would like to know what the deck is cored with and since we do not have a motor hung on the transom, mine doesn't even look as if it is cored at all since there is no need for extra strength. Also todays marine grade plywood and resins if used properly in construction will last for decades.

 

[Nucem140]

my reccomendation, buy something besides a Yamaha, leaves more yamahas for me!

 

[carlos]

Thanks, I was just curious about the build of the yamaha boats. My old Grew challenger had wood also and was getting soft in the transom. But it was a 1980 so it saw many years on the water. The clean out on the yamaha is a great selling feature and the non supercharged engines. Thank you all who have replied to my posts. I think this forum has some great people in it !

 

[Chris Tronzano]

Don't most insurance companies classify a 500 hp boat as a high proformance boat? I'd be interested to see what the insurance difference looks like.

 

[Bruce]

@carlos, all of the structural wood is heavily coated. I have never heard of sagging, soft spots or the need to replace wood in a Yamaha.

 

[jdonalds]

Advantages of an I/O:

- most are quieter. Small impellers require high RPMs hence more noise

- slow speed steering is easier to learn

- most are heavier so ride a bit better.

- they do much better in waters that have surface weeds.

- smoother wake for towing things

I can't think of anything else.

My twin 110hp Yamaha has no problem pulling up skiers, wake boards, etc.

After owning a Honda jet ski for several years, and riding it 400 hours mostly in salt water, I was sold on jets and high reliability. Outside of oil changes and spark plugs the only maintenance costs were a replacement reverse handle and replacement shock absorber for the front storage bin. Honda doesn't make jet boats do I went for the closest thing - a Yamaha.

Others have listed the advantages of the jet boats. I won't own a prop boat.

In 5 years of owning this 2006 boat my total maintenance costs have been quite low and confined to things like seat cushion repair and boat covers, not engines our pumps.

As others have suggested get a ride on a jet boat to help with your decision.

 

[Bruce]

Advantages of an I/O:

- most are quieter. Small impellers require high RPMs hence more noise

Perhaps on the top end. But jets have a definite low end advantage.