Undecided. Scarab vs Yamaha.

[Cruisinblue]

I absolutely love the look of the scarab, just torn between the 212 and 255 (price range and size diff). A friend of mine has a Yamaha 242 and the space is nice, plus is much more affordable. He is pushing the Yamaha for lots of reasons (i.e. He knows quite a bit about them). Has anyone been on the 215 and the 255? Much size difference? Would like to take max 10 people from time to time. Appreciate any info. New to the site.

 

[arew~SX230]

Welcome aboard!
I'm sure you'll get lots of info here. I have zero experience with scarabs, but I do love my yammy. Any boat in this size range it's going to feel a little crowded with 10 people on board. Frequently quoted around here is buy your second boat first, and almost no one ever said I wish I bought a smaller boat. If your going to boat where there is a high probability of sucking in debris the clean out ports on the Yamaha are a strong argument for it.

 

[Cruisinblue]

Much appreciated, arew-sx230! We talked about the port cleanouts last night and about the price diff from the scarab and the Yamaha. He said the same thing about "buying your second boat first". Lol. Thanks!

 

[Ronnie]

All brands have their pros and cons but since scarab only recently started producing jet boats it seems like I read a lot of posts about their bugs/growing pains. What would keep me away from scarabs is their dealer networks apparent lack of knowledge about them. Most of the posts I've read where a new scarab owner had a problem (e.g. Cavitation, inability to reach top speed, error messages being displayed) also involve a dealer that is of little or no help in getting the problem identified or resolved quickly.

As for what size boat to get, I recommend that you get the biggest you can comfortably afford (and your current or near future tow vehicle can handle). Upgrading for size, like two feet at a time will cost you a lot more in the long run than buying your second or in some cases third or fourth boat first. Trust me I know, started with a 15', moved to a 20' before a 23' and currently in a 24' all in the span of about 10 years. If you are open to going used you will save a lot of money, many banks will finance a boat up to 10 years old, the interest rate is a little higher but the math always worked out for me since the amount borrowed was a lot less than if I bought new.

 

[0627Devildog]

Go with a 24' if you plan on having that many out. . . .and I would stick with a Yammie due to their tenure/experience in the jet market. Some questions that may help provide context are:

Salt or Freshwater?

"10 from time to time. . . . " can mean different things to different people.

Details on frequency and anticipated activities would be helpful.

Trailering, wet slip, dry dock?

 

[0627Devildog]

Also, if you update your location. . . . We can recommend classifieds postings near you i.e. https://jetboaters.net/threads/for-sale-2011-ar240-ho-92hrs-ormond-beach-fl.9857/

 

[BobJohnson]

Don't forget taking at least a passing look at Chaparral

 

[Cruisinblue]

Live in SW Ohio. We hope to have a dry dock setup. Been boating since I was a kid. Even owned a 26' Baja H2X about 10 years ago. The lake we would spend about 95% of our time on would be Indian Lake. Pretty shallow and not really big, but tons of fun. The Baja was a blast. I/O prop and you had to know the water really well to avoid damaging the lower unit. Jet boat would be different from what I am used too, had a Sea-Doo when I was a kid, so that's about the extent of my jet exposer. My buddy Giddyupjoe will be my biggest asset he has a 2010 242 and loves it a lot. He is pushing Yamaha pretty hard. More affordable to get me into the bigger sizes. Sounds like it may be our best direction. Thanks for y'alls feedback so far. This is awesome.

 

[0627Devildog]

Live in SW Ohio. We hope to have a dry dock setup. Been boating since I was a kid. Even owned a 26' Baja H2X about 10 years ago. The lake we would spend about 95% of our time on would be Indian Lake. Pretty shallow and not really big, but tons of fun. The Baja was a blast. I/O prop and you had to know the water really well to avoid damaging the lower unit. Jet boat would be different from what I am used too, had a Sea-Doo when I was a kid, so that's about the extent of my jet exposer. My buddy Giddyupjoe will be my biggest asset he has a 2010 242 and loves it a lot. He is pushing Yamaha pretty hard. More affordable to get me into the bigger sizes. Sounds like it may be our best direction. Thanks for y'alls feedback so far. This is awesome.

There is never any shortage of people on here to spend your money for you. . . . P.s. Welcome aboard

 

[bronze_10]

There is a thread on here about some of the issues scarab owners were having.. maybe someone could link to it... I don't know how..

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Hey now @Cruisinblue... I would love to ride in a non Yamaha jetboat variant! However, I just will not be able to help ya fix it.

 

[Ronnie]

There is a thread on here about some of the issues scarab owners were having.. maybe someone could link to it... I don't know how..

There is also a thread where scarab owners are promoting the a scarab line of jet boats, I think it's called "where did the love go" which helps temper the one you referenced but there are so many more negative threads on the scarabs right now maybe because they are still green where jet boats are concerns, ranging from ive had it and sold the scarab after only 35 hours and at a big loss to my dealer can't figure out what is wrong with it or doesn't know what anchor will fit in the anchor locker.
Maybe these latter guys were just unlucky with the boat they bought and / or the dealer they worked with but I would not chance it when the price is $30k+?

 

[Cruisinblue]

Sad to hear that. They are really beautiful boats.

 

[Yan Masse]

I like my boat but I am not sure if I would do the same.

All the posts about dealers not knowing the boat scares me, I did asked my dealer if they knew how to deal with maintenances and parts and he said yes.. so I will see.

10 hours maintenance next week... I will keep my fingers crossed.


Here is the thread Ronnie was refering to :

https://jetboaters.net/threads/baby-baby-where-did-our-love-go.10053/

 

[luanders]

Love my Scarab - on the second one - definitely made the mistake others were talking about by buying the smaller boat and then after 1 year upgrading to my HP and more length. I do agree though that the dealers can make it or break it for a new boat owner... My dealer has been fantastic...

 

[Cruisinblue]

Did you go with the 215 or the 255? Have much diff in space? Have not been on one yet.
What year? Looks like '16 @luanders

 

[Speedling]

Dealers can make or break it really fast. What dealers are nearby and how is thier reputation?

 

[0627Devildog]

Just going to leave this here. . . . . https://jetboaters.net/threads/hot-water-in-center-storage.10210/

 

[Cruisinblue]

Just going to leave this here. . . . . https://jetboaters.net/threads/hot-water-in-center-storage.10210/

I saw that earlier. I appreciate you looking out. How do you paste links?

 

[GiddYupJoe]

I saw that earlier. I appreciate you looking out. How do you paste links?

The copy and paste button usually do the trick!