Yamaha AR210 Power/Torque for Towing/Surfing

[DFWJohn]

Hey Jetboaters-
I have a deposit down on a 2021 AR210 (hoping for a May/June delivery, Dallas, TX), first time owner of a boat. Spent several summers on my Dad’s 2009 Yamaha, 21 Limited with a top speed north of 50, easy. I’m looking for feedback on towing with the AR210 loaded with 6-8 people. Does it have the power to do the job? I’ve looked up aftermarket chip upgrades and see +15% HP/Torque. Should I be concerned here?

Appreciate any insight/thoughts, I have lot’s to learn!!

Thanks!!

 

[212s]

Congrats on the boat purchase...you shouldn't have any issues as the twin jets have lots of power to get moving. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the power and acceleration.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@DFWJohn I tow without issue. 9 people on board, no problem. 6 adults in boat and towing the an additional 3 people in the super Mable, no problem. Yanking up a slalom skier with 9 people no problem. Plenty of pull and low end torque. I max out at about 44mph. The 212's will do 51ish give or take. I don't have any aftermarket chips or upgrades. Never have an issue. You will be fine. The majority of time we are pulling tubes with a pretty full boat all summer.

 

[DFWJohn]

Congrats on the boat purchase...you shouldn't have any issues as the twin jets have lots of power to get moving. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the power and acceleration.

Thanks for the feedback, super stoked to get the boat!

 

[DFWJohn]

@DFWJohn I tow without issue. 9 people on board, no problem. 6 adults in boat and towing the an additional 3 people in the super Mable, no problem. Yanking up a slalom skier with 9 people no problem. Plenty of pull and low end torque. I max out at about 44mph. The 212's will do 51ish give or take. I don't have any aftermarket chips or upgrades. Never have an issue. You will be fine. The majority of time we are pulling tubes with a pretty full boat all summer.

Thanks HangOutdoors! I’ve been reading your posts and they are very informative, especially for me as a soon to be new owner. I take it your family loves the 3 person super mable? Another purchase to make! LOL

 

[Brad460]

The AR210 engines have good torque and get out of the hole hard. Loaded down with people and ballast we never had any issues..

The downside is the top speed...with two adults/2 kids it’s a 41-42 mph boat. Add a couple more adults and it’s a 37-38 mph boat.

Regarding surfing- it’s not a surf boat. With the wake booster and ballast it was not really capable of surfing. I gave up trying to surf as filling a few ballast bags and attaching the wakebooster was too time consuming. Stick with wakeboarding and tubing.

 

[DFWJohn]

I’ve always loved knee boarding, tubing and have been less successful at wakeboarding. I may have to give the surfing a try though It looks like too much fun!!

 

[DFWJohn]

Any recommendations on tow rope length for tube and knee board?

 

[HangOutdoors]

Tube I let it go out aways. I use a Two Section Airhead 4k rope. 60' + 10'. Then I use the Airhead Bungee for additional length which attaches to the boat. Please make sure you get the proper strength rope for your use case. All of mine are 4k or 6k. And I keep two identical tow rope rigs, one as a back up system. The last thing I want is to be out and be down a rope because of "That which should not be mentioned" or something else. I have 5 or 6 quick connects they save alot of time and the I find that using them doesn't kink or fray the rope at the connection as much as without.

Amazon.com : Airhead 2-Section Tow Rope | 1-4 Rider Rope for Towable Tubes, One Size (AHTR-42) : Waterskiing Ropes And Handles : Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com: AIRHEAD KWIK-CONNECT: Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com : AIRHEAD KWIK-TEK Bungee Tube Rope Extension, red (AHTRB-3) : Sports & Outdoors

 

[DFWJohn]

Great advice on the bungee...Thanks!!

 

[SCP1]

The AR210 engines have good torque and get out of the hole hard. Loaded down with people and ballast we never had any issues..

The downside is the top speed...with two adults/2 kids it’s a 41-42 mph boat. Add a couple more adults and it’s a 37-38 mph boat.

Regarding surfing- it’s not a surf boat. With the wake booster and ballast it was not really capable of surfing. I gave up trying to surf as filling a few ballast bags and attaching the wakebooster was too time consuming. Stick with wakeboarding and tubing.

I have never tried it but a compromise sounds like a foil.

 

[SCP1]

Great advice on the bungee...Thanks!!

FYI, someone at Shelbyville had a bungee break the end result was not well, based on this I would highly recommend not getting a bungee.

 

[SCP1]

The AR210 is very capable of surfing, however there is just a lot of setup and time involved. Is it going to compare to a dedicated wake boat, obviously not but I think you will be more then please with the results for the money you have into it. Congratulations on the new boat!

 

[SCP1]

Tube I let it go out aways. I use a Two Section Airhead 4k rope. 60' + 10'. Then I use the Airhead Bungee for additional length which attaches to the boat. Please make sure you get the proper strength rope for your use case. All of mine are 4k or 6k. And I keep two identical tow rope rigs, one as a back up system. The last thing I want is to be out and be down a rope because of "That which should not be mentioned" or something else. I have 5 or 6 quick connects they save alot of time and the I find that using them doesn't kink or fray the rope at the connection as much as without.

Amazon.com : Airhead 2-Section Tow Rope | 1-4 Rider Rope for Towable Tubes, One Size (AHTR-42) : Waterskiing Ropes And Handles : Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com: AIRHEAD KWIK-CONNECT: Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com : AIRHEAD KWIK-TEK Bungee Tube Rope Extension, red (AHTRB-3) : Sports & Outdoors

Just wanted to make sure you saw my bungee post, I know they had more of a ski rope one but again when it broke the end result was not well.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Thanks, good information. Really appreciate it!

 

[Bizywk]

Congratulations! You'll love that boat. We use ours for towing tubes all the time. You might want to look into something like this to help make the ride back there more comfortable. It provides some shock cushion coming out of the hole and keeps the ropes up which may help prevent risk of sucking up a rope into the jets. My kids also say it helps a little with the spray.

Amazon.com : SPORTSSTUFF Towable Booster Tube Yellow, Red, Black, Dimensions inflated (38in x 28in) deflated (45in x 36in) : Waterskiing Towables : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : SPORTSSTUFF Towable Booster Tube Yellow, Red, Black, Dimensions inflated (38in x 28in) deflated (45in x 36in) : Waterskiing Towables : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[HangOutdoors]

I have the booster ball, and hate the thing. If anyone is interested in buying it off me, I would sell it.

 

[212s]

I have the booster ball, and hate the thing. If anyone is interested in buying it off me, I would sell it.

Why do you hate it?

 

[HangOutdoors]

When I tow from the lower tow point it will get stuck on the wake. From the tower when it makes contact with the water it kicks up spray and really doesn't do much.

 

[DFWJohn]

Congratulations! You'll love that boat. We use ours for towing tubes all the time. You might want to look into something like this to help make the ride back there more comfortable. It provides some shock cushion coming out of the hole and keeps the ropes up which may help prevent risk of sucking up a rope into the jets. My kids also say it helps a little with the spray.

Amazon.com : SPORTSSTUFF Towable Booster Tube Yellow, Red, Black, Dimensions inflated (38in x 28in) deflated (45in x 36in) : Waterskiing Towables : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : SPORTSSTUFF Towable Booster Tube Yellow, Red, Black, Dimensions inflated (38in x 28in) deflated (45in x 36in) : Waterskiing Towables : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

Thanks for the tip on the booster ball...wasn’t sure what it was for, but get it now!!