19' VS 24' on rough water

[mraz72]

I am really leaning towards getting a 24', not only for the additional room, but because I seem to hit rough water quite often.
I wet slip in a bay that has a lot of traffic, so I am constantly going over wakes, and the 19' bounces hard. I also enjoy going out onto Lake Ontario, and that lake get's pretty rough, there are times when I turn around and it feels almost unsafe to be there more than a minute (huge rolling waves)

I know it is hard to quantify the difference in handling of rough water, but any opinions?

I am even debating if I should go to something like a 28' Monterey.....

 

[Bruce]

@1948Isaac and @swatski have both made the upgrade from 19 to 24. They should be able to provide solid answers.

My somewhat relevant is experience is upgrading from a LX210 (19ft + swim deck) with a flatish hull to a SX230. With the LX210 I considered 1.5' seas to be the limit. With the SX230 I am comfortable with up to 3' seas with knowledge that the boat will handle more.

But I have seen 190s handle more than 3' seas. So they can do it. Just not as comfortably as a larger boat.

 

[swatski]

I am really leaning towards getting a 24', not only for the additional room, but because I seem to hit rough water quite often.
I wet slip in a bay that has a lot of traffic, so I am constantly going over wakes, and the 19' bounces hard. I also enjoy going out onto Lake Ontario, and that lake get's pretty rough, there are times when I turn around and it feels almost unsafe to be there more than a minute (huge rolling waves)

I know it is hard to quantify the difference in handling of rough water, but any opinions?

I am even debating if I should go to something like a 28' Monterey.....

I think that @Bruce puts it best: "...I have seen 190s handle more than 3' seas. So they can do it. Just not as comfortably as a larger boat."

I LOVED my SX190, probably the best boat I ever had with all the mods. We made the Bimini trip without holding anyone back. That said - boy is there a difference with the new 240! But it was @1948Isaac and @robert843 who actually showed what these new 24ft hulls can do in rough seas.

I was initially very skeptical about this whole new articulating keel business. However, the new 240 runs like a much bigger boat and it is simply quite wonderful.

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[Andy S]

I can tell you going from a 23' Yamaha (just like what @Bruce has) to a 26' Cobalt, the ride difference is very noticeable. I use the analogy, my 23' Yamaha rides like a sports car whereas my 26' Cobalt rides like a luxury sedan. Don't get me wrong, I really liked my Yamaha but the wife had gotten hurt (back jarred) while cross back from Bimini in 2015, so when an opportunity came that we could afford to purchase a Cobalt, it was a no brainer for the wife. This year's trip to Exuma, she was able to ride the complete trip without issue and we experienced bigger waves for a longer time than we ever did in the Yamaha.

A 24' Yamaha compared to your 19' Yamaha will have a difference in ride quality much like what I experienced in going to my Cobalt. So if you went from a 19' Yamaha to a 28' Monterey there would be a tremendous change.

One thing to think about in your boat decision process is what is the typical depth of the water you normally boat in? If it is relatively shallow, I would lean towards a 24' Yamaha, the draft of an I/O could be an issue.

 

[mraz72]

I know what you mean about back injuries, I can see where that can happen. We bounce around quite a bit in rough seas, after a few minutes my kidneys hurt lol.

Maybe Yamaha will come out with a tri engine 28' open bow lol

I guess the only way to know is go to a dealer and test drive them, I believe my yamaha dealer is also a monterey dealer. They might think I am a pain, but its a lot of money and I want to get it right.

I actually think owning the 19' as my first boat was a great idea. I got a few scratches, learned some things and I am now much more comfortable. It's like a first car, best not to have a car you are afraid to scratch, because I tore up my first few cars lol.

I do three things with my boat, pull a tube (which may turn into wake board or wake surf soon) and I throw anchor (as close to the beach as I can get) and swim/hang out, take drives along the lake (ontario) and look at house and landscape.
The first two the 24' yamaha would be perfect for, the last one, driving on the lake, im not sure. depends on how rough, just wish I could drive the three boats in mind in rough seas and see what the feel is....

 

[Julian]

just wish I could drive the three boats in mind in rough seas and see what the feel is....

Find a dealer to take you for a test ride....or a member here (for a Yamaha 240)

 

[mraz72]

There is a nice 242 x series a few slips down, I need to hit that guy up

 

[Devildog]

With my 240, I have been surprised on how rough it handles the waves. I boat on smaller lakes, but the water really gets choppy due to the sheer number of boats. A washing machine is the best analogy. I had a 21 Sea Ray last year and I swear that thing handled the waves better than my 240. Also, when at anchor, my 240 just wants to bob all day long while other boats are peaceful. Maybe I am not positioning the boat in the best manner. I went out to a sandbar yesterday to put on my new Illinois boat numbers and even with very little mid-week traffic, the boat just wanted to rock all day long. And the final result of my number decals on the port and starboard side prove it .

I can't help you with your original question comparing a 19 to a 24 footer, but I would assume that the 24 would handle the waves better. I've just been surprised on how mine handles the waves.

 

[2nazt]

I think it will handle better than a 19' from what you are experiencing now. I think other deep v I/O and outboards have more draft at plane and usually more weight causing better ride. It's a trade off for a versatile jet boat to go shallow responsive easy maintenance. You can get in a similar size offshore CC and be amazed at the ride but they are not as practical as a cove sandbar cruising family boat. Just my thoughts.

 

[Rob9550]

I went from an AR192 to a AR240 and the difference is night and day. The weight of the 240 seems to smooth out the majority of the chop. It will never ride like a Cobalt but you won't be disappointed. I was torn on the upgrade, then I took a test ride and was sold. Please ask any questions and I will do my best to answer.

 

[Jay Petzold]

Upgraded to a 24 ft yamaha from a 17 ft Larson worth every penny

 

[mraz72]

Rob did you trade in your 192 or sell it privately? How much of a hit did you take? Other than handling rougher water and interior space, what are some other things you like? I am thinking having a head would be huge...

Would you spend extra to get the X series, for the ballast?

 

[robert843]

I have not been on a Yamaha 19ft boat but I do also own a 20 ft hurricane deck boat and the difference is huge. That said this really all depends on your personal use if it was me and I planed to spend plenty of time on the great lakes I would upgrade to something at least 24ft and 21 degrees of dead rise. If you only plan to go hang out there on good days the Yamaha 240 would be fine but if the end goal is to get out there when ever you want go bigger and something more designed for that. I was on 240 for almost 400 miles of off shore travel back in June and it can handle it but not the same as an offshore boat it all depends on how comfortable you want to be. Below is the video if our 215 mile offshore return trip from Exuma Bahamas to Bimini Bahamas this should give you an idea. The return trip starts at the 1:45 mark of this video.

 

[NewBoater]

We went on a test drive and the 19' felt small and felt the chop much more in the ocean after the 24' ride it was a substantial difference.

24' is worth the $$ for sure but ultimately we settled on 21' because ride quality was in the middle of the 2 and it was plenty big enough for the 3 of us and it was 10k more than the 19' but 20k less than the 24'. Wasn't worth the 20k more to go to the 24' for our needs but spending the extra 10k to go from 19' to 21' was a must for us.

Best of luck in your decision

 

[swatski]

I have not been on a Yamaha 19ft boat but I do also own a 20 ft hurricane deck boat and the difference is huge. That said this really all depends on your personal use if it was me and I planed to spend plenty of time on the great lakes I would upgrade to something at least 24ft and 21 degrees of dead rise. If you only plan to go hang out there on good days the Yamaha 240 would be fine but if the end goal is to get out there when ever you want go bigger and something more designed for that. I was on 240 for almost 400 miles of off shore travel back in June and it can handle it but not the same as an offshore boat it all depends on how comfortable you want to be. Below is the video if our 215 mile offshore return trip from Exuma Bahamas to Bimini Bahamas this should give you an idea. The return trip starts at the 1:45 mark of this video.

@robert843 That is some crazy a$$ ride - between 2-3min in the video - pushing the envelope, pretty awesome. Not many people I know would ride 45mph in that. And that's what I think is valuable - setting the precedence to show it can be done safely.

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[swatski]

Rob did you trade in your 192 or sell it privately? How much of a hit did you take? Other than handling rougher water and interior space, what are some other things you like? I am thinking having a head would be huge...

Would you spend extra to get the X series, for the ballast?

I have just gone from 190 to 240 myself. I will echo what @Rob9550 said. It is night and day. Not surprising of course, when you add five feet to boat length, you have weight and volume increment in third power! These new 240s are pretty fantastic. And they are very light for that size.

That said, for me the biggest difference with a 24ft boat - in a battle between my strength and the boat, the boat is always going to win. On a smaller boat like a 190/192, you can push it around a dock or your driveway and have a chance of doing something with it.

About the X model, I doubt anyone buys those for the ballast. The factory can not make it right, I think their hands are tied given all the load/weight restrictions they face and must comply with. So, you would be looking at custom ballast anyway.

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[Britboater]

I also went from a 190 to a 240, mainly because I was feed up with being slammed around.
But was it @Speedling who mentioned with the overhang of the swim deck your not actually getting a 19' boat which would answer why most find the 19's a little bouncy.

 

[Speedling]

I also went from a 190 to a 240, mainly because I was feed up with being slammed around.
But was it @Speedling who mentioned with the overhang of the swim deck your not actually getting a 19' boat which would answer why most find the 19's a little bouncy.

I did mention that but it seems that everyone does this as common practice anyways. I find it decieving but it is part of the whole boat. 19 foot of hull and 2 fot of swim deck for a 21 foot boat.

 

[Zeus2013]

I upgraded from a 19' to a 24' because we got tossed around a lot just from wakes of larger boats. The 24' is amazingly better.

 

[mraz72]

@robert843, I can see it handles the chop better but still bounces all over like you said. The lake gets a lot rougher than what you were in, and like I said, I've come out of the bay and immediately turned around and felt uncomfortable for the minute I was exposed to large chop. Awesome video BTW, that has to be so fun. Where you nervous about breaking down at all?

I don't want a vessel that can handle that type of chop, as I am guessing I would need a 30' +

I do think I need to upgrade to a 24', as others have said, just going over other boats wake is a pain