190/195 enough?

[Epsmith19]

Hi All,
I'm in the market for a used boat and find myself being drawn to the 190/195 series Yamahas, primarily for their cost and ease of towing/storage. I'm looking at 2016+ models because I like the articulating keel and cruise assist/no wake modes.

I am worried however that the single motor under powers the boat. I'll wont being doing many top speed passes but I do want to be able to tow for watersports and get on plane easily.

So 19ft owners do you find that you have enough power or are you wishing you went w/ a dual motor model?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[d_coyne1984]

I can't speak to the 190, but the 192 and 195's are definitely not under powered. I had no trouble pulling up 200lb wakeboarders in my AR192. If you can afford it though, go for a 212. You won't regret it. The 190/192 has had the no wake/crusie assist since the models inception FYI. I will tell you that the cruise is just an RPM control system so it is not very useful for water sports. For that you would want to look into adding a system such ass perfect pass that will control speed.

 

[FLBulldogger]

to the best forums on the interwebs....We have had a SX190 and now have a '18 SX195 and it is like night and day as far as power goes, as well as the feel and finish. When at WOT she gets to 50 MPH in a hurry and runs comfortably at 45 to 48 MPH that's with 2 on board with full tank of gas. The 190 we had would do mid 30's tops during the summer. We don't do watersports so can't address that but I know the folks on here that do will chime in and help. We looked hard at the 210/212's but didn't find the price justified space. The 24's are a nice upgrade with the NA 1.8's. Good luck and post pics when you buy!

 

[2kwik4u]

Hi All,
I'm in the market for a used boat and find myself being drawn to the 190/195 series Yamahas, primarily for their cost and ease of towing/storage. I'm looking at 2016+ models because I like the articulating keel and cruise assist/no wake modes.

I am worried however that the single motor under powers the boat. I'll wont being doing many top speed passes but I do want to be able to tow for watersports and get on plane easily.

So 19ft owners do you find that you have enough power or are you wishing you went w/ a dual motor model?

Thanks for your thoughts!

What kind of sports do you do? Our 2017 AR190 does everything but Surf well right out of the box. It just doesn't have the weight currently many (included @haknslash ) have made acceptable setups for surfing with a little work though. Wakeboarding and Wakeskating is perfectly fine, and plenty easy. Hardest part is speed control (we don't have RideSteady......yet), but once you get that down, it's really not bad.

A 195 will have TONS of power for watersports. A 190 will have adequate power for watersports. The 195 will drink premium, the 190 will sip regular fuel. 195 will have a higher top speed (around 50-ish), and the 190 will top out around 40-42 or so. Both have the same hull, and articulating keel design. The 195 has a larger 160mm pump as opposed to the 155mm on the 190, this results in a bit more thrust, and a little less cavitation in general. Think of less cavitation as better "traction" with the water.

I have had 7 100+lb people in the boat with 2 full coolers, and pulled an 8th up on a deep water start on a wakeskate. He LEARNED how to ride the skate that day and had never been up before. The only mods I have are ribbon delete, sealed intake tunnel, and L13 Cone. Getting rid of cavitation is the single largest hurdle to cross in making the 190 a decent tow boat, the second is speed control. L13 fixes the first RideSteady fixes the second. Overall the 190 is a fine boat if you're a casual watersports person. I will skate at least once an outing, and will get maybe 5-6 pulls at a session. I'll often take others in our group of friends out to skate as well, and we always have a good time, and power is never an issue. We'll always run out of drinks, time, fuel, or energy. Keep in mind I'm 6'2" tall and 225lbs, and I'm coming out of the water on a skate that is about 70% of the surface area of a wakeboard.

Wakeboarding is even easier since the board is so much dang larger. Surfing even easier than that. Those boards are so large, with so much surface area they pop right up. I've done dual ski's behind my 190, and I've come up on two and dropped one (I don't have the talent for a slalom deep water start, it's not a power issue). My biggest issue with riding the skate behind the 190 is any "pitching" of the boat results in varied line tension between the boat and the rider. This is just the nature of a tall tower on a short boat. The aspect ratio of of length to height isn't great, and results in this small issue.

Tubing is another story though. I've not been overly pleased with the towing performance of the jet drive. It bleeds a ton of speed in the turns, and has required a significant rethink on my technique from our I/O boat we used to have. The power is there, but the traction is not in the corners. I've been told that fins will help with this, but it hasn't been a big enough issue for us that I've invested in them yet. This is season #4 on this boat, so we'll see if that holds again this year.....With that said, there is plenty of power to get up on plane with multiple people in a large tube. The rear tow eye is plenty strong, and you can get a medium sized payload (100-150lbs) outside the wake pretty easy. There is some splash to the face of the riders from the jet wash, however a slightly longer rope (we run 75') mostly eliminates that.

The 190 has a few other advantages over the bigger boats. Tow vehicle doesn't have to be as large, it fits in a standard 7ft garage door (with some simple mods), and it's cheap to own and operate. Our 190 has proven VERY reliable over it's 122hrs of service so far, it's been fairly inexpensive to operate, and overall been a great boat for our family of 4 (mom,dad, 8yr old boy, 2yr old boy). There is TONS of storage to take "all the things" with you, plenty of power for watersports, nice rear platform for lounging, and we've towed it all over the place relatively easily, We intend to keep it for at least a few more seasons before upgrading.

 

[marcham]

Top speed isn't the biggest difference between the 195 an 190, but thrust is. A bigger pump makes a huge difference for water sports. Even with 800 lbs of ballast we don't come close to full power to pull people out of the water.

Yes the 195 drinks premium (we fill up at costco) so most marina pumps won't do.

 

[Merlion]

If you can, try to make the jump to a 21’ (24’ ideal). You’ll really appreciate the second engine for reliability and piece of mind...not to mention the extra space for comfort when bringing extra people.

 

[Gunner]

We have a 2018 AR190, we dont do water sports but power is pretty good otherwise. Top speed is usually around 42 to 43 with two to 4 people. Good on gas and easy to tow/store. He really like the boat,but if water sports was our thing I would probably go 195 and pay the extra gas $.

 

[njmr2fan]

Welcome aboard. We've had our 2014 AR190 out with 8 people aboard (2 families) and we've done just fine. We're not top speed pass people, we like to get out on the water, anchor and swim, or beach out somewhere and spend the day. After watching the Yamaha JetBoat challenge video, we can pack all that we would need for a day out, plus 4 adults and 4 kids. I wakeboard, and we've never had a problem pulling me up (6' 185lbs) we also pull a 3 person tube with the kids. Great boat, hides away in part of our standard garage, sips gas, easy to work on. No regrets

 

[ScottP276]

I am looking at an SX195. I am a Yamaha guy I have two VX's, multiple dirtbikes, generators, small outboards and would like to pull the trigger on the boat as well. But it's very frustrating how Yamaha is avoiding any power comparisions to any known boat engines even their own outboards. Can anyone tell me if a 195 would be similiar power to a similiar size boat with say a 150hp outboard. I get different answers from different dealers. I think Yamaha would sell more units if they cleared this up. They sell tons of outboards to Mfg's do a comparison to show what the equivilent power plant would be.

 

[marcham]

Welcome.
Make a deal subject to a sea trail prior to purchase.

It's hard to compare to an outboard in terms of power delivery. There is a big speed difference in the last 1000rpm (6500= 34mph, 7500 = 48mph). Power delivery really starts at 5000rpm. Now that I've adjusted the reverse gate and got used to manoeuvring at high idle, I find the dock side handling better than any outboard I've ever ridden. One thing that is different though is the heading will drift when driving bellow 7mph. It requires finesse and small but frequent steering inputs.

A similarly sized boat with an outboard would probably be fitted with a 150hp outboard, which would consume less fuel than the svho but would pack less punch. Example: Bayliner VR4.

 

[I_squared_r]

I am looking at an SX195. I am a Yamaha guy I have two VX's, multiple dirtbikes, generators, small outboards and would like to pull the trigger on the boat as well. But it's very frustrating how Yamaha is avoiding any power comparisions to any known boat engines even their own outboards. Can anyone tell me if a 195 would be similiar power to a similiar size boat with say a 150hp outboard. I get different answers from different dealers. I think Yamaha would sell more units if they cleared this up. They sell tons of outboards to Mfg's do a comparison to show what the equivilent power plant would be.

My dad has a newer 135hp honda on his barracuda 188ccr and my top speed and acceleration is significantly better (2014 AR192). I think you'll get good power/acceleration compared to the 150hp OB, but the jet boat is louder and not as smooth. Sometimes I wish I had the OB for wet slipping and quieter, but there's trade offs with everything. You would lose the swim deck and the price for an sporty bow rider with OB is very expensive. The OB was my 1st choice, but I decided on the AR192 based on value: I paid only $20k for my 2014 AR192. It feels roomy for a 19ft, wakeboard tower, SUV can tow it, and has a sporty looking hull that looks more expensive.

 

[d_coyne1984]

I am looking at an SX195. I am a Yamaha guy I have two VX's, multiple dirtbikes, generators, small outboards and would like to pull the trigger on the boat as well. But it's very frustrating how Yamaha is avoiding any power comparisions to any known boat engines even their own outboards. Can anyone tell me if a 195 would be similiar power to a similiar size boat with say a 150hp outboard. I get different answers from different dealers. I think Yamaha would sell more units if they cleared this up. They sell tons of outboards to Mfg's do a comparison to show what the equivilent power plant would be.

I agree with you, it's annoying Yamaha isn't more forthcoming with their performance specs. You can usually find the engine kw specs on the EPA ratings and convert that to hp, but I haven't been able to find ANYTHING on torque. The SHO motors in the older 192's put down about 210hp. I suspect the SVHO is probably around 220. If you want to look at top end, the AR195 I would expect to do about 10mph better than an equivelently sized boat with a 150hp outboard, but they will probably pull for watersports about the same, at least when it comes to pulling things with a lot of drag like large tubes. You won't have any trouble pulling wakeboarders (even with some ballast) or skiers with an AR195. The only drawback to the jet is that the boat will need a little more throttle in the corners to maintain speed than you would for an outboard.

 

[kennetht]

I have a 2013 AR190 and I have no issues with wakeboarding/tow sports. Last summer I had 4 grown men on board, and 4 grown men on a big tube and (while it did take a little while to get to top speed) the boat was able to tow that weight with no issues. Just have to be gradual and not gun it, so you do not overwork the engine. As stated above, it does bleed a ton of speed in the turns, and has required a significant rethink on my technique from my outboard boat I have down in FL.

With wakeboarding, its much easier to get to plane and lift the wakeboarder out of the water.

 

[marcham]

250hp at 7500 RPM would be 175 ft lbs of torque.

184 kW is labelled on the engine.

184kW / 7500 rpm x 9565 = 234 NM which is about 173 ft lbs

A 250hp outboard would operate at about 5500rpm, thus it would need more torque to produce the same hp at a lower speed. To produce more torque, it would by design have a larger and heavier engine.

That's the nice thing about the svho. Think of it like a Formula 1 engine. It revs high, allowing a lot of power to come out of a small light package (thanks to the supercharger). The small pistons and supercharger make for very rapid rpm changes. If you look at jet ski forums, you'll see that some owners can extract 8000+ rpm from the engine, although with the extra weight of the boat that may not be a good idea...

 

[WilCo]

Same as others that commented on sufficiency of the AR190. I have a 2013 also. Only time it's really noticeable is in the turns. You do lose speed pretty quickly which impacts most when towing a tube. I can still fling 3 people off a tube with no problem though.

***No performance mods on my boat, but I do have the Thurst Vector Wake installed to primarily limit splash on the tube...I need to adjust it a bit more to fully get the benefit, I think***

 

[IvanRZB]

I think the limit on our 2012 SX190, was 4 adults + 4 kids in the boat while towing one adult +1 small kid on a tube. As others mentioned, gotta gradually get up to plane, and expect to lose speed on the turns. That's the only time I'd wished I had more power, most of the time it's 2 adults + 2 kids and it's great.

Having said all that, next boat will definitely have dual or a larger single engine

 

[ScottP276]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[Epsmith19]

Second

 

[Mike190]

I am looking at an SX195. I am a Yamaha guy I have two VX's, multiple dirtbikes, generators, small outboards and would like to pull the trigger on the boat as well. But it's very frustrating how Yamaha is avoiding any power comparisions to any known boat engines even their own outboards. Can anyone tell me if a 195 would be similiar power to a similiar size boat with say a 150hp outboard. I get different answers from different dealers. I think Yamaha would sell more units if they cleared this up. They sell tons of outboards to Mfg's do a comparison to show what the equivilent power plant would be.

I have a 2017 sx190 and my dad has a 19 foot starcraft deck boat with a merc 150hp on the back of it and if we take off together we stay right together until the top he can get like 6 more mph or so on me I can only do 39mph he can get 45mph trimmed up. Haven't pulled anything with either boat yet so cant comment on that.

 

[14SX190]

Hi All,
I'm in the market for a used boat and find myself being drawn to the 190/195 series Yamahas, primarily for their cost and ease of towing/storage. I'm looking at 2016+ models because I like the articulating keel and cruise assist/no wake modes.

I am worried however that the single motor under powers the boat. I'll wont being doing many top speed passes but I do want to be able to tow for watersports and get on plane easily.

So 19ft owners do you find that you have enough power or are you wishing you went w/ a dual motor model?

Thanks for your thoughts!

I will let you know next week. Picking up 2020 SX 190 Saturday or Monday.
Like others have said it has its cons and pros.

I'm coming from ski world and can tell you my SC ski sucked gas and more if I pulled a tuber. My VXR was perfect and NA.
In a boat, yes the 2nd motor is crucial for multiple reasons but enough 50/50 consensus the SX 190 works under certain expectations.

Don't load boat up with more than 4 people is what I'm going to do

I like the idea someone mentioned sale depends on water test or just go big and don't look back if $$ is not a factor. A 212x would be on my choice.