1st time Jet boat questions.

[BRWC]

Backstory:
So I have been out of boating a long time (Except jet ski's) Last boat was when I was a kid, A 70's Invader tri-hull with a Evinrude 85hp. Needless to say you needed to wear a snorkel when trying to ski behind it. But it was fun and brought generations of family together to go to the lake. My kids are now at the age that I am looking at purchasing a new boat in the coming few weeks.

Situation:
Will be an always fresh water use boat and stored at the house (Hopefully garage kept) in N. Texas. The wife has put a hard cap at 30k which means I am looking to spend a few night's on the couch and go in to the mid 30's. I have read many of the posts here on maintenance, care, and costs but would like a little deeper insight into the boats at hand. The Fort Worth Boat Show is coming up in a week or so and hoping to have a decision by then.

Contenders:

Scarab 195G: I like the ID but not willing to go from the couch to the dog house for it! When I inquired about The G model he stated they do not stock the G models and if he does he fully rigs them out to the cost of the ID anyway. Seemed odd but I don't mind driving to LA to get one off their lot. Cost is my main factor here. Somehow the out the door price on a MSRP 29,999 boat with no options is 35k and I still have to add a Wake tower. And does anyone know if adding an aftermarket tower nulls your warranty?

Glastron GTS 187: Like this boats looks Like this boats Price 32,600 out the door price. But here is my concern. After looking across Boat trader, Boats.com and checking inventories of dealers nobody seems to be stocking the GTS187 and only a few stocked the larger GTS207. So I looked at the used market and found a whole lot of nothing. So my question: Is there some sort of fundamental flaw with this boat or is it normal for most dealers to just not carry an entire line of boat?

Yamaha AR190: I have no issues with this boat as it comes at 32,640 out the door it fits the budget with a wake tower. What kind of ride difference is there between this and the rotax powered boats above? If I opt to go to the 195 realistically how often would I be looking at rebuilding the superchargers? Also I read the forum on the Tower failure and the engine bay stress fracture. Is this experience everyone gets with warranty claims or is one of the other brands more receptive to issues?


The Non Jet I am considering is a HEYDAY WT-1 that is going to be on special for 32,999. It does give more options at this price point but I am thinking more maintenance with the V drive each year. ( At least I get the 10 points for being banned mentioning this.)

 

[SCP1]

I'm bias as after owning a 190 and now owning a AR195. The clean out ports alone would sway my decision if looking at a jet boat.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Why not go used like an AR230? 23ft plenty of room, power and wake tower. Those MR-1 motors are rock solid.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Family of four - potentially will probably want to bring their friends or your friends/family... I would look used into a 210 or 230. I love my 210 because it fits well, easy to trailer, and I can tell people my boat is full instead of telling them I don't want them to come.

 

[BRWC]

I'm bias as after owning a 190 and now owning a AR195. The clean out ports alone would sway my decision if looking at a jet boat.

I did see that the Yamaha was the only one offering that option. How often have you had to use them? Not a lot of vegetation in my most frequented lake.

 

[BRWC]

Family of four - potentially will probably want to bring their friends or your friends/family... I would look used into a 210 or 230. I love my 210 because it fits well, easy to trailer, and I can tell people my boat is full instead of telling them I don't want them to come.

I am liking the 19ft options as with the swing away tongue they will fit in my garage.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I am liking the 19ft options as with the swing away tongue they will fit in my garage.

Can't beat that reasoning lol.

 

[Beachbummer]

Do you like/enjoy working on your own toys? If you do, I would highly suggest you consider purchasing used, as you get a huge price break, and if you ever need service you can choose from many options, including yourself, while on a new boat, only the dealer can service you, as you have prepaid for the work. A boat is a fantastic investment in your family time, as long as you use it often! and the more you use it, the better it works.

With a great advantage of fitting in garage, the 19ft has an head start in the race. Do make sure to see it in person and try to seat everyone you would normally have over, and make sure you can live with the room. If you can, it will be slam dunk vs outside storage. (Nobody ever wished they got less power..when deciding between models, and two engines ensures 99% of the time, at least one can bring you home. just don't run out of fuel.) I had an 18ft for many years and it was very tight for 8 passengers, but we enjoyed it greatly. (and rarely took 8 people out at a time)

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Do you like/enjoy working on your own toys? If you do, I would highly suggest you consider purchasing used, as you get a huge price break, and if you ever need service you can choose from many options, including yourself, while on a new boat, only the dealer can service you, as you have prepaid for the work. A boat is a fantastic investment in your family time, as long as you use it often! and the more you use it, the better it works.

With a great advantage of fitting in garage, the 19ft has an head start in the race. Do make sure to see it in person and try to seat everyone you would normally have over, and make sure you can live with the room. If you can, it will be slam dunk vs outside storage. (Nobody ever wished they got less power..when deciding between models, and two engines ensures 99% of the time, at least one can bring you home. just don't run out of fuel.) I had an 18ft for many years and it was very tight for 8 passengers, but we enjoyed it greatly. (and rarely took 8 people out at a time)

He doesn't have to have the dealer work on a new boat. The Magnuson-Moss Act allows him to do his own service and if there is an issue, it will still be covered under warranty, given he didn't cause the issue.

I completely agree on the two engine point though - besides the extra room - the two engines was a must for that reason.

 

[F.M.]

Family of four - potentially will probably want to bring their friends or your friends/family... I would look used into a 210 or 230. I love my 210 because it fits well, easy to trailer, and I can tell people my boat is full instead of telling them I don't want them to come.

I say a used 210 or 230 as well, or the largest that will fit into your budget. I have a family of 4 and have never been to the water with less than 7 people on board, but it's usually more like 9 or 10. I purchased a 19' Chaparral in the spring of 2016 because it was cheaper and would fit in the garage, but I quickly realized that 7 people on a 19 footer is cramped. After trading for a 24' I couldn't be happier, mostly because of the extra room on board.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I say a used 210 or 230 as well, or the largest that will fit into your budget. I have a family of 4 and have never been to the water with less than 7 people on board, but it's usually more like 9 or 10. I purchased a 19' Chaparral in the spring of 2016 because it was cheaper and would fit in the garage, but I quickly realized that 7 people on a 19 footer is cramped. After trading for a 24' I couldn't be happier, mostly because of the extra room on board.

Lol.. that budget escalated quickly.

 

[Beachbummer]

He doesn't have to have the dealer work on a new boat. The Magnuson-Moss Act allows him to do his own service and if there is an issue, it will still be covered under warranty, given he didn't cause the issue.
...

Thanks for the observation. It seems I wrote one thing, but meant to say something else....Let me clarify what I "meant" to say....

You can work on your new boat all you want, out of pocket, but you have already paid a premium for the warranty, so while you "could" work on it, You might as well have purchased used to do so, since you already prepaid for the dealer to work on it, by virtue of buying new, and paying a hefty premium. I'm flawed and stingy, so I'd be fuming if I had to do that. Read it as my argument for buying used, that it provides the additional freedom of not being "forced" to prepay for a warranty that may or may not preform to you expectations.

Some people like the piece of mind that comes with having a warranty, and that's OK too. Just be sure to measure "actual" response from dealer you are working with, and the customer's perspective where there are warranty issues, to be absolutely sure you are getting what you want and expect, in exchange for your hard earned dollar upfront.

I hope that makes sense.

Thanks!!!

 

[F.M.]

Lol.. that budget escalated quickly.

When the wife is intent on having a full boat, it's easy to justify. One demo in the 242 with her stretched out in the bow, and trading was pretty much her idea.

 

[DBamaC]

I have a family of 4 (12 and 16 yo kids) in an AR192 with the heavest in the crew being just under 200 lbs and the lightest being just under 100 lbs. On those rare ocassions when we take another family of 4 with us it is very tight...no doubt about it. That happens maybe once a season. After the first year of ownership we met other families that we now boat with so we rarely take people along other than a freind for each kid. 6 passengers is no problem and we do anything (tubing, wakeboarding, whatever) we want to. The trick is using your head on how you do your storage. I don't know about the Scarab/Glastron twins, but all the Yamaha boats have a ton of storage and if you're smart you'll probably ending up taking along things you never need simply because you have the room.

As for rebuilding superchargers, I don't think it's a concern. These engines have been used in Waverunners for years and rebuilds are fairly rare. Not sure about the Scarab/Glastron twins, but I'm thinking that Seadoo (at least used to) recommends a rebuild ever 100 hrs? I'm I remembering that right?

 

[2kwik4u]

I had the same set of reasons/options/decisions. Went with the Yamaha based on proven reliability of the engine, clean out ports on the jets, and interior space.

I have a family of 3 (will be four in 23 days!) and we regularly have another family of 4 with us. It's snug, but not cramped, and with little kids they count in numbers, but don't take up much space. 8 adults is tight, 4 adults and 4 kids is roomy. Plenty of power on tap with a full load of people/gear/coolers/etc to still pull a slalom skier out of a deep water start, or swing the kids around on a tube. Thinking about how we use ours, it has worked out exceptionally well for us. There is a great use case for the larger boats, but the smaller one works for us, and the space is plenty. It's easy to purchase, easy to tow, easy to operate, and easy to store.

If you want a little more "zip" in your water ride, a few more bells and whistles, and are willing to buy used......an AR195, or AR192 is the same hull and dimensions on a trailer, but has a bit more of everything (including fuel usage). You can find them gently used for $30k or so. We got the 190 over the 195 based on fuel usage and colors, and we wanted a new boat instead of a used one. It fit the budget, the space, and the appropriately level of "needs vs wants".

In other thoughts, and an attempt to be thorough, I have not sat in the Glastron ever. I sat in the Scarab 195 at the boat show this year. It "felt" much smaller than my AR190. I sat in a WT-1 as well, that thing is just too "goofy" in terms of layout for my taste. Keep in mind winterization of the boats as well. To winterize my AR190, all i did was rev the engines a few times, and toss it in the garage. Done. The WT-1 will require significant winterization with all those ballast tanks, and I'm unsure what the other ones take. The single engine Yamaha is really SUPER easy to maintain IMO. With a pleasure time use case, I want to spend as little of that precious time as possible working on the boat, and as much as possible playing with it.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

When the wife is intent on having a full boat, it's easy to justify. One demo in the 242 with her stretched out in the bow, and trading was pretty much her idea.

Funny how that works - she went to not wanting a boat to insisting we had at least the 21 footer.

 

[J-RAD]

Are you looking to finance this boat?

If your talking financing, in my situation, financing thru Yamaha was half the percentage rate of what I could borrow elsewhere at the time... If your wife is capping your budget at $30k because that's what you can manage payment wise then you might look into what promotional rate you can get...

I thought I'd have to wait another year to buy a boat, but when I discovered how affordably I could get into my 240 that sealed the deal.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Are you looking to finance this boat?

If your talking financing, in my situation, financing thru Yamaha was half the percentage rate of what I could borrow elsewhere at the time... If your wife is capping your budget at $30k because that's what you can manage payment wise then you might look into what promotional rate you can get...

I thought I'd have to wait another year to buy a boat, but when I discovered how affordably I could get into my 240 that sealed the deal.

I can't agree more. Went from 7.99% used to 2.99 new.

 

[Betik]

I was in your situation 18 months ago, but then I found used 240 for the same price as sx190. Given the boat had less than 27 hours we put the deposit immediately.
Knowing what I know now the only reason why I would have boat a 190 again is for storage. The HOAs in Frisco are real nazis and I had to go to great length to be able to keep the boat a the house instead of storage.

PS if you decide to go with used option there will be plenty of boats available. Ie I know there is 2010 212 x coming on the market for probably $25 or less.

PS I will be going to Lake Ray Roberts to burn the fuel from last September, want to come along and test drive a 240 ? The family is welcome too.

PS would you ever consider a bimini visit ? If so you need to factor that in the desision.

 

[F.M.]

I can't agree more. Went from 7.99% used to 2.99 new.

Yamaha's finance rates on new boats are great. And they usually have some form of promo for free extended warranty.