2015.5 Yamaha Fishing Boat

[Bruce]

@Julian found this

"Yamaha is introducing a new fishing boat… a jet-powered fishing boat. This isn’t coming from Yamaha Marine (outboards) or one of the fishing boat builders they own, but from Yamaha Watercraft, which builds jet boat bowriders, and runabouts. Will this one be a contender to serious anglers? Obvious draft advantages aside, we’ll see…"

at http://fishgame.com/2015/02/miami-boat-show-just-week-away/ .

The Yamaha Boats Facebook Page has a teaser about "The One-Of-A-Kind Boat for Every Kind Of Boater".

My guess is that Yamaha will announce a jet powered center console with family friendly features at the Miami International Boat Show on February 12th.

Our very own @Murf'n'surf will be there to report back to those of us that are not lucky enough to be at the announcement. So stay tuned for more information.

What features do you think it will have? What do you think it should have? Would you want a single or twin jet fishing boat?

 

[Julian]

Here is my guess.....

 

[Jim Robeson]

And the Bait well and fishing box can double for ballast when fishing is slow and you would rather wake board or surf!!

 

[Wayloncle]

I wouldn't think it'll be a center console, I'm betting on fish and ski.

 

[BoaterGuy]

I heard it is a center console...

 

[utahrd]

Its such a tease... To me the biggest want is a trolling motor with electronics that let you hold in place or troll a set course at a set speed.

 

[sysinu]

Its such a tease... To me the biggest want is a trolling motor with electronics that let you hold in place or troll a set course at a set speed.

You don't need to wait for Yamaha for that. Bow mounted trolling motor with GPS is really not all that expensive. The difference for fishing needs really comes with the boat layout itself. My boat sucks for fishing, try bait casting with a tower and deployed bimini (and wife in the background telling me that she will kill me if I fish on our ski boat). But introducing a center console with limited overhead obstructions (where you have two ways of getting up to the bow) and it opens a whole new range of possibilities.

We use an old Bayliner that we have an aftermarket bow mounted trolling motor on. There are a bunch of Minn kota that integrate with GPS and you can chart plot a path or set it to hold a position on the market right now. If we were going to put any money into that boat, that would be the next thing we do.

 

[txav8r]

If they want to market to serious fishermen, lose the windshield all together. Not only does it interfere with casting and working your rod, it is a HUGE SAIL and interferes with maneuvering on your trolling motor when it is windy. Bass boat rigs and center consoles are very different machines. Center consoles are for deep water fishing and bass rigs are for getting to bass in the timber/brush/flats/etc. Not all that different until you start working your bait.

I would be curious as to the ratio of center consoles sold vs bass boats. My guess is that bass boats outsells center consoles 10 to 1 at least. But Yamaha already has a bass boat manufacturer, so scratch the idea that they are building a bass boat. I will go with a center console and this boat has nothing to do with shallow draft, it is about stability in deeper water, reliability of Yamahas propulsion system in a low deck, and a genuine chance to increase market penetration in a market they don't have representation in, except for outboards. I am not certain as to why really, because the best center consoles out there are probably rigged with outboards.

That brings me back to the bait that Yamaha threw out there to begin with, regarding "one of a kind boat for every boater". It may be a combo boat, a hybrid, a boat that does everything good but nothing perfect. That brings me back to the fish and ski too. And a fish and ski is a useless boat...let's see if Yamaha can make it more effective at both sides of the equation. @Julian I thought you were all wet...but maybe not! It used to be that a good bass boat had to have live wells fore and aft, as well as electronics at both the forward station and the helm.

I don't have any more of a guess than I did before I read this thread. But if they figure there is an under marketed segment, that may be the target. You know, another angle on this...would they want to develop a totally new market, or would they use their name to develop an area in a market that they are already known? For instance, many here would like to see them enter the cruiser market with an affordable jet cruiser. But that is a narrow market segment and may not lend itself to "affordable". To build a competitive product in a market that your name isn't known may be a challenge. It does bring a grin, and I hope whatever it is, that they hit it out of the park!

 

[Wayloncle]

"For every boater" is why I say fish and ski. Center consoles are definitely not for everyone, bass boat (even very unlikely) not for everyone. Fish and ski, in my opinion covers the biggest range of boaters.

 

[Julian]

And a Fish and Ski would be much easier to switch their automated factory to....as the core of the boat wouldn't change as much.....but it wouldn't be much harder to make it a bass boat with two small windshields....

 

[txav8r]

I'm not so sure a 16" static draft makes for a very good fish/ski. That is a deeper static draft than a typical bass boat, even a fish/ski. I would think the lower hull design needs to tweaked to allow for that. Yamaha may think that they can offer a combo to be every mans boat, but if it is going to be fishing worthy, it needs to be shallow draft...and 16" is shallow draft for a runabout/open bow, but it is not for a fishing boat.

 

[Gumbeaux]

Just to get on record with my two primary theories:
1)-some kind of hybrid....fish/ski/deck boat similar to the current and recent Tahoes...but they go center console to further differentiate and take a place that Tahoe seems to have recently abandoned...
2) Inshore platform aimed to also address inshore saltwater market. fishing/bay boat, with ability to ski, etc. also. Similar to large Carolina Skiffs. Also appealing to striper fisherman on lakes. center console.

Edit: And reading this in hindsight now...these two could be one boat...

 

[utahrd]

You don't need to wait for Yamaha for that. Bow mounted trolling motor with GPS is really not all that expensive. The difference for fishing needs really comes with the boat layout itself. My boat sucks for fishing, try bait casting with a tower and deployed bimini (and wife in the background telling me that she will kill me if I fish on our ski boat). But introducing a center console with limited overhead obstructions (where you have two ways of getting up to the bow) and it opens a whole new range of possibilities.

We use an old Bayliner that we have an aftermarket bow mounted trolling motor on. There are a bunch of Minn kota that integrate with GPS and you can chart plot a path or set it to hold a position on the market right now. If we were going to put any money into that boat, that would be the next thing we do.

@sysinu
It sounds like you are a largemouth and smallmouth Bass fisherman. I agree that casting off of these boats is a little challenging. I am pretty much trolling and jigging, so this setup is ok.

The issue I see with a trolling motor is more about the battery real estate. need a 36v system for the weight of these things.

 

[Skysurfer2010]

I think they're sadly going to miss the mark on this one. They're not going to attract the serious fisherman. They would have been better off adding a cuddy to the line up to attract the average boater, not the type specific boater. But my opinion doesn't matter and I'm happy with what I have anyway!

 

[Bruce]

I agree that the minimal information that we have now makes the new boat confusing. My understanding is that Yamaha has been working on this for a long time so I expect that it will be very appealing to whatever it's target market is.

 

[GTBRMC]

Yamaha is a volume manufacturer, across nearly all of their product lines (not just marine but electronics, musical instruments, etc.), worldwide.
They are the segment volume leaders in 21-24' (not sure where they are in 19') bowriders.
They have an automated production system with relatively high capital invested and relatively high efficiency at high production volume (and difficult to pay for/maintain at low volume).
So they are definitely targeting another high volume segment.

My guess is that rules out center console, but could include bass or fish & ski.

 

[Julian]

Although a center console might put them in the "Tender" market more.....

All sorts of things they could do....

@Murf'n'surf will be our Johnny on the spot reporter!

 

[MikeyL]

Well, well, well ... the predictions all read pretty good. However y'all did miss it.
I got this from a person who actually helped develop the boat concept and actual boat features.

Not to take anything away from Yamaha's big announcement, I can tell you for a fact that is a "bay boat" .... a shallow water fishing boat.
They went after the market served mostly by NauticStar and Pathfinder.
The market was studied heavily in the Southeast U.S. by engineers from Tennessee, of course, and also many from Japan.
As to specifics, I cannot comment. But this should help y'all to better understand WHERE this product fits.

Lastly, they are NOT going to "miss any market" with this offering. They know EXACTLY the market they are going after, what is demanded as well as desired in this market, and how they can address it better than is currently being done.

Details ? All in due time on Feb 12th.

In the meantime, y'all play nicely in the sandbox.
For those of y'all who feel this is an unfounded tease, it ain't.
It comes from someone who spent countless hours working with Yamaha engineers and designers on this.
And with that, I will close, wishing everyone a grand weekend, upcoming. Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

 

[Gumbeaux]

Well, well, well ... the predictions all read pretty good. However y'all did miss it.
..... is a "bay boat" .... a shallow water fishing boat.
They went after the market served mostly by NauticStar and Pathfinder.

Hey, wait...I was almost maybe right. (If you guess enough, you can't miss...). I have a lake boat (this one) and a skiff at our place on the NC coast (Carolina Skiff). I see the huge boom of these bay boats both there and up here on Lake Lanier chasing stripers. People are fishing, tubing, wake skating, beaching, etc. behind these things. It seems like a good move...

C'mon Feb 12...

 

[MikeyL]

@Gumbeaux .......... you NAILED it, Son ! Nicely done too, I might add. Take Care, Mikey