2015 vs 2016 Vortex. Differences ?

[BobJohnson]

There has been some recent talk of the new 2016 Chaparral Vortex's. Just took delivery of my 2015 in late May and am surprised that 2016 versions are out there already. Never did understand how car and boat companies date their models (fiscal year based??).

If these really are 2016 vortex's out on the market already, does anyone know if and what changes were made from the 2015 models?

Feel like the guy walking out of the Apple store with my new Iphone 6 and seeing the truck pull up to the store with the new Iphone 7 shipment.

 

[smashedheadcat]

2016 models are out. I've spotted a few on boattrader, but I haven't identified any differences.

 

[Scott Potter]

I have a 16. No difference from 15 from what the dealer told me.

 

[fairpilot]

Too bad I was really hoping for a few changes

 

[Dan Dawson]

I have a 243 Vortex VRX on the way (2016) and the differences between the 2015 and 2016 are more sound deadening material in the engine compartment and a seat cushion for the pass through.

 

[Derek Fosbury]

Has anyone driven a 2016 243/223? I'm quite curious about the noise level. I took a '15 243 with the 250's for a ride a few days ago and was extremely impressed with the boat, but surprised at the noise level. My wife even nixed the potential purchase based on the noise .

 

[subysti]

Test a new Yamaha 24' boat. They are quieter than most stern drives.

 

[Derek Fosbury]

The dealer on my lake is trying to find one for me to try out .

The other factor is my wife hates the throttles on our '09 AR210, so the '16 Yamaha's are an option as well. So many choices!!

 

[JetTech72]

Heard new for MY2016 is the possibility to have the Vortex 203 with Twin150, that would be a great watersports lake boat.

 

[Dan Dawson]

I haven't measured how many decibels my 2016 puts out but you can talk to someone at full throttle. The 2016 model has more sound deadening material in the engine compartment than the 2015.

 

[Flower]

I was torn between the Chap and the Yamaha also. Utimately I pulled the trigger on the 15' 242 Limited S and am very happy. Clean out plugs were the selling point. Now that I have about 25 hrs on it I like the dual throttles even better then the clean out plugs. Dual throttles make the boat so much easier to dock along with the Cobra set up!

 

[Dan Dawson]

The nozzles are the biggest influence in steering. This chaparral handles great. The impeller intake has a guard on it so that prevents anything from getting in there in the 1st place. I considered the Yamaha, even sat and looked around in it at the boat show, but the combination of external cooling and profits going back to Japan was a deal killer for me.

 

[JetTech72]

Agree the nozzles/gate design of the Rotax Jet powerpacks provides a much better low speed handling than the Yamaha configuration, no need for dual control operation.
The shaft guard also provides protection for anything to would spooled up around the driveshaft, the clean out port is a nice show room feature but not always practical on the water.
The Chaparral boat quality is far better, just look at hull construction (life time warranty), upholstery, SS hardware ...
Warranty comparison shows Rotax Powerpack is 3yrs/480hrs while Yamaha is only 1yr.
Last but not the least, if you are going to do watersport (wakesurfing), check out emission results on CARB and/or EPA websites.
The Carbon Monoxide emission level is 4 to 5 time less behind a Chaparral than a Yamaha.

 

[SCSTWG]

Agree the nozzles/gate design of the Rotax Jet powerpacks provides a much better low speed handling than the Yamaha configuration, no need for dual control operation.
The shaft guard also provides protection for anything to would spooled up around the driveshaft, the clean out port is a nice show room feature but not always practical on the water.
The Chaparral boat quality is far better, just look at hull construction (life time warranty), upholstery, SS hardware ...
Warranty comparison shows Rotax Powerpack is 3yrs/480hrs while Yamaha is only 1yr.
Last but not the least, if you are going to do watersport (wakesurfing), check out emission results on CARB and/or EPA websites.
The Carbon Monoxide emission level is 4 to 5 time less behind a Chaparral than a Yamaha.

One of the better posts I have seen regarding the benefits of the Chap over the Yamaha. They certainly have some selling points and Chaparral is a great boat builder. It will be interesting to see what share of the pie they get. The 2015 Yamaha 240/242 incorporated a lot of changes that addressed virtually all of the complaints of previous owners. The competition has to be good for customers.

 

[ChrisM]

Has anyone driven a 2016 243/223? I'm quite curious about the noise level. I took a '15 243 with the 250's for a ride a few days ago and was extremely impressed with the boat, but surprised at the noise level. My wife even nixed the potential purchase based on the noise .

I just received my 2016 223VR twin 250 last Saturday, been out twice now, the noise level is very acceptable, the gunwales are different than the 2015 I test drove, less open space than the 2015 and much quieter. Some changes for 2016, the new transom walk through center filler cushion, and back rest, the wetsounds upgrade no longer offers shiny stainless speaker grills, and the speakers are upgraded too.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Probably a stupid question, but how awesome is the power with the twin 250s? Is it as bada$$ as one would expect of 500 hp? I definitely am digging the Chap more and more and would definitely seriously consider one for my next boat. We take our boat to Tahoe for a week each summer and I can imagine having more than double the HP my SX210 has would be great on that high altitude, power-robbing lake!

 

[ChrisM]

I test drove a 2015 model at the dealer that was just past its break-in period, I think it had twin 150's, non supercharged, it felt terribly under powered to me. Now understand this is my first boat, and never having driven a stern drive, straight drive, or outboard. I have a pretty high bar for comparison as I have been driving a Seadoo RXP 215 which will easily do 70, and become airborne off the line with full throttle. This Vortex still has 7 of it's 10 break-in hours to go, so the computer is limiting the RPM's at around 6800, out of 8000 or so. I will say that it does feel powerful enough, off the line with a nice sprint, you can definitely feel thrust when you goose the throttle while travelling at 35 or so. Any other engine size, and I probably would not be happy. But remember the jet system is very much different than a prop set up, you have very different water displacements with each. I will say that the build quality appears pretty superior for this class of boat, we only had a few cosmetic issues to be corrected, which the dealer should have caught during the dealer prep.

 

[OrangeTJ]

I test drove a 2015 model at the dealer that was just past its break-in period, I think it had twin 150's, non supercharged, it felt terribly under powered to me. Now understand this is my first boat, and never having driven a stern drive, straight drive, or outboard. I have a pretty high bar for comparison as I have been driving a Seadoo RXP 215 which will easily do 70, and become airborne off the line with full throttle. This Vortex still has 7 of it's 10 break-in hours to go, so the computer is limiting the RPM's at around 6800, out of 8000 or so. I will say that it does feel powerful enough, off the line with a nice sprint, you can definitely feel thrust when you goose the throttle while travelling at 35 or so. Any other engine size, and I probably would not be happy. But remember the jet system is very much different than a prop set up, you have very different water displacements with each. I will say that the build quality appears pretty superior for this class of boat, we only had a few cosmetic issues to be corrected, which the dealer should have caught during the dealer prep.

Very cool. I suspect your perception of the twin 150s as underpowered is directly related to your Seadoo experience/baseline. Much like pretty much any non supercar feels tame and dull after riding a liter class sport bike.

 

[ChrisM]

Yes I agree, but the Vortex is starting to wake up, it's slowly allowing more RPM's, after 5 hours, I'm now up to a max 7300 - 7400, so I'm starting to really appreciate the power for the craft.

 

[maboat]

The shaft guard also provides protection for anything to would spooled up around the driveshaft, the clean out port is a nice show room feature but not always practical on the water..

The shaft guard is a nice feature, but the clean out port is much more than a "nice show room feature". I would say that in the 10 years of owning a Yamaha boat with the cleanout ports, almost every time I've used the cleanout port was to remove something lodged or stuck in the impeller - not wrapped around the driveshaft. This can still happen with the shaft guard and no easy way to clear it on the water. The cleanout plug is designed with full intention that you can access it while on the water.

True, sucking up a tow rope without a shaft guard is a major hassle but its relatively rare compared to the number of times we suck up weeds, sticks, plastic bags, fish bones, and other random crap that gets stuck in the impeller rather than getting wrapped around the driveshaft.

I wish we could just have both.