250/252 Ride vs other 24- 25' boats?

[ILCornFarmer]

For those of you with riding experience on a 250 or 252 how does the boat ride in rougher conditions? How would you compare it to something like a Cobalt R5, or Cobalt 242/250? Yamaha 19" draft Cobalt or similar 30-38" draft. Maybe it doesn't make a difference? I don't know. Thanks for any input!

 

[gthorson]

I don't think the ride is much different. The hull draft would be about the same (with some variation), the added depth on the other being the lower drive on the engine. I've been out in swells too large to open in up but never did I feel unsafe. I've been in medium swells where full throttle went great while smaller boats around me struggled. The trickiest part is that the jet boats need thrust to maneuver more than others, so dropping or losing power in rough water can go sideways, literally, quicker.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Are you looking at the draft of the Cobalt boat or the draft of the engine? Looking at the R4 on the Cobalt website, with the drive up it draws 19”, with the drive down it draws 36”. Thus, you would have the same amount of boat hull in the water with either the Yamaha or the Cobalt.

Jim

 

[satovod]

Yamahas are very loud. Much louder than regular boats.

 

[ILCornFarmer]

Even the newer ones are really loud?

I guess to be honest, I don't know if I'm comparing apples to apples when talking about the draft specs.

 

[Weeb]

My lake gets choppy. The best thing I did was add lectrotab automatic trim tabs, this really smoothed out the ride and slamming.

 

[VitaminSea]

@ILCornFarmer Not sure about the newer hulls with the articulating keels, but the one thing I have noticed that isn’t really addressed in many post, is a prop boat with the deeper draft with the drive down has more “bit”, and will track straighter when dealing with other boats wakes. Depending on the size of the wake, and the angle you approach it, my 210 can be pushed a bit. By no means it is a concern, its just a different then a boat which has a outboard.

Also the other thing that has been pointed out in the past, the Yamaha’s typically have a shorter running service than a same sized Outboard. For example, the length of the 250/252 is 24’6”, but the running surface is probably ~18” shorter because the swim platform extends over the pumps/buckets.

 

[Alexegan88]

Yamaha advantage is the swim platform and acceleration. That said, they are louder and handling is not as good (tracking issues making aftermarket improvements very popular). If you are looking for the best ride possible in heavy chop, look for something else. I choose the 252SE because you just can’t beat the swim platform. I go offshore to Scuba, hop all around islands in the keys, and it gets me there safely, even in 2-3 chop, but it’s not the “best” boat in terms of handling and ride comfort.

 

[Alexegan88]

@ILCornFarmer Not sure about the newer hulls with the articulating keels, but the one thing I have noticed that isn’t really addressed in many post, is a prop boat with the deeper draft with the drive down has more “bit”, and will track straighter when dealing with other boats wakes. Depending on the size of the wake, and the angle you approach it, my 210 can be pushed a bit. By no means it is a concern, its just a different then a boat which has a outboard.

Also the other thing that has been pointed out in the past, the Yamaha’s typically have a shorter running service than a same sized Outboard. For example, the length of the 250/252 is 24’6”, but the running surface is probably ~18” shorter because the swim platform extends over the pumps/buckets.

Agreed 100%, even on the new boats.

 

[satovod]

any wake boat have better swim platform

literally any

 

[Alexegan88]

I would also add price/value. Many of the outboard models I’m referring to, that may be superior in terms of handling, tracking, etc. but also have twin engines for the maneuverability tend to cost 100k+ over Yamaha.