Texas Gulf Coast based family of 4. I'm coming out of a 18 foot bay boat that had limited seating and wondering if the AR195 would be comfortable enough for 4-6 people, which is how many we typically have with us.
We will be tubing, wakeboarding and cruising around in general. Not sure if I need to be looking at the larger options with dual engines.
This will be my first jetboat, pictures with your 195's loaded down would be helpful!
We have a 190. Same size as the 195.
Family of 4 and a dog is great. Wife, myself, 11yr old, 5yr old and 50lb lab mix. It's nearly perfect. Plenty of space for everyone and all their stuff. We often bring Grandma/Granddad with us, so up to 4 adults 2 kids. We have (2) coolers that slide under the bench for drinks, and another that sits at the captains feet for food. With that load it works out well for us. It's snug sometimes with 4 adults, but it's not bad. With just 2 adults and 2 kids it's great for long day trips.
6-adults you start playing musical chairs to get under the seats for coolers/bags/etc. 8-adults is too tight. You can fit them, but you better be really good friends, or intend on 1-2 people being in the water all day on a tube/board/float. I've done 8 adults and it was a long and crowded day with lots of moving around to get into storage for all the crap everyone brings. You can do it, but you better coordinate well on what coolers and what bags everyone is bringing.
Here's some pics for size references. (Click for larger images)
We had (4) adults and (3) kids and the dog on July 4th '21.
Doug was worn out
Wife Toddler and oldest child here. You can see the friends Yeti on the floor there because it was easier to be "in the way" instead of getting under a seat to access it every time.
Dog and the oldest boy were sleeping on the other side. Again, another backpack on deck being used as a makeshift pillow.
Here's (7) of us in the rear lounge area. Doesn't show the boat real well from this vantage point, but we had a good day. Cruised from Navarre, FL to Pensacola via the ICW to watch the Blue Angels practice. Everyone was comfy and we had plenty of space for all our stuff for the day. Ran 30-33mph down and back and used a tank of fuel along the way.
Here's an idea of how much "stuff" we usually have on the boat. All of this fits inside the storage and we still have tons of room left for our supplies for the day. There really is a huge amount of storage on these boats compared to their size.
If you have 6 adults, and they're the same adults on a regular basis, you'll develop a pattern and it'll be fine. If you're trying to bring (2) other couples with you that are different each time, it'll be tight. again, 8 adults is too tight IMO. I have often served as the "shuttle driver" for getting people to a cove and back for events. 8 people there works fine, they're comfy for the short ride, then get out and hang out on shore all day. Then "shuttle" back to the dock. That works great, plenty of space there. If you are just going out to anchor, then cruise a bit, then head back in, a good portion of your day will be spent with people in the water, and the crowding is only really noticeable during transitions between activities.
I know a LOT of people think the 19' boats are too small for anything useful, but we love ours. If you don't think it's for you, then my suggestion is to go as big as you can. Once you cross into fullsize pickup/suv territory to tow, and you're not keeping it in the garage at home anymore, the financial penalty to get the biggest boat you can is relatively small. If we ever upgrade it will be to a 25ft boat.
