Ar195 or sx210

[GP6854]

New to boating and looking at the AR195 and SX210. Kids are not into wake boarding yet so the tower is not a concern now. Which boat is a better option for us. Most of the time we will have around 4 adults and 2 - 3 kids/teenagers on board. Size wise and single or the dual motors which will handle the load in the boat and still have enough power to pull couple kids on tube or even an adult up on skis? The 210 has 2 x 115hp =230hp and the AR195 has single 250. Also which one will be comfortable room wise and fuel efficient for that load. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[malibu Dan]

Personally if you can, go with the bigger boat.. storing it in my garage was my limitation and if I didn’t have that requirement I would have definitely gone with the 21 ft for more room.. 19 can feel crowded pretty quickly..

 

[GP6854]

Thanks for the advice. Storage is not a problem. I was concerned about room on the 19. Also what are your recommendations on adding that vectors or cobra for steering. I have heard the low speed steering can be a huge learning curve and that the thrust vectors help.

 

[malibu Dan]

The cobra did help with slow speed maneuver and I will definitely be adding the thrust vectors in the near future as this seems a must ( I boat on the river with a lot of curre and wind)...good luck with the boat shopping..

 

[Matts18]

As Malibu Dan said, go with the larger boat if storage isn’t an issue but both are great boats. These boats aren’t that hard to maneuver at slow speeds with the articulating keels but adding a steering enhancement makes them very easy to handle (I only have experience with the CJS Viper). Good luck with your search!

 

[2kwik4u]

I was torn between the 24ft and the 19ft. I didn't want the standard 21 because I wanted the 1.8L engine(s).

Went 19ft to keep it in the garage at home. Otherwise would've brought home a 24ft.

 

[redsand]

are you looking for brand new?

I just sat in a AR195 at my dealer. Three things turned me off to it.
First, no audio controls at the helm from the factory. Its buried in the port side glovebox.
Second, I felt like the seating on the 195 didn't sit very far down in the cabin. I'm used to a 230 and 242 which the seats to me sit farther down.
Third, no hinged seat cushions.

 

[Jebinok]

the 210 will be better on fuel, plus naturally aspirated.

 

[Ancient canoe]

The 195 requires premium I believe as well so that's something to consider. They are really two different boats. 7+ people on board most of the time pretty much rules out a 19' boat IMO, but the 210 isn't going to offer you high performance either. No boat is really fuel efficient. Now the SVHO is designed for speed so it's lack of efficiency may be on another level. But the TR1s vs 1.8s vs simarly equipped engines/boats of other makes are all negligible in their efficiency, and they all market themselves as fuel efficient. It can be a factor but let it be the last factor. The TR1s are actually worse than the 1.8s and their MR1 predecessors if you believe boattest.com efficiency #s, but yet they are marketed as better on gas.

 

[AJack]

I too was debating between the 19' and 21', in the end I decided larger was better and found a good deal on a SX240. In the end, we decided that we'd prefer the size AND power the SX240 provides, which in turn will give us more opportunities to use the boat. Another factor that came into play was resale, it seemed that many beginners start with the 19', then they skip the 21' and get a 24'. Thus, you would have a larger market for a 19' or 24', but a much smaller market for a 21'.

 

[Whisky]

So... here is my 2 cents.... and I’ve basically settled on this over the last few weeks.

We got an AR190, and I absolutely love it. It’s a great boat in every way and has lots of room to have fun on the water with 2-4 adults. 6 is totally ok also, but does get cosy

Having said that, when we bought it, the sales team (a friend of ours) and everyone here said, if you can, buy your second boat first. And we really did think we had done that. But in the year of blissful ownership we have had so far, I’ve started putting together a list of all the upgrades I want to do:

- Board racks
- Ballast
- Sound system (with remote at dash and transom)
- Launch control

And things that aren’t big issues but would do differently if I could:
- Captains chair is comfortable, but the bolster can get a bit uncomfortable after long periods of time.

- Just a hair more power and torque (the 195 May be enough with more power and bigger pump) don’t need this day to day, but would help when cornering with the tube and getting started with wake surfers

- tandem axel trailer. The single pulls great, but I am always cautious of going on longer trips that I would be more comfortable with a tandem


All of these things together has me considering an upgrade.... which is a poor move financially at this point... but, something a bit bigger would be more of a “forever” boat


We didn’t really expect to do wake sports either, but they have really become popular in this household so don’t be hesitant to consider a boat with a tower for the capability.

Hope that helps a bit!