Buying a 2020 AR 210

[CharlesM]

New forum member. I have been reading a lot of different threads on this forum. A lot of good information.

I was looking at getting a bowrider this year and starter Looking at the Bayliner VR6 with an I/O 200hp Merc or the 150 outboard. After looking for a while I started looking at the Chaparral 2020 21 SSI. Definitely a good boat but it had the Volvo V-6. I kept thinking about Inboard and Sterndrives. Read both good and bad about either. While I was looking around I came across the 2020 AR 210 and started researching it. I definitely like the fact that there is not a prop for the kids to get hurt on.

Concerned a bit about the horsepower, since I will be having 2-4 adults and 2-4 Kids, Teenagers on board, so minimum 4 maximum 8-9. They want to tube, learn to wakeboard and water ski. I saw the 212S and the 240's but they are outside my budget. Also I live in Southeastern Michigan so I will be on inland lakes as well as once in a while in the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes, but not often. I just like the option of having a boat that is capable on the bigger water.

Anyhow, I bought the boat, and my pick up date is May 22nd, for the Holiday weekend. We are all pretty excited. I will be towing it with a 2017 Ford Expedition with Heavy duty towing package.

Unfortunately, I haven't even seen it yet in person since everything is going on with this pandemic. And the shows around here have been cancelled. I have never thought that I would buy a 40k boat without even getting into it, but we wanted to boat this year since we cancelled our summer trips to theme parks. A lot of what I have read here on these forums tells me I am making the right choice.

Looking for some confirmation from owners on the water sports pulling capability with a decent amount of people on board.

Also if anyone has any suggestions of things I should be picking up now for the boat or upgrades I should seriously consider as soon as possible. I would be very appreciative.

 

[VitaminSea]

Welcome aboard, congrats on the ride.
I have a 210, but with the MR1 motors, not the newer TR1s, so can’t really speak to how your will ride/pull.

Easy first mod, Stolz bow roller. Research the different fins out there, Jet Boat Pilot and Cobra.
Secondary anchor
Secondary battery (I am uncertain of the 2020 come with 1 or 2 batteries).

 

[Bobbylite]

My 2 cents...I have a 2019 AR210 and have about 70ish hours on it so far. The use is mixed between rivers and the chesapeake bay. These boats are not deep V's and are not an ideal bay boats so i would imagine it'd be simliar with your use in the great lakes - you have to watch the water conditions/small craft advisories.

In regards to 8-9 possible people on a 210, that will be a bit crowded. The boat is rated for up to 10 persons but think of it like a camping tent. While the tent can sleep up to "10" its not comfortable.

I haven't towed with 8-9 people but I have with 5 and can easily get to 30 mph. Thats quite fast for the persons being pulled IMO. So horsepower (260) should be more than adequate.

I'm content with the '19 ar210 however I should have spent the extra money and went for the 240, oh well.

Make sure you break the motors in properly and follow the maintenance. Change the oil at/around the 10 hour mark without hesitation. If anyone says otherwise they're a fool.

Upgrades - 2nd battery deep cycle and upgrade the 4 speakers, add tower speakers with amp. The marine rant from the high revving engines easily drowns out the factory capability.

 

[Chaunceybland]

Congrats on your new boat! I actually went to look at the AR210 today. We made the mistake of getting on the 242SE before we look at the 210 .
Surprisingly, my said I want this one! Came home empty handed so we could discuss further, because I had no intention on paying that much for a boat. But it was a lot roomier than the 210. I hope you enjoy your new toy!

 

[Diamondwatercraft]

Charles congrats on your purchase! You will love the boat! I have owned a 212 SS and a AR 230. I now own a SeaDoo 210 Wake. I also live in SE Michigan and have boated on Lake St Clair my entire life.

First off you made a sound purchase! The AR 210 is a very nice boat. Dependable, roomy, and great on fuel. Do not worry about buying without actually seeing the boat. I bought my 212 SS on ebay out of state. I never regretted it.

But if you want to enjoy your day out would suggest do not launch anywhere on the west side of Lake St Clair. With one exception the Clinton River launch. If you do launch there head straight across to the east bays. Then you will really enjoy your new purchase! It just gets too choppy on the west side unless you are out on a week day and its very calm. The weekend boat traffic is beyond belief. Now having said that I have done it many times but I would not recommend it if you want to enjoy yourself. Until you get to the east side bays you will be bounced around in the AR 210. The 240 is much better. That extra 3 foot is very nice for the bigger rougher water. You know Lake St. Clair is a big lake and you must respect it. Safety first! The Detroit river would be fine as it always seems to have sheltered areas that you can enjoy.

I would also suggest getting a set of side thrusters for your Yamaha. Jet drives are great but you will want lateral control. This will increase your handling at the dock more than you can imagine. Again your looking to have a good time out on the water and you don't want to end a day ramming into the dock or worse colliding with another boat because the ramp is busy and the wind kicked up to your disadvantage.

Lateral Thruster- Reverse Steering Enhancement (Twin Engine)

As far as pulling tubes or boarders you will have plenty of power. I do like the extra HP in my SeaDoo but with a full boat all loaded for the day you will be fine. You should be able to get to the low 40 mph range fully loaded. Just make sure to get all aboard to bring only what is necessary. On a typical day on my boat the family and guests like to bring way to much. Learn how to say "no"! You have plenty of storage on the AR 210 but the lighter you can travel the better. Remember, you are the captain and responsible for all aboard, so taking things like overloading your boat seriously could put all on board at risk.

Again, congratulations on the purchase! You will not regret it! Great choice with the Yami!

 

[marcham]

Congrats on the new boat and to the forum. We considered the same boats you did, and a 24ft Chaparral. What we found was that the Yamaha provided more useable space then others for the same length. There were also subtle quality differences. The Bayliners were taking a beating just being on display at the show. My brother's Tige is 24ft and 2 people are cramped in the bow.

We sat in the ar210 and it felt big! Garage parking under 20ft is what kept us in the 19.

 

[ctyke]

I would also suggest getting a set of side thrusters for your Yamaha. Jet drives are great but you will want lateral control. This will increase your handling at the dock more than you can imagine. Again your looking to have a good time out on the water and you don't want to end a day ramming into the dock or worse colliding with another boat because the ramp is busy and the wind kicked up to your disadvantage.

Lateral Thruster- Reverse Steering Enhancement (Twin Engine)

As far as pulling tubes or boarders you will have plenty of power. I do like the extra HP in my SeaDoo but with a full boat all loaded for the day you will be fine. You should be able to get to the low 40 mph range fully loaded. Just make sure to get all aboard to bring only what is necessary. On a typical day on my boat the family and guests like to bring way to much. Learn how to say "no"! You have plenty of storage on the AR 210 but the lighter you can travel the better. Remember, you are the captain and responsible for all aboard, so taking things like overloading your boat seriously could put all on board at risk.

Again, congratulations on the purchase! You will not regret it! Great choice with the Yami!

Congrats on the new boat, I just took mine for a breakin cruise this weekend! I haven't pulled any of the kids yet, so can't comment on that yet.

The newer boats have lateral thrusters built in, so no need for them! I will say it was a bit squirrely at low speeds. I have the cobra jet in the package, waiting on the installation. I wanted to try it before to see how much they help.

What color did you get? I got the blue, it is sure sharp looking!

 

[CharlesM]

Thanks for the info. Mine is the blue as well. I am working on taking delivery earlier than expected so that I can do break in and get to 10 hours to do oil change before the Holiday weekend. Let me know how the CJS works out for you, I have already emailed CJS and they told me which one I should get. Money is zipping by fast.

 

[ctyke]

Thanks for the info. Mine is the blue as well. I am working on taking delivery earlier than expected so that I can do break in and get to 10 hours to do oil change before the Holiday weekend. Let me know how the CJS works out for you, I have already emailed CJS and they told me which one I should get. Money is zipping by fast.

I will start my mod/build thread soon, yes the money is zipping by.

I came from an older Mastercraft, inboards don’t back up well at all, absolutely no steering. I am super impressed by the reversing. My buddy backed me in and went and parked. I was able to back the boat up to the dock (didn’t hit the dock) and he could walk right in. We were both amazed.

 

[CharlesM]

Thanks for information. Bumped up the Delivery date to the 14th of May.

 

[Daren and Heather]

Congrats fellow 2020 AR210 owner!

First upgrades I'd recommend ordering now if you haven't yet are these:

• Cobra Super Magnum AK-19 Deluxe
• Stoltz Bow Roller - 4in Semi V
• CE Smith Post Guide-Ons 60" Black, w/ CE Smith Post LED Caps; Ronix Trailer Guide Post Covers 48"

I've installed all of the above, and am glad I did these first. I'll be uploading a video of the Cobra Jet Fins installation later today.

 

[jsg73]

Congrats!
Other than the bow roller upgrade, just run the boat for a month or two before making changes.
We bought our 212 without any jet experience (but lots of outboard experience). It is not a boat that needs many upgrades in our minds. I am putting JBP fins on it this year for idle speed handling and an onboard charger for the batteries but that is it.

 

[Daren and Heather]

@CharlesM, new lesson learned. Before you go out for the first time, make sure you buy a small very sharp knife. If you suck in a rope, a good small sharp knife might be the only thing that saves you (you'll need to reach inside the cleanout plug hole to cut if off of the impeller). I did not bring a knife, and I was lucky I was stranded near the dock, and someone had a dull utility knife (but took me almost 2 hours to finally get the ropes cut free). Also last night was my 2nd time ever loading the boat, and it got late and it was dark. The lighted post-on guides were HUGE! Having the posts sticking out of the water with the red lights on top made it 10 times easier to load the boat onto the trailer perfectly.

I'd recommend buying the fins soon, but agree with the other comment above - drive it at least once or twice before you install them. Then you'll know 2 things:

1. Whether or not they really made a difference (they will, but it's good to know yourself)
2. IF you screwed something up, you'll know because of the difference (like if you messed up the alignment)

In terms of which type of fins you get, I did a ton of research on here, talked to the owner of Cobra Jet over the phone, and to save you some time, IMO there are huge advantages of CJS over the competition (thrust vectors) - mainly that they give you the second missing tie rod for the other nozzle, are a very long lasting high quality aluminum (as opposed to plastic), and they stay down in the water at speed (as opposed to popping up) allowing you to track better at speed but also more importantly in an emergency avoidance maneuver allow you to kill the throttle and still turn (otherwise if you do this you'll plow ahead into whatever you're trying to avoid).

Here's an install video I put together for our boat: