Considering Purchase Of Scarab 195HO

[Evan Smith]

Hi Guys! Have been scouring the forum for a few weeks now. Currently own a 16' Sugar Sand Tango 4+2 boat, 2006. I'm the second owner. Has the 2 stroke 175 HP engine which has been rock solid for me. Cranks a little hard after sitting for awhile and smokes but runs like a champ when warmed up!

Wife is pregnant with a second daughter so the boat is filling up fast, we are running out of storage room, and can't take other families out with us. Started looking at the Yamaha's the AR192's but really like the Scarab 195 HO's. Biggest things that sway us towards the Scarab are the seats in the transom area that can fold flat into a sun deck, cutouts for legs in rear seating area, and the automotive style glass.

I've read some horror stories on hear about early growing pains on the Scarab 195's starting in '14. My question is what are the experiences with the 2016's and newer? I know that's not as much run-time on an engine for issues to pop up, but are the fit and finishes better now? Issues still with the carbon seals or exhaust resonators that nearly sank a boat that I read about earlier on here?

Really excited about getting a little bigger boat. Would like to go to the 21' but the 19' with the swing-away tongue will just fit into my garage which is where I like to keep it here in Indiana when not on the water.

This forum has been an invaluable resource. Appreciate any feedback! Thanks!

 

[Winerocks]

I know you are looking at a 195, and I have a 215, but considering I have 2x the engines and potentially 2x the problems, my comments still count . Mine is a 2015 so is one of the earlier builds, with the 200 hour rebuild superchargers.
The issues you’ve heard about with carbon seals and water boxes are not common at all. These parts are the same as are used in Seadoo PWC’s, and are tried, tested, and true. As with any boat, you have to be careful where you drive. Weeds, ropes, and plastic bags will cause problems; same as your Sugar Sand (sweet boat BTW). I suspect many of the reported problems were related to damage from sucking things up. We regularly boat with 8-10 people, and it’s comfortable (4 adults + kids and teens) and has plenty of storage. On the 195, you will have plenty of room for your growing family, and a few friends. The fold-down seats are great. Have not had any engine issues. I moved to this boat from and old Merc I/O, which was constant tinkering. My Scarab has been a bit boring from that perspective...more time polishing and upgrading because it runs perfectly all the time. The build quality is great. Need to check clamps once a year, but you should on any boat anyways; Yamaha also uses gear clamps that should be checked.
Another thing to note is that Scarabs maneuver really well at low speeds. I am constantly amazed at how it moves (infinitely better than any I/O I’ve driven. Yamahas need add-on parts to get there.
You will probably be super-happy with either a Yamaha or Scarab. We chose Scarab because of how it drives and the layout. Zero regrets here. Make sure you get a tower and bimini, you will want the shade for the kids.

 

[Evan Smith]

Thanks @Winerocks ! My thoughts exactly on the 21' but also I like to garage store my boat and the 21' won't quite fit. I unknowingly sucked up a little piece of wood shortly after I got my sugar sand and thought for sure I had engine or pump problems. Relieved that taking off the grate and cleaning off the impeller fixed the problem. Haven't had a rope yet and hope I don't have to deal with that anytime soon.

Good advice on the clamps. Going to do that before our next outing. Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

 

[Scottintexas]

If you can manage a 2 stroke then any 4 stroke should be ok for you,

My preference of course is Yamaha but the scarab layout is definitely a selling point, I think as long as you are capable of most mechanical issues there's enough BRP wave runner support to help you get through anything you might encounter, it's the people that want or need to depend on a dealership that seam to be less enthusiastic about ownership,

keep us updated on your search!

.

 

[Evan Smith]

Thanks @Scottintexas ! I've never taken my Sugarsand to a dealer. Always have done all my own maintenance with changing out the spark plugs, fuel filters, etc. I know my wife would prefer less smoke on startup with a 4 stroke! I kill all the mosquitos in the area when I fire up the Sugarsand! After warms up, doesn't smoke hardly at all. Comes with the territory i guess!

 

[ILPlatinumHO]

I have a 2017 Platinum HO with the digital throttle package, no tower, with a Bimini. Reading through the forum here from time to time I expected to have SOME issues with my boat but honestly its been trouble free and I'm sitting at about 82 hours starting my 3rd season. I bought it as a leftover with 0 hours in June of 2018 and got a fantastic deal. I have the standard single axle trailer that had some slight pitting/rust but I believe it was one of the boats that ran to the boat shows in the winter in the midwest and the dealer got the trailer touched up for me and its been great. I ALMOST bought a 2014 glastron with the 250 HO jet but it had an extended swim platform and was just a bit too long for my garage. The biggest issue for me is the distance to the dealer is about 1.5 hours away and they don't really know the scarabs inside and out. I bought what I needed to do my own oil changes and just keep up with the maintenance schedule. I have absolutely no reason to trade out of my boat for a long time, it has a great amount of space on it for the size, the shallow draft lets me get in and out of areas other boaters cant go, its light and easy to tow. Sure the motor is a little louder than an I/O and some choppy lakes require a little more power to keep the bow up so people sitting in front don't get splashed here and there but its been a solid boat. Once you are used to the jet I think docking maneuverability is MUCH better than an I/O or outboard I've never sucked in a rope, had some weeds get caught a couple times but killing it and letting them float out or a quick burst in reverse then killing it and its always cleared itself.

 

[Evan Smith]

@ILPlatinumHO Thanks for your feedback. Gives me a lot more confidence to look into the 195's. I'd love to be able to wake surf off the back of the boat but assume it would take some fat sacs on the stern to make that happen?

 

[ILPlatinumHO]

I'll preface my response with the fact that I personally do not ski or wake board and someone else on here will likely have a better answer. I only really tube and that's mostly just pulling around some of my friends and their kids. That being said you can absolutely wake surf with some added ballast, I've seen people do it, Scarab makes a factory Wake edition. It is not the same as a true wake surf boat but the problem I have with most wake surf boats is that they ride pretty flat/hard in choppy water unless you get a fairly long one and they can be pretty expensive. On the Scarab the jet wash in the middle is tricky/wide with lower amounts of weight. The more ballast the better, move people to the rear seat and put heavier gear/full cooler as far back in the boat as you can and you should be fine. There are some videos on youtube of the wake behind the scarab 195 ID and someone surfing you can check out. Compare that to a mastercraft wakeboard video and you will see the difference in the wake.

 

[MotoTundra]

I'm in the same spot as you OP. AR195 or 195HO?

Previously owned a 2006 Sportster SCIC (early Speedster 150) with the 215hp engine. I had excellent luck with it, but sold it to go higher.

I love the idea of a closed loop cooling system of the SeaDoo/Scarab, and the extra HP, however I'm concerned Scarab isn't as polished as Sea Doo was.

Yamaha seems pretty reliable, and I love the Wakebooster idea.

 

[Evan Smith]

@MotoTundra I agree that Yamaha appears to have a more reliable platform but they also have a lot more experience on the jet boat side of things. I really like the Scarab features for the interior of the boat. Seems to make more sense with the use of space. Waiting for a good deal on a used one to come along and we are going to pull the trigger.