First time boat owner 2020 AR240

[Bssmith1220]

We have been casually looking at boats fir a year or so now and we finally pulled the trigger on a new 2020 AR240 at the end of May. We are a family of four and I can’t wait to spend some time out on the water. I’m working through the new guy learning curve and we’ve had it out three times so far with no incidents. The slow speed maneuvering is taking some getting used to, but I can tell it will be better as I get some more practice.
I am in Maryland and will probably spend a good amount of tine on the Potomac River. If anyone has any newbie tips I’m all ears!

Putting little man to work cleaning already!

 

[Looper7]

Welcome and wow that's a good looking boat the only advice I have is take your time be patient with yourself and enjoy all the time with your family

 

[J-RAD]

Great looking boat, congratulations. I have a 2016 AR240 and it has been awesome! My advice is to simply practice. Take things slow around the dock. Only approach as fast as you are willing to hit it.

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[WREKS]

Great boat and you already have a crew. Here is just a reminder: Overheat Prevention

 

[anmut]

Welcome - with that color hull, buy extra large fenders for sure! Forget the ones Yamaha sells, buy a couple big, BIG ones, to keep your boat away from all the possible scratches. I have these below, and while I can only store three on the boat with all the other junk we carry, I only use two for tying up for launch/recovery. No marks on the white hull, and they have kept the boat away from all kinds of shady docks.

Amazon.com : Goplus 4 Ribbed Marine Boat Fender Vinyl Bumper Dock Shield Durable (Black, 6.5" X 23") : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Goplus 4 Ribbed Marine Boat Fender Vinyl Bumper Dock Shield Durable (Black, 6.5" X 23") : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

Nice! I got the same exact boat this spring. I’ve got a little boating background growing up but it was my first jet boat, and my first time in probably 10 years loading/unloading a boat.

Trailer guides-less than a $100 bucks and a absolute huge help. I’m still mastering the low speed handling/docking, they keep ya from getting over the sides of the bunks. We get a pretty strong south/North Sea breeze and the ramp is East west, so the boat gets sideways in a hurry. I just approach real slow. If no one is around I’ll try to line it up perfectly and park it, so I can go get my trailer, usually takes a couple tries. If it’s busy I get the bow close enough to hop on the ramp/dock and just muscle it in. Looks pretty rookie/dumb but whatever, keeps me from dinging up the boat and keeps things moving faster on those busy days no one has patience.

Second the fenders, get as many as you can. Learned that lesson the hard way at a shitty dock. Scratched the shit out of my graphics, luckily no gel coat damage but it’s been a month and I’m still pissed at myself for it.

I’ve found some of that marine vinyl cleaner/protectant works pretty well. I’ve started using it after every outing.

Some rookie mistakes from me-make sure to put your clean out plugs back in when going to the water. It’s pretty self critiquing when you got no thrust and it’s noisy as hell, but it’s embarrassing if you have guests. Make sure both motors actually start. I I got out of the no wake zone and pushed them up to the stops and barely got on plane, immediately powered down knowing something was wrong. Looked down, no RPM on #1. Duhhhhh. Looked like a idiot in front of the friends. If you got people that don’t know what there doing helping be very specific. My buddies wife untied the 15ft foot dock line like I asked, but just left it sitting there, pulled the boat out and the line got caught under the trailer tire. Ruined the line, thankfully it didn’t damage the cleat/fiberglass. I thought it was common sense, I wasn’t mad and she felt horrible, but looking back she did exactly what I told her to do, so my fault.

Enjoy the boat!

 

[anmut]

My buddies wife untied the 15ft foot dock line like I asked, but just left it sitting there, pulled the boat out and the line got caught under the trailer tire. Ruined the line, thankfully it didn’t damage the cleat/fiberglass. I thought it was common sense, I wasn’t mad and she felt horrible, but looking back she did exactly what I told her to do, so my fault.

^^ good point. Don't be afraid to be the boss on the boat. You can apologize after the fact.

 

[Babin Farms]

Welcome and nice looking boat! Biggest thing is take your time and get a routine going with everything from launching/retrieving to docking and everything else. Practice , practice, practice. Throw a fender out in the water and practice like it's a person your going to pick up out of the water or like it's the edge of the dock. I figured out quick that dual throttles are my friend as far as maneuvering the boat at low speed. Most of all, HAVE FUN with your purchase.

 

[Bssmith1220]

Welcome - with that color hull, buy extra large fenders for sure! Forget the ones Yamaha sells, buy a couple big, BIG ones, to keep your boat away from all the possible scratches. I have these below, and while I can only store three on the boat with all the other junk we carry, I only use two for tying up for launch/recovery. No marks on the white hull, and they have kept the boat away from all kinds of shady docks.

Amazon.com : Goplus 4 Ribbed Marine Boat Fender Vinyl Bumper Dock Shield Durable (Black, 6.5" X 23") : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Goplus 4 Ribbed Marine Boat Fender Vinyl Bumper Dock Shield Durable (Black, 6.5" X 23") : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

I got those crappy Yamaha ones the day I bought the boat. I already purchased the sentry ones and they seems to be good!

 

[Miitch]

Welcome aboard, and nice boat! i love that smokey grey!

 

[Remington]

My main advice would be to go slow, prep the boat and family into the boat before backing down the ramp from your parking spot and unload everyone and everything when you get back to your parking spot at the end of the day. Everyone was a new boater/trailer driver at one point and most people will understand if you take a couple extra minutes to launch/land. My wife and I get out of the truck and remove the boat cover, transom straps, and replace the drain plugs. Then she jumps into the boat and turns on the battery switch and blower while i bring the cover to the truck and the kids/boards/tube to the boat. I find it easier to leave the kids in the truck and not worry about them running around while we prep the boat for launch. Same once we get out of the water, i park the truck and boat and hop out to bring the kids and load them into the truck so my wife and i can lock everything back up. Also im not sure about the 240 but my 190 bow nav lights get fire hot so watch out for that when anchoring or hopping out into the water. there is more info on this forum than you could ever need so look around, congrats on the awesome boat!

 

[shar]

Beautiful boat! Congrats on the purchase Be safe, and enjoy

 

[Wiggill]

We have been casually looking at boats fir a year or so now and we finally pulled the trigger on a new 2020 AR240 at the end of May. We are a family of four and I can’t wait to spend some time out on the water. I’m working through the new guy learning curve and we’ve had it out three times so far with no incidents. The slow speed maneuvering is taking some getting used to, but I can tell it will be better as I get some more practice.
I am in Maryland and will probably spend a good amount of tine on the Potomac River. If anyone has any newbie tips I’m all ears!
View attachment 123011
Putting little man to work cleaning already!
View attachment 123012

 

[Wiggill]

Nice boat!

 

[EricE]

Great looking boat. We just bought our 1st boat (2020 212s) as well and are still waiting on delivery.
Good luck, and have fun!

 

[anmut]

Great looking boat. We just bought our 1st boat (2020 212s) as well and are still waiting on delivery.
Good luck, and have fun!

Have the same boat - what color did you go with? Btw you're going to LOVE it. Hope delivery comes soon!

 

[EricE]

Have the same boat - what color did you go with? Btw you're going to LOVE it. Hope delivery comes soon!

White. We loved the black, but every vehicle we've been in the last 15 years has been black, so we decided to switch it up for a change.
We are very excited, especially since we purchased it at a boat show in February. Needless to say it's been a long wait!

 

[Austin-BR]

Congrats, nice boat

 

[HailMary]

Nice boat!

Unless you plan on keeping it indoors, I would invest in a mooring cover. They're pricey, but tend to keep the boat a lot dryer than if you didn't have it covered (when it rains).

 

[Bssmith1220]

Nice boat!

Unless you plan on keeping it indoors, I would invest in a mooring cover. They're pricey, but tend to keep the boat a lot dryer than if you didn't have it covered (when it rains).

The dealer threw one in when I purchased it. Well, I paid for it since I paid sticker but whatever lol.