Jet Boat vs Tow Boat

[Spud]

I am in the process of finalizing my decision on spending $60,000 on a boat. Kids love water sports, and we like to spend time on the lake as a family. What boat will meet our expectations and provide the best all around experience for skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, and surfing? A new 212X, or a used Inboard Tow Boat?

 

[BigAbe75]

Age of kids? Mine are younger (3, 6, and 12). The Yamaha swim platform / stern seating area were the primary draw (and no prop) for us. I got so sick of telling friends kids not to stand in the center of the swim platform for fear they would slip off and cut themselves on the prop. Wasn't as concerned with my kids as they knew better.

That wouldn't be a problem with an inboard, of course.

We tube, surf, plan to ski some this year, and anchor out to swim and float as our primary activities.

I guess, if you thought you and your kids were all looking for pro level activities, you may want a dedicated boat... but, if you're looking for an all around boat, I feel the Yamaha lines are pretty hard to beat.

 

[tdonoughue]

I agree. Another key factor for me was my experience in boating. I had never had a boat (growing up, family never had a boat--probably could count on one hand number of times I was on one..). For me, the maintenance simplicity, the need for an all-around boat, and the lack of prop was excellent for a beginner boater like me. But, had I been a big boater before and on my nth boat, I might have made a different choice.

 

[Whisky]

It’s a good question!

We wondered the same thing when upgrading from our AR190. We do a bit of everything, cruising, tubing, wake boarding, surfing, hanging out, swimming and just about anything else we can think of!

Though the main purpose of our upgrade was to get a better surf wake, we just couldn’t give up the space, flexibility, swim deck, layout, easy maintenance, trailering, sports flexibility and more of the Yamaha.

Admittedly we gave some on the "Surfability" but for all of the other benefits of the Yamaha Jet Boat, we haven't looked back!

 

[OrangeTJ]

Without stepping into the same doo doo I did here a month or so ago, I’d encourage you to demo a couple v drives and at least the specific model of jet you are looking at. These two types of boats feel quite a bit different on the water and you will live in a much better position to decide what suits you best after a demo. Looking at boats on a showroom floor only gives you a fraction of the information you really need to make an informed decision with your $60,000x

 

[haknslash]

Demo both and go with what revs your heart and feels the best for you and your family not in the short term but rather the long term. The Yamaha boats are good, all around family boats and with a bit of effort can make for a decent boat for watersports. However it won't be flick of the switch tech, there will be mods you'll need to add and you'll likely never truly achieve what a dedicated wake boat can deliver. With a wake boat you'll have a much higher "ceiling" of watersports fun and ability but will sacrifice a little on the welcoming two-tier swim platform of the jetboats. Maintenance and winterizing will be a bit more involved with the wake boat as well but it's not something any average Joe couldn't do from what I've seen. Quality between the two boats will be night and day different depending on the year wake boat vs new Yamaha. For $60k you could get into a nice used wake boat or with another 5-15k even get into a new one like I did. Our Yamaha AR192 was a great family boat but it was loud, didn't handle rough water great because of how light jetboats are and trying to make a long, big, powerful surf wave like a wake boat makes just wasn't possible. Sure you can make a surf wave on a jet boat but the pocket will be small compared to what you can achieve with proper ballast on v drive. It's just a "ceiling" / performance thing.

You have to weigh out if you want simplicity and family lounging a priority over watersports. If your kids are nearing their teens and seem really into wakeboarding or surfing then a wake boat is probably going to be more attractive to them in the long run. My daughter is 9 and doesn't do anything but tube so it will be a while before she surfs I think but I have friends who have all wanted to try surfing and it just wasn't working out for us on the jet boat. We were willing to give up the swim platform and simple maintenance to have much larger boat with tons more storage, a better ride, bigger/nicer stereo, surf system, more fuel efficient than a jet.... etc. For me the choice was simple once I got bit by the surf bug but understand that not everyone is this way. I can't stress enough how important it is to demo demo demo. Best of luck in your boat searching. I have a massive long thread on this subject if you want to check it out. Fair warning this has recently been a touchy subject on here so I'm only commenting because you asked (please nobody hate me lol). Feel free to hit me up if you have questions on some of these wake boats and there are others on here with experience in jet and v drives.

 

[Spud]

What model of Moomba do you have?

 

[haknslash]

2019 Max

 

[Wisefam22]

Just saying there is a niiice 2018 ar240 listed on thos site for 48k oboe with wake wedge and some others.

 

[PEARCE]

For an all around family boat the Yamaha jet boat can't be beat. No exposed prop to get hurt on and the easy maintenance are huge with the jet boat ownership experience. Our Yamaha was the first 'real' boat we owned and it has been very forgiving to the mistakes we made in the beginning that would have been catastrophic in anoher boat. What I'm talking about is running very shallow in a cove we were exploring on an unknown lake and not realizing it till we were rubbing the bottom and slowing down. I gunned it and got into deeper water and out of the area quickly. No damage done thankfully because it was a) very soft sand bottom, b) no lower unit or exposed prop to get stuck in the muck or yanked off entirely and ruining the rest of our vacation. We bought ours brand new in 2006 and it was the largest model with the most powerful engines at the time. We knew we'd have friends wanting to go with us and we'd be going to larger lakes in the area. We have never regretted those decisions to go that route. We never wanted a tower.

Best of luck with your shopping. Have fun with it and demo as many as you can so you make an informed decision. Hope you have the properly equipped vehicle to handle whichever you purchase or else it could be a very expensive summer for you. Cheers!

 

[Dean P]

Having a jet boat is THE way to go especially with children. No props to worry about when jumping off or getting back on the swim platform. HUGE major factor. I had the SX-192 and switched to a 22' Chaparral (see sig); no regrets. I spent 59k for the model I have. Bought it last year used (let someone else take the new price hit and work out the bugs - Thank you!). Heed what everyone here tells you. We've all been there and done that.

Good luck!

 

[2kwik4u]

SO......Here's an interesting data point that I haven't posted yet. I was waiting for one of these threads to come up.

Neighbors two doors down sold their 24ft Centurion this spring and bought a brand new 242X. Their main complaint with the centurion was the price versus what they did with it. They thought they HAD to have a surf boat. Absolutely HAD to have it. Then once they used it for two seasons realized that surfing was about 5% of their total time on the water. They were spending a ton more money for some capabilities they rarely used. The new Yamaha has easier maintenance, a better layout for them, and a dealer that isn't two states away. They haven't been out on the Yamaha yet, so it's still in the air on how well they like it, however the initial reviews from them are that the build quality is every bit as good as the Centurion was. They had an Axis bought back by the factory before moving to the Centurion. I'm curious to see how they fare with the "more value oriented" Yamaha.

For us.....we bought on value. Our budget was about half of the OP's, and we found we got a LOT of boat for our money in the AR190. On top of that we are spared the expense of storage since it fits in the garage. We really like our little boat, and forsee keeping it for many years to come.

 

[haknslash]

Regarding people touching the prop...

I don’t think hitting a prop is an easy thing to do with a v drive. It is deep and tucked well under the boat plus the rudder is between it and you not to mention any surf tabs and wake plate off the back. You’d have a higher chance to touching those swimming around the v drive than anywhere near the prop. Same can be said for people hitting the jet drive, metal fins or any trim tabs they’ve installed on their Yamaha. Basically I think it’s a moot point and if anything v drives offer better protection from touching the prop than any other prop driven boat like an outboard or I/O.

One constant danger you do have to worry with on a jet boat is sucking something up. Usually it’s ropes and debris you think of with a jet but there is another danger I don’t think a lot of people give much thought to, I know I didn’t. There was a recent thread on here where someone was letting an inexperienced boater drive their boat and the wakeboarder fell. When they driver returned to the fallen rider they didn’t position the boat in a safe manner and the wind pushed the boat on top of the fallen rider and he went under the boat and came back out the backside! Anything could have sucked up in the intake like long hair, life jacket straps whatever and that person possibly drown. I never would have thought about that but just goes to show that not even in a jet are you safe which goes against the mentality of jet drives when you buy one as safety is highly touted. Unless the engines are off there will always be a suction under there. If this was a v drive someone was driving it easily could have been real bad too if the drive did not put the boat in neutral.

At the end of the day both types of boats will have hard parts under the swim platform that you can hit with your body if you’re swimming directly by the swim platform. Both boats are dangerous if you get pinned underneath them. Boating can be dangerous and you only live once so make sound and safe decisions regardless of the boat or drive type you own. All of them can hurt or kill you in an accident. It’s best to simply remove yourself from swimming right by the boat to avoid the danger altogether.

 

[haknslash]

They haven't been out on the Yamaha yet, so it's still in the air on how well they like it, however the initial reviews from them are that the build quality is every bit as good as the Centurion was.

Having crawled in both brands there is no way these are in the same ball park in terms of fit, finish and overall quality. They probably have new buyers glasses and are hyped for their new boat. If you spend anything digging into the boats the differences in build are clearly evident. My Moomba is built light years ahead of my Yamaha. I’m not talking about just fabrics and such but the actual construction is on a whole different level. Just looking at how the towers are mounted between the two boats was completely different. Centurions are a higher level boat than my Moomba so I just can’t imagine what they are looking at saying the Yamaha is made to the same level of quality. Just try rubbing your hand underneath any storage compartment lip on a Yamaha and see how cut your hands will be. I don’t know about Centurion but I know this is not an issue on with Moomba or Supra. Edges are sanded down smooth and every hole drilled in the gel is chamfered. You start taking stuff off the Yamaha or really dig around you’ll see how they are build and what they consider a “finished” product.

Sorry to disagree but I just don’t see the equal comparison after going through shopping these boats for 1.5 years. Maybe they got a dud Centurion? I will say the Axis I demoed was super cheap and there were areas I would say the Yamaha was a little nicer at but an Axis is no Centurion or even near a Moomba IMHO. Your friend probably shouldn’t have bought a boat that didn’t have a dealer network to support them. These things are hand build and sometimes things will go wrong. Having a great dealer will make or break a deal and this goes for any boat. Hopefully they have better luck with enjoying their Yamaha and wish them the best.

 

[Brad460]

SO......Here's an interesting data point that I haven't posted yet. I was waiting for one of these threads to come up.

Neighbors two doors down sold their 24ft Centurion this spring and bought a brand new 242X. Their main complaint with the centurion was the price versus what they did with it. They thought they HAD to have a surf boat. Absolutely HAD to have it. Then once they used it for two seasons realized that surfing was about 5% of their total time on the water. They were spending a ton more money for some capabilities they rarely used. The new Yamaha has easier maintenance, a better layout for them, and a dealer that isn't two states away. They haven't been out on the Yamaha yet, so it's still in the air on how well they like it, however the initial reviews from them are that the build quality is every bit as good as the Centurion was. They are known to be "tough customers" having had an Axis bought back by the factory before moving to the Centurion. I'm curious to see how they fare with the "more value oriented" Yamaha.

For us.....we bought on value. Our budget was about half of the OP's, and we found we got a LOT of boat for our money in the AR190. On top of that we are spared the expense of storage since it fits in the garage. We really like our little boat, and forsee keeping it for many years to come.

As former "tow boat" owner, this is why we did not buy another tow boat and bought a Yamaha AR210. Yes we liked to surf, but honestly we spent 5% of our time doing it..all the other time was spent cruising, lounging, wakeboarding, tubing..etc..I know we will be able to do a little surfing with our AR210 with the Wakebooster...it will be good enough.

The tow boats have become ridiculously over-priced and not worth the money - just to surf 5% of the time.

Oh and the "prop" argument above doesnt make sense...it very difficult to get to a prop on a tow boat..I KNOW my wife ran over the wakeboard rope a couple times!

 

[Dean P]

Oh and the "prop" argument above doesnt make sense...it very difficult to get to a prop on a tow boat..I KNOW my wife ran over the wakeboard rope a couple times!

Having a jet boat is THE way to go especially with children. No props to worry about when jumping off or getting back on the swim platform.

Sorry, I came from an I/O Merc Bravo III (dual rotating props). Those always made me nervous.

 

[2kwik4u]

Having crawled in both brands there is no way these are in the same ball park in terms of fit, finish and overall quality. They probably have new buyers glasses and are hyped for their new boat. If you spend anything digging into the boats the differences in build are clearly evident. My Moomba is built light years ahead of my Yamaha. I’m not talking about just fabrics and such but the actual construction is on a whole different level. Just looking at how the towers are mounted between the two boats was completely different. Centurions are a higher level boat than my Moomba so I just can’t imagine what they are looking at saying the Yamaha is made to the same level of quality. Just try rubbing your hand underneath any storage compartment lip on a Yamaha and see how cut your hands will be. I don’t know about Centurion but I know this is not an issue on with Moomba or Supra. Edges are sanded down smooth and every hole drilled in the gel is chamfered. You start taking stuff off the Yamaha or really dig around you’ll see how they are build and what they consider a “finished” product.

Sorry to disagree but I just don’t see the equal comparison after going through shopping these boats for 1.5 years. Maybe they got a dud Centurion? I will say the Axis I demoed was super cheap and there were areas I would say the Yamaha was a little nicer at but an Axis is no Centurion or even near a Moomba IMHO. Your friend probably shouldn’t have bought a boat that didn’t have a dealer network to support them. These things are hand build and sometimes things will go wrong. Having a great dealer will make or break a deal and this goes for any boat. Hopefully they have better luck with enjoying their Yamaha and wish them the best.

I was on the centurion enough to understand your comments. And I tend to agree. However they had multiple screws pulling out of doors, SeaDek was peeling up in spots. The tower was about as "rickety" as I would have ever considered being under, quite literally swaying 2-3in at the top when running over mild chop. I want to say they had issues with the ballast system not working properly as well. Sure the storage compartments were well finished on the inside, and overall it was a significantly better equipped boat in terms of accessories and systems. I'm really curious to see how they fare this season with the Yamaha. The first few outings will be very telling in how well they like or dislike the new boat once the "new boat glasses" come off.

Another thought is "what is quality"? Finished interior compartments aren't necessarily a sign of quality for me. That's a feature, or perhaps a finishing detail. Add those details up and you can see where the money goes, as well as the overall attention to detail. My Yamaha spent less time in the shop over the last two seasons than the Centurion did. Is that the measure of quality? I've not had a failure on mine of any component. Few loose nuts, and a busted intake grate (which I'm not sure wasn't damaged when I took delivery) are the only issues in 77hrs run time. I know theirs was in the shop twice, although I can't remember what for. There is also a significant chance that my boat simply has less things to break/fail/act up. It's 5ft shorter, and has significantly less complicated systems on board. Not looking to argue at any level, just thinking out loud.

I also 100% agree that buying without a dealer network is not a great idea. A good dealer on a hand built boat can easily make the difference between a good experience and a bad experience I would think. The local Yamaha dealer is great, and I hope they don't have to see him often.

He's signed up here, but hasn't posted yet. Maybe he'll chime in and clear up the confusion. There is a non-zero chance I have my details wrong.

 

[2kwik4u]

Regarding people touching the prop...

I don’t think hitting a prop is an easy thing to do with a v drive. It is deep and tucked well under the boat plus the rudder is between it and you not to mention any surf tabs and wake plate off the back. You’d have a higher chance to touching those swimming around the v drive than anywhere near the prop. Same can be said for people hitting the jet drive, metal fins or any trim tabs they’ve installed on their Yamaha. Basically I think it’s a moot point and if anything v drives offer the same protection from touching the prop than any other prop driven boat like an outboard or I/O.

One constant danger you do have to worry with on a jet boat is sucking something up. Usually it’s ropes and debris you think of with a jet but there is another danger I don’t think a lot of people give much thought to, I know I didn’t. There was a recent thread on here where someone was letting an inexperienced boater drive their boat and the wakeboarder fell. When they driver returned to the fallen rider they didn’t position the boat in a safe manner and the wind pushed the boat on top of the fallen rider and he went under the boat and came back out the backside! Anything could have sucked up in the intake like long hair, life jacket straps whatever and that person possibly drown. I never would have thought about that but just goes to show that not even in a jet are you safe which goes against the mentality of jet drives when you buy one as safety is highly touted. Unless the engines are off there will always be a suction under there. If this was a v drive someone was driving it easily could have been real bad too if the drive did not put the boat in neutral.

At the end of the day both types of boats will have hard parts under the swim platform that you can hit with your body if you’re swimming directly by the swim platform. Both boats are dangerous if you get pinned underneath them. Boating can be dangerous and you only live once so make sound and safe decisions regardless of the boat or drive type you own. All of them can hurt or kill you in an accident. It’s best to simply remove yourself from swimming right by the boat to avoid the danger altogether.

I 100% agree with this. I've pulled the same number of cut ankles from under this boat and my previous I/O. Kicked the propeller on the last one. Kicked the "articulating keel" on this one. Both drew blood. Education and vigilance will lead to safety, not the equipment in question.

 

[Beachbummer]

I have grounded hard a few times. Some scrapes, but I could drive away from all of them. (One after pushing quite a bit) Not so for v drive. Small sticks get on the pump, but big sticks and low bottom break prop boats, at greater depth. This is a huge advantage that I appreciate very much on the jet.

Drive both. The jet is less efficient for the horsepower compared to the prop, but the simplicity and added safety overcomes it, in my opinion.

 

[OrangeTJ]

a fair amount of talk about surfing here, but honestly any towed watersport is likely going to be a better experience with the tow boat. I know my kids like tubing behind our MB better than they did behind our Yamaha due to the lack of jet spray and the bigger wake. Wakeboarding same thing - nice soft clean table in the middle and cleaner wake face on either side, plus built in speed control that holds within .1 mph. The downside is we can no longer back in tight to a beach. The lakes we run on are deep but if yours is shallow that’s a consideration. I need about 3 feet of water to run. On the other hand, if your lake has a lot of vegetation near the surface or floating small debris, the jets are going to be a pain - at least mine were when we encountered such stuff.