Looking for first Jetboat

[Blowshard]

Hello, I came across this forum and have been impressed with all the info out there!

Anyways, we are looking to get our first jetboat and will be going with a Yamaha.

Initially I was thinking of a new or slighty used (2015+) AR195 but after more thought I like the idea of the 240s. We are in the midwest and will be using it in a mix of small to large lakes, and I imagine the additional size will help with comfort in chop and overall capacity. I prefer the idea of the 1.8s vs smaller engines in the 210 lineup.

Is a 240 overkill for a family of 4+ occasional friends/other family/guests?
Any suggestions on the 2015 +AR/SX 240 vs the 242limited/limited S?

A tower would be great but it seems that it will be a tight fit with the height, even with some slight modifications to the tower. The garage has plenty of length at 36feet but the garage door opening is only 7'10. We don't technically need the tower as we are more interested in tubing/skiing/cruising than wakeboarding at this time.

Anyways, I look forward to learning more about these boats and joining the community!

 

[PJ73]

Post your location so we can help you look. My door is 7'10' and there is pretty much no way I'm getting my 212X in there. If that is a deal breaker, then take a look at either the SX series (those unfortunately don't have the tower) or possibly a 19' AR series (they are almost 20' in length) with the supercharged 1.8L engine.
The 240's or the 242 series are fantastic boats. Overkill is only what you think it is. You'll have all the space you want in a 24' boat. I have a 21' but I trailer mine all over the state and felt 21 we big enough... for now, muahahahaha. My family of 4 made the jump from an 18'.
Oh, and...

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Welcome to the forum. Lots of good info here with lots of varying opinions. Being you are in SD and just using boat on small/medium lakes and just interested in hanging out/cruising/tubing/skiing I wouldn't be so quick to knock the 210 boats. Will be instant $10,000+ savings. That buys a lot of liquid refreshments/gas/boat toys/stereo equipment/etc and I will guarantee you will have just as much fun on a 210 as a 240 and will look just as good doing it. Don't get caught up in the bigger engine is better hype. I've had a 2014 AR210 for almost 5 years now. Has been a great boat and very happy with it. But in the end it's your money, buys what is going to make you happy. Good luck with your search.

 

[Dean P]

Welcome to the jet boater's world! You'll find just about anything here to help keep you on the water and broke (but in a fun way).

Excuse my ignorance, but how much chop is in a lake? It's just mainly from other boats, right? I had the SX-192 and loved it. It was perfect for 4 people. I do wish I had gotten the tower as skiing (IMO) would have been much better. I went up in size (22') to carry more people, get more space and handle rougher seas better. No regrets. But, I am glad I chose this path.

There are no wrong answers on which way you go. It's what you can afford and what you want/need to do. Good luck.

 

[Blowshard]

Welcome to the jet boater's world! You'll find just about anything here to help keep you on the water and broke (but in a fun way).

Excuse my ignorance, but how much chop is in a lake? It's just mainly from other boats, right? I had the SX-192 and loved it. It was perfect for 4 people. I do wish I had gotten the tower as skiing (IMO) would have been much better. I went up in size (22') to carry more people, get more space and handle rougher seas better. No regrets. But, I am glad I chose this path.

There are no wrong answers on which way you go. It's what you can afford and what you want/need to do. Good luck.

Thanks for sharing your experiences/thoughts on boat size,. I look forward to finding new and fun ways to stay broke! Haha, well the "chop" certainly isn't like the ocean but can be rough (relatively) on a busy day from other (bigger) boats primarily. I've spent a little time on Lake Michigan with a small inflatable RIB boat and that gets more legit.

 

[Blowshard]

Welcome to the forum. Lots of good info here with lots of varying opinions. Being you are in SD and just using boat on small/medium lakes and just interested in hanging out/cruising/tubing/skiing I wouldn't be so quick to knock the 210 boats. Will be instant $10,000+ savings. That buys a lot of liquid refreshments/gas/boat toys/stereo equipment/etc and I will guarantee you will have just as much fun on a 210 as a 240 and will look just as good doing it. Don't get caught up in the bigger engine is better hype. I've had a 2014 AR210 for almost 5 years now. Has been a great boat and very happy with it. But in the end it's your money, buys what is going to make you happy. Good luck with your search.

I'm glad to hear you have been happy with your 210 and the engines! Saving cash is always a good thing and hopefully I can come across a nice 210 to check out as well and compare with the other options. Thanks!

 

[Blowshard]

Post your location so we can help you look. My door is 7'10' and there is pretty much no way I'm getting my 212X in there. If that is a deal breaker, then take a look at either the SX series (those unfortunately don't have the tower) or possibly a 19' AR series (they are almost 20' in length) with the supercharged 1.8L engine.
The 240's or the 242 series are fantastic boats. Overkill is only what you think it is. You'll have all the space you want in a 24' boat. I have a 21' but I trailer mine all over the state and felt 21 we big enough... for now, muahahahaha. My family of 4 made the jump from an 18'.
Oh, and...

That's a bummer that the 212X doesn't fit in the 7'10 high door. The 21 footers sound like a great compromise with practicality/storage and performance! On one hand I keep thinking the 19-21 size would be perfect (for now), but it's gonna be hard to know until getting on the water.

 

[BigAbe75]

Hello, I came across this forum and have been impressed with all the info out there!

Anyways, we are looking to get our first jetboat and will be going with a Yamaha.

Initially I was thinking of a new or slighty used (2015+) AR195 but after more thought I like the idea of the 240s. We are in the midwest and will be using it in a mix of small to large lakes, and I imagine the additional size will help with comfort in chop and overall capacity. I prefer the idea of the 1.8s vs smaller engines in the 210 lineup.

Is a 240 overkill for a family of 4+ occasional friends/other family/guests?
Any suggestions on the 2015 +AR/SX 240 vs the 242limited/limited S?

A tower would be great but it seems that it will be a tight fit with the height, even with some slight modifications to the tower. The garage has plenty of length at 36feet but the garage door opening is only 7'10. We don't technically need the tower as we are more interested in tubing/skiing/cruising than wakeboarding at this time.

Anyways, I look forward to learning more about these boats and joining the community!

2015+ AR240 will fit in a 7’ door with a few adjustments per @mattschepker i imagine 7’10” would be doable without too much effort.

 

[mattschepker]

@BigAbe75, I have been talking to him through the conversation tab on the forum about his garage door opening. I hope I gave him some good ideas.

We bought a brand new 2011 Yamaha SX210. We coulda bought a 2010 AR240 brand new, but we thought the towers were ugly and didn't need it. We are a family of 4 also. We kept the boat for 6 years after year 2 and 3 we knew we needed to upgrade to the 240. We love the 210. I never felt underpowered. That boat held 9 people. Several times I had 7 in the boat and 2 people on the tube. The boat felt spacious. We took family friends out all the time. We notice taking another family of 4 out with their cooler and things the boat started to feel a little cramped. With 2 growing boys as they get older, the toys get bigger as well as the coolers. Your and the spacious boat was not so spacious anymore. My wife came to me and said we are upgrading. We are putting no more money into our 210. The ride in the 210 was nice and handled the waves fine.

Now we get the 2017 AR240. It is such a different feeling. Bigger boat, 3 foot make a big difference. The bigger motors are nice but they definitely suck the gas vs. the 210. I hit some big waves and we just glide right over them. Now looking back the 210 was slapping the water not gliding. We tow from the tower all the time with watersports except tubing. We do NOT tow the tubes from tower. Our boat now holds 12 people. We have taking a total of 3 families of 4 out several different times. With all the coolers and the snacks that everyone brings. We have never run out of storage. This boat is very spacious. This will be our 3rd season with our AR40. My wife and I still look at each other and smile and say this was a best thing we did, upgrading to the AR240. We even strap a kids kayak on the back deck because we don't have enough stuff already. You would be absolutely shocked at all the stuff I have stored on my AR240 right now.

I cant stress this enough with your garage door opening. Measure and double check your measurements before you pull the trigger on the boat. If you have any questions or need certain pictures just let me know.

 

[BigAbe75]

If @mattschepker ever gets tired of his day job, our dealer threatened to put a dealer polo shirt on him and let him sell at the boat show.

It sure worked on me, and I wholeheartedly agree with everything said above. I went from a 19’ I/O, to 21’ Yamaha and now to a 24’ Yamaha all in about 2 yrs time. Wife and I are so looking forward to this season!!

Our 19’ was my family’s boat, bought new in ‘92. Once I got out of college and left home, it sat most years all but 1 week a year for our family reunion. When I started my family, we started using it again and used it quite a bit for 2-3 seasons or so... until deciding that we needed something newer and a bit bigger.

My kids are still fairly young. (3, 6, 12). So, big toys and big friends are still to come. Although, this year I’m downsizing from the 3 person couch tube to a 2 person. Planning on this 24’ lasting me a lot of years.