My 50hr review of my 242X

[Kane]

It's been a great summer and we are using the hell out of our X! I just turned 50 hours so I figured I'd give my own personal update/review on our boat so far.

I love so many things about this new boat and we really have used it for everything from all day boating, to watersports, to hanging out at a sandbar.

Water sports.....we absolutely love wake surfing! I can see how people spend the money for a dedicated boat, but the X really does a good job of this. After I committed fully and bought a board and rope, we have not looked back! We found that filling all 3 tanks and having 4 -5 people to tune the wave works best for us. Different from our neighbors Wakesetter, I find letting the boat plane and a 10.5 mph speed works well. The presets and auto function are spot on(thanks to help of many here) and the ballast is good but not the fastest to pump in and out. We've also wakeboarded using the ballast and the rider had a blast. Skiing works well too, boat tracks straight and plenty of power to pull some of the bigger fellas!

Cruising....we have had this on Lakes only but have experienced upto 3 footers and it did surprisingly well and we stayed dry. I'm sure all will agree, it could always be faster, myself with a 1/2 tank of fuel I'm getting a max top speed of 50, boat loaded with 12 people around 42-44. Lots of other things come into effect regarding the top speed but I hear from my passengers how comfortable the ride is even in chop.

Hanging out......tied up at the dock in town to hanging out at the sandbar, this boat is awesome! The stereo sounds really good from the factory(I touch more on this) and the swim deck controls work great! I get a lot of compliments on the looks and I gotta tell you that Bimini....it's a hit!!! I love it and so does everyone who's been on the boat or people just checking it out.

Overall.......Yamaha in my opinion did a really nice job on this boat. Simple things like the hinged seats have made docking easier, faster and less stressful, at least on my girls, no more stacking cushions and people moving all around the boat to get the fenders and lines. I love the Single Lever option! This alone is a Homerun!! The stereo is really good and Bluetooth is spot on. As I mentioned earlier, I read an article from @Mainah about a sub upgrade and I did this....unfortunately it didn't sound as good as the factory sub. I think the amp just doesn't have the juice to push that sub. No big deal, I will use this in the future when I upgrade a few things. It was worth the effort!

Negatives......as I've already stood on my soapbox about this so I'll be brief, the reverse is very weak. I would like the Electronic override to just go away....maybe time will tell. This thing is an absolute PIG on gas!! I guess this "is what it is" but nevertheless a costly one. And lastly, I'd love to see a bit more power/speed.

That's my review, I know we're all different but hopefully it helps if someone is seeking real time info on this boat.

Enjoy!

 

[Speedling]

You want more power and speed and want less fuel burn. Don't we all?! Lol
I came back from the raft up at Shelbyville last night wot for 3/4 of the way and i still love doing it but i certainly can't be one to complain about fuel economy.

We took the boat from Jamestown to Conley bottom to Mill springs and back this week on Lake Cumberland and went swimming a few times in between. Just from Jamestown to Conley bottom is 22 miles. We get going about 30 mph for all my cruising, bimini up, 4 adults 3 kids and 500 lbs of food. The whole day was about 22 gallons of gas burned. We topped off back at the marina when back.

Love the new top of the line series boats.
Have you had any electronic glitches?
I am a little old school about things i guess and don't like computers doing everything for me.

 

[Julian]

How do you like the bow and cockpit cover? Do you have the mooring cover too? I'm on the fence about getting another bow and cockpit cover. The last time we were covering her up at the dock my wife said "is it taking you longer to cover this boat?" and my answer was "yes". Putting in the poles with straps and rolling the cover all the way back just seems to take more time and is more involved.

I've realized that the solar panels keep the batteries charged with no need for shore power at all. I leave both switches on all the time, and the batteries stay fully charged. So that's another positive for those of us that slip the boat!

I agree on the reverse limiter...I'm hoping there will be a Connext update that will change that! Definitely something I will be asking Yamaha about on Tuesday!

I would also love to see a standard built in garbage can in this boat. Who doesn't need one of these????

I love the rear wet storage lockers. They aren't huge, but big enough for me to get our usual 2 person tube into on one side, and I get 4 Taylor made bumpers into the storage on the other side!

I've not really notice mine being a pig on gas....but I've not wake surfed a lot with the ballast full....I'll bet that decreases efficiency a TON (ok....only 3/4 of a ton)!

 

[captras]

Great review, and encouraging. I have a 2016 242 Limited SE, so like yours except for the ballast system. I have had some electronics issues with the Drive control not holding, but I think Yamaha has remedied it....will find out next weekend. I love the bimini also. I was leaning towards an AR240, but the wife wanted the larger bimini.....DAMN, I hate to say she was right!!! As for gas....I run pretty conservative and can only compare it to my old Four Winns with a 5.7L V8. Seems to burn about the same, maybe a slight bit more, EXCEPT for WOT, and then it is a HOG, which is why I dont run WOT!

 

[Mainah]

Great review. I happened to be in @Kane neck of the woods when he was wrapping up the subwoofer swap and popped in on him. While the mm1040UM is a direct fit from hole diameter and bolt hole pattern it turns out that there are a quite a few gotchas. First the stock sub is though bolted with nuts on the back so you have to gain access through a cup holder. Second is that you have to make a backing ring as the holes for the stock sub are skilled out unless you redo the through bolt. Third is that the screws that come with the mm1040um are not long enough for the the 4 of them that go through the grill and you have to use a backing ring for that do to the still out through bolts. Lastly and most importantly it would seem that the stock amp does not have enough power even with the sub gain turned all the way up. I have sealed up the the mounting location for my mm1040um using the foam from a couple of type iv throwable pfd cushions that I tore apart and stuffed behind the gunwale recesses, block for the forward air movement into the helm, and this help dampen the not so good resonance in the gunwale recesses and at the controls (Mine is mounted on the starboard side under the small tray). It sounds way better and louder than the db1040 this way but I also bridged two channels from a jl audio amp so I guess I am pushing more power to it. I will be editing my other posts about the direct fit upgrade for the x considering all of this.

As a 2016 242 LS owner I can add a few comparison observations about the 242x now thanks to @Kane hosting me on his boat. The sound bar (flipped over) really helps fill in the sound at speed. The amps are mounted in a way that makes adjusting gains and crossovers a bit difficult. While there are short power wire runs to the amps it would still seem to me that the wire gauge may be one too small. As a comparison point I am a bit over 1k in the audio upgrade department at this point (soon to be almost 1.5k with a 2 pairs mm651um on the way) and putting aside the tower bar and cans I think what I and others have done sounds just as good if not better. My bet is the amps and added cabin speakers have a lot to do with this though. Also keep in mind that this was a lot of work. To get the comparable sound of a 242x and include the tower bar and cans can you will go about 1.5k in the hole and spend lots of time installing.

The upholstery is hands down better on the x. Added upholstery accents all around that add up to a higher end feel as soon as you step on. The milled aluminum accents on the X are also immediately noticed along with the steering wheel. The gauges are much bigger and cooler on the x with built in lcd displays and the connext screen is positioned a bit different. The whole gauge panel and cover for it are just much nicer and noticed immediately. The usb/aux in connector that is at the helm on the ls is moved to the co-captain gunwale recess which I would have preferred so someone else can just jack in and play tunes.

I got to drive @Kane 242x (thanks for that) and I love those e series throttles. They are more compact which I like and they are much more fluid. The x has built in ballast and gps speed control. While I am going to add my own ballast system and perfect pass that is more money and time spent. I wonder if the intake and hose for the ballast was larger with more volume available to the the pumps if would fill faster on the X. Having all of that integrated into the connext screen is something that you will only get on the X. Having the tow point under the bimini is better on the X and boy is that bimini cool looking.

My main reason for choosing the LS was the bimini. I personally do not care for the oversized bimini on the x but I am up north and do a fair about of mid/late evening boating. I also knew that I would want to customize the stereo. After seeing the X in person I must say I almost wish I had gone that way instead and it is more of a toss up for me now that I have had the chance to drive one.

All in all for those who are not really huge audio nuts and like the large bimini the 242X is great right from the factory and is the way to go IMO.

 

[Ronnie]

Great boat and great review thanks for letting us live vicariously through you. It's reviews like yours that make it tough not to go down to the local Yamaha dealer and finance a new one but if I did that the worst feature on my new boat would be a monthly payment.

Is the reverse problem your raised that you are rev limited in reverse or that the boat still doesn't maneuver well in reverse even with the keel and rudder? If the latter maybe cobra jet fins and fangs or thrust vectors would help.

I have a first year 242 ls and can tell you they are all hogs on gas. Not surprising since Yamaha has not re powered these models yet other than installing lower hp CARB engines in some of them. Not sure if you have cycled through your displays when at WOT but mine says I'm burning 25 gallons per hour at WOT, I like boating at WOT sometimes so now I don't cycle to that metric anymore. Something notable is that Yamaha was able to increase the length of the 242 and I assume the weight without any reduction in top speed.

 

[Kane]

How do you like the bow and cockpit cover? Do you have the mooring cover too? I'm on the fence about getting another bow and cockpit cover. The last time we were covering her up at the dock my wife said "is it taking you longer to cover this boat?" and my answer was "yes". Putting in the poles with straps and rolling the cover all the way back just seems to take more time and is more involved.

I've realized that the solar panels keep the batteries charged with no need for shore power at all. I leave both switches on all the time, and the batteries stay fully charged. So that's another positive for those of us that slip the boat!

I agree on the reverse limiter...I'm hoping there will be a Connext update that will change that! Definitely something I will be asking Yamaha about on Tuesday!

I would also love to see a standard built in garbage can in this boat. Who doesn't need one of these????

I love the rear wet storage lockers. They aren't huge, but big enough for me to get our usual 2 person tube into on one side, and I get 4 Taylor made bumpers into the storage on the other side!

I've not really notice mine being a pig on gas....but I've not wake surfed a lot with the ballast full....I'll bet that decreases efficiency a TON (ok....only 3/4 of a ton)!

This is a great question.....I love the bow and cockpit covers but to be fair I had the mooring cover on my AR240 and hated the hell out of it!!! The mooring cover will give you better protection but I don't mind wiping down the boat before I use. Also the bow a cockpit cover stores a lot better than the mooring cover. I wouldn't ever go back to the mooring cover!!

 

[Kane]

Great boat and great review thanks for letting us live vicariously through you. It's reviews like yours that make it tough not to go down to the local Yamaha dealer and finance a new one but if I did that the worst feature on my new boat would be a monthly payment.

Is the reverse problem your raised that you are rev limited in reverse or that the boat still doesn't maneuver well in reverse even with the keel and rudder? If the latter maybe cobra jet fins and fangs or thrust vectors would help.

I have a first year 242 ls and can tell you they are all hogs on gas. Not surprising since Yamaha has not re powered these models yet other than installing lower hp CARB engines in some of them. Not sure if you have cycled through your displays when at WOT but mine says I'm burning 25 gallons per hour at WOT, I like boating at WOT sometimes so now I don't cycle to that metric anymore. Something notable is that Yamaha was able to increase the length of the 242 and I assume the weight without any reduction in top speed.

All of the above!! Power is fine unless you need it in a hurry and if you do I hope you can Multi-task!! Maneuvering is a bit different than my Ar240, could be the keel and rudder? Also, I am getting used to it so it's not all the boat fault! Lol

 

[SCP1]

How do you like the bow and cockpit cover? Do you have the mooring cover too? I'm on the fence about getting another bow and cockpit cover. The last time we were covering her up at the dock my wife said "is it taking you longer to cover this boat?" and my answer was "yes". Putting in the poles with straps and rolling the cover all the way back just seems to take more time and is more involved.

I've realized that the solar panels keep the batteries charged with no need for shore power at all. I leave both switches on all the time, and the batteries stay fully charged. So that's another positive for those of us that slip the boat!

I agree on the reverse limiter...I'm hoping there will be a Connext update that will change that! Definitely something I will be asking Yamaha about on Tuesday!

I would also love to see a standard built in garbage can in this boat. Who doesn't need one of these????

I love the rear wet storage lockers. They aren't huge, but big enough for me to get our usual 2 person tube into on one side, and I get 4 Taylor made bumpers into the storage on the other side!

I've not really notice mine being a pig on gas....but I've not wake surfed a lot with the ballast full....I'll bet that decreases efficiency a TON (ok....only 3/4 of a ton)!

This is a great question.....I love the bow and cockpit covers but to be fair I had the mooring cover on my AR240 and hated the hell out of it!!! The mooring cover will give you better protection but I don't mind wiping down the boat before I use. Also the bow a cockpit cover stores a lot better than the mooring cover. I wouldn't ever go back to the mooring cover!!

I have a bow & cockpit cover and wish I would of got a full cover. I hate all the snaps in the gel coat (really takes away from the clean look).

 

[Julian]

I have a bow & cockpit cover and wish I would of got a full cover. I hate all the snaps in the gel coat (really takes away from the clean look).

I got used to the snaps on my old boat to the point that I never noticed them...but perhaps I was just ignoring them.

 

[OCMD]

How cold is that Maine water in the summer?

 

[Kane]

I have a bow & cockpit cover and wish I would of got a full cover. I hate all the snaps in the gel coat (really takes away from the clean look).

I thought the snaps would bother me but I don't even know they are there......and I'm very particular!

 

[Kane]

How cold is that Maine water in the summer?

Low 80's right now.

 

[TheGilster22]

Great review

We also just hit 50+ hours our our 242x and have very close to the same comments. Here are a few additional

The large bimini is a must in Southern Cal. with 100+ degree days of boating the Colorado and lakes part of it, you must have the shade or even the carpet is too hot. We keep the cover on for short tows from storage to the river/lake. It comes off for the longer trips. Downside to the large bimini is that it is like a parachute on those windy days and control of the boat when docking can be an issue. We are now pretty good at removing it and I don't think it takes any longer than a regular bimini. One of our buckles had to have the strap sewn back onto it. Any easy fix.

The sound system is great but if you do not turn around the sound bar it is almost impossible to hear when cruising unless it is at or near full volume. Only down side to turning it around is that bugs get in it when towing.

I agree on the fuel guzzling of this boat. It is a gas hog. 5 days on Lake Powell were very expensive.... We had to refuel daily. Top speed for me is an issue. Either I have too much weight on the boat or something is wrong because I don't see speeds over 42 MPH.

The sound insulation for the motors has been a problem for us. It is constantly falling off. We have tried several different things and nothing works. After the summer I will file a warranty claim with Yamaha and we can see what they come up with. I have looked at pins used for HVAC insulation and that may be the solution.

Water sports are great, the boat has tons of room, and the ride is as comfortable as you could ask.

Overall we are very happy.

 

[MrMoose]

@TheGilster22, check postings from 2015 24 foot owners regarding how to fix the falling foam in the engine hatch. Some use glue, some mount washers on the seat bolts, and I used strapping mounted to the seat bolts. My dealer could not fix it.

 

[Rod5]

Awesome write ups everyone. We just hit 60 hours on our this past weekend and agree with all positives and the few cons.
Question for those of you very familiar with using the rider profiles.
I set one of the small digital screens on the Tach to show digital RPMs at all times. WOT is normally around 7400. Most of us see 7200 to 7400 pretty regularly.
However many times at takeoff when pulling up adult skiers, I've noticed the sound of the engines much louder with a much more aggressive and throatier sound. This past weekend I looked down and saw the RPMs at 7900+ But only briefly. So there appears to be a temporary bonus or override of the normal rpm limiter when extra demand is necessary.

Has anyone else noticed this when using the rider profile launch controls?

SO now I'm wondering thinking what if by setting a rider profile to a target speed of 60 with max acceleration if that could be a possible hidden loophole or bypass of the normal rev limiter and uncorking it some... No way could it be that easy could it...

Or can a more perminant hack be done to the ecu's or the connext system itself?

 

[captras]

Awesome write ups everyone. We just hit 60 hours on our this past weekend and agree with all positives and the few cons.
Question for those of you very familiar with using the rider profiles.
I set one of the small digital screens on the Tach to show digital RPMs at all times. WOT is normally around 7400. Most of us see 7200 to 7400 pretty regularly.
However many times at takeoff when pulling up adult skiers, I've noticed the sound of the engines much louder with a much more aggressive and throatier sound. This past weekend I looked down and saw the RPMs at 7900+ But only briefly. So there appears to be a temporary bonus or override of the normal rpm limiter when extra demand is necessary.

Has anyone else noticed this when using the rider profile launch controls?

SO now I'm wondering thinking what if by setting a rider profile to a target speed of 60 with max acceleration if that could be a possible hidden loophole or bypass of the normal rev limiter and uncorking it some... No way could it be that easy could it...

Or can a more perminant hack be done to the ecu's or the connext system itself?

Great question...hope somebody has tried it....I may give it a shot this weekend. However, seems to me I read that there is only a certain speed range that you can set for the profiles, and I dont believe it was that high.....might be wrong!

 

[Kane]

Awesome write ups everyone. We just hit 60 hours on our this past weekend and agree with all positives and the few cons.
Question for those of you very familiar with using the rider profiles.
I set one of the small digital screens on the Tach to show digital RPMs at all times. WOT is normally around 7400. Most of us see 7200 to 7400 pretty regularly.
However many times at takeoff when pulling up adult skiers, I've noticed the sound of the engines much louder with a much more aggressive and throatier sound. This past weekend I looked down and saw the RPMs at 7900+ But only briefly. So there appears to be a temporary bonus or override of the normal rpm limiter when extra demand is necessary.

Has anyone else noticed this when using the rider profile launch controls?

SO now I'm wondering thinking what if by setting a rider profile to a target speed of 60 with max acceleration if that could be a possible hidden loophole or bypass of the normal rev limiter and uncorking it some... No way could it be that easy could it...

Or can a more perminant hack be done to the ecu's or the connext system itself?

I like the way you think!!
I'll try that this weekend. I guess i'm spending more time looking behind but I'll pay more attention as I use the profiles alot!

 

[seadude]

More likely you're getting some cavitation and hitting the rev limiter!

 

[Rod5]

No it was definitely not cavitation.