Britboater
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 1,121
- Reaction score
- 1,021
- Points
- 272
- Location
- Punta Gorda FL, Abersoch UK
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2016
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 24
After logging 25 hours now on my new AR240 I feel its time to post my review, my opinions are just that, and all my comments are from first hand experience.
Delivery, very excited now
My initial order was for an SX model, but with dealer mix up's etc I ended up with a 2016 AR, no biggie as I paid SX price, but this also went my way as the 2016 SX models had very bland graphics IMO and the AR suited my personality more. The tower, which is basically the only difference, adds a nice visual effect to the overall appearance of the boat, even though I'll probably not use it. A massive disappointment with the AR over the SX is the Bimini, its so small. When installed, which is a slight PITA, it is very taut and does not flex and move at any speed, which is nice, but I'm sure it could be made a little larger.
Overall the build quality is good, I've not come across any real issues as yet, only engineering issues, come on Yamaha, please take note, how hard can it be to rectify, not very I guess.
Please move the flushing ports a little higher, there's room, I've checked
.
If your going to make a slot to store the table, make sure it fits!
How hard can it be to invest in some decent spray glue
?
By moving the gas strut bracket an inch, you can actually open the locker fully, unlike this.
Not sure with other models or years, but my engine hatch didn't come with a seal.
When I first jumped into the boat, I was stoked, like a dog with two dicks. I'd up-graded from a 190 and the novelty of having two engines still hasn't wavered. My boat was a loverly, crisp white with beautiful graphics, "new boat" somebody hollered, "sure is" I replied, "what a beauty!" My head was swelling.
The first difference I noticed was the instant acceleration over a 190, and the smoothness, then the bigger boat feel, it was nice, I was concerned I'd lose the sport boat feel, so far all good.
A lot of 2015-6 MY owners have raved how the new sound deadening is a massive leap, I'm on the fence with this one, yes it is quieter, but not by much IMO, may be its the lack of engine hatch seal on my boat or I forget how loud my 190 was, either way, at cruising its perfectly acceptable to me, but not, OMG its so quiet!
As I entered my canal and no-wake zone I was all ready for this new keel gizmo, to my surprise it does help with slow speed manoeuvring, and bear in mind I've up-graded from a 19' single pump with fins. It helped so much that I'd be happy to carry on without fitting any fins, but even so, I have because I just love the AK Magnum series tie rod look, and for the price it just adds to the very stable feel I have now. In fact when I'm in no-wake mode and in TDE mode the boat steers like it's on rails, but if you push the throttles forward to open the buckets fully, thus disengaging TDE, you can really notice the difference, for the worse.
Fuel consumption is noticeably higher, but I was aware of this, two engines, more weight etc.
Now this Connext system, I do not like it, to me its just too much, touch screen, joy stick or buttons, do we really need three ways to access it? I know I'm an analogue guy, but I've an iPad, I get on with my wife's Audi multi media, but the Connext just seems cheap and nasty. The screen reminds of an old ATM machine, and with rear sun glare very hard to see while under way.
With our first cruise we had six people onboard, we went to Cayo Costa, about an hour away, down Peace river and out into the gulf. I noticed at a comfortable engine speed of about 6000rpm I was travelling around 36mph, a lot quicker than my 190 at the same revs. It also dawned on me that I needed to purchase Jet boat pilots -Throttle Sync- as I was finding myself constantly checking the engine revs of the two engines and getting obsessed with matching them, even more so with the numerical reading from the Connext screen
. We had some hard chop on the way, me not reading the wind direction correctly, but the boat handled it without an issue, the higher free board certainly gives you more confidence and the hull surprisingly didn't slam that much.
At the beach I always rear park, but with the new articulating keel you do have to watch your depth, it does protrude further than the pumps, my nice shiny black hull got scratched, not ideal and something I'd imagine makes the running depth needed to be deeper.
The extra turns needed from lock to lock due to the rack and pinion steering doesn't really make a difference, hardly noticeable. While I was running back home I opened her up and instantly felt a complete difference, the boat actually came alive more, it felt more sporty, more enjoyable, but I also watched the fuel going down a lot quicker. I know fuel is cheap now, so I might just take advantage of that.
All in all, I'm really pleased with my boat, I love the look, style and it handles excellent, I self serviced my engines with no issues and since fitting SeaDek, I have a very smart looking rig.
Delivery, very excited now
My initial order was for an SX model, but with dealer mix up's etc I ended up with a 2016 AR, no biggie as I paid SX price, but this also went my way as the 2016 SX models had very bland graphics IMO and the AR suited my personality more. The tower, which is basically the only difference, adds a nice visual effect to the overall appearance of the boat, even though I'll probably not use it. A massive disappointment with the AR over the SX is the Bimini, its so small. When installed, which is a slight PITA, it is very taut and does not flex and move at any speed, which is nice, but I'm sure it could be made a little larger.
Overall the build quality is good, I've not come across any real issues as yet, only engineering issues, come on Yamaha, please take note, how hard can it be to rectify, not very I guess.
Please move the flushing ports a little higher, there's room, I've checked
. If your going to make a slot to store the table, make sure it fits!
How hard can it be to invest in some decent spray glue
? By moving the gas strut bracket an inch, you can actually open the locker fully, unlike this.
Not sure with other models or years, but my engine hatch didn't come with a seal.
When I first jumped into the boat, I was stoked, like a dog with two dicks. I'd up-graded from a 190 and the novelty of having two engines still hasn't wavered. My boat was a loverly, crisp white with beautiful graphics, "new boat" somebody hollered, "sure is" I replied, "what a beauty!" My head was swelling
.The first difference I noticed was the instant acceleration over a 190, and the smoothness, then the bigger boat feel, it was nice, I was concerned I'd lose the sport boat feel, so far all good.
A lot of 2015-6 MY owners have raved how the new sound deadening is a massive leap, I'm on the fence with this one, yes it is quieter, but not by much IMO, may be its the lack of engine hatch seal on my boat or I forget how loud my 190 was, either way, at cruising its perfectly acceptable to me, but not, OMG its so quiet!
As I entered my canal and no-wake zone I was all ready for this new keel gizmo, to my surprise it does help with slow speed manoeuvring, and bear in mind I've up-graded from a 19' single pump with fins. It helped so much that I'd be happy to carry on without fitting any fins, but even so, I have because I just love the AK Magnum series tie rod look, and for the price it just adds to the very stable feel I have now. In fact when I'm in no-wake mode and in TDE mode the boat steers like it's on rails, but if you push the throttles forward to open the buckets fully, thus disengaging TDE, you can really notice the difference, for the worse.
Fuel consumption is noticeably higher, but I was aware of this, two engines, more weight etc.
Now this Connext system, I do not like it, to me its just too much, touch screen, joy stick or buttons, do we really need three ways to access it? I know I'm an analogue guy, but I've an iPad, I get on with my wife's Audi multi media, but the Connext just seems cheap and nasty. The screen reminds of an old ATM machine, and with rear sun glare very hard to see while under way.
With our first cruise we had six people onboard, we went to Cayo Costa, about an hour away, down Peace river and out into the gulf. I noticed at a comfortable engine speed of about 6000rpm I was travelling around 36mph, a lot quicker than my 190 at the same revs. It also dawned on me that I needed to purchase Jet boat pilots -Throttle Sync- as I was finding myself constantly checking the engine revs of the two engines and getting obsessed with matching them, even more so with the numerical reading from the Connext screen
. We had some hard chop on the way, me not reading the wind direction correctly, but the boat handled it without an issue, the higher free board certainly gives you more confidence and the hull surprisingly didn't slam that much.At the beach I always rear park, but with the new articulating keel you do have to watch your depth, it does protrude further than the pumps, my nice shiny black hull got scratched
, not ideal and something I'd imagine makes the running depth needed to be deeper.The extra turns needed from lock to lock due to the rack and pinion steering doesn't really make a difference, hardly noticeable. While I was running back home I opened her up and instantly felt a complete difference, the boat actually came alive more, it felt more sporty, more enjoyable, but I also watched the fuel going down a lot quicker. I know fuel is cheap now, so I might just take advantage of that
.All in all, I'm really pleased with my boat, I love the look, style and it handles excellent, I self serviced my engines with no issues and since fitting SeaDek, I have a very smart looking rig.
