New AR195 Owner - Any upgrades recommended?

[Cwnelson84]

Hey Guys!

First I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for a great forum with awesome information. Based on all the helpful advice here, I just pulled the trigger on a new 2018 AR195. We live on a 140 acre pond up in Massachusetts, so it will be a few months before she gets on the water, but I'm already counting the days! It's our first boat ever so I'm pretty excited. I did have a quick question for the group: are there any recommended upgrades or modifications that I should have the marina make to the boat while I'm waiting for a few months? I was considering having them install Sea Dek throughout instead of the woven floor mats. Any thoughts on this? Or anything else I should consider having done before she arrives?

Thanks in advance for the insight!

 

[haknslash]

Congrats on the new boat and welcome to the forum!

First mods I would do:

• replace bow roller with Stoltz Ultimate or RP-355 and bells
• install SeaDek by yourself and save yourself $$$. It's not hard to install.
• get a battery tender. I use an onboard ProSport 6 for my single battery. If you plan on dual batteries you'll want the ProSport 12
• make sure you have fire extinguisher and all required safety equipment and life jackets.
• enjoy the boat!

 

[Betik]

I would start with steering for you sure @Cobra Jet Steering LLC

Are you planing for Bimini 2019 ?

 

[swatski]

Cobra fins. First mod for 190s.
Do you do a lot of water sports? RideSteady would be a must have if ski/wake sports are priority.

--

 

[njmr2fan]

Congratulations and welcome! Asking this crew to help you spend money in mods can bankrupt the average guy. Cobra jet steering fins with fangs are a must have. They make everything easier. Do the Seadek yourself and use your savings on gas and beer, what ever is left over you can always spend on raammat and ensolite acoustic soundproofing to quiet the boat down...

 

[FLBulldogger]

Welcome aboard! I concur with @haknslash and @njmr2fan on the upgrades one neat thing that is cheap and easy is to add a garbage pail to the port side passengers storage hatch. Here's a couple pics and a link https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-1...1518964331&sr=8-1&keywords=rubbermaid+1799571
May not seem like a big deal but it helps with keeping things tidy and makes cleanup at the end of the day easier.

 

[haknslash]

Personally I wouldn't rush out and buy fins until you actually drive the boat a few times. You may find you can control the boat just fine without fins. If you feel you need more control then by all means buy some fins. The rudder does a decent job of tracking at speed over waves but if you boat in stiff current or larger waters you'll likely want the extra stability of fins.

The trash can mods are nice and that reminds me I need to do one before the season starts!

Another mod suggestion, I have no idea if the new 195 radios remote is still IR like the Clarion M505 came with in the later year 192's but if it is you may want to see if they make a compatible RF remote. I have the Clarion M505 and hated the stock remote because it was IR and required line of sight to work (leaving the glove box open) so I went with a wireless remote that uses RF and doesn't require line of sight.

 

[Cwnelson84]

Thanks for all the replies! I appreciate the Sea Dek recommendation, I'll wait until we do a group buy later in the year and then install myself. If anything, it will help these damn snowy winters to go by faster... I'll check out the Cobra fins after I get a feel for the steering. Love the trash idea. With a 2 year old that will come in handy . I'll find out more about the remote and will report back. Definitely would be nice not to need a line of sight. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Betik]

@haknslash is right. I forgot your boat has a rudder.

 

[DBamaC]

Congrats on the new boat and welcome to the forum!

First mods I would do:

• replace bow roller with Stoltz Ultimate or RP-355 and bells
• install SeaDek by yourself and save yourself $$$. It's not hard to install.
• get a battery tender. I use an onboard ProSport 6 for my single battery. If you plan on dual batteries you'll want the ProSport 12
• make sure you have fire extinguisher and all required safety equipment and life jackets.
• enjoy the boat!

Remind me...the width on the Shorlander' galvanized trailer bow rollers are 3.5", right?

 

[FLBulldogger]

Here is the one I found specifically for the Yamaha Shorelandr' http://www.sturdybuiltonline.com/35...maha-Jet-Boat-Shorelandr-Trailers_p_1493.html easy install and fit perfect.

 

[DBamaC]

I think this is the same...cheaper for me after shipping cost by a few bucks. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-STOLTZ...ash=item51e963a3e0:g:NVUAAOSwSlBY1SGg&vxp=mtr

 

[FLBulldogger]

Yep same exact one from the SAME company....I had them price match one I found online somewhere else and I picked it up locally.

 

[haknslash]

Remind me...the width on the Shorlander' galvanized trailer bow rollers are 3.5", right?

Stock plastic roller was a little wider than the new Stoltz, about 3.6" approx IIRC. If you use an RP-355 roller it will have a small gap. That's why I went with the Ultimate 4" and trimmed it down to an exact width as the stock one and fits nicely with no gaps. Well that and the fact the RP-355 wasn't out back then but even if it were I would still go with the Ultimate 4" today. The profile of the Ultimate more closely resembles that of the stock roller profile which mates nicely to the shape of the V in hull. The RP-355 has a different profile and doesn't sit quite the same on the hull. Either will work fine, I just wanted a better fit so went with the Ultimate.

 

[DBamaC]

I went ahead and ordered the eBay one. I'm sure it will do the job. Now I need to decide if I'm going to work on gel coat scratches this year or just hit it with a coat of wax.

 

[haknslash]

I hear ya, either roller is much better than stock. I need to fix a few scratches as well before the season starts......... or just put it off at the end of the year

 

[FLBulldogger]

We are aquiring some scratches also nothing serious pretty much straight lines from light contact what's the best approach for scratches that are on the colored part of the hull?

 

[haknslash]

If they aren't deep and you can't feel a groove if you run your fingernail across it then you can usually polish/buff them out. Sometimes by hand if they are very faint and other times will require a high speed buffer/polisher. Anything deeper than that may require some gelcoat paste, wet sand and buff/polish to fix it. I have one I picked up on my final day of last season from an exposed nail head in the dock.

 

[Mike sanders]

I'm really happy with my thrust vectors. Makes trailering much easier boat handles better at low speeds.

 

[AboveTheBest]

*NOTE: Shameless Classified plug follows

If you're looking for Thrust Vectors I'm selling my old set on the Classified forum.

Will you be primarily boating on a 140 acre pond or will you be trailering it elsewhere?
I feel like you'll need quite a bit more than that to let your 195 stretch it's legs.