As my friend Jim put it so well..the FSH can do everything the bow rider can do, but the bow rider can’t do everything the FSH does.
I get it though, looking at the 222 bow rider, the seating looks opulent, it looks very comfy. But as
@2kwik4u says in his post, there are a lot of positives that most would, imho, never recognize. Being able to move back and forth on the boat from bow to stern on each side of the helm while always having a handhold present allows folks to move around with ease. If you think thats great as a non fisherman, I can tell as someone who primarily fishes, it’s even greater. Every person that I’ve taken out save one had never been on a CC before, and they’ve all loved it compared to a more conventional set up. The only complaint if you could call it that is from my friends wife who likes to lay out, she loves the JBP casting deck with the filler cushions, but she said there’s no place to lay on your stomach…I have the swim step cushions from JBP to install for her, it will be a bit narrow but it will work. Solved.
I am a bit surprised that Yamaha didn’t put a high tow point on the boat…. There are several outboard powered CC boats with a high tow point, but the T top structure looks beefy, it would definitely be interesting to hear Yamahas point of view on the subject.
From a fishing stand point, and I don’t really know how hard this would be to do, is being able to add outriggers to the T top. True that outriggers are primarily for fishing, but companies like GemLux make bow / stern shades that slip over the outrigger rods that provide a ton of protection from the elements without the vertical poles that would keep the ability to work a fish around the boat without having to hand your rod around vertical shade poles.
I‘d say the biggest reason for me not upgrading to this sexy beast is that I don’t have a solid reason. If I had more people that wanted to go on a regular basis and we needed the room / seating then I would upgrade, or if I was going out into bigger water on a regular basis then I would upgrade- the greater free board / talker gunnels is confidence inspiring. There is of course the $$$, the cost of the boat and the higher amount of fuel usage, both of which I could afford but that would put a bigger dent in my disposable income and my 210 FSH is easier on both. Lastly, and this is probably subjective, is the ease of handling, launching / retrieving / weight. Still, there is that “want” thing dammit! I am concerned with the coming down turn in prices as there might be one of these boats that comes along with very few hours and the siren song of too good of a deal to pass up may come my way. There is so much to like about the 25’ FSH.