Possible Owner- AR210 but ????'s

[Skierdad]

Hello Everyone. I am looking at purchasing a new AR210 for the family. I have been raised on inboards my whole life but it is time to hang up the ski and let the kids wakeboard and surf. Was going to add the yamaha surf system and ballast to the boat, but my concern is the hp. Twin 130 hp motors on a very large boat seems really underpowered. Been watching all the videos from boattest and anywhere else I can find them but if you look at an i/o most of those boats are running 300hp. Are jet boats that much different in that I can go with a lower hp and not feel like the boat is under powered?

Second part...is there a way to gain more power without spending a ton of money or lose warranty? Maybe different propellers or high end propellers?

Primary use will be cruising, wakeboard, kneeboard, surf, hosting other families on the boat.

Thank you in advanced.

 

[ZippyBoater]

Never had an issue with enough power with my twin 110s on my boat. If you really want to surf, might I suggest a V-Drive boat. Jet boats are great, but they take a lot of modifications to get a surf wave. Just my two cents...

 

[Skierdad]

Thanks Zip but I cannot afford a V-drive boat and we are on a flooded lake with plenty of underwater obstacles and the inability to raise or lower the prop is an issue. It is my understanding that the new Yamaha surf system has made an incredible amount of difference when it comes to surfing behind the 21 foot or larger Yamaha boats. The other downfall to the inboard (which I currently own) is the casual driving. They are aweful and on busy weekend days, we get beat up pretty bad. My buddy has a Yamaha 192 and it is amazing how much different the ride is on a busy day. Big lakes and inboards just don't work all that well.

 

[captras]

Before I bought my Yamaha I did some research and there are some things to consider over and above the HP rating of the engine.
1. The outdrive itself add as much as 85 lbs or more as opposed to a much lighter 35lb (X2) impeller weight.
2. A 5.7L Mercruiser weighs in at 888 Lbs. Two 1.8L Yamaha marine engines weigh in at 248 lbs each (496 Lbs total).
3. There is considerably more drag produced by the lower unit in the water.
4. Because a sterndrive direction changes 90 degrees twice before it gets to the prop, it is estimated you lose 10-15% HP.
5. Fuel economy is going to be better with a stern drive, but in my experience, not as great as some would say. My old boat 21' I/O with a 5.7L, 260 HP engine burned about 8-9 gallons per hour at a 25MPH cruise. My Yamaha 24' with twin 180HP burns about 11 GPH at that cruise speed. You have to factor a larger boat with more weight and 100 more HP for it to be a fair comparison.
6. Out of the hole, pulling skiers/wakeboarders, the old Four Winns paled in comparison. I used to have to go full throttle to pull a slalom skier/wakeboarder. I rarely have to go more than 3/4 with the Yamaha and there is NO hesitation or drag time.
7. 16" draft vs 33" draft and nothing hanging below the hull.

I have owned both....had my I/O for 18 years.....great boat....wont go back!

 

[ZippyBoater]

@Skierdad I completely agree with you on the quality of the ride and the underwater obstacles. That is why I shopped for the Yamaha. Dig around on this forum. There is a lot of discussion on the surfing and wave quality. You are going to spend a lot to get the wave on a Yamaha. We don't ski behind my boat, so we don't worry about it. Good luck and use this forum to get some good info.

 

[Skierdad]

Captras- OK, those are things I never thought of. Thank you so much for the information. Feel your pain on the i/o...was a searay owner once and a great boat but limitations. My current Centurion is beating the crap out of us. I coudln't believe how nice the ride was on that AR192. I was amazed how dry it was on not only a windy day but busy day. Hence my decision on the AR210.

Zippy- Thanks for the input on the surfing. Looks like need to do some digging/research.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Primary use will be cruising, wakeboard, kneeboard, surf, hosting other families on the boat.

If you take out the desire to surf then the AR210 is a great boat and will do everything you want. I often feel it is the red-headed stepchild and gets no respect on this forum and I have never understood why. I have a 2014 and I am very happy with, have had no problems with it and most people think it is a $100K+ boat. We wakeboard, kneeboard, ski, tube, find deserted places to hang out, often with 2 families on board. It does all these things very well if you are simply trying to entertain kids at a very reasonable cost. If you feel you absolutely must surf in order to be happy then prepare yourself for lots of stress in the form of "strap-ons", ballast bags laying everywhere, & lessons in hydrodynamics and physics. I personally try to keep my boating as stress free as possible. If you feel you must surf in order to have a good time I would make another choice, otherwise you will end up throwing thousands of dollars at a problem that can't be fixed and you will never be happy with it.

 

[captras]

Captras- OK, those are things I never thought of. Thank you so much for the information. Feel your pain on the i/o...was a searay owner once and a great boat but limitations. My current Centurion is beating the crap out of us. I coudln't believe how nice the ride was on that AR192. I was amazed how dry it was on not only a windy day but busy day. Hence my decision on the AR210.

Zippy- Thanks for the input on the surfing. Looks like need to do some digging/research.

AWESOME----you will not regret it one bit.....just dont get discouraged the first time you take it out. At slow speed it handles nothing like a sterndrive. Go slow, take your time, read this for tips and you will be able to maneuver better than you ever could with a stern drive!

 

[Skierdad]

mrmeaniemeateaterman- Thank you for your reply. You do have me scared now on this topic of "surfing". My understanding is the new Yamaha wake system is easy to put on and take off and curls the wake specifically for surfing. I figured I would have to throw a ballast bag on back but that this new system is the cat's meow. At $999, I figured it was the item that took all this surfing headache away for you guys.

 

[BigAbe75]

mrmeaniemeateaterman- Thank you for your reply. You do have me scared now on this topic of "surfing". My understanding is the new Yamaha wake system is easy to put on and take off and curls the wake specifically for surfing. I figured I would have to throw a ballast bag on back but that this new system is the cat's meow. At $999, I figured it was the item that took all this surfing headache away for you guys.

Problem is we just don’t know yet. In the last 2 weeks, folks have finally started receiving their kits. So, feedback aside from marketing material just hasn’t been available yet. Stay tuned... I’m sure there will be reports soon.

 

[swatski]

It is my understanding that the new Yamaha surf system has made an incredible amount of difference when it comes to surfing behind the 21 foot or larger Yamaha boats.

Okay, which system? Be aware with some of the new stuff there is fair amount of wishful thinking/blowing smoke going on, kind of like Yamaha SurfPoint of 2018, while there is little information and not much independent testing out yet.

--

 

[SCP1]

The 210’s have all he torque you need to surf, the 212 would be better (however there is a big difference in cost). Now that I have a bigger garage I’m having 21’ or 24’ issues, lol.

 

[AJACHIM]

Get a foil and you can surf from the smallest wake

 

[GeauxDeep]

I have a 2015 AR210 and we love it. Although I sure would like to surf but it would take a lot of ballast bags to make it work on this boat. If you really wanna surf and can swing the $60k price the 212x would probably be better. I’d love to upgrade to one. Comes with 1100 lbs stock ballast. Saw a video by JetboatPilot with their Thrust Vector Wake on a 212x and the surf wave was pretty surprising for a jet boat. They left the ballast tanks empty and added steel shot ballast on the swim deck. The other thing the 212x has going for it is SurfPoint. The jets are pointed differently than on the other non-wake series boats to help create a better pocket.

 

[Ratket]

^ if surfing is a factor, like everyone else I suggest going straight to a x Boat, or Or if you know a shop that could install ballast for you, then a Non x boat could work.

 

[afsigma21]

Keep in mind all the 212s (Ltd, Ltd S and X) all have the 1.8 motors (160hp each, or are they 180hp, now I am forgetting). I went with a Ltd S and got the tower. Honestly, you can add an external ballast bag on the deck with the Thrust Vector Wake and surf with any of the 21 footers.