Scarab 255 Open ID in River Water

[Boduke]

So.....I am new here. I was at the Rochester NY boat show last week and accidentally stumbled upon the Scarab 195 Open ID. I thought it was a clever design but too small for what I want. I went home and looked it up to find out they offer the 255. The more I looked into this boat the more I I loved the concept. I have had bow riders, cruisers, inboards, jet skis, ect. but never a jet powered boat. So here is the problem. I live on the Seneca River/Erie Canal. We have our share of weeds on the shore line. The water level goes up and down based on storms several times a year. When it does it washes plenty of debris into the river. I also frequently have to go through locks depending on what direction I go. The locks often trap weeds and other debris in them. The speed limit in our area is 5MPH so much of our time is spent going slow. I like the idea of this boat because I can trailer it onto some bigger waterways when I want. But...70% of the time our boating is done in the river. I am guessing I know the answer to this but is a jet powered boat a dumb idea for me? Will I suck up a bunch of debris and have to pull it out of the water to clear it? We have a pair of SeaDoos and usually dont have issues but we are typically riding on plane. I am worried that traveling at slower speeds I will suck up debris. I really want this boat but I don't want to spend $85k and have to get in the water to clear an intake grate on the way to dinner. Your advice is appreciated....

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Well, I can't speak to your river. I've owned my little 165 for 3 full seasons now, 140h+. Now I don't go out of my way to go over clumps of weeds, but go through plenty of scattered weeds. Not once have I gotten enough weeds stuck to prevent me from keeping on boating. With that being said, I did find a clump of weeds stuck to the grate once and did eventually swim under to remove it, but I waited until the next day to remove it. The only symptom I had that time was a loss of top speed. Otherwise, I think the vast majority of weeds are chewed up.... but not all, that's for sure.

Debris is a different thing. Again, in three seasons, I've only sucked up one thing, once. A twig. It definitely got stuck in there and I had to pry it out with pliers. Not easy to do with a Scarab. Keeping in mind the REASON I got a twig was because I knowingly moved over an area of literally 1ft of water at extremely slow speeds (almost idle). I should have just turned off the engine and pushed myself across that area, which I'll do in the future.

I'd suggest that whatever sea-doos experience will be pretty much what you experience in the boat.

Alternatively, and I'm NOT a Scarab fanatic, consider a Yamaha! Yamaha does have the benefit of the clean out port. So if that's your big worry, then I'd have a more serious look at them. But based on my experience, I don't think that should be your main decision maker.

I boated with a stern drive most of my life until this 165. I found the benefits of a jet drive for myself and my waterways to far outweigh the downsides of this boat. The worry free experience of not having to panic about rocks (mostly), being able to coast across shallow water, pivot around the docks incredibly easily (btw, that's s a really nice feature of Scarab's, you can steer them extremely well at idle with a bit of experience, I turn heads all the time when I dock), etc.

Hope this helps. I'm sure others will chime in.

 

[Dean P]

I love jetboats but if I was in a heavy populated area filled with weeds, IMO your asking for grief. The thrill of the NEW boat will quickly diminish. With that said and you stated you owned Seadoos which are jet skies and you didn't have a problem, maybe you'd be ok. But that's a big price to pay to find out.
Where I live and where we boat, docking at public docks to eat can get filled with weeds. With the Yami I was always pulling the plug to clear weeds (whenever the backing up trick did not work). With this Chaparral with twins, it seems like BRP's design works very well. In the same area I have not gotten stuck. Anything that has been in there appears to be chopped up and spit out. I have learned to stay clear of weeds and also play with my speeds to help "push" the weeds away (fast and slow and fast and slow). This creates a "rocking" motion on top of the water (seems to help).
It's a tough call. Does anyone near you own a jetboat? Are there any dealers nearby?

 

[Boduke]

I love jetboats but if I was in a heavy populated area filled with weeds, IMO your asking for grief. The thrill of the NEW boat will quickly diminish. With that said and you stated you owned Seadoos which are jet skies and you didn't have a problem, maybe you'd be ok. But that's a big price to pay to find out.
Where I live and where we boat, docking at public docks to eat can get filled with weeds. With the Yami I was always pulling the plug to clear weeds (whenever the backing up trick did not work). With this Chaparral with twins, it seems like BRP's design works very well. In the same area I have not gotten stuck. Anything that has been in there appears to be chopped up and spit out. I have learned to stay clear of weeds and also play with my speeds to help "push" the weeds away (fast and slow and fast and slow). This creates a "rocking" motion on top of the water (seems to help).
It's a tough call. Does anyone near you own a jetboat? Are there any dealers nearby?

Yes we have dealers in the area but you know how that goes.... They will tell you they don't have many issues. I do end up sucking up some weeds sometimes on the jet skis but that is not such a big deal because I am already getting wet riding them so I don't mind hopping in the water to pull the weeds out. Having to deal with that sort of thing when going out to dinner does not sound like fun to me. We do have a few jet boats in the river but most boats are pontoons or big cruisers passing through. I appreciate your help.

 

[Boduke]

Well, I can't speak to your river. I've owned my little 165 for 3 full seasons now, 140h+. Now I don't go out of my way to go over clumps of weeds, but go through plenty of scattered weeds. Not once have I gotten enough weeds stuck to prevent me from keeping on boating. With that being said, I did find a clump of weeds stuck to the grate once and did eventually swim under to remove it, but I waited until the next day to remove it. The only symptom I had that time was a loss of top speed. Otherwise, I think the vast majority of weeds are chewed up.... but not all, that's for sure.

Debris is a different thing. Again, in three seasons, I've only sucked up one thing, once. A twig. It definitely got stuck in there and I had to pry it out with pliers. Not easy to do with a Scarab. Keeping in mind the REASON I got a twig was because I knowingly moved over an area of literally 1ft of water at extremely slow speeds (almost idle). I should have just turned off the engine and pushed myself across that area, which I'll do in the future.

I'd suggest that whatever sea-doos experience will be pretty much what you experience in the boat.

Alternatively, and I'm NOT a Scarab fanatic, consider a Yamaha! Yamaha does have the benefit of the clean out port. So if that's your big worry, then I'd have a more serious look at them. But based on my experience, I don't think that should be your main decision maker.

I boated with a stern drive most of my life until this 165. I found the benefits of a jet drive for myself and my waterways to far outweigh the downsides of this boat. The worry free experience of not having to panic about rocks (mostly), being able to coast across shallow water, pivot around the docks incredibly easily (btw, that's s a really nice feature of Scarab's, you can steer them extremely well at idle with a bit of experience, I turn heads all the time when I dock), etc.

Hope this helps. I'm sure others will chime in.

Thanks! I would definitely consider Yamaha if they made a 240 FSH. The 210 is just not big enough for us.

 

[Rick215HO]

So.....I am new here. I was at the Rochester NY boat show last week and accidentally stumbled upon the Scarab 195 Open ID. I thought it was a clever design but too small for what I want. I went home and looked it up to find out they offer the 255. The more I looked into this boat the more I I loved the concept. I have had bow riders, cruisers, inboards, jet skis, ect. but never a jet powered boat. So here is the problem. I live on the Seneca River/Erie Canal. We have our share of weeds on the shore line. The water level goes up and down based on storms several times a year. When it does it washes plenty of debris into the river. I also frequently have to go through locks depending on what direction I go. The locks often trap weeds and other debris in them. The speed limit in our area is 5MPH so much of our time is spent going slow. I like the idea of this boat because I can trailer it onto some bigger waterways when I want. But...70% of the time our boating is done in the river. I am guessing I know the answer to this but is a jet powered boat a dumb idea for me? Will I suck up a bunch of debris and have to pull it out of the water to clear it? We have a pair of SeaDoos and usually dont have issues but we are typically riding on plane. I am worried that traveling at slower speeds I will suck up debris. I really want this boat but I don't want to spend $85k and have to get in the water to clear an intake grate on the way to dinner. Your advice is appreciated....

While debris and weeds are all relative assessments (and I don't have any complaints in that area with Scarab), I think the 5 MPH speed limit would be a deterrent for me to own any jet boat in that area. Jet boats track poorly at low speeds and need lots of steering input constantly correcting. There are some devices (like fins for the jet nozzles) you can try (Cobra and others) and I understand Yamaha has an articulated keel (never tried it myself) but you should spend some time driving different jet boats at that slow speed before making a purchase, just my opinion, the slow speeds will get old and tiring very quick.

 

[Dean P]

While debris and weeds are all relative assessments (and I don't have any complaints in that area with Scarab), I think the 5 MPH speed limit would be a deterrent for me to own any jet boat in that area. Jet boats track poorly at low speeds and need lots of steering input constantly correcting. There are some devices (like fins for the jet nozzles) you can try (Cobra and others) and I understand Yamaha has an articulated keel (never tried it myself) but you should spend some time driving different jet boats at that slow speed before making a purchase, just my opinion, the slow speeds will get old and tiring very quick.

Although I agree with your assessment, I travel in a no wake area a lot. Just to get out to the bay is a good 20 minutes of 5 mph. Steering our BRP power-train is not that bad. I don't find it too tiring. When I had my Yami, prior to putting Cobra steering on, was tiring and exhausting. BRPs system takes a lot of the burden away; not all of it but a lot. Just my $.02

 

[Robo]

I do locks on our river with a ar 230 every time I enter one I get a stick in the impellar .Another thing to consider is fuel economy all my friends get twice the mpg.

 

[Compatico]

I really want this boat but I don't want to spend $85k and have to get in the water to clear an intake grate on the way to dinner. Your advice is appreciated....

Can't give any experienced advice about jetboating, except that you need to remember a jetboat is like a jetski and the intake is like a vacuum cleaner sucking up water. You have experience on jetskis so that can help guide you.

We just bought a 2020 195s and it'll be our first jetboat (hopefully our last boat period). We've been on jetskis before without issue and for our boating area I think we'll be fine. There's lots of weeds which the impeller should chew up, and the rivers feed some floating debris into the area especially during early spring, but I expect we'll have few if any issues overall. However there are some areas where I don't think I'd take a jetboat - like a river that's only 3-4 feet deep. Shallow rivers will definitely have lots of debris that could be sucked up.

All of the jetboat manufacturers brag about the shallow draft, and while technically true, you have to remember the vacuum effect. As far as I'm concerned, my draft will still be 3 feet!

 

[Compatico]

I do locks on our river with a ar 230 every time I enter one I get a stick in the impellar .Another thing to consider is fuel economy all my friends get twice the mpg.

Locks can be a hassle for debris, that's unfortunate but somewhat expected - locks are filthy.
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Twice the MPG though? Unless you go WOT all the time, and they all cruise around, I don't buy that. In fact, Boattest.com has lots of reviews that indicate WOT fuel consumption are actually quite similar between jets and props of similar size and power rating. It's cruising speed where jets are less efficient (and WOT in high performance machines like offshore racers), but certainly not 50% less. If they were that bad, I wouldn't buy one and neither would anyone else. However I've done the math on our old boat, and our new 195s from data specs. I fully expect we'll lose 4-5% while cruising (I can live with that), gain on trolling speeds (yay), and equal on WOT (yay again cuz WOT is awesome!). So are they just as efficient? Nope. But are they more fun? I hope so!
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[Luc Lafreniere]

I'll add. I boat in shallow waters all the time (2-3ft), the shallow water IS a problem if you have lots of debris you can suck up. Those shallow spots for me are mostly mud, never been a problem and I do quite a bit of it at the very slowest speed the boat can do. So I'd say that depends mostly on what the bottom is made of.

As for gas mileage, I agree with @Compatico it is definitely NOT double. In fact, I did some stats on a "big" ride I did a while back on my little 165 with real numbers and compared it to the claims the manufacturer made. It wasn't far off. But yes, depends highly on how you drive it! If 100% power all the time, it will burn lots of gas... lol https://jetboaters.net/threads/2015-165-150hp-gas-consumption-stats.19333/