Scarab 255 Wake Edition

[Julian]

Looks like they think Yamaha had a good idea with the 242X and have come out with their own Scarab 255 Wake edition.

Quite a few nice touches on this boat that I like:

1. Slide out cooler
2. Switches to turn off tower speakers
3. Spots for cell phones to sit
4. Navigation built in dash

Needs improvement....like the Yamaha needs more ballast (only 1100lbs), tower speakers, clean out ports to the intakes.....

The write up on boattest.com says stereo has 4 speakers...that is wrong, I counted at least 8!

 

[DieselCamel]

Great looking boat

 

[Speedling]

Did i see that right? top speed of 53 mph?
I bet it's a beast outta the hole though!

 

[Julian]

Did i see that right? top speed of 53 mph?
I bet it's a beast outta the hole though!

3.1 seconds to plane
4.5 seconds to 30mph

Yamaha 242X test results were 2.5 seconds to plane and 4.9 to 30.

 

[Speedling]

And the 212ss results were.... faster
2.2 and 4 seconds i believe for the 1.8 powered ones.

 

[DJMattyT]

This boat has been announced for a little while now. I actually saw the Yamaha after this one lol

 

[ScarabMike]

I love the Wake editions, but in my opinion, these boats are about $10K over what they should be priced at. And $3k for a screen?, cmon. Until they work on being more competitive with their cost, Yamaha's 24ft boats will continue to rule the class.

 

[luanders]

I agree @ScarabMike, the screen was a lot to swallow. But it does have some pretty cool features. It has 2 video inputs so you can connect a go pro or other video and have rear view display. It also can store your media on a built in SD card and it has the radio, Bluetooth, and all volume controls built right in. The scrolling depth chart is also pretty cool, which I have much less use for on my lake. Not to mention the maps. I again don't really use that feature but it would be nice for larger water navigation. Hope this helps as people decide what they want to do-- I really like it and I think it makes my boat stand out from the rest.

 

[luanders]

The enhancement I can't believe they didn't include in the screen setup is ballast bag filling, emptying, and preset favorites. Seems like a no brainier that everyone else is doing...

 

[DJMattyT]

I wouldn't buy that boat and not get that screen! But yeah if it doesn't control the ballast than that's just a cheap move on their part

 

[luanders]

I agree @DJMattyT The ballast controls are really not difficult to use and are conveniently located, see picture, but I would have liked that to be part of the screen. Probably Gen2. I am going to miss having my cell phone holder though.

 

[smashedheadcat]

The Scarab 255 wake edition is an awesome looking boat for sure. Let's not pretend that Yamaha was first to market with a ballasted big-jetboat though. I do believe they were the last ones to do it.

 

[Julian]

The Scarab 255 wake edition is an awesome looking boat for sure. Let's not pretend that Yamaha was first to market with a ballasted big-jetboat though. I do believe they were the last ones to do it.

News to me! Which models are you referring to and what year did they come out?

 

[Slugger55]

I am not sure what they did with the wake tower. Are they trying to get the Transformer look going??? Bimini with tie down straps on the front, looks low budget for a premium price.

 

[smashedheadcat]

News to me! Which models are you referring to and what year did they come out?

Sea Doo 230 Wake (2008ish?)

The Chaparral 243 VR and VRX's have had optional ballast tanks since they were introduced. They came out in early 2015, maybe late 2014.

The Scarab 255 has also had optional ballast tanks since it was introduced (2015).

Are there any other big jetboats?

Before the 2016 242x, were there any large, factory ballasted jetboats in the Yamaha lineup?

I assure you I am not trying to be rude, but if I am wrong, I am certainly open to being educated.

 

[Julian]

@smashedheadcat I didn't think you were being rude, I'd never heard of the SeaDoo 230 Wake in 2008.....good to know! I don't see much difference in size from the 212X and a the other "big" boats you refer to, which is why I was a little confused.

For those like me who didn't know about the Seadoo Wake...here is a review by Boattest:

http://www.boattest.com/review/sea-doo/1464_230-wake

 

[smashedheadcat]

Sorry about that Julian. When I mentioned "big-jetboat" I meant the 23-25 footers. I am a big fan of the 212x. I just want a boat that's a little bigger. I do like the 2015 242 Limited S, and a few short months ago, it was all the rage on here. None seems to care much about it anymore though. I basically wanted a bigger, 212x last year, but at the time and Chaparral and Scarab were the only ones who offered somewhat of a "wake sports" ready 24ft (ish) jetboat. As nice as the '15 242 LS is, it's not a big 212x. There's nothing wrong with that, it just didn't check all the boxes in the type of boat I want. I really eyed the chaps and scarabs hard last year and learned a lot.

Showing even the slightest interest in a boat other than a Yamaha is tough to do on this forum. Everything is a competition. Any advantage that another boat has is written off as a disadvantage or twisted around in some way to make Yamaha appear to be the innovator. That is the only reason I made the comment I made. I have owned (and still own) a few Yamaha products in my day, and operate or deal with five boats that sport twin Yamaha outboards on a daily basis. They make very good stuff. Sure, there is better stuff out there, but for the money, they are tough to beat. It's just that the 242X price is high enough that the bang for the buck line is starting to get blurry. The scarab 255 wake and a loaded 243 vrx are also priced up there with some pretty gnarly boats.

In a few short months I will finally conclude my overseas tour and I will return to the states for the long-haul (God willing) and I will be looking to purchase my first jetboat. I am going to put my hands on all of them before I go V or stern drive shopping. I probably won't get to see everything I want to see before the off-season, so that's probably when I'll pull the trigger.

 

[Shane Scarab]

Launders, have you had your 255 in any large bodies of water like a bay? I am wondering how it handles in rough surf? Also, is this your first scarab? Or if it isn't are there things on this boat that are done better than on their other generations? I just traded up my 195HOI for a 255 HOI. But my new boat doesn't arrive until 6/2. I ordered with twin 200's vs twin 250's and I hope I don't regret that move.

 

[luanders]

@Shane Scarab - I have a 215 Wake Edition with Twin 250's. It's still only cranking around 6500 RPMs in break in and it is already going faster than my previous 195 HOI. My first impressions are the interior and fit and finish are just a little better than my 2014 was, but my absolute favorite features are the IST with the touch screen...LOVE IT!

 

[Shane Scarab]

I ordered iST but didn't get the touchscreen. I plan to get a SIMRAD touchscreen nav unit but wish I could afford the touchscreen. I needed the size more, can't wait to load up 12 people.

So it sounds like the iST feature is a big improvement. Is it a lot easier to control (move the lever) vs your 2014?