Scarab 285 test

[rpm242LS]

Wife and I flew out to New Orleans in order to test out a Scarab 285, was really interested in comparing the 285 to Yamaha's 275. Up to this point we've only been able to test out a 2019 Yamaha 275 so it may not be apples to apples comparison because from what I'm told Yamaha has made a few improvements to the 2021 275 specifically in the noise and engine dampening area.

Initial observations:
Engine noise is much better at cruising speed (25 to 35). you could carry on a conversation at almost a normal voice at that speed, much different than what the Yamaha sounded like. In the Yamaha you had to practically yell to hear somebody.
Feels like a bigger boat, not as nimble as ours but that's the same with the Yamaha 275 we tried. Found it very hard to make a tight turn at speed versus hour boat. Not sure if this was due to us having thrust vectors installed, it's been so long since I've driven one without them.
Love the height of the hard top roof, Yamaha puts their roof way up high, almost to high.
Sound system is much better (it had the upgraded sound with the wake tower speakers, all JL audio I believe).
Seats material felt much cheaper, the vinyl seemed very thin but the guy said the material this boat had was the basic stuff. The tan or cool touch charcoal are a lot better.
Fit and finish is more sport oriented vs Yamaha. The Yamaha is a few steps closer to luxury.

 

[rpm242LS]

So I also have a few questions:

This boat had the ACE 300 engines and during break-in we were told that it drinks a lot of coolant, is this normal? Somehow it doesn't sound right to me.

Longevity of the 300 horsepower engines - I'm used to maintaining the Yamaha 1.8 engines. While I know they say the supercharger does not require service I'm inclined to believe that it does not require service within the 3-year engine warranty. At some point after it must need some type of service. What else should I expect from a service standpoint versus the Yamaha 1.8? I'm used to doing all my own service on my current boat.

Engine hours - with my current Yamaha I'm confident that I could run this boat over a thousand hours with probably no or little to no issues as long as I keep my maintenance up which is fairly simple. Can I expect the same for these engines?

The carbon wear ring- reading some older threads sounds like some real horror stories about leaking/needing replacing and Scarab not honoring warranty issues. Is this still an issue to worry about on current 2021 boats?

Vinyl seating and overall fit and finish - the vinyl seating on the boat we tested was very very thin, you can see every little defect of the foam under the vinyl it was so thin. For those who own a Scarab boat does anyone have the cognac or the charcoal cool touch vinyl? I was told these vinyls were a lot thicker and higher quality, is this true?

Thanks for any responses to these questions. We love the overall look of the Scarab and believe it or not the wake it puts out. (This was a wake edition with the three ballast bags). I know it will not compete with a true wake boat, it did put out a decent enough wake to allow us to foil surf off the first, second and probably the third wake.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

So this boat is a whole other class than my little 165. Hopefully others can chime in.

But, I can say that coolant may disappear initially due to air in the cooling system. But that should subside quickly after running the engine a few times. Once air has been purged and reservoir is topped up, that should be it for the season.

Maintenance is super easy to do. Oil changes every year, coolant changes every two years, usual pump inspection, a few o rings to replace one every few years, some grease to add in there while you're there.... that's pretty much it. If you're used to doing your own maintenance, it will be no problems at all.

Can't comment on supercharger.

Just to clarify, it's not a wear ring. It's a carbon seal. The wear ring is the part around the impeller. The carbon seal seals the driveshaft when it enters the hull. I wouldn't worry about it at all. There's always a possibility of a misalignment, but I haven't heard any such stories since those reports you've seen. The biggest issue I think is people not knowing they cannot run the engine out of water for very long. Keep it short, 30-40 seconds. That's all you need to do the maintenance. The official recommendation is 2 min. But I recommend you keep that run time very low. The carbon seal is only cooled when it's sitting in water. Hoses don't cool it unless you strategically spray the impeller area properly to cool the seal down.

Can't comment on vinyl. I know mine had some stitching start to come undone after 4 years of pretty good use whereby people walk on the seats. Otherwise, it's been good.

 

[NewBoater]

There a video online showing Scarab 285 maiden voyage of a family taking it out. Engines sound pretty quiet for sure compared to Yamaha 275 engines I’ve heard in videos.

 

[rpm242LS]

Yes, I have seen this video and agree, not only are the engines quieter but the tone of the motors are lower so seems to be less intrusive.

Very frustrating trying to comb the internet for info on this boat, only a few vids and less written documentation. As I understand it the ACE 300 engines have been around now for a few years yet little no to info on them.

 

[rpm242LS]

So this boat is a whole other class than my little 165. Hopefully others can chime in.

But, I can say that coolant may disappear initially due to air in the cooling system. But that should subside quickly after running the engine a few times. Once air has been purged and reservoir is topped up, that should be it for the season.

Maintenance is super easy to do. Oil changes every year, coolant changes every two years, usual pump inspection, a few o rings to replace one every few years, some grease to add in there while you're there.... that's pretty much it. If you're used to doing your own maintenance, it will be no problems at all.

Can't comment on supercharger.

Just to clarify, it's not a wear ring. It's a carbon seal. The wear ring is the part around the impeller. The carbon seal seals the driveshaft when it enters the hull. I wouldn't worry about it at all. There's always a possibility of a misalignment, but I haven't heard any such stories since those reports you've seen. The biggest issue I think is people not knowing they cannot run the engine out of water for very long. Keep it short, 30-40 seconds. That's all you need to do the maintenance. The official recommendation is 2 min. But I recommend you keep that run time very low. The carbon seal is only cooled when it's sitting in water. Hoses don't cool it unless you strategically spray the impeller area properly to cool the seal down.

Can't comment on vinyl. I know mine had some stitching start to come undone after 4 years of pretty good use whereby people walk on the seats. Otherwise, it's been good.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

The 285 just came out. Very few people own one.... they made very few of them. So yeah, you won't find much.

As for the engine, there is a promotional video on that specific engine by the Rotax folks. But beyond that, essentially it's the same as the other engines except it's able to pump up 300HP with that maintenance free supercharger. Otherwise, almost everything is the same about when it comes to what you need to know.

 

[Dean P]

I

So I also have a few questions:

This boat had the ACE 300 engines and during break-in we were told that it drinks a lot of coolant, is this normal? Somehow it doesn't sound right to me.

Longevity of the 300 horsepower engines - I'm used to maintaining the Yamaha 1.8 engines. While I know they say the supercharger does not require service I'm inclined to believe that it does not require service within the 3-year engine warranty. At some point after it must need some type of service. What else should I expect from a service standpoint versus the Yamaha 1.8? I'm used to doing all my own service on my current boat.

Engine hours - with my current Yamaha I'm confident that I could run this boat over a thousand hours with probably no or little to no issues as long as I keep my maintenance up which is fairly simple. Can I expect the same for these engines?

The carbon wear ring- reading some older threads sounds like some real horror stories about leaking/needing replacing and Scarab not honoring warranty issues. Is this still an issue to worry about on current 2021 boats?

Vinyl seating and overall fit and finish - the vinyl seating on the boat we tested was very very thin, you can see every little defect of the foam under the vinyl it was so thin. For those who own a Scarab boat does anyone have the cognac or the charcoal cool touch vinyl? I was told these vinyls were a lot thicker and higher quality, is this true?

Thanks for any responses to these questions. We love the overall look of the Scarab and believe it or not the wake it puts out. (This was a wake edition with the three ballast bags). I know it will not compete with a true wake boat, it did put out a decent enough wake to allow us to foil surf off the first, second and probably the third wake.

If you can, check out Chaparral VRX line. You maybe impressed. They don't have a 28' but have a 24'. Fit and finish is excellent and comes with those same 300hp Rotax engines. The medallion II screen is awesome as is finding true neutral. Good luck!!!

 

[rpm242LS]

I

If you can, check out Chaparral VRX line. You maybe impressed. They don't have a 28' but have a 24'. Fit and finish is excellent and comes with those same 300hp Rotax engines. The medallion II screen is awesome as is finding true neutral. Good luck!!!

Thanks for the info. I did look at them but as you said, they don't make a 28' boat. We love our 242LS and are only looking at a new one because we want a bigger boat/little more room inside.

Is the medallion II screen the same that's in the Scarab?

 

[Dean P]

Thanks for the info. I did look at them but as you said, they don't make a 28' boat. We love our 242LS and are only looking at a new one because we want a bigger boat/little more room inside.

Is the medallion II screen the same that's in the Scarab?

Medallion II is not standard. It's an upgrade. But yes, It'll be the same.

 

[ChrisM]

The medallion VII will be different between the Scarab and Vortex lines, both physically and functionally. Chaparral is still offering the steering wheel leather upgrade, and leather wheel W/controls upgrade with the Viper control, Scarab has a Steering Wheel upgrade but unsure if it includes Viper redundant controls.

2021 Scarab Touch Screen manual




2021

 

[Dean P]

The medallion VII will be different between the Scarab and Vortex lines, both physically and functionally. Chaparral is still offering the steering wheel controls upgrade with the Viper control, Scarab has a Steering Wheel upgrade but unsure if it includes Viper redundant controls.

2021 Scarab Touch Screen manual

View attachment 141097


2021
View attachment 141098

Thank you for clarifying. My thinking is a Medallion II is a Medallion II on any BRP boat.

 

[ChrisM]

The medallion features/functions/aesthetics appear to vary based on the boat manufactures' wants. I know that my V2 unit supports many more functions, and display screens based on the manual, than my Chaparral offers. The MasterCraft and Malibu consoles look similar. Medallion is supplying to all of these marine manufactures now.

 

[mrcleanr6]

While i cant comment on the 285, i can offer some info on the 275. The 2021 model vs 2019, there was a huge upgrade to the tower. The 19 was small, shook and vibrated all over. The 2021 tower is totally different and a real work of tubing art. Its extremely nice and they added a tow point to it as well. It looks like a tower that should be on a boat of that caliber. A guy here on the river has one of the first 2019’s off the production line and comparing fit and finish of that boat to mine is night and day. 2021 is way better. I havent been in a ride on his so i can compare noise. I find mine sort of loud but not terrible. I dont have to yell but maybe talk loudly at cruise speed. Compared to my 08 232, the 275 is quieter. The upholstery work in the 275 is really top notch. I had a guy on my boat the other day looking at it. He does very high end marine upholstry in $1-10mil yachts and of course it was the first thing he was inspecting and he was impressed with it. Of course i think they embroidered yamaha on far to many seats. On the dock looking at the front of the boat i can count yamaha prob 8 times. Anyway that is my 2 cents

 

[SoundsGood]

Interested in the differences between the white/cognac/black vinyl quality across all scarab models. Anyone with first hand knowledge between white and cognac at least? Not many cool touches out there.

 

[Smitty1031]

So I also have a few questions:

This boat had the ACE 300 engines and during break-in we were told that it drinks a lot of coolant, is this normal? Somehow it doesn't sound right to me.

Longevity of the 300 horsepower engines - I'm used to maintaining the Yamaha 1.8 engines. While I know they say the supercharger does not require service I'm inclined to believe that it does not require service within the 3-year engine warranty. At some point after it must need some type of service. What else should I expect from a service standpoint versus the Yamaha 1.8? I'm used to doing all my own service on my current boat.

Engine hours - with my current Yamaha I'm confident that I could run this boat over a thousand hours with probably no or little to no issues as long as I keep my maintenance up which is fairly simple. Can I expect the same for these engines?

The carbon wear ring- reading some older threads sounds like some real horror stories about leaking/needing replacing and Scarab not honoring warranty issues. Is this still an issue to worry about on current 2021 boats?

Vinyl seating and overall fit and finish - the vinyl seating on the boat we tested was very very thin, you can see every little defect of the foam under the vinyl it was so thin. For those who own a Scarab boat does anyone have the cognac or the charcoal cool touch vinyl? I was told these vinyls were a lot thicker and higher quality, is this true?

Thanks for any responses to these questions. We love the overall look of the Scarab and believe it or not the wake it puts out. (This was a wake edition with the three ballast bags). I know it will not compete with a true wake boat, it did put out a decent enough wake to allow us to foil surf off the first, second and probably the third wake.

For the wear ring warranty, that actually falls back on BRP as they are the manufacturer of the ROTAX engine.