Yamaha 252SE: Florida Gulf Waters

[Cavanman]

Greetings. I live in Dunedin, FL and am looking at a long wait list for a Yamaha 252SE but I have made a deposit and wait patiently. Primary waters are St. Joseph Sound and the intracoastal. I am a sailor at heart but the operating area I envision is not really conducive to sailing--better conditions further south. So we settled on this make and model after consideration of how we will likely use the boat and doing the diligence. One concern we have is sand intake but I was correct in assuming the best course to avoid is start engines in deeper water after leaving the beach and if Hurricane Pass is too shallow at tide, best to go north or south to enter Gulf. Any and all comments pertaining to this boat and surrounding waters would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[84rzv500r]

Lots of Yamaha Jet boats here in the lower Keys... I prefer the older AR-210 (2 stroke hull) its faster, shallower draft and lighter than the later boats... that said regularly start my engines in 18" of water... I do avoid starting in shallow water with the shifter gates in neutral as it tends to kick up muck and sand off the bottom. and I avoid anything but idle power until I have 3 feet under the keel... I also think the new boats have more safety interlocks on the throttles and shifters...

 

[Cavanman]

Thank you. That confirms my thoughts. Appreciate the insight. Any hesitation about taking this boat out in the Gulf and a long trip (sea conditions permitting)?

 

[84rzv500r]

My old AR210 is fine in 4' swells i've been caught in bigger out in the gulf north of the content keys.. but its a bit of throttle work to make progress and I wouldn't do it on purpose.. A 252 is a bit more boat and a bit heavier so I dont think you'd have problems. if i were going by myself in deep water out beyond cell phone range i'd want some redundancy dual bilge pumps dual GPS, a Good VHF radio dual batteries and Sat weather...

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

I boat in North West Florida on the inter coastal/bay/coast. Lots of shallow spots. As long as your moving even just at no wake speeds you are fine. You don’t want to sit and idle, that’s when sand will start to get sucked up. There was a good video of it on here somewhere. I hear the new 25ft boats handle a bit better than the 24 in the chop/waves. That being said the 24ft does just fine in bigger rollers that are spaced out. I wouldn’t want to hit bigger swells that are spaced super tight, that might get dicey. I find 20-25 mph is a good speed to cross the wakes of all the smaller boat traffic. Any of the bigger swells off bigger boats with large displacement i slow to off plane.

 

[Kelleyja]

I've put my 255 in a the Dunedin Downtown ramp a couple of times. The ramp is tight and the marina is generally weedy but I've never had any problems. Hurricane pass can get shallow, but as others have noted, start up and keep moving and you won't have any issues. If you have the option Clearwater pass or 3 Rooker island are both very close and easier crossing into the Gulf if you're unsure.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Just be careful backing off the trailer in shallow water or off beaches as the reverse thrust kicks up the bottom and the intake grate will suck it in to the pump . also rinse the engines properly after each use and do not hit the throttle when there is no load on your pumps like when you are on the trailer just let it run about 20 seconds with the water off at the end I also use car wash soap in my flush hose to clean the water jackets and coat them with the wax that is in the soap to keep stuff from sticking to the walls of the water jackets.