Yamaha AR240 Better than expected Surfing

Had the EPIC 23V parked this weekend and went out with a friend in his new AR240 Yamaha. We has 3 750# Flyhigh Fat Sacs in the boat. One in the Right under the seat and 2 more on the rear floor. Lots of free-board. The engine was working hard to get on speed (11-12 mph), but the wave was very usable!

The wakeboarding was actually quite good too, except for the boat tracking.

Here is a short surf Vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXXlN...ature=youtu.be

Nice I never would have thunk it. Sounds like the engine was working hard.

6200 rpm once stable.

Whoof those are some high RPM'S.

6200!!!! Wow! those are high!! I run about 2700 with 2300lbs of ballast, do you think its because its a jet drive? Do they typically run higher rpm’s?

Doesn't it have dual 180 hps in it?

It's a dual jet drive. The RPM is limited to about 8,000. During a launch, even if you are empty, you need 6-7k to get on plane, then you pull back to maintain speed. With the ballast being used and 2 big guys on the back, the boat was max'd out for the jet drive. I was at max RPM to get it over 10 mph. Having both guys on the back didn't really help the wake, but it was too much extra weight to get to speed.

Yes the engines are the HO, but they are the larger displacement (1812cc each) than those in previous years. The fit and finish is excellent, especially in areas you don't normally see it, like in hatches, engine compartments, etc. There is no no-gelled fibreglass in the boat where you can reach, even under the engines! There are water channels all over the boat to keep water from running under seat cushions into storage.

All I can say is I was impressed with the boat.

I will say that my Epic still has way more available power for ballast for both wakeboarding and surfing. The Epic still generates a better wave and wake, but depending on what you do, the Yamaha is a very good and fast all-around boat.

Yamaha is a great all around boat. If you need a family boat for water sports in an affordable package, the Yamaha is it. I learned to surf & wakeskate behind my yamaha that I owned for years. It is a great stepping stone up to an inboard if you are into boardsports. It is definitely better than an I/O for this purpose, as for wakeboarding the wake is very clean and does well with added weight, plus you can surf because there isn't and prop!

That is pretty decent actually. So would it make sense that this Yamaha could produce an equal wave on both sides of the boat since there is no prop rotaion, only jet propulsion? Have you guys ever set it up on the Port side for surfing?

Same wave both sides. All goofy except for one, the owner.

My husband had a Yamaha LS 2000 when we got married and we loved the boat for leisure runs and even a little casual skiing but when we decided we wanted to try wakesurfing loading down the old two stroke with ballast wasn't an option. We sold the boat and bought a Moomba LSV last Summer and have been surfing ever since. We had checked out the newer Yamaha's at a local dealer but just wouldn't give us the range of watersports that we get from our 21' V Drive. Right now we are skiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, and surfing. With 2 adults and 3 kids there is no spare rope time!

just like with traditional boat propellers, you can change out the impellers in the pump for more low end. i did it to an old waverunner that we used a lot for towing before we got a "real" boat.