Yamaha's all-new boats have several new major noteworthy design features. Perhaps the most important is the 72% increase in engine displacement, going from 1052 cc in the old models to 1816 cc in the new 242 and 240 models. Yamaha says that the boat’s performance has improved markedly as a result. Another improvement is the far larger “U”-shaped bow seating area that appears to have all of the room of a pickle fork or deckboat design while still keeping the traditional 20-degree deadrise hull and conventional bow. Yamaha has also improved on their innovative stern seating area in which they have led the whole sportboat industry.

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New and Improved from Stem to Stern...

So let’s start at the stem then, or more to the point, the bow. High points to Yamaha for making one of the most, if not THE most, innovative bow that I’ve seen. It’s easily changed between five different configurations to suit your desires of the moment. Starting with…

1. The basic seating on both sides. The seats are long enough to extend your legs out without feeling cramped. Nothing new here but it’s included in the series so we mention it. Now let’s move on to…

2. Filler cushion sunpad. Again, so far nothing new here. Practically every bowrider on the market allows for a filler cushion that turns the entire bow area into a sunpad. And not surprising, so does Yamaha. Next…

3. Rumble seating. Lift the forward cushions and pull up a separate cushion. This makes a small seatback for facing forward. Remove the forward most cushion and your feet are on the deck while facing forward. The kids will love this, as you’ll really get a feel for the speed from this forward most seat. It’s duplicated on both sides.

4. Padding under the legs. Re-insert the forward cushion and you have a very comfortable support under your knees, and your legs are still extended forward. It has a sort of chaise lounge feel to it. You also now have four seats with everyone facing each other and an arm rest between the two people on each side. Very cool.

5. Three across seating. The filler cushions that make the sun pad also make another forward facing seat in the center. Now more people can be facing forward while sitting up at the bow. This is ingenious and Yamaha is the first I’ve seen do this, but I have little doubt that they’ll be the last. Close off the walk-through windshield and the center seat back will block the wind on those chilly days.

And because the bow is flat, you have room for the anchor and rode storage, plus an extendable swim ladder at the bow.



The Cockpit...

The gauges all have visors over them to block the glare, and you have full instrumentation for the twin 1.8L engines. A little flat area lies aft of the gauges for putting “stuff” and it’s got a non-skid pad thank you very much. The bucket seat swivels and slides but no up and down. Throttles are mounted on a slight angle to starboard. And as if Yamaha has read every one of my boat reviews, they put the stereo at the helm.

Because the controls are fly-by-wire, Yamaha has the ability to pull a few cool tricks. Starting with Cruise mode: Get above 3000 rpms and hit the single rocker switch and now you’re in cruise mode. You can increase or decrease your speed in eight increments either way for sixteen settings from the speed you first pressed the switch at.



In no wake mode, you hit the same switch and you have three increments up or down while still keeping the speed down and not having to worry about fiddling with the throttles. On previous boats, Yamaha had this feature with dual switches, one for each engine, but virtually everyone used them together so they’re finally combined into one switch.



GPS Provides Information Galore

Both engines and boat conditions are monitored with a GPS-based information control center: Digital displays can provide latitude, longitude, compass heading, elevation, water depth, water temperature, trip odometer, clock, engine hours, engine speed, vessel voltage, vessel speed, highest speed, fuel level, fuel used and they are the first in the industry to provide real time (gallons per hour and miles per gallon) fuel flow data. Folks, this is all standard on the AR240!

Details in the Cockpit

The port side seat is a back to back. And where I expected it to lie down, Yamaha did it a little differently. This one goes flat in the center and what was the seat then becomes a back for sitting while facing aft. Just lift under the front of the seat and bring it forward and up and presto... an aft facing seat for watching the end of the towline.



Glove box is to port, but it’s a little clumsy to open with its twisting knob. I’d rather see a latch to pull and lift. Just forward is a roomy storage compartment. You’re welcome to put a Porta-Potti there but Yamaha doesn’t include one, even as an option, so that will be an aftermarket option if you want one. Otherwise, just use it for storage. There’s no drain in the sole there, so keep it dry.

Aft seating is wraparound and grab handles and drink holders are everywhere. Lift up the cushions in the center and you have a walkthrough to the transom, easily the most popular spot on the boat when at anchor. There’s a rather large step in the middle of the walk through so mind your step as you traverse.



And to bring home the watersports features, an aft leaning aluminum wakeboard tower. The attachment point is aft, where it belongs, and there are two fat speakers and wakeboard racks on either side.

The handsome transom…

Because Yamaha’s jet drive propulsion systems are low, they have no clunky engine box to work around. This gives them the freedom to design this really great transom seating that no one else seems to be able to copy -- outboards can’t even try and stern drives haven’t got a chance.

Yamaha’s stern has always been the envy of the competition, and now it’s even better. Two very comfortable aft facing seats, drink holders, a removable pedestal table, and the swim platform, which is mere inches above the water making the re-boarding ladder a bit redundant.



Specifications…

Starting with the engines, Yamaha has installed their largest engines in their flagship, twin 1.8L high output fuel injected Yamaha marine engines. Suffice it to say that no one will be crying about her performance, but we’ll see at another time just how she performs.

Her L.O.A. is 23’6” (7.2 m), beam is 8’6” (2.6 m), and draft is 16” (.4 m). Her dry weight is 3369 lb (1528 kg), and she carries 50.2 gal (190 L) of fuel. The out the door price for the Yamaha AR240 High Output is $49,499. Notice I didn’t say “base price”. Yamaha sells their boats as a complete package, no options. You get everything. So that’s the price. And that suits most people just fine.

Test Power: 2 x 1812cc High Output Yamaha Marine Engines

						Range
RPM	MPH	Knots	Total GPH	MPG	NMPG	Stat. Mile	NM	KM	KPH	LPH	KPL	dBA
2000	5.9	5.1	4.3	1.36	1.18	61	53	98	9.5	16.3	0.58	74
2500	6.8	5.9	4.9	1.39	1.21	63	55	101	10.94	18.5	0.59	78
3000	7.8	6.7	7.2	1.08	0.94	49	42	79	12.55	27.3	0.46	84
3500	8.3	7.2	7.8	1.07	0.93	48	42	77	13.36	29.5	0.45	88
4000	10.4	9.0	8.4	1.24	1.08	56	49	90	16.74	31.8	0.53	91
4500	16.6	14.4	8.7	1.90	1.65	86	75	138	26.72	32.9	0.81	87
5000	24.8	21.6	9.2	2.71	2.36	122	106	196	39.91	34.8	1.15	87
5500	31.7	27.5	9.8	3.25	2.82	147	128	237	51.02	37.1	1.38	89
6000	37.4	32.5	11.5	3.26	2.84	147	128	237	60.19	43.5	1.39	94
6500	41.6	36.2	15.6	2.68	2.33	121	105	195	66.95	59	1.14	93
7000	46.5	40.4	19.1	2.43	2.12	110	96	177	74.83	72.3	1.03	93
7550	51.6	44.8	23.3	2.22	1.93	100	87	161	83.04	88.2	0.94	97

Speeds measured with Stalker ProSports radar gun. Fuel consumption (gallons per hour) measured with Floscan digital fuel-flow meter on gas inboards, sterndrives, and outboards, TechMate electronic scan tool on gas EFI inboards, Caterpillar digital fuel-flow meter on diesel engines, or permanently installed fuel-monitoring equipment. Range is based on 90% of published fuel capacity. Sound levels determined using Radio Shack digital decibel meter on A scale. 68 dBA is the level of normal conversation.

Performance Chart

There is no performance chart currently associated with this model.

Test Conditions

Test Power: 2 x 1812cc High Output Yamaha Marine Engines

Time To Plane	2.5 sec.
0 to 30	4.2 sec.
Test Power	2 x 1812cc High Output Yamaha Marine Engines
Transmission	N/A
Ratio	N/A
Props	N/A
Load	2 people, 1/2 fuel, no water, 100 lbs. of gear
Climate	81 degrees, 76% humidity, winds: 0-5 mph, calm seas