The Yamaha SX210 – at $31,500 -- is the lowest priced boat of the eight models that Yamaha sells.

The 20’ to 25’ category of sportboats is one that Sea Ray has dominated for years, but in a survey of the six most populous boating states, Yamaha inched by in a rolling 12-month sales window that ended March 2009. The rest of the country usually follows the trend set in these states. For several years Yamaha’s 23-foot models had been the highest selling sportboats in that size range. Yamaha offers sportboats in just two sizes, 21’ and 23’, and all of them have twin 1052 cc engines that drive water pumps. Yamaha was down 28% from the previous 12 months and Sea Ray was down 46% for the same period. It is unclear what the reason is for this relative improvement in Yamaha boats’ popularity, but most people point to their quality, features and price, which runs from $31k to $43k.

See all of our tests on Yamaha boats --