Yamaha 195 FSH Sport (2020-)

Test Results

Specifications

Length Overall	19' 5" (5.92 m)
Beam	8' 2" (2.49 m)
Dry Weight	2,615 lbs. (1,186 kg)
Tested Weight	3,087 lbs. (1,400 kg)
Draft	16" (40.64 cm)
Draft Up	N/A
Draft Down	N/A
Air Draft	N/A
Deadrise/Transom	18 degrees
Max Headroom	N/A
Bridge Clearance	7' 11" (2.41 m)
Weight Capacity	1,650 lbs. (748 kg)
Person Capacity	8
Fuel Capacity	40 gal. (151 L)
Water Capacity	N/A
Length on Trailer	21' 2" (6.45 m)
Height on Trailer	10' 3" (312 m)
Total Weight	3,087 lbs. (1,400 kg)

Price

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Acceleration Times & Conditions

Time to Plane	3.6 sec.
0 to 30	6.0 sec.
Ratio	N/A
Props	N/A
Load	2 persons, 3/4 fuel, no water, 50 lbs. of gear
Climate	95 degrees, 77 humid.; wind 0-5 mph; seas: calm

Engine Options

Tested Engine	1 x 1.8 L Yamaha SVHO
Std. Power	1 x Yamaha 1.8 L SVHO
Opt. Power	N/A

Captain's Report

Captain's Report by Capt. Peter d’Anjou

The water jet-powered Yamaha 195 FSH Sport includes T-top and single-axle painted trailer for $37,599.

Brief Summary

New for 2020, the Yamaha 195 FSH Sport is a center console with a Yamaha 1.8L Super Vortex High Output (SVHO) water jet engine. It is this more powerful supercharged intercooled engine that primarily transformed the previous 190 Series into the faster 2020 model.

Key Features

• 1.8L Super Vortex High Output water jet engine
• 8 person, 1650 lbs. passenger capacity
• V-hull
• T-top
• Single-axle painted trailer with disc brakes and swing away tongue

Mission

This is a 19 ½' (5.94 m) jet boat set up for fishing or day boat activities like water skiing, tow and wake sports.

Distinguishing Features

• Patented articulating keel
• Yamaha Connext full color LCD touchscreen
• Multi-level swim platform

Major Features

• Top speed of 48 mph
• No-Wake mode –  preset engine speeds
• Thrust directional enhancer – for slow speed maneuvering/docking

Design

The square forward deck is somewhat reminiscent of the original Boston Whaler design. It adds casting deck space and storage to the Yamaha 195 FSH Sport.

 

 

A hinged extension of the keel is attached to the bucket and articulates in unison to the directional flow of the jet for better maneuverability and handling. Yamaha has patented the articulating keel.

 

The v-hull has an 18-degree deadrise at the transom. The bridge clearance with the T-top is 7’11” (2.41 m). The T-top and windshield are removable so the boat sitting on its trailer with the fold-away tongue, will fit in most garages.

Construction

Yamaha Watercraft builds their jet boats in this Vanore, TN facility.

Yamaha uses resin infusion techniques on hatch covers and small parts.

Advanced precision manufacturing is used to cut and drill all the openings in a Yamaha jet boat.

Yamaha’s quality control sees to each and every boat being tested in the water prior to shipment.

Comparison

The 2019 Yamaha 19 FSH Sport model reached a top speed of 40.9 mph, the 2020 Yamaha 195 FSH Sport with supercharger achieved a WOT speed of 48 mph on the same hull.

Boat Inspection

Engine

Designed to withstand a saltwater environment, the Yamaha SVHO has a corrosion resistant coolant system.

 

 

The intercooler cools compressed gasses, lowering corrosion.

The helm seat on the Yamaha 195 FSH Sport tilts to provide access to the 1.8L SVHO engine. Dual gas struts ease the opening procedure.

Yamaha’s low profile and low maintenance drive systems should not be overlooked.

There’s soundproofing under the engine hatch which resulted in a dBa of 88 at WOT, not bad considering the helmsman is sitting right over the super-charged engine.

The SVHO Yamaha engine has the supercharger on the forward end of the engine and connected directly to the main crankshaft.

The big change to the new 195 Series of center console jet boats is the addition of the supercharged intercooled power plant, 1.8L Super Vortex High Output, up from the 1.8L HO of the 190 series. 

The batteries are under the gas strut-supported hatch in the portside aft deck. We’d like to see a removable bin here so we can better utilize this space as storage. 

Advantages of Jet Boats

• Performance and acceleration
• Shallow water operation
• Swimmer safety
• Maneuvering capability
• Low maintenance

The Yamaha 195 FSH Sport stayed on plane at only 66% power, or stated another way, if we reduced to lower than 5000 rpm, she’d gradually lose speed and come off plane. Kept at 500 rpm she purred along.

No running gear to foul on the beach is an advantage of jet boats.

Swimming safely around a jet boat (no propellers) has a huge appeal to many people.

The patented articulating keel, shown here on a twin engine boat, improves maneuverability and straight line tracking when pulling a boarder at speed. The keel has even more effect on single engine boats like the Yamaha 195 FSH Sport.

Water intakes on jet boats suck water in, so grounding in sand or ingesting heavy seaweed and eel grass should be avoided whenever possible. See the next photo for Yamaha’s solution.

Yamaha has a patented cleanout system that is safe and easy to manage.

Performance

The 2020 version of the Yamaha 195 FSH Sport has a new supercharger that boosts performance to 48.2 mph WOT.

The Yamaha 195 FSH Sport has a LOA of 19’5” (5.92 m), a beam of 8’2” (2.49m), and a draft of 16” (40.64 cm). With an empty weight of 2487 lbs. (1,128 kg), 75-percent fuel, and two people onboard, we had an estimated test weight of 3,087 lbs. (1,400 kg). 

With the 1.8L SVHO engine turning at 7540 rpm, we reached a top speed of 48.2 mph. Best economic cruise came in at 6000 rpm and 31.0 mph. It was at that speed that the 10.6 gph fuel burn translated into 2.9 mpg and a range of 105 miles, all while still holding back a 10-percent reserve of the boat's 40-gallon (151 L) total fuel capacity. 

Acceleration

The Yamaha 195 FSH Sport rides with a fairly level attitude and surprisingly little bow rise when accelerating out of the hole.

Not surprisingly, she had aggressive acceleration times. We reached planing speed in an average of 3.6 seconds, continued on through 20 mph in 4 seconds, and 30 came and went in 6 seconds flat. 

Time to Plane:             3.6 seconds

Zero to 20 mph:          4.0 seconds

Zero to 30 mph:          6.0 seconds

The No-Wake feature is actuated with a dash switch. The boat has an optional trolling motor but with the No-Wake feature, it hardly seems necessary.

Care to Do a Little Trolling? Simply put, the throttle in idle ahead and hit the No-Wake rocker switch. No-Wake #1 is right at the perfect trolling speed of 1600 rpm, 2 mph and a .8 gph fuel burn. Need a little more speed for currents or winds? No-Wake #2 shows 1980 rpm, 3 mph and 1.0 gph. 

Handling

The turning radius at speed is wide but adjust the throttle down a bit and the turns tighten considerably.

The 195 FSH Sport has the articulating keel that acts like a rudder below the jet nozzle and improves the turning characteristics.  At speed the boat still has a wide turn radius.  However, slow down and the boat can turn more aggressively.  The days of spinning out in the turns are long gone and now there’s more controllability through all turns. 

What is still present is the short stopping distance with the elimination of a transmission.  Moving the lever into reverse just drops the bucket and redirects the thrust forward, stopping the 195 FSH in short order, not something to be taken lightly.  At cruise there’s a ¾ turn of the wheel to each stop.  We like that there’s feedback to the steering; if one releases the wheel, it comes immediately back to the straight ahead position. 

Stern

With the helm bench seat bolster reversed, fishing off the stern has options for standing or sitting with a line over the side.

A center console obviously lends itself to fishing, but also to dayboat activities, so let’s continue our inspection with those two uses in mind.  The jet engine, with its low profile underdeck, really serves well to keep the stern as a useable portion of the boat. 

Swim Platform

The swim platform is just above the waterline and makes easy access for all kinds of water activities.

The multi-level swim platform is the most distinguishing feature of Yamaha boats and very popular with fisherman and families alike. 

The swim platform’s upper level is 18” (45.72 cm) fore-n-aft.  It has 11” (25.40 cm) high fixed bolsters acting as seatbacks. 

A hatch on the port side of the swim platform opens to the reveal the round cleanout port for the engine.

Under the swim platform is a cleanout port, so no jumping into the water if the boat runs through grass or weeds.  When the hatch is opened, a cutoff disables the engine. 

 

Under the starboard side of the swim platform is dedicated storage for the fisherman’s best friend, the 5-gallon (18.93L) bucket.

 

The lower swim platform has a stainless steel telescoping reboarding ladder just to the right of center where two grab handles ease the reboarding process.

Step down 9” (22.86 cm) to the lower platforms 16” (40.64 cm) fore-n-aft section and we are only 8” (20.32 cm) off the water.  Easy access for water sports or landing a big one.

Aft Casting Platform

With the jump seat backs and cushions removed and the helm bolster reversed, there is space around the leaning post for stand-up casting.  The cap rails have non-skid, and a step onto the multi-level swim platform is also a good spot to drop a line. Downside stadium seating.

Rod holders are in the caprail aft of the elevated deck. Two others are on the side caprails. The jump seats have removable seatbacks, creating an aft casting deck 6’7” (2.01m) wide with 9” (22.86 cm) high bulwarks to the sides.  Freeboard at the stern quarter is 27” (68.58 cm).

 

The livewell is aerated, rounded, and painted blue.

Under the jump seat hatch to starboard is a 25-gal (94.64L) livewell.  A carry-on cooler stores under the helm seat.  The leaning post includes a reversible seatback so we can watch the lines or take a seat while working the aft casting deck. 

 

Jump seats provide seating for friends and family. Battery storage is below this port side seat.

The casting deck has two removable jump seats, one to either side of the helm bench seat.

 

The T-top over the helm is standard on the Yamaha 195 FSH Sport.

 

The helm console has the wheel to port.  At the top of the console is a padded surface. 

 

The acrylic windshield showed zero distortion at the curves.  Our test boat’s dash had room to add a multi-function display.

 

The rocker switches under the Connext display have resettable breakers just above them.

The dash panel has the 4.6” (11.68 cm) Yamaha Connext display just ahead of the wheel.  A compass is to the right.  Below are the electrical rocker switches.  The stainless wheel is on a tilt base and has a steering knob.

 

An optional 12” Connext LCD Touchscreen controls or displays nearly every function in the boat from a central screen.

 

Lock to lock on the steering wheel is only 1½ turns.

 

To the left of the wheel is the ignition and blower switch.  The throttle binnacle is to the right, with bilge, livewell, washdown and No-Wake controls alongside. 

 

The No-Wake mode switch has three preset rpm settings.

 

The black open storage in the console base contains USB and charging ports. The angled footrest has a continuation of the Marine Mat flooring used on the cockpit sole.

 

Ahead of the observer’s position is a padded area for quick drop items, a grab handle and a stereo remote for the Jensen stereo.  Below are  lockable and open storage compartments.

 

The 32” (81.28 cm) wide bench style helm seat is fixed in position.  A footrail is below.

 

Beneath the 20” wide jump seats alongside the helm are the battery compartment (port) and a livewell (starboard).

 

A 5” high bolster wraps around the gunwale of the boat. Horizontal rod storage is below and to each side. Upper right is the raw water washdown connection.

 

The washdown system has been improved over previous editions with greater PSI directly off the jet pump.

 

Padded bolsters are to either side of the cockpit, starting out at 18” (45.72 cm) and running up to 23” (58.42 cm).  Below are two horizontal rod holders and to starboard there’s a new quick connect washdown feature that works off the jet pump.

Rod and tool holders on either side of the console are low profile and don’t interfere with movement. A speaker, horn, air vent, and low down a courtesy light, grace the side of the console.

 

The grommets in the canvas top allow for extra-long rod storage alongside the center console.

The T-top supports are low profile so as to not take up any of the 20” (50.80 cm) side deck clearance.  Grab handles are integrated into the support frames.  Vertical rod holders are to the sides of the console, and grommets in the canvas T-top accommodate rod height. 

 

At the trailing edge of the T-top are four rocket launcher style rod holders.

Bow

The forward casting deck measures 39” (99.06 cm) x 64” (162.56 cm) tapering to 52” (132.08 cm). There is an insulated fish box in the casting deck and forward of the fish box is general storage. Combination rod and cup holders adorn the caprail to either side of the forward casting platform.

 

Bow seating includes the console bench seat and the removable cushion over the fish box.

At the bow there’s a 34” (86.36 cm) wide seat just ahead of the console and an aft facing seat at the foredeck with grab handles to both sides. Freeboard at the bow is 28” (71.12 cm).

 

The console seat hinges up and a privacy curtain makes a suitable changing room, or an added porta pottie could be fitted into the 4’7” high space within.

The flare on the bow makes more room on the forward casting deck. Below the triangular storage on the port side is Plano tackle box storage.  Note the ABYC certified grab handles on the bulwark of the casting deck.

There’s 526 gallons (1991 L) of total storage throughout the boat, including under the aft deck hatches, to the starboard side of the bow, under the bow seating, under the foredeck, and under the forward console seat.

 

Anchor

A fluke anchor hangs in the anchor locker with anchor keepers holding it in place. Note the notch at the front of the locker and in the lid for the rode, and the unusual pull up cleat on the nose of the boat for securing the rode.

Equipment Discussion

The Yamaha 195 FSH Sport comes in two colors, Slate Blue or Seafoam Green. 

Yamaha has a list of 394 product accessories, from ski ropes and water toys, to propane grills available for their jet boats.

The boat on the trailer has a dry weight of 3,245 pounds, light enough to be towed by a small truck or mid-sized SUV.  The foldaway tongue means that the boat can be stored in a garage with only 19.5’ length. The T-top and windshield are removable for those garages with low overheads.

• Limited Lifetime Structural Warranty for Original Purchaser*
• 10 Year Limited Transferable Structural Warranty
• 3 Year Limited Component Warranty

Yamaha makes a slightly cheaper model called the 195 FSH Deluxe, on the same hull that is different in the trim package-no T-top standard for instance.

Stylish and fast the new supercharged jet boats from Yamaha are made in the USA.

Price

$37,599 includes SVHO engine and painted trailer (freight and prep extra)

Optional Equipment to Consider

• Galvanized trailer upgrade
• Wakebooster

The Wakebooster kit enhances the Yamaha 195 FSH Sport’s sternwave by bolting on the bracket to the trailer tiedown eye on either side of the stern and adding temporary ballast to the transom.

 

A jet powered boat with no external drives is safer for water activities, has better shallow water capabilities, and rides flatter with less bow rise than traditionally powered boats.

 

Observations

Clearly, this boat appeals to the customer who enjoys coastal living up close and personal.  The 195 FSH Sport has enough serious fishing features to accommodate all but offshore anglers, and many features to keep day boaters happy.

Yamaha has packed a lot into a boat under 20-feet long and that should have broad appeal to a lot of boaters.

Marrying the functionality of a center console with a jet boat’s advantages is a good idea. Yamaha has years of experience with jet boats and jet-powered PWC. Here they build the entire boat, engine and all, and stand behind them, while continuing to innovate.

Further proof that Captain Steve takes his job of testing every facet of every boat seriously.