Yamaha FX Cruiser SVHO Waverunner

Impressive new features with mind-bending performance

By Andy Adams

The FX model is Yamaha’s top-of-the-line three seater WaveRunner and a totally new model for 2019. It has a more stable hull shape for boarding, riding or towing, self-draining footwells for dry feet and a host of other features like the first colour LCD touchscreen ever on a PWC.

Yamaha’s Connext touchscreen offers all vital system information, customized features and includes a new Drive Control technology for personalizing riding experiences. Drive Control allows operators to program engine speeds and acceleration curves. You can push in a four digit code to lock and unlock the boat, set it for three different limited top speeds, and acceleration pre-programming for tow sports consistency.

Another great new feature is that all FX WaveRunner models now come standard with a new RAM Multi-Mount System to support a range of accessories.

Sold separately on all FX models, these accessories include ECOXGEAR Waterproof Wireless Bluetooth Speakers and a Garmin Striker GPS Fish Finder with Transducer. You can take the speakers with you to the beach, and the Fish Finder can be removed quickly and stowed away when not in use. There is a sealed compartment to safely carry your cell phone on board. Through Bluetooth, you can actually answer your cell phone while riding!

It’s very cool.

New storage gives you places for your cellphone and larger items up front.

As one of the most Advanced personal watercraft on the market, Yamaha’s FX WaveRunner has a reverse that enables you to back it off the trailer and you can select one of three levels of trust. This also makes docking a lot easier. Another convenience aspect is the “no wake” mode for speed restricted canals or docking.

Yamaha has also heeded the call for more front storage and glove box storage with a big storage compartment ahead of the handlebars.

Hull design
The hull design is a refined version of the already excellent FX design. Yamaha has added reverse chines to help keep riders dry and they’ve discovered that although this is a big comfortable watercraft, racers have been attracted to this model to handle rough water conditions when racing.

Swimmers and skiers will appreciate the new flat re-boarding step that allows you to kneel on it to get out of the water. It’s a big improvement over the round bars of the past. The three-person saddle is also very comfortable and the three different levels means that everybody can see where they’re going.

Having space for a third person as a watcher is needed for skiing or tubing and there is a well-designed handle on the back so they can face backwards.

This watercraft has tons of power for towing riders or skiers and at about 820 pounds, some of our readers will want to carry a WaveRunner FX Cruiser SVHO on their swim platform or on davits.

Get onboard and the Supercharged 4-cylinder, 4-stroke, Super Vortex High Output Yamaha Marine Engine fires right up and idles easily to take you away from the dock. It’s quiet too for noodling around an anchorage without disturbing the other boaters. Once out in the clear, pull the trigger and the acceleration is simply mindbending. Throttle response is instant. There is no noticeable transition to planning. You just rocket forward in one blast of acceleration. I saw 72 mph on the speedometer but at that speed my vision is a bit blurred!

For Canadian Yachting readers with cruisers, this is the “little boat” that can really do it all. It carries three passengers with storage space, it’s amazingly capable in open rough water, and it’s a two boat too. I watched a very experienced rider really exploring the performance limits while I was at the Yamaha event and he could really throw it around with lots of spray, remarkably tight turns and incredible acceleration.

If you are thinking of a personal watercraft, you need to ride a Yamaha WaveRunner FX Cruiser SVHO!

SPECIFICATIONS
Engine Type: Supercharged 4-cylinder, 4-stroke, Super Vortex High Output Yamaha,
1,812 cc Displacement;

Length: 3.58 m (140.9 in)
Width: 1.27 m (50.0 in)
Height: 1.23 m (48.4 in)
Dry Weight: 372 kg (820 lbs)
Price: Canadian $23,199 MSRP from website: https://www.yamaha-motor.ca