Yamaha Waverunner FX HO with Shoreline Tubby: Review

You can now buy ready-made latch-on fibreglass fishing pods that transform your point-and-shoot Waverunner into an absolutely brilliant fishing machine in just a matter of minutes.

The new Shoreline Yamaha dealership at South Brisbane is an extension of the biggest watercraft retailer in South Africa, Racetech Yamaha, which sells hundreds of its signature Shoreline Tubby fishing pods to local jet-ski fishers.

Little wonder. The Shoreline Tubby is quite brilliant. Attaching and detaching in just minutes using a patented latch system, the thoughtfully designed pods include rod storage, tackle storage, fish boxes, live-bait tank, rod holders, cutting board and more.

With a Lowrance fish finder on our ideal test platform, a Yamaha Waverunner FX HO, and two rods rigged with diving minnow lures, we launched at Mooloolaba for a Sunshine Coast offshore test.

These Shoreline Tubby pods have a reputation that precedes them with extraordinary fishing captures including yellowfin over 100 pounds. Earlier in the day, aboard a NoosaCat 3500 tested with twin 350hp V8 Yamaha outboards, I’d seen big pods of tuna working around Mudjimba Island.

Trolling with a lure in the water, you do feel like a big mackerel or tuna or even a billfish will latch on. At rest, the super stable platform lets you plumb the depths or jig the reefs. And, hopefully, fight a really big fish.

Then when you power up to go home, the pods ride clear of the water and you can enjoy your watercraft’s unbridled performance as you blast back in through the bar or river mouth.

HOW WAS THE SHORELINE TUBBY INVENTED?
- Necessity is the mother of invention
The Shoreline Tubby pods are made by the hundreds in South Africa by Racetech Yamaha, which is owned by the O’Keeffe family, who is also behind Shoreline Yamaha at South Brisbane. The pods have a great story behind them.

Jordi O’Keeffe tells us a very large man and his equally large son bought a Waverunner from his dad Patrick in South Africa. They thought something was wrong when it tipped over with their hundreds of kilos sitting atop. And Jordi does stress hundreds of kilos.

So his dad Patrick built these pods in 2006 to provide greater stability for these immensely important customers. They were stoked. The word got out. One thing led to another. Before long, the enthusiastic South African jet-ski fishing fraternity, which accounts for 90 per cent of watercraft sales at their Racetech shop these days, came knocking.

The GFC was a blessing in disguise, because boaters were downsizing and a Yamaha Waverunner with a Shoreline Tubby set-up is a very affordable fishing machine. It’s cheap to run, fast and manoeuvrable, low-maintenance, easy to store and, just as importantly, extremely productive.

Such is the virtual boat-like functionality of these Tubbies that they have also proven useful for camping and picnicking with operators seeking more storage and stability. Timid passengers who worry about tipping on a traditional watercraft will certainly feel as though they have the training wheels on.

As it takes a few minutes to remove the Shoreline Tubbies using the latch system, you still get your performance watercraft for freestyling, tow-ins, fast solo flings and so on. Without risk of sounding like a salesman, by golly, you get two craft rolled into one.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- A fishing craft for $3500-$4000
Designed to fit most modern personal three-seater PWCs, the Shoreline Tubby pods are an especially good match for the three-seater Yamaha FX HO. This is already the class-leading three-seater watercraft on the market in respect of storage, with 126 litres from bonnet to stern pocket.

As Jordi tell us quite rightly, the FX HO is renowned for Yamaha reliability as evidenced by its 50-hour or once-a-year servicing intervals. With lots of trolling, the supercharged ‘skis’ requiring servicing every 25 hours could be a pain.

"The FX HO is a great platform. It’s the best all rounder for someone that’s fishing minded. It offers good stability and storage. It’s a drier ride, especially on the troll, than most," Jordi says. This is very true. As the bow rides nice and high at trolling speeds, you don’t get a face full of spray. See the trolling ride in this tester's quick video.

Of course, the FX HO was first released in 2004 with a bulletproof 1152cc engine. In 2009, it received the new silky-smooth 1812cc inline-four marine donk. This new engine creates 180hp and is considered the benchmark in the four-stroke class. It’s naturally aspirated, reliable and low maintenance.

The 1812cc HO engine is also very fuel efficient, which is important when you are trolling long hours, and it’s torquey for pushing weight when you have everything including trophy fish aboard.

In 2012, the FX range got a hull redesign, which remains current today. This is a b-i-g hull with large rear deck that creates one of the best fishing platforms on the watercraft market today.

The Yamaha FX HO was refined in 2015-2016 with the new RiDE dual-throttle controls with trigger deceleration, some engine tweaks for more durability, performance and efficiency. The No-wake Mode and Cruise Assist functions makes this a manoeuvrable watercraft at low fishing speeds.

Also made for saltwater use, the Shoreline Tubby set-up comes with: vertical rod holders and adjustable Railblaza outrigger rod holders; built in cutting board lid; rear stainless steel racks; a storage tank for safety equipment; another storage tank for live bait that uses the trademark Yamaha visibility spout and reroutes it for circulated water; and plenty of storage for fish in the pods; plus tackle in glove boxes called Quick Access Tackle Storage pockets, drink holders and more.

A 2016 model Yamaha FX HO has a recommended retail of $17,900. A decent trailer will set you back $1400. When bundled with a new FX HO, the Shoreline Tubby costs $3500 (discounted from $4000 full retail). So the complete rig price is $22,800 or about $23k with jackets. We also had the Lowrance Elite 5 fish finder fitted, two rods aboard with diving lures, and a cane-handled gaff.

This a great price for a fishing, sports and family craft. As a new model Tubby system is being built to suit the all-new Yamaha VX entry-level Waverunner series, a fishing/family Waverunner with pods for under $20k is a likely proposition soon.

For now, the Shoreline Tubby is available exclusively through Shoreline Yamaha in SE Queensland and delivered Australia-wide. Maybe Yamaha will offer it as a factory accessory in the future?

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- GRP and foam-filled pods that boost storage and stability
The Shoreline Tubby pods have been so popular that Racetech in South Africa recently created new moulds using CNC five-axis routers for perfect symmetry with each pod. The finish is by our reckoning on par with locally-built fibreglass trailerboats.

The Shoreline Tubby basically consists of two fibreglass shells, but the lower running surface is foam-filled. In the unlikely event that the Tubby pods take on water, they have been designed to have positive foam floatation, even when loaded with gear.

On the Yamaha Waverunner FX HO, under normal use, it’s virtually impossible to flip or roll. If you somehow managed to do this while, say, beam-on in a huge surf on a river bar (mad), the centre of gravity is such that the unit will tend to self right, says Jordi from Shoreline Yamaha.

What is also fantastic is the immediacy with which you can turn your unbridled fun watercraft into a fully equipped fishing platform. The Tubby pods attach to your ‘ski’ with a patented latch system. If you know what you’re doing it takes two minutes to attach or detach. If you are doing this for the first time, it’s a five minute conversion process.

Just rig your Waverunner with the Shoreline Tubby in the garage the night before and you are set for some dawn fishing. Then pick-up the family later with the picnic gear for a boat-like weekend itinerary. At the destination you could remove the pods and ride free.

ON THE WATER
- Mind-blowing fishing watercraft
Of course, there were some big question to answer about how the latch-on fibreglass pods perform. Take it from us, the best way to answer your queries is with a water test. The performance is convincing.

The pods provide incredible stability at low speeds, while trolling and drifting. I could sit side-saddle on one pod with my feet in the water or sit really comfortably facing back aft while drifting, Either way, the FX HO was as stable as a small catamaran. See the pics.

At trolling speed with the lures out, you feel as excited as you might be on a trailerable sportfisher. The FX HO is a very nice low-speed platform with lots of freeboard and a nose-up attitude as you can see from the trolling footage in our video.

Then when you pack your rods away and attach the safety lanyards just in case, you have the mighty FX HO. In the turns, the pods sure-up the ride and the Waverunner goes over only so far. You don’t notice the effect other than you just don’t have any inclination to fall off.

In a straight line, at speed, the Tubby pods ride clear of the water and your Yamaha Waverunner hull is just doing what it is designed to do. Jumping waves off Mooloolaba, it didn’t rattle or feel compromised by the pods and they didn’t smash back into the water either.

I will add that the trim function really plays a noticeable role in your ride comfort and at a comfortable cruise of about mid-20 knots with some in-trim the FX HO carves a really nice path through the swells without getting too airborne at all.

As we had a Lowrance fishfinder on the dash and fishing rods in the holders, there was no point trying to break gear. But with the Shoreline Tubbies, the FX HO remains a very agile watercraft with a top speed of just over 100km/h.

In terms of boating range, the FX HO can cover more than 100nm at 28 knots cruise using about 1lt/1.45nm and its 70 litre fuel supply. Fuel efficiency is regarded as one of its strengths.

Off the Sunshine Coast, you could surf from your Waverunner around places like Mudjimba Island, jump some waves at the mouth of the Maroochy River at Cotton Tree, then latch-on the Shoreline Tubby pods and get up early for a Sunday troll for mackerel, bottom bash the reefs for snapper and pearl perch, and go catch some mahi mahi or marlin on the Eight Mile.

To say we were pumped when we launched into the Mooloolah River was an understatement. We had a few rigged rods at the ready, the Lowrance fish finder scanning below, and our eyes peeled for signs of predators that might jump on our trolled minnow lures around the wash of Point Cartwright.

Alas, I didn’t solicit a single strike. But I had a few slashes with the cane gaff anyway. I then returned none-too-salty but with great enthusiasm about the prospects of Yamaha’s excellent FX HO Waverunner with the Shoreline Tubby pods.

The RiDE ‘brake’ system made low-speed manoeuvring around the ramp a snap and before you could say “wow” the cool rig was on the trailer and heading back to Brisbane.

VERDICT
- Your on-water solution in one
Sure, fishing from Waverunners is nothing new. Riders all over the world have been posting photos of bigger and bigger game fish caught from their ‘skis’. You can land marlin and big tuna no problems at all. This is no secret. There are a few Tubby videos proving the point kicking around on Youtube.

The FX HO with Shoreline Tubbies have been sold into the Whitsundays, Cairns, even Adelaide for snapper and whiting fishing. Off the Gold and Sunshine coasts and Moreton Bay, the Waverunner riders have been catching plenty of mackerel, mahi mahi, and snapper off the bottom from Waverunners.

I was just blown away by the set-up of our test machine and admit to lying awake at night thinking about how I can sneak a rig like this into my personal fleet. A fishing watercraft that teams affordability and low maintenance with ease of use and immediacy is just a perfect ‘boating’ solution for time-poor today.

LIKES
>> Creates an affordable and serious fishing machine
>> Huge boost to storage and amazing stability
>> Decent fish box and plumbed circulating live-bait tank
>> Expands your watercraft’s application for, say, camping
>> Quick release takes just a few minutes to remove pods
>> Affordable option for $3500-$4000

NOT SO MUCH
>> Though they are through bolted, we’d upgrade the plastic rod holders for our calibre of fishing
>> Would be great to see Yamaha offer these pods as factory options and for them to fit other Waverunner models

Specifications: Yamaha FX HO with Shoreline Tubby pods
Engine: Four-stroke, four-cyl DOHC, 16-Valve, High Output marine engine
Displacement: 1812 cc
Bore x Stroke: 86 x 78 mm
Compression Ratio: 11.0 : 1
Cooling System: Low-maintenance open-loop cooling
Pump Type: 155mm High-pressure axial flow
Lubrication System: Scavenger pump-assisted wet sump
Fuel Management: Electronic fuel injection
Fuel Tank Capacity: 70 litres
Length: 3560 mm
Width: 1230 mm
Height: 1230 mm
Weight: 376 kg
Storage Capacity: 126 litres
Rider Capacity: Three
More from Shoreline Yamaha, see www.shorelineyamaha.com.au, and Yamaha Australia at www.yamaha-motor.com.au/products/watercraft/all.

Photo credit: Photos of the author riding the Waverunner FX HO by Mark Harman from Yamaha Australia.