jet units

[Captain Crunch]

Rotor....its actually referred to as an HIN on a boat "Hull Identification Number" and the last 2 digits is the year of manufacturer

The tunnel looks fine...its important to get the engine mounted in the right position with relation the that tunnel, not too deep

I suspect that boat is heavy by your description of materials.....therefore you'll need at couple laborers to go with you when you venture out onto the Chilkat River, at least until you learn to read the river and stay off those hidden sand bars....

Then you'll be able to get into Chilkat Lake also...stand at the boat launch and watch a couple of the locals navigate the entrance first...

A 90 is a lotta engine to tiller steer....

I'd be looking at a 2-stroke to keep the weight down...something in the 50/60hp range

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

Hey, they don't call him "warpt" for nothin you know...

Here is a site that gives you a bit of incite of what to do.

Enhancing Outboard Jet Performance (http://www.fish.state.pa.us/boatcrs/jet/jetboard.htm - broken link)

Once you are on step with the boat, you will find that when running on "Step" water depth is going to be in the one or two inch range, when you stop, then the boat will come off step and drop to the normal floating level. What a lot of people forget is that they need to be in deeper water than they are running in when they cut the engine back. The boat settles on the sand bar in shallow water and there they stay...

The jet boats that I rebuild and operate lately are in the forty foot range and run with twin 400 HP engines, and a couple of times they guys have shut down the throttle and sat on the beach til the tide came in... had they been in a river and done that, they would have been really up the creek without a paddle...

You will have a lot of fun with that boat. As a note, the four strokes do weigh more, but when you figure the extra gas you have to carry to feed the two strokes, you will be a lot lighter with the four stroke versions and they last a lot longer.

We have a fleet of smaller boats that use to have two strokes 90's on them, we switched them the 90 four strokes and the move more than paid for them in gas savings. I put a jet on one of the 90 HP Honda's and it works very well on a boat about the size of yours (17' foot) with a full load... Not to mention a blast to play with on the rivers...

[warptman]

Keep in mind on jetboats/jetpumps, you can't turn if you let off the gas. I learned this lesson when I had a 20' Wooldridge Classic with a Redline 351. This was a fun boat, not fun when we got it stuck.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by warptman

Keep in mind on jetboats/jetpumps, you can't turn if you let off the gas. I learned this lesson when I had a 20' Wooldridge Classic with a Redline 351. This was a fun boat, not fun when we got it stuck.

Yeah, I put one about ten feet up off a river bank the first time I drove one when I was about twenty. Went into the corner a bit too fast so pulled off the power, and that is when I found the steering went away... We were there til about three in the morning cutting alders and such to get the boat back in the water... Friend didn't let me drive his new boat again either....

[rotorhead]

Thanks everyone for the information, it's given me lots of things to think about. From what I've read, the boat I have is pretty well configured hull-wise for a jet unit, it was probably built for one from the start and just ended up with the existing engine because it was cheaper. I'll be keeping my eye out for jet units in the 60-90 hp range, there seems to be lots of options but none of them are going to be inexpensive.

Another question for those of you that have been there...is it practical to swap bottom ends beween a jet unit and a regular prop when switching between river and open water use, or is it a PITA? Having two seperate motors (or better yet, two boats) would be way more convienent but I just can't afford that particular luxury just yet.

[warptman]

There are a lot of people here in Bethel that have a prop and jet unit for their boat. They get up as far as they can with prop because it burns less gas and when it gets too shallow for the prop, they change over to the pump. It takes about a half hour to change over when they do this.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

Thanks everyone for the information, it's given me lots of things to think about. From what I've read, the boat I have is pretty well configured hull-wise for a jet unit, it was probably built for one from the start and just ended up with the existing engine because it was cheaper. I'll be keeping my eye out for jet units in the 60-90 hp range, there seems to be lots of options but none of them are going to be inexpensive.

Another question for those of you that have been there...is it practical to swap bottom ends beween a jet unit and a regular prop when switching between river and open water use, or is it a PITA? Having two seperate motors (or better yet, two boats) would be way more convienent but I just can't afford that particular luxury just yet.

Although carrying two engines is an option, I would opt for a fourstroke with a jet and get the best gas economy and that will still be better than a two stroke with a prop.

It wouldn't hurt though to get a five HP kicker to use as a backup in the event that something does go wrong, or you want to troll without using the bigger engine.

Either way, you should have a good time fishing... they don't care what lower end you have...

[rotorhead]

So I guess after I get the new motor, I'll need some other important accessories too. A bigger gas tank (I don't think six gallons is gonna do it), a river net for sub fishing (missed out on that this year, drats), and most importantly, some tall friends with chest waders and strong backs so they can get me unstuck from the sand bars! One of my neighbors has been running one of the jetboats that does tours up by the lake, I suspect he'll have some pointers.

I'd guess that there's some days when nothing but an airboat can get through without getting stuck a time or two. I've been out on the river a couple times when the silt was so thick it looked like you could shovel it, couldn't see through the water at all. It makes me wonder how the fish can breath that stuff, it's so full of grit.