Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?

Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability? Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

Thanks in advance for any knowledge you have of this. It is MUCH
appreciated.

Don

wrote:
Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?


A gas turbine drives a fan that sucks in air, mixes it with burning
fuel, and then blasts the expanded air-gas mixture out the back. Because
every action has an equal and opposite reaction, as the air streams
backward the engine is forced forward, taking along its container, so to
speak.


Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability?

Certainly, if you are a trained jet drive mechanic.


Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

Yes, but there is a likelihood he will pooch it.


Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

I'd slow down when waves start coming over the bow. Of course, that's
me. Your gallonage may vary.



Thanks in advance for any knowledge you have of this. It is MUCH
appreciated.

Don




--
A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush;
A vote for Bush is a vote for Apocalypse.

On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 13:13:05 GMT, wrote:

Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?

Mine has a 454 V8 engine that runs a Berkley jet pump:

http://www.rexmar.com/page125.html

which takes in water below and forces it out the back. The
higher the RPMs, the faster the motor turns the pump...

Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability? Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

Likely that some can. You could call around and ask before
you get the boat, getting some idea of who has experience
with them, etc. The engine on mine is meant for a truck or race
car, so parts fo the engine can be had at an auto parts store,
And auto mechanics can work on it.

Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

The guy who sold me mine acts like it can't handle very
much, but I thought it did pretty well. I believe there are a
variety of hull designs that have jet drives. Mine is patterned
after a sidewinder:

http://www.cars-on-line.com/86side12501.html

but there are a couple of different types he

http://www.mongoose.net/files/pr2006...-JET-BOAT.html

Thanks in advance for any knowledge you have of this. It is MUCH
appreciated.

Don

They are much like a big PWC like a Jet Ski. You have no
steering unless you are pushing water through the pump. I
had a very hard time docking mine, and even harder trailering
it (tore up the trailer a couple of times). I haven't run it this year,
but have learned a lot since last I drove it. One thing I learned
was the technique of when trying to move slowly, let it coast
in neutral until it about stops moving...then put it in forward for a
second or so and you'll have steering control...then coast again
....then in forward (or sometimes reverse)...etc. Not knowing that
method, I just put mine in forward at idle and did the best I could.
It was fine until I got up to the trailer at wicked speeds of about
5 mph, and wasn't lined up just right...
Jet boats turn very sharply, often look cool, and sound great.
But they are also hard to control at slow speeds, and imo use a
lot of gas. Another thing which I haven't had to deal with is that
they can suck a rope up into the jet, and then you have hell
getting it out. Have to get up under it under water, and cut it
out with a razor knife. I want to sell mine. It's in pretty rough shape,
and I'd probably let it go right now for $1500. I expect to stick
with prop drives from now on. But the jet was a lot of fun!!! I like
the way if handles better than my prop boat, and if I get it running
may decide to keep it instead of the prop, now that I've learned
more basics about how to drive boats.
Out of curiosity, what caused your interest in jet boats?

On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 09:20:01 -0400, Harry Krause wrote:

wrote:
Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?


A gas turbine drives a fan that sucks in air, mixes it with burning
fuel, and then blasts the expanded air-gas mixture out the back.
[...]

That's not how mine works. A lot of PWCs have jet drives,
and I haven't seen that type jet on one of them yet either. I'll
be on the lookout for one now though :-)

Jet's are simple and straight forward. Avoid extreme shallow water
operations as you'll suck up sand and what not and ruin the impellor. The
stability is a factor of the hull form, not the drive.

wrote in message
...
Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?

Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability? Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

Thanks in advance for any knowledge you have of this. It is MUCH
appreciated.

Don

wrote in message . ..
Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?

yes.

A jet is a pump rather than a prop. you have an enclosed impeller
which sucks in water and spits it out. its what you see on PWC's.
there are inboard jets with no motor part below the hull and outboard
jets which are OB's whith a jetpump leg instead of a prop. both have
their application



Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability? Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

In that case maybe dont get a DFI jet .. maybe a carbed V6 or V8 maybe
your ticket to getting it serviced and fixed. But you pay for theit
weight and thirst...


there are less parts on it. It should be easier to maintain because of
that. you also dont have torn off legs and chewed up props.

Jets however handel differently


Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

Often jet boats are made for shallow waters and rivers and have a
draft between 8-14 degrees ... this is harsh to acceptable bounce.

Some like seadoo jet boats have about 22-24 degs deadrise which rides
comfortable.

Popular are merc sportjets they are cheap and good, come from 175 -
240 HP and are 2 strokes with carb to EFI to DFI... then there are V6
and V8 jets.

Both havve their application and fuel use ...

A jet will use more fuel than a prop with same power.

Matt



Thanks in advance for any knowledge you have of this. It is MUCH
appreciated.

Don

On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 13:13:05 GMT, wrote:

Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?

No - it's basically a high speed water pump, in one end, out with a
great deal of force at the other. Harry mentioned a turbine and while
it's not exactly a turbine, the idea of taking a large mass of medium,
in this case water, and moving same through a small exit opening with
great force is similar. Remember the old trick of putting your thumb
over end of a hose to make the water exit with some force? Same
concept only mechanical.

Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability? Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

Well, that's kind of problematic. I hang out occasionally at a dealer
who services just about anything and they will not work on jets -
period, end of discussion. The reason is that parts can be a problem,
there aren't a lot of them in the area, motorcycle/snowmobile shops
can and do take care of them, etc.

Your best bet is not a marina, but a motocycle shop believe it or not.

At least up here that is.

Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

Any sea condition that you feel is unsafe, is unsafe - that only come
from experience. With experience, you will be able to gage what is
safe and what isn't safe for you.

As a guess, I would think that anything over a foot or so is going to
be iffy for you, but that kind of depends on the style of boat, how
much deadrise, etc. Whole bunch of factors.

Good luck - have fun.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653

wrote in message
...
Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?

A jet drive is pumps water out of a nozzel using an impellor as opposed to a
propellor.

Jet drives are hooked up to traditional outboards (Outboard Jet Corp.),
special adapted 2 stroke jets (Merc. Sport Jet) and big V-4, V-6 or V-8
marinized automobile engines (e.g. Hamilton, Berkely, Kodiak, etc.).

Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability? Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

My opinion is that jet drives are much simpler than traditional I/O
outdrives or prop lower units. I believe, as a non-mechanic, that any
decent mechanic would be able to service and repair a jet drive with a shop
manual and decent wrenching skills.

Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

A Jet motor , whether inboard or outboard, can be put on any hull. I've
seen very many quite large and seaworthy boats with inboard jets. I have
also seen many that are in fiberglass sport boats that are suitable for more
lake or small wave activities. Many are installed on flat bottomed or low
deadrise river boats.

So, it all depends on the hull!!

Thanks in advance for any knowledge you have of this. It is MUCH
appreciated.

Good luck and have fun. I've owned V8 inboard jets and outboard jets on
aluminum riverboats. For their purpose, they can't be beat, and as I said,
I think they're much simpler than I/OF and outboard prop drives. But they
can be much less efficient, although the Merc sport jet is pretty efficient
and my V8 was pretty efficient too.

wrote ...

But they are also hard to control at slow speeds, and imo use a
lot of gas.

That depends on the pump design. The Hamilton 212 has large reverse buckets
that provide excellent low speed control. I can rotate my boat in its own
length. Fuel efficiency is also close to a prop.

Another thing which I haven't had to deal with is that
they can suck a rope up into the jet, and then you have hell
getting it out.

That's true, it's good to avoid that although some provide an access hatch from
the top.

-rick-

As a follow up to this note and the one I posted regarding sal****er
v. fresh water boating:

First of all, THANKS!! Very nice of you to pass on your knowledge.
It helps a lot!!

I PRESUME that with a jet boat, no flushing at all is necessary
because not much of anything touches the water. ????

As to how I got into the jet boat area, I needed a shallow draft
because I live on St. George Sound in FLorida and the water gets VERY
shallow, more draft than a foot would not allow me to moor a boat
within 1000 feet of my house. Secondly, I needed a boat that could be
towed by our Jeep Wrangler, limitation about 2000 pounds. Lastly, I
wanted something a bit more plush than the center cockpit fishing
boats that EVERYONE has in thiis area (don't like them, don't need one
because we don't fish). Hence, when I posed my requirements on this
board, a couple people suggested jet boats. And it seems to fit the
bill for me. My only problem has been wondering why ALL boats are not
jet boats - because it seems that the advantage of not having a
propeller to get wrecked and needing to be maintained would be a
no-brainer. So, I KNEW there were some disadvantages that I was not
aware of - such as stability, longevity, maintainability, size
limitations, etc.

Thanks again for the info.

Don

On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 13:13:05 GMT, wrote:

Due to my requirements of shallow draft, light weight and relatively
plush interior, I find myself looking into jet boats as a likely
purchase. My questions are as follows:

Does "jet boat" mean "jet drive" and what exactly does jet drive mean?

Is a jet drive fairly straightforward in maintainability? Can marine
mechanics in a podunk Florida fishing village work on these?

Living on a large sound in the Gulf, just how much wave action can
this boat take before it becomes unsafe?

Thanks in advance for any knowledge you have of this. It is MUCH
appreciated.

Don