Anyone own a jet outboard?

Watching videos of the guys running jet outboards on aluminum boats in rocky rivers is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Does anyone own one or have experience using one? There are places I would like to fish and a jet is the only way to get around well on them, but I don't wanna own 2 boats.

So how much of a handicap is the jet when fishing a reservoir? I know it will be slower than a similar prop outboard, but that's not an issue for me. I don't fish tournaments and current boat tops out at 32 mph and I don't even need to go that fast. I've read that they clog up at the intake around weeds and sticks, but I don't know how big an issue it would really be. Any experience?

I've had two guys in my bass club both own a Gator Boat jet. Gator Jet Boats


They are built like a tank for those Missouri and Arkansas rivers. You can take one anywhere which can be good and bad. Both of my friends damn near killed us multiple times running over stuff and getting airborne. Both of my buddies got rid of their boats after BASS made them illegal to use in their tournaments. If I got one tomorrow, it'd be a smaller boat that I could use to deer and duck hunt with and fun fish with.


ETA: Important piece of information, just like a jetski, a jet boat will only maneuver when it's under power. So, when you make a wrong turn like my buddy did and you're suddenly headed right for the bank, shutting it down and turning the wheel does NOTHING.

Roland won a BASS tournament one time using one. He, or one of his guides, found some good smallies way up a river. Had to have one to get through the shallow rocky river.

You can buy a jet gear case for yours. You’d have to change cdi units as well. Don’t ask me how much that would cost. But all in all, you wouldn’t want a jet fishing deep rivers or lakes, they suck. I’ve ran them a bunch. Top speed suffers a bunch, overall performance and maneuverability falls off sharply.

I’ll let you borrow my mud motor 🤷🏻‍♂️

Topcat, it was Roland. He had a tx coming up and got a local to put him on'em. The old fella was on the show. Nobody else used a shallow boat and Roland ran away with it. It's been done a bunch since then.

Ol Roland won a bunch of tournaments on fish he would send the guides from his marina to find before the event. He was the reason several of the BASS rules are in place today.

I have had both inboard and outboard jet boats. My dad built race boats that are used on the rivers in the Pacific Northwest. They are fine for running shallow water, with the right hull. They will run thru 6” of water on plane but still draft 2’ at idle speed. You better know how to read water and drive one before running shallow water.

If you want to watch a wild ride search YouTube for videos of closed course jet boat racing, they are using 16’ boats with 800+ hp.

I don’t own one but I see a guy in a bass tracker with a jet . I watch him in drive over rocks I know are only inches under water with 33,000 cfps rolling around him ...with out a life jacket . He can definitely get in places I cant with my outboard .

Ive been around the jets a long time. I have lots of fishing friends that have them and I have a G3 1656 CCJ. It has a 60/40 yamaha jet. 60 horse powerhead that translates to 40 hp at the jet. They are a must have for rocky rivers and that's pretty much all I fish, or use to at least. I dont fish as much as i use to.

If you get one, get the absolute highest hp engine you can afford. They aren't as efficient as a prop driven boat. 2 strokes make a little more bottom end torque, but the newer 4 strokes like mine hold their own, and they're much easier and cheaper to maintain. Overall I like the 4 stroke for day in day out use.

They do suck stuff up but usually raising the trim up will clear the clog. If you're in a rocky river you usually dont have to worry about stuff getting in there and clogging it. Outboard jets are much easier to get unclogged that an inboard jet. If you get an inboard jet you will need to install what's called a stomp grate.

I used to fish a river the past couple of summers where I caught a limit of crappie when no one else could when the water was low. I had to pass over a shoal just had 6" of water over it in order to get to the deep holes.

Someone above mentioned putting a jet foot on your boat. It may work, but here are 2 reasons why it may not. 1) If you have a prop outboard on now, your current powerhead almost certainly wont be enough to handle the jets 33% reduction in power, and still push your boat or even get it on plane. 2) A jet requires a smooth transition of water from the hull to the jet foot. Laminar flow must be achieved to keep it from ventilation or cavitation. There must be no obstructions on the hull ahead of the jet foot, and the water coming off of the hull must be flat, not at a V like would be the case in a transom with a steep deadrise. For example, lifting strakes on a prop driven boat are placed in a manner that works best for them. Jet boats have a totally different setup to avoid what I just described. Another example, if your hull is a V hull or semi V, and that V goes all the way to the transom you can forget about running a jet, unless the deadrise is very very low at the transom. Even then you will have to hang your jet foot pretty low to get laminar flow and that would create alot of drag. Mine is a semi V at the bow and transitions to a zero degree deadrise at the transom, and it also has a 2" tunnel that allows me to run the motor above the bottom of the boat, making it where the motor is not the lowest hanging thing. Most true outboard jet boats have a tunnel hull.

Thats just scratching the surface, but should give you an idea. If you want to know anything else just let me know.

Id like to build a jet Jon but it's just to much of a project right now

Thanks for all the info. I would sell the boat I have and get one that was designed for a jet if I decide to do it.

I used to fish the Hooch above West Point a lot. I could be fishing and hear a guy coming up river in his jet tin boat. It seemed like I could hear him coming for 30 mins till he got too me. It was a dog, but he could go past the shoals above Franklin and kill big spots.

Perch, I used to fish the hooch alot too. Love that place. I would fish for stripe right below morgan falls dam. That's as far up as the stripe from west point could swim. It's great for some big shoal bass too.

If you want to watch a wild ride search YouTube for videos of closed course jet boat racing, they are using 16’ boats with 800+ hp.[/quote]

Those are absolutely crazy! Hell I couldn't remember the turns.

Those are absolutely crazy! Hell I couldn't remember the turns. [/quote]
Yeah now those are something else! I'd love to drive one of those. Also check out the turbine jet races. What I'd give to drive one of those! Dont want to own one, just drive it one time

Check out tunnel hull boats. I think a tunnel hull boat, a jack plate, and that 50 you have would be an awesome setup. They will run in inches of water without the draw backs of the jet.

Now is the time to be looking. Dealerships have 18’ and 19’ models they want gone. I just got an 2018 model hull that’s never been in the water for a steal of a deal. (Like I kinda felt guilty sorta deal🤣). I put my old 2007 model motor over on it.

I had a phantom sportjon. Tunnel hulled. Got it in Alaska. It was nice and would haul a load. But, grass and leaves are not your friend. Luckily I had a stomp grate. Man I could run NE/SW ON Toledo Bend and not worry.

Also had a jet with a 351 Windsor and American turbine pump. Heck of a moose hunt rig on the AK braided rivers. Check out Compeaus in Fairbanks Alaska. The sell the Sportjons. Long way from here, but you can get a good idea of what rough use jet boats are like

Tunnel hull boat is a general term when it comes to fishing boats. In fishing boats theres a jet tunnel and a prop tunnel. Theres a hull design/class of racing boats called a tunnel hull, but I dont think that's what you're talking about. I think what you're referring to is a "prop tunnel". A prop tunnel has it's time and place and very well may work in his application. It wont work in rocky rivers or rivers that have alot of downed trees in the middle, or stumps though. If he is going to be using it in water where there isnt obstructions close to the surface then it can work.

Those phantoms are nice.

If I were getting serious about river fishing again, I'd get one of these https://rockproofboats.com/ He puts UHMW on the bottom and builds with .250 and .190 aluminum. They're pretty much bulletproof. If you hit a rock you're good. But you pay. The top of the line loaded models are in the mid 50's. I'd have to have a model with a little less options lol.

If he wants a factory inboard jet boat with a mercury sport jet, he could get a sea ark jet or something like that.

I lived in AK for almost 30 years and ran both inboard and outboard jets for years. I've run them in rivers and creeks, inches deep, and I have run them in the ocean. They will do amazing things, but do have some limitations. They are prone to sucking up rocks, sticks and other vegetation. Sometimes clearing can be a pain, but it has to be done as the obstruction disrupts water intake. Converting an outboard prop to jet foot will cost you about 30% of your horsepower, fuel economy will suffer a little. Maintenance is a little different keeping impellers straight and sharp, and keeping sleeves in good repair. Tunnels are nice, but not necessary. I've seen tons of flat bottoms that had transom height extended and braced back to the hull, along the gunnels. Works great. You may also think about treating the bottom to help slide over obstacles, several products are available.

I'm sure you can find one to fit your mission.

I've seen some of the flat bottoms do well too. Alot of the folks are trying the K5 Polurea, but some are saying it will peel in time. There may be some better stuff out there now though. The K5 does great as long as it stays stuck in there. The best I've seen is to glue and bolt on UHMW (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) to the bottom. With it you can slide and get impact resistance. Probably overkill for anyone on here though lol

We did some pretty gnarly things up in AK, sliding over gravel bars, downed trees, beaver dams, etc. I've seen UHMW on airboat hulls quite a bit and on jet boat bows on occasion. I have a buddy in Petersburg, AK that used a painted on product he's had awesome luck with - super slick. I believe he's on his third season with it. Can't remember the name though.

Thanks for all the additional replies; keep them coming. I had thought about a tunnel hull, but after reading about them I thought for my purposes a plain old flat bottom might work better. I have reasonable drives to the Tallapoosa and the Cahaba. I can fish on them with my prop boat, but it's likely a question of time before I really tear something up. My prop already looks sad.

I think I would like a jet much better for the rivers, but I still want to be able to fish Lay lake and Miller's ferry and such. I don't mind going slower, but I'm concerned about not having reverse and some of the other issues. A smaller boat would probably suit me better. I was thinking of a 1545 with SS and maybe a 40/25 jet. Extreme will make one like that with a .190 bottom that I might not be able to tear up.

But it's probably a bad idea. It will be cheaper to just buy new props and lower units. But the jet looks like so much fun.

Buy a mud motor mr Steve. You can do anything and go anywhere

I've never seen a jet that didnt have reverse. It just works differently than a prop. The water is just redirected.

Probably the most practical advice on this thread.

I went duck hunting with a guy who had one, but his didn't really get on a plane and we probably went 10 mph. Is that normal? I need to go faster than that.
I talked to a guy today who has a tunnel prop boat and he said that's what I need; that it's way more versatile than a jet and will go places the jet won't. Looks like I may be too old to do it before I figure this out

I've never owned a jet or a mud motor. I can tell you having seen plenty of mud motors on Guntersville that they are very, very loud and slow. I don't know about 10 mph, but you can hear em a long, long time before you see them. Jet motors are loud and slow too. You could always buy a jet lower later and swap if you needed to.

A few more thoughts. I've seen a couple comments about jets not being good for deeper water. There is no difference in performance whether the water is 3 feet deep or 300. In really shallow water you will notice two characteristics. The stern will rise, almost like an airplane in ground effect, and the motor sound will change pitch.

A boat topping out at 10mph has some issues. There could be hull damage, it could be overloaded, possibly poorly trimmed, or the jet foot needed maintenance. It is important to keep your intake clear, your impellers sharp and straight, and your impeller sleeve in good condition. Also, as stupid as it sounds, your jet intake needs to be mounted correctly - the pointed end faces forward. It looks backwards, but it is not. It will still run, just not correctly or with the needed umph.

May also find a central outdoor Missouri forum. I know there’s a lot of jet boaters around the gasconade river area.

I think the seaark predator looks decent and can be found locally.

Again, a simple reminder —— jets don’t like grass.

Outboard jets are a pain to clean

Go with the Mercury Optimax with a STOMP grate and a tunneled Hull. Then hang on

PCP, if your going to be running in water where there are obstructions are greater than 2-3 foot away from the surface then a prop tunnel setup may be what suits you best. Any closer and you'll likely need a jet. A surface drive (aka mud motor) is a bad choice for fishing unless you're wanting to fish in a swamp.

I found this article that talks about the option of just buying the jet gear for my current motor:

https://www.boatingworld.com/engines/drop-the-prop/

They claim you can switch them out in an hour, though that probably means at least a half day for someone of my mechanical ability.

I gotta research it a lot more, but this might actually work for me. Fishing rivers is a mid-summer through Fall thing, and the rest of the year I'd be better off with a prop. Switching it out once a year would not be that big of a deal If I could learn how to do it. My current boat would not be the ideal jetboat, but I think it would work. It has the typical modified V bow, but it is just a flat bottom at the stern. It's welded and the only modification I think I would have to make is a jack plate. It runs about 32 now; if it only ran 20 with the jet on that would be fine. I have found that access to 6-8 miles of river is plenty for a day of fishing.

It looks like I could get everything I'd need for under $3k, and that's a lot less than the $18k or so a new jetboat would cost. And I'd have the versatility to make it back into a prop boat for winter and spring. But it may just be another bad idea.

no his must’ve been very small and screwed up. My 23hp copperhead on my 1642 Jon boat runs 25 mph with me and hunting gear. A bigger short shaft on a lighter hull works beautifully. My buddies with their bigger boats and engines hit 27-34. All depends on the boat and engine.

I can change lower units on your engine in about 20 minutes.

Well, that gives me hope that I could learn to do it in just 5 hours.

I found a place in CA that would make a jet unit for my motor for $1900, but it will take 2 months.

Sport V

I want one of these on a 16” flat bottom. I think it would do everything I wanted.