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.