Jet boat help

[Duh]

I’m considering buying a jet boat for hunting and maybe a little fishing. Specifically looking at a North River or King Fisher style boat in the 18ft or 20ft range. I like the style of the jet boats and the ability to be in an enclosed area should it rain or snow on me. The ability to get into shallow water is also a huge plus.

Would be using this primarily along the Missouri River in ND and SD for the time being. My main concern is the jets sucking up sand and fine mud in that river. I obviously wouldn’t be reving the engine to purposely suck up sand but I don’t see anyone else in the area with this type of boat.

Does anyone have one of these boats and do you have issues running it in sandy/muddy areas?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I have a jet boat. Sucking up sand, rocks, grass etc sucks but that’s sort of part of ripping shallow water. It happens, depending gnon your motor you might want to take a battery charger, running your power trip to flush the jet will drain a battery quickly.

 

[chizelhead]

I guess it depends on how much mud and sand is sucked up. If it's frequent and or long duration you may want to look at a mudmotor. If it's relatively infrequent, then I don't see it as a problem. Gravel and grass are much more damaging since the gravel will eat away your impeller and sleeve and the grass clogs everything up especially if you go in reverse. I would also look carefully at HPs. I think the power can be can be too low on anything under 20ft especially a tiller driven jet. 20' and longer you can put anything you want on it.

 

[fatbacks]

Up here in Alaska we run jets all day long on these glacial rivers. Sandy and silty as it gets. It wears them down over the long haul, but sucking gravel and rocks does way more damage.


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[Tmac]

A sand trap can help with some of the sand and grit. I’d look at one of those and go fish. I’ve only seen them on inboards.

 

[Banded_spooney]

Inboard or outboard?

I don’t know much about outboards So maybe this applies, maybe it doesn’t.

A NR with a inboard will have a sand trap, just make sure if you suck a bunch of sand up you shut down and clean that out. I’ve seen enough sand get sucked up that I’m sure it would have caused a cooling issue otherwise.

My inboard doesn’t have a stomp grate or a sand trap. That’s not ideal. In the past I’ve just shut it down and then fired it back up. Usually that’ll blow anything loose. More lucky than anything.

Maybe it’s how we run them but I haven’t seen gravel be a huge problem. I did see a rock bend a shoe grate on an outboard but the grate did its job. We had a hell of a time fixing that.

For hunting shallow marshes grass is the biggest nightmare in my mind.

 

[Wrench]

If you have a choice.....you want a Hamilton 212 pump.

Mine is a 24' and it's enough push for this boat.

 

[Duh]

Thanks for the feedback. Definitely tamed my concerns. I’m looking at an inboard now. It’s not necessary in the Missouri River but I’m hoping to move back to Idaho eventually.

Think I’m going to start shopping around now.

 

[chizelhead]

I've run both in and outboard and prefer the outboard. It opens up more space in back. I also prefer forward helm. It's easier to balance IMO. 2 bodies forward helps balance out a motor and kicker hanging off the back. I also think it's easier to see when navigating in the dark where I'm looking out for deadheads, navigating sloughs, etc. It's also warmer. The windshield helps a lot, but the tradeoff is hiding the boat for waterfowl hunting, which is still doable. Last, pt is a forward helm is easier for long runs. I fully understand it's probably the driver (me), but I find it fatiguing to run the tiler for long runs vs using a steering wheel in the forward helm. That being said, many people run tiler in the same scenarios and like them.

 

[Customweld]

@Wrench nailed it. Hamilton 212's is about the best all around pump for a jet. They especially shine in aerated whitewater. American Turbines are good pumps for still waters. Hamilton and Kodiak 3 stage pumps are good and handle gravel much better than a HP212 or AT309. The worst thing with pumps is chunky (sticks or moss) water. It is surprising how small of a stick will cause a pump to cavitate. That's where things can get interesting.

 

[madcalfe]

its a jet boat your gonna suck shit up no matter what.
make sure you buy a boat with a stomp grate. sand traps dont come on boats with sportjets. Just v6 and v8’s but can be added to sport jets. It’s a mixed review if they’re needed on sportjets. And lastly have fun sinking money into a never ending fun pit

 

[Banded_spooney]

its a jet boat your gonna suck shit up no matter what.
make sure you buy a boat with a stomp grate. sand traps dont come on boats with sportjets. Just v6 and v8’s but can be added to sport jets. It’s a mixed review if they’re needed on sportjets. And lastly have fun sinking money into a never ending fun pit View attachment 564622

I have a sport jet without a stompgrate or sand trap. When I said if he buys a NR I assumed it would have a v8 but that might not be the case. I forgot NR put sportjets in 18-20’ boats for a while sometimes.

If you can afford it, get one with a small block v8. SJ will get the job done but you’ll be happier in the long run

 

[madcalfe]

also if your wanting to run skinny water, a 20ft with a v8 will be heavy to get unstuck.
my firefish is a 16' with a 200sj and it takes 4 people to push it out if she's beached (which happens regularly)
so keep that in mind. a chainsaw winch, mounted bow winch or a turfer is a vital piece of equipment to have.

 

[Duh]

also if your wanting to run skinny water, a 20ft with a v8 will be heavy to get unstuck.
my firefish is a 16' with a 200sj and it takes 4 people to push it out if she's beached (which happens regularly)
so keep that in mind. a chainsaw winch, mounted bow winch or a turfer is a vital piece of equipment to have.

Thanks for the info. I know jack about boats but it’s time to learn and get into some debt haha.

 

[Customweld]

Thanks for the info. I know jack about boats but it’s time to learn and get into some debt haha.

There is a website dedicated to jetboats called meanchicken.net . There is a ton of info on that site.

 

[Duh]

There is a website dedicated to jetboats called meanchicken.net . There is a ton of info on that site.

Thank you!

 

[madcalfe]

i don't know much about north river boats but they look to be mass manufactured, kind of the same as king fisher. if you have skinny water in mind and want a durable 4x4 boat id suggest looking at Alicraft, firefish, outlaw, high caliber, brattjett, these are all top tier Custom boat builders in Canada.

 

[chizelhead]

North River is legit. Someone made a good pt on inboard v8 and weight. Bigger boat makes it harder to get off obstructions. Anchor and winch can save the day.

 

[Duh]

So if I’m in the 20ft ball park with a v8 inboard, would 2 feet of water be considered “skinny”?

 

[Customweld]

So if I’m in the 20ft ball park with a v8 inboard, would 2 feet of water be considered “skinny”?

If the grass is wet, you can draft over that! 1 foot minus is where I'd get nervous with my 20' Customweld with a 350 motor.