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View Full Version : Lets talk about river boats!



Sniper
12-26-2004, 03:28 PM
O.K. guys lets have a free for all on river boats! I will be building an aluminum river boat and trailer for it early in the new year and I want to learn as much good and bad before I start. So far I have been back and forth time and time again on what to build which has given me one big head ache! This is some of what I have gathered so far. If you are a big mucky-muck with lots of money to blow then it's simple pick up the phone and call Outlaw marine and order a $50,000 dollar super duty jet package. If your like me then things are a little different. I have pretty much come to the conclusion that with the modern planing jet boat you eventualy will end up in the same place no matter which route you take. Hamilton jet drive says you should have 1 jet horse power for every 22 pounds of weight this means every time you add a person, gear, gasoline or game you need more horses to get you up on plane. To make a long story short by the time you finish your calculations you still end up needing a 20' 200 HP planing jet boat. This all brings me back full circle to where I started to the old standby the 24' x 4' wide river boat. so lets hear some pro's and cons, the old 24' is a lot cheaper on fuel but of course a lot slower. What about design? I heard the boat bottom should rise slightly toward the stern so you can get your jet kicker up level with the back of the boat. Any thoughts or comments welcome! Ken

Dirty
12-26-2004, 05:25 PM
You should checkout Sidewinder Marine Jetboats, my uncle has had 3 and has used all of them on rivers like the Muskwa and Tuchodi. You have to take in to consideration the degree of the hull in relation to purpose of the boat. Flatter bottoms run skinnier water, but deeper hulls are more stable in opener water conditions(large rivers, lakes, etc.). Putting teflon on the bottom of the boat offers protection from rocks and accidents, and should be considered if you intend to hunt small rivers. The wider the boat the more stable as well. Out of all pumps my uncle prefers the hamilton. Hope this helps.

Amphibious
12-26-2004, 05:35 PM
I like my kayak :D

todbartell
12-26-2004, 06:47 PM
I hate water :D

bone-collector
12-27-2004, 10:36 AM
well you dont need 1 jet hp for every 22 pounds that I can tell you , depending on what you plan on doing with it and how mutch "luxury" you want with it, we use 14-16 foot flat bottoms with teflon armour plates and 20-40 HP merc outboard jets and have a blast hunting from them and fishing , and they will climb rivers like the tudagon up north which is rapid hell no problem with 1000lbs of guys and gear in them , if your looking for something with canopies and inboards try the buy and sell out of prince george , lots of boats show up in there for under 20 grand in exelent shape