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Thread: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

  1. #11
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CNUCg1N3FYE

    A short video of the bull above...

  2. #12
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Quote Originally Posted by fuzzybiscuit View Post
    That would be ideal Emerson.

    I’m in the early stages of planning a moose hunt for next year with a buddy who just bought a 420 tunnel jet. We’re looking at taking the two boats and going a couple hundred Kms up river then setting up camp and hunting out of just 1 boat. We figure that we could get 2 moose out in 1 trip that way.

    If it doesn’t work out I’ll be doing a solo hunt on my own but keeping the distance to half of that. One guy packing lightly and you can sleep in the boat with a makeshift ridge pole and a tarp. It sounds pretty bush, but actually pretty comfortable with the inflatable floor.
    I used plastic conduit with a tarp to build a covered wagon over my aluminum. Worked well, but the resident beaver kept scratching at the boat bottom 3” from my head all night.

  3. #13
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Quote Originally Posted by emerson View Post
    I used plastic conduit with a tarp to build a covered wagon over my aluminum. Worked well, but the resident beaver kept scratching at the boat bottom 3” from my head all night.
    Lol. There are hundreds of beavers on the river so I could see that happening. Little buggers are a pain when drifting down river as they always swim down stream of you slapping their tails.

  4. #14
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    I'd love to take one of these into a few fly in locations non accessible by trailer boats.

  5. #15
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Great feedback on the Solar fb

  6. #16
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Two more bull moose packed out in my Solar 380 Jet Tunnel this season. The only down side to the 380 is that with it being a small boat it can't quite get 2 guys with gear and a full bull moose up and on step so I have to make 2 trips to get all the meat out if I need to run shallow water. Its close and with 2 quarters sitting on the beach it has no problem. But, I spent the fall running everything from wet rocks on up. With just 2 guys and a bit of gear there is not much that it can't go through and once I installed a polyurethane intake on the jet pump it was unstoppable. I hit hundreds of rocks and there is very little sign of wear on the intake or the bottom of the boat.

    I've got a slightly bigger motor I'm building for next year that will give me another 5hp at the head and weigh the same. The plan was to put it on my 380 JT but I may sell my 380 with the Merc factory 2-stroke 20hp jet as a package and put the new motor on a new 420 Strela Jet Tunnel. The 420 is only 20lbs heavier and the same width but with it being 16" longer it sounds like they can get more weight up and on step with the same HP that is on my 380. The new Merc Sea Pro (Tohatsu) 30hp 2-stroke Jet I have should make a whole moose a 1 trip affair.

    If you are running a river that has very shallow sections then these boats are great. Likewise if you have a spot that you can launch a small boat like these where a bigger boat can't be put in. I have both on a local river. This year it was so low the bigger boats were doing a lot of damage in the way of worn-off Teflon and I can launch my Solar in a spot they cannot, so I'm putting in about 3 hours from where the closest launch is for a big aluminum. In these conditions they excel. They are also relatively cheap to buy and run. You can also store them just about anywhere in the winter and you can roll them up and put them in a SUV or the back of your truck. If you are running a deeper river though there are a lot of other options out there that may be a better for you.




  7. #17
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Thats awesome! I need one..what would you sell your 380/20hp for? Whats a new 420 super jet worth? What do you think of those yammy 2 stroke knock offs called Seatan? I heard there was an importer in Richmond that brings them in?
    "Our arrows will block out the sun!" "Then we shall fight in the dark!" K.L. Government is not the solution to our problem, it is the problem. R.R. “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” M.F. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClJ...fYFveARiWyqjQA

  8. #18
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Quote Originally Posted by ElectricDyck View Post
    Thats awesome! I need one..what would you sell your 380/20hp for? Whats a new 420 super jet worth? What do you think of those yammy 2 stroke knock offs called Seatan? I heard there was an importer in Richmond that brings them in?
    My 380 package with the Merc 20hp 2-stroke jet would be worth $6,500-7k I’m thinking. Maybe slightly more with a new intake on it. I’m not right up on Covid pricing but everything I’m looking to buy seems to be worth more than I thought it would be and nothing is available.

    A new 420 Strela jet tunnel is about $6,000 and delivery is not until next May or so from what I’ve heard. That’s my dilemma. I sell my boat as a package and I may not see a new hull until next summer at the earliest. Jet pump kits are also hard to come by. Outboard Jets out of California say it will be at least next May before they start shipping kits out. The combo of the two make a package like mine that is ready to go worth top dollar.

    The cheapest options for motors is a factory 25hp 4-stroke Merc jet at around $6000+. They are hard to find too but do come up. Most are electric start and weigh close to 200 pounds. They push a 420 nicely but are heavy to haul around. A 2-stroke like my 20hp factory jet is 124 pounds, so much easier to pack around. Lighter weight is also nice when hitting rocks as it allows the motor to jump up much easier so the impacts do less damage.

    My new motor is a 2012 Merc Sea Pro 2-stroke 30hp. These motors are made by Tohatsu for Merc and are the Holy Grail of small motors for a jet pump on a small boat. They have the best power to weight ratio out there and have a great name for reliability. The last year they were sold in Canada was 2012 and the one I found is like new. With a pump on it it’s 130 pounds. I was lucky enough to find a new old stock pump kit at Outlaw Eagle in Red Deer. It was the only kit they had so I really lucked out. All said though buying a used 2-stroke will be all of $2500 for a good one then a pump kit is another $3000. So you’re getting close to the price of a new 25hp Merc 4-stroke. It won’t have the snap of a comparable 2-stroke but it will burn less fuel and be marginally quieter. The trade off is weight.

    I don’t know anything about the Yammy knock-offs so I can’t help there.

  9. #19
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Oh, and the Solar super jets are all 430’s, weight 40 pounds more than the 420 Strela, have a very flat bottom with the jet tunnel, and cost over $1500 more. They are the best for super shallow water but a Strela loaded light with a light motor can get through a couple inches of water without issue.

  10. #20
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    Re: feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

    Thanks Fuzzy, good info...I think you re pricing is low for these crazy times we re living in..

    So do you think the super jet would be worth it? I would think it would plane more weight and run skinnier...I wouldn't guess either hull would be comfortable in any level of chop at speed...

    I heard a rumour Tohatsu still makes a 2 stroke that you can order from the states?

    Those eurethane shoes have sure come down in price..I phoned wooldridge in the AK and they were asking 800 US for theirs a year ago...When I got my RockProof UHMW shoe for my last boat it cost my about 600 canadian and now you can get the jet wolf for $385 canadian..some things go up, some things go down..
    "Our arrows will block out the sun!" "Then we shall fight in the dark!" K.L. Government is not the solution to our problem, it is the problem. R.R. “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” M.F. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClJ...fYFveARiWyqjQA

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