outboard jets

[bighorn]

im thinking of buying a zodiac with a 25 hp mercury 4 stroke.motor is less than 5 years old.does anyone know if i can buy a jet drive attachment for this motor.if so where do i look

[Buck]

These guys make them http://outboardjets.com/jet-drives/

[Foxtail]

A jet will only give you about 15hp on a 25hp outboard and burn double the fuel. Where are you planning on taking it?

[Gone_Fishin_]

im thinking of buying a zodiac

Buddy of mine had some problems with cavitation and his ziodiac when he put the pump on it, the v-hull caused some issues most noticed when running anything that had slight chop to it, he has since switched bacl to prop and sold the pump. You may want to keep this in mind when mounting it and get an adjustable transom so you can raise it up and down to get your foot a little lower in the water. Also keep in mind you'll lose 30% when you switch to a pump. Your 25 will now be a 17hp ish. Made a huge difference when my buddy and I put a pump on our 70hp Johnson on a 16' boat. Used to haul 3 guys fully loaded gear with a prop no problem, now we run 2 guys minus half our dekes and she goes faster once we eat lunch, drink/drain fluids, and burn most of the fuel, lol. We have a joke before we leave now, always yell out "make sure to empty your bladder and take a s**t before we leave or we won't be getting on plane"

Depending on what you want to do i would suggest spending that money on a good depth sounder vs a pump. If your not running shallow rivers all the time stay with the prop. I even run a prop in the Fraser River year round and only had a few chips and dings when first learning the river. Spent some $$ on a decent depth sounder with GPS and marked my routes. Good to go from there, prop burns less fuel and will keep the HP rating for the motor. If your wanting to run up smaller rivers for fall fishing maybe use the zodiak to launch near the upper end and drift the river vs trying to naivigate it. I have a buddy who uses his 12' zodiak with a 55lb electric motor on it to guide him down current vs paddling, been out on it before and works wonders. Depending on current it can even hold us still while we make a few casts in areas you cant get out and fish from shore. He manily uses it to drift down and stop at locations to fish vs trying to run up river with it.

Also before buying brand new, keep a close eye on Bellingham/Seatlle craigslist. There is an older fellow that lives down there that is always rebuilding pumps and jet motors. Got mine refurbised, new impeller and bearings for 475$ off buddy havent had an issue with it for 5 years now. VS the top $$ they are new in stores, Cascade in Chilliwack also has some used pumps that come in here and there for a decent price might be worth the drive or shipping.

IMO i would highly suggest not putting a pump on a zodiak unless it has a near flat bottom at the rear and your main plan is to run super shallow water. I know its super nice to be drving along and not have to worry so much about hitting something under you but sometimes the beneifts dont outweight the disadvantages to owning one.

[Dirty]

I have a sled with a 40/30 yamaha 4 stroke jet on it. It doesn't break speed records but works well for its intended use. I run it on a 15' semi-v 3 degree hull. The general rule of thumb is 1hp per 30 pounds this includes hull weight, outboard weight, fuel, cargo, and occupants.

Alaska jet ranger inflatables are popular in Alaska but expensive.
Ken Meyers (I think) guided the Stamp River with a 14' zodiac and 40/30 4 stroke. He could probably tell you some things about inflatables and jets.

[fuzzybiscuit]

I run a 14 foot jon boat with a 25 hp 2-stroke Merc saltwater with a jet pump. The timing has been bumped 5 degrees and the carb restrictor plate removed, theoretically making it the same as the 30 hp 2-stroke Merc/Tohatsu. The boat and motor are both 2012 models. With 2 guys and some gear for the day I can easily get on plane in a few boat lengths and run at 20 mph at 3/4 throttle. It would burn more fuel than a prop leg but I can still cruise around all day on 10 gallons of gas.

The only down side is that the pump is the lowest thing on the boat and the first to hit when in skinny water. I'm planning on fabricating a jet tunnel for it and installing a sponson on each side of the transom. I'm going to also put the motor on a manual jack plate for adjustment. I can still run in 4 inches of water all day without hitting as is.

I bought the boat and motor together last year with a newer galvanized trailer for $6000 all in. At the time I was told the boat and motor had 16 hours on it and I had no reason not to believe the guy as both the boat and motor could have passed for new.