sheep and elk hunt from a small jet sled?

[Brew]

My hunting partner has a 40 horse jet on a custom skiff. The boat does pretty well going up rivers so we were thinking of doing a northern elk and sheep hunt in sept. Obviously going in really light(just our packs). We normaly do the kootenays but really want to get away from the crowds. If anyone knows of a decent area or can give some direction as to what river would work with a boat this size it would really help us out. I have never hunted up north for sheep but have been successful on goat hunts and I can run rivers pretty good as i used to steelhead guide. Thanks for the help.

[Barracuda]

if its designed for that engine no worries . Don't let the guys that bought into the whole bigger is better junk sway you . two guys packed for a plane will do fine with a sled ,Its all about working within the abilities of your craft not the other way around Its no different then a bush plane. Im in the same boat so to speak lol

[leadpillproductions]

Lets see some pics of the boat if you have any

[Brew]

I see if I can post some

[Brew]

Here is the boat we are going to use.
http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/Bare20/0bcb37876b4270cdfa07f5484b76bcfb_zpsriarz2zz.jpg

[300rum700]

How much fuel you can pack is going to limit you more than anything.

[Liveforthehunt]

My only concern would be your outboard getting mangled by trees and rocks ?

[Brew]

My only concern would be your outboard getting mangled by trees and rocks ?
It has a jet on it.

[Brew]

How much fuel you can pack is going to limit you more than anything.
I bet with our gear we could still pack 200 lbs of fuel. I guess I should do the weight to ltire conversion on that. We've had five guys in it and it still goes pretty with that much weight.

[300rum700]

Your going to have to figure out how much fuel per hour you burn fully loaded and how fast youre going then take into account your travelling upstream. I don't know how much a little jet like that will burn but 200 lbs of fuel isn't a lot.

[bighornbob]

I bet with our gear we could still pack 200 lbs of fuel. I guess I should do the weight to ltire conversion on that. We've had five guys in it and it still goes pretty with that much weight.

That's 91L of gas.

Bhb

[tyreguy]

Fuel is 8lbs a gallon approx (water closer to 10).
Ya it will probably work if you dont have anything in it and you're not planning to shoot an elk - but what if you get 2 300" elk?? Don't count on drifting downstream to save on fuel - and what if you get it loaded up and tag a rock on the hull or the intake?
I have ran upstream in a sportjet and my rule of thumb is the weight of the fuel going up is the weight of the meat coming out, i pack enough expecting to burn 10-12gal/hr loaded.
A few years ago i saw a group that spoke very little engrish at the Kledo boat launch - brand new Thunderjet landing craft with a 350 / Hami. they were bouncing it up and down from there until they overheated it so bad because the heat exchangers were plugged with silt. But they said it worked good in the lakes when they tried it, pretty much trashed a $60k boat in 1 trip to the wrong river.
Don't try to take a 2WD where you need a 4WD.

[browningboy]

The big problem I see is you are sitting down at the transom, how are you going to be able read the water and navigate the boat through skinny water, going up stream may be easier but down stream is another ball game in those rivers.
if you had a centre console I would say giver!

[Ranger95]

My hunting partner has a 40 horse jet on a custom skiff. The boat does pretty well going up rivers so we were thinking of doing a northern elk and sheep hunt in sept. Obviously going in really light(just our packs). We normaly do the kootenays but really want to get away from the crowds. If anyone knows of a decent area or can give some direction as to what river would work with a boat this size it would really help us out. I have never hunted up north for sheep but have been successful on goat hunts and I can run rivers pretty good as i used to steelhead guide. Thanks for the help.

Hey brew, we are thinking along the same lines - let us know how you get on.

[Brew]

The big problem I see is you are sitting down at the transom, how are you going to be able read the water and navigate the boat through skinny water, going up stream may be easier but down stream is another ball game in those rivers.
if you had a centre console I would say giver!

you don't sit down while driving. You can only stand in it if your running it. Isn't even a seat in the back. In the picture he's standing he just bent over slightly because the top is on the boat.

[Brew]

I guess we should load it up with some weight and go run a river for the day to see how fuel consumption is. Thanks for your help so far guys and the pm's have been helpful.

[Barracuda]

I read rivers by brail already so not sure how well I would do with a tiller :lol: but guys do use them standing . Most people confuse jetsleds and the ability of them with conventional jetboat . jet sleds have been used for decades for good reason . a lot of conventional jets now have way to much crap added to them which in turn means they must be made of stronger material which means more weight and has to have more reactionary force to get on and stay on step(hp & Speed) and so on and so fourth . sleds seem to be sparse and functional only like a bush plane , More of a Tool rather then a Toy

[guest]

Good on you for at least thinking of giving it a go with that boat. After doing the Muskwa and Tuchodi I can tell you at times you better have nads the size of Grapefruit .......

Some guys that run those rivers regularly have become expert operators ...... there are some tricky parts and conditions that won't be for the faint of heart. One thing I will say about tiller as opposed to bow operation .... you may not be able to react quite as fast with the changing route and depth of the trickle your running thru ......

How much does that boat draft when loaded with a sheep or two, an elk, 2 dudes and all the gear ?? Thats the question. If you go in thinking, don't expect your equipment to be the same as it was before you started then your good to go. Take a winch and a chain saw too, you may likely need them.

Good luck too you.

After I did it the first time I thought about taking a jet ski in there hahaha. Lots of good hunting back there.

[BromBones]

I'd say give'er. You'll do fine in that setup, just figure out your fuel. You may have to limit how far you can run. Maybe cache fuel in a couple spots on the way up depending on where you go.

You don't need a V-8 powered Teflon bottom tank to go hunting up rivers. A lightweight 16-18ft tiller steer O/B jet with a driver who can read water is the cats ass. You have to pack minimal and you wont break a speed record but that's no reason to stay home :)

[Alfonz]

A small boat can be a blessing sometimes. I have unloaded mine taken the 40 hp Yamaha off winched it over a log jam and carried on. I have took mine up the Cottonwood river between Dease and Cassiar. Also made a trip up the Blue river and the Smart river right into cabin lake in the Yukon. Tilller drive with a tunnel has worked well for me. With two guy's and a small moose can just barley get it on plane. A big moose forget it! Keep a long rope attached to the bow.

Al

[RambleOn]

A buddy of mine just did what you are looking to do with success. They realized right a way that they didn't have the HP to bring everyting. You need to pack light and like BromBones said cash along the way.

[Amphibious]

In the process of building a 16.5' O/B jet hull. 60/40 or 90/65 depending on what kind of deals I can find over winter. Couple guys and sheep/goat packs should leave lots of room for fuel. Get on youtube and you'll see what little jets can do. If you want to bring 4 of your 400lb oil patch pals and a pallet of Budweiser, you'll need twin V8's for sure...

Gasoline is 1.6lbs a liter 6.25lbs a US Gal.

[browningboy]

I've seen a couple of guys that brought up a similar bought up the azure, they hardly had any freeboard when they showed up and used most often their fuel so take the pack light suggestions seriously as a few of us out there had enough fuel to spare so he could get home.

[browningboy]

you don't sit down while driving. You can only stand in it if your running it. Isn't even a seat in the back. In the picture he's standing he just bent over slightly because the top is on the boat.

Hey just a quick observation, as long as you can read the water well then giver, but I wouldn't do it up north as I know what it entails and you need some more jam than that with guys and a light load then read the water well as you will get in trouble fast.. But what do I know as I only jetboat every other weekend..

[Eastbranch]

A small boat can be a blessing sometimes. I have unloaded mine taken the 40 hp Yamaha off winched it over a log jam and carried on. I have took mine up the Cottonwood river between Dease and Cassiar. Also made a trip up the Blue river and the Smart river right into cabin lake in the Yukon. Tilller drive with a tunnel has worked well for me. With two guy's and a small moose can just barley get it on plane. A big moose forget it! Keep a long rope attached to the bow.

Al

How long ago did you do the Smart R? Was it pretty hairy up top? Any major obstacles? I've been thinking about that run myself.

Nice thing about a sled that the big boat guys don't fully understand is how much slower you are on step. Being on step at 10-12mph gives you a hell of a lot more options and reaction time than being on step at 18-20mph. You should be able to do it but like others have said, know your fuel consumption, plan where you want to hunt and cache gas on the way up.

[Alfonz]

[QUOTE=ArcticRed;1627108]How long ago did you do the Smart R? Was it pretty hairy up top? Any major obstacles? I've been thinking about that run myself.

I was up the Smart about 4 years ago. I went in early September, I put in the south side of the hiway and went thru the culverts. I did try this in the summer and almost lost my eyes due to mud swallows in culvert. Anyways it was all really nice until about the BC /Yukon border then the rocks began. It was a real handful! When I finally hit Cabin lake it was a relief. We pressed on and headed for Dorsey but things got too skinny. We turned back and started heading down river, that's when things went to hell! Bounced of so many rocks I lost count. Still to this day do not know how I did not hole the boat. Got back to the BC side and blew a big sigh of relief!

Al

[Eastbranch]

Haha awesome thanks for the info. Sounds like a bit of a challenge alright. What size boat?

[Alfonz]

14 1/2 welded with tunnel and a 40 Yami jet drive.

[Eastbranch]

Yeah thats about as small as they get!

[Alfonz]

Yeah thats about as small as they get!

Small as they get is a jet ranger or Mokai. I have seem both in action and If I were hunting I would take the jet ranger. The mokai is great for fishing up skinny creeks.

[Alfonz]

http://www.alaskaseries.com/DSC00232.JPG

This is smaller!