Tiny Jet Boat Hunting (2015 Video Recap)

[Jerlynn]

I love reading/watching all types of hunting stories and like to compile my own adventures into something that I can share with family, friends and whoever will pay it any attention. We live in a beautiful spot in the world with the opportunity to enjoy so many different places on our hunting adventures and this video is the recap of my 2015 jet boat hunt that we got back from last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE4APjzaklk

The home-made jets were a great summer project and blast on the river although we definitely hit some snags and will have to change things up for next year. I also enjoyed the crazy looks people gave us as we went past their camps on the river. Hope someone enjoys the footage :)

Edit: if if anyone taking pictures from the bank reads this, I'd love to see them!

[monasheemountainman]

fcukin awesome boys!! We saw you guys up there! glad you had some luck! how much did it cost to build one of those bad boys?

[wideopenthrottle]

wow...fantastic adventure

[Ride]

That looked great. Nice job on the boats.

[ryanb]

Haha, pretty cool. I thought my 14.5' was small for those kind of trips.

[Jerlynn]

fcukin awesome boys!! We saw you guys up there! glad you had some luck! how much did it cost to build one of those bad boys?
They ranged from 135HP to 255HP and some were finished nicer than others so big differences on cost. $7k to 18k is a good estimate.

[ElliotMoose]

Lol! Now that was awesome! I would've been one of those guys on the banks stunned as hell

[Xenomorph]

That's awesome guys, nicely done and awesome country. Holy!

[Mtn Wonderer]

So awesome!!! Great Video, boats and animals!!

[Brew]

Very cool guys. Thanks for sharing

[The Hermit]

Hahaha looks like a lot of fun and some nice rewards too!

[monasheemountainman]

They ranged from 135HP to 255HP and some were finished nicer than others so big differences on cost. $7k to 18k is a good estimate.

do you guys build them to sell?

[Jerlynn]

do you guys build them to sell?

Nope, simply an experiment on our end and definitely some improvements needed for next time. The rocks did a big number on the hulls and I wasn't sure every boat would survive the entire Tuchodi.

[charlie_horse]

***cin wicked

[primmed99]

when were you guys up there…… I have a mini built in new zealand was thinking of doing a trip like that just didn't have anyone else with a small boat to go with, we should hook up when I come up that way always good to have other mini jet boaters to roll with

[Salty]

OK that's quite a bit of awesome right there :) I commend you guys on coming up with a plan from square one and just giving it a demo god dammit! lmao. You're on to something and I'm sure a few tweaks will give you some amazing little boats. Thanks for sharing don't stop dreaming ->!

[xfactor]

what you running for power? wicked vid! thanks

[swampthing]

I saw a tiny little boat going through PG the other day on a little trailer. Musta been one of them. Looks like you had a good hunt.

[Foxtail]

Hahaha that was awesome... The whole video I keot saying... I want one! Lol

[Barracuda]

awesome mines just over 14 and people kept telling me it was too small for hunting :lol: what was your fuel consumption /GPH

[RustyBrit]

That... Is so freaking cool....

[fuzzybiscuit]

I cringed when you were going over the rocks in the skinny stuff. I've been there and hate smokin' the bottom.

Awesome little boats though...looks like wicked fun.

[shallowH2O]

That just made my day. Thanks a bunch.

[digger dogger]

Thats pretty damn cool, you boys got some balls!

[digger dogger]

[QUOTE=xfactor;1694627]what you running for power?

Hey Russ, i have a buddy in the Valley, building one of these designs.
He's using a motor out of a Wave Runner.

[Elkchaser]

Thanks for sharing! Itching to get back on the muskwa/tribs. sept 2016 taking the missus up for her first time. No place like it. Nice boats - seeing more and more of these, not surprised when you can build one for those prices. Might seeya up there next year, if so will stop and say hi, your easy to ID with that fleet and flag.

[Jerlynn]

[QUOTE=xfactor;1694627]what you running for power?

Hey Russ, i have a buddy in the Valley, building one of these designs.
He's using a motor out of a Wave Runner.

3 waverunner engines and one from an Apex worked for us.

[sum-hunter]

Awesome little video!

[chinooker]

Awesome!! I was up there sept 17-29 got two elk out of a group of 4. Beautiful country and must go back!! Awesome job on the boats!! Was one of your group from chetwynd? I ran into a guy this summer on mt baldy while getting in shape for my hunt. He was telling me he was building a mini boat to go up there.

[Rock Doctor]

Cool little boats, looks like you had a great time.

RD

[Jerlynn]

awesome mines just over 14 and people kept telling me it was too small for hunting :lol: what was your fuel consumption /GPH

8km per 6L was the calculation at the end. We actually over packed a bit of fuel and ended up leaving some on the river bank with the words "FREE" in the sand but we weren't 100% sure what to expect under full load.

[nap]

Thanks guys, not sure if my ticker could handle those little gals, but if you ever need a test pilot in PG I am sure I could did up some nerve, keep it up!!!

[Ride Red]

Love those little boats. Looks like you had a great trip and learned a little more of what's needed for the next trip. My buddy in Alberta has a few built for his boys and him, I just need to get out there for a test run. I want one of those too, just not sure my back could handle the small boat though.

[Backwoods]

Thanks for sharing!!! Those boats are the shit!!! See them around the peace every so often!! Awesome hunt as well great work boys!!!!

[guest]

Good on you guys ! They look and appear to be effective ...... Plus you got some critters ! After being in the same area and traveling the river, having success on sheep and elk myself , I always wondered about a mini ........ More like an aluminum Jet ski ....... A big one though. More to get up that Gatho ditch .
thanks for sharing.

[Jerlynn]

Well you can definitely push yourself off the rocks, mud flats and gravel bars easier. I haven't taken a large jet boat on a river like the Tuchodi and I'm not even sure how you guys manage to get those things unstuck when you're in trouble.

[hellojello74]

Those are pretty cool, any chance you have a build thread or pics of the in process of building?

[Getbent]

Very cool...good on yah and a build thread would be wicked....

[Phil]

Love it! Nothing better than the satisfaction of building your own gear and putting to good use. Congrats on your hunt!

[xfactor]

[QUOTE=digger dogger;1694755]

3 waverunner engines and one from an Apex worked for us.


i thought it looked like a 4 stroke from a yamaha with a MCX turbo kit…i have a PSI 1404 that would be cool to repurpose into a boat…hmmmm!

how did you get the yamaha motor to spin the impeller? did you mount the motor longitudinally in the boat? would some more pics of all of that.

[xfactor]

[QUOTE=xfactor;1694627]what you running for power?

Hey Russ, i have a buddy in the Valley, building one of these designs.
He's using a motor out of a Wave Runner.

would love to check it out

[lwing]

I googled New Zealand goat racing jet boat before . I think they pioneered this type of boat.
lots of Awesome you tube vids out there.
and you can find build forums if interested

[Barracuda]

Hamilton is the granddaddy of jetboating and they are based in new Zealand . Ive been saying for years the merits of the small boat but for the most part the NA bigger is better crowd refused to believe that a little boat could work .

guys how do your impellors hold up ?

[Jerlynn]

I think we all agreed that a spare impellor wouldn't be a bad idea for the next year. There was a noticeable loss of power by the end of the trip.

[Jerlynn]

And for those interested in the plans and idea, we used http://www.aluminumboatdesigns.com/stock/11ftjetboat.htm for two of the designs.

[wetcoaster222]

That is pretty darn cool!

Pardon my potential ignorance, and not to distract from your success and accomplishment.....but you spend all those $$, have all that gear, go all that way, and NO ONE is wearing a PFD? If you were great, if not maybe that should be on the checklist for next year??

[Murder]

That is pretty darn cool!

Pardon my potential ignorance, and not to distract from your success and accomplishment.....but you spend all those $$, have all that gear, go all that way, and NO ONE is wearing a PFD? If you were great, if not maybe that should be on the checklist for next year??
Hard to drown in 4 inches of water

Ps - absolutely awesome project and adventure. Thanks for sharing

[Buckzilla]

8km per 6L was the calculation at the end. We actually over packed a bit of fuel and ended up leaving some on the river bank with the words "FREE" in the sand but we weren't 100% sure what to expect under full load.

TOO FUNNY!
we saw that gas on our way down river and thought it was a joke.
had to drift last 2kms to launch out of gas....

[300mag]

Awesome . I'd like to try a boat like that

[leadpillproductions]

How much weight in gear do you think it was able to haul gas included

[Jerlynn]

Because we had problems just after the launch with one boat, we had to push the weight to 3 guys + gear on a few boats. Rough calculation would be:
430 lbs of gas (13 x 20L jerry cans)
570 lbs hunter + clothes (3 x 190 lbs)
200 lbs packs (3 x 67 lbs)
150 lbs misc (just a guess, we had some extra tools and shit packed everywhere)
Load weight of 1350 lbs ???

The best boat could easily handle this and at the beginning with a new impeller was on step in what felt like a boat length. Some of the other boats didn't do so well with the weight for 3 guys and we had some problems; especially once the impellers were damaged a bit. You have to be willing to get creative in these situations and we had to do some crazy things when we split up and the smaller boats were struggling. At one point the 2 smallest boats went further up with 6 guys and one of the boats was struggling to get on step in the lake while the other barely got on step. I was in the boat that couldn't get on step and had to jump on the top, then flying squirrel across to the boat on step as it came by (get one boat on step, move the extra weight, then second boat gets on step).

[ryanb]

Because we had problems just after the launch with one boat, we had to push the weight to 3 guys + gear on a few boats. Rough calculation would be:
430 lbs of gas (13 x 20L jerry cans)
570 lbs hunter + clothes (3 x 190 lbs)
200 lbs packs (3 x 67 lbs)
150 lbs misc (just a guess, we had some extra tools and shit packed everywhere)
Load weight of 1350 lbs ???

The best boat could easily handle this and at the beginning with a new impeller was on step in what felt like a boat length. Some of the other boats didn't do so well with the weight for 3 guys and we had some problems; especially once the impellers were damaged a bit. You have to be willing to get creative in these situations and we had to do some crazy things when we split up and the smaller boats were struggling. At one point the 2 smallest boats went further up with 6 guys and one of the boats was struggling to get on step in the lake while the other barely got on step. I was in the boat that couldn't get on step and had to jump on the top, then flying squirrel across to the boat on step as it came by (get one boat on step, move the extra weight, then second boat gets on step).

That right there is both hilarious and freaking awesome. Way to git'er done. Do these pumps have aluminum impellers?

[leadpillproductions]

If you have much of still pics of boats during build post them up thanks

[s0ylentgreen]

you are truly = gods among men.

[bcsteve]

Those are some bad a$$ little boats!

[morris]

Being a non jet boater...how the fack did you get that one off the sled deck without the forklift you used to load it? and for that matter how tha hell did you get it back on! Great trip btw!

[yama49]

That was awesome.. how did the turbocharged yamaha work on water.... had same motor but in a sled

[steepNdeep]

Hahaa - that's awesome! A dead sheep, elk & sprint... Good adventure boys!!

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Simply epic! The whole 9 yards, the builds, the hunts, the tactics to get the job done. The vid had me clenching the buns on a few of those skimpy sections of water!

Keep up the good work!

[nature girl]

Awesome boats. Awesome scenery and great getting some animals and best of all you guys built the boats.

[nature girl]

Jerlynn I really like this video do you happen to have any more videos of your boat trips or adventures of your boats I watch this video a couple times a year. Looks like such a great trip.
Have you and your friends changed anything on your boats?

[Waynewjw]

Good job on the boats, and great adventure and hunt. Nice to view.

[Hoffer]

That looks like a ton of fun. Kudos on the jet boat projects must've been a good time getting those bad boys put together!