feedback on Solar inflatable jet boats

[msawyer]

Hello all...

As I continue my research for the "perfect" jet boat I have recently been introduced to the Solar inflatable jet boats. I've watched a few YouTube videos and the boats seem to be very impressive but having said that I wanted to hear back from people who have actually used a Solar for "back-country" hunting to hear their reviews, experiences ect... I'm particularly interested in the boats performance when under load, like you would get with two guys, gear, and fuel, on a 10 day back-country hunting trip...

If anyone out there in HBC world has actually used a Solar tunnel jet, please feel free to contribute to this discussion...

Many thanks

Mike

[Ride Red]

PM Fuzzybiscuit, he’s your man for info.

[thick]

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-motorboat/smithers/zodiac-milpro/1538926913?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ios_social

[emerson]

Hello all...

As I continue my research for the "perfect" jet boat I have recently been introduced to the Solar inflatable jet boats. I've watched a few YouTube videos and the boats seem to be very impressive but having said that I wanted to hear back from people who have actually used a Solar for "back-country" hunting to hear their reviews, experiences ect... I'm particularly interested in the boats performance when under load, like you would get with two guys, gear, and fuel, on a 10 day back-country hunting trip...

If anyone out there in HBC world has actually used a Solar tunnel jet, please feel free to contribute to this discussion...

Many thanks

Mike
They are lighter by ?? several hundred pounds maybe than aluminum? Planing surface, power, and overall weight are the absolutes that drive the equation. I posted in the other thread, 2 guys, fuel and food for 10 days means 2 loads out if you shoot any big game animal.

[fuzzybiscuit]

So I have a Solar 380 (12-1/2') and I've been in a 420 (13-1/2'). I just had another buddy buy a 420 a few weeks ago and he got what I thought was a good deal. The difference between the 380 and the 420 is night and day despite the 420 only being a foot longer.

So, what do I know....

All Solars are made of PVC and despite some people claiming they would only buy an inflatable made of Hypalon your choices are limited to none if looking for an inflatable with a jet tunnel. From what I've witnessed there are very few flat bottom jet boats, especially inflatables, that work well without a tunnel. They just suck in too much air by design and cavitate badly with the first ripple on the water. That cavitation not only causes you to lose thrust but in the case of a 4-strokes it can damage the motor by floating the valves.

My 380 does not have the reinforced bottom. It has the jet tunnel though and factory trim tabs. It is rated for a 25hp jet and I have a Merc factory 20hp jet (25hp at the head) on it. With 2 guys, 10 gallons of fuel, a couple packs, seats, etc.. it plains in seconds and goes pretty well. I can cut back the throttle and go through a 3 inches of water without feeling anything. The design of the inflatable floor with the built in tunnel seems to create its own wave at slower speeds but still on step so I've gone through areas a big boat wouldn't easily make it without touching. Because it can be run at slower speeds you can also run between rocks in boulder patches where a bigger inboard would be bouncing off of them.

This past fall I could launch my 380 at a spot that was 90 KM from the closest launch for a bigger boat. From there I went 50km up river to a point where there is about 5km of very shallow water. Rocks everywhere and being brown water its not easy to pick a route. I never saw another boat past this area and a large group that was camped where I launched (They drove in after launching 3 boats 90km downstream) said they had never been past the boulder patch and didn't know anyone who had in low water. We went another 30km up river and saw 3 bulls on one 250 yard section, dropping one of them. From the way the other 2 acted I don't think they had seen many people before. I drifted within 50 feet of one 45 incher. We did the gutless method and with the whole bull in the boat we could not get it up on step. We were 80km from the launch and tug-boating through the water it would have taken 10 hours to get back what was a 3-1/2 hour trip up stream. We ended up offloading half the bull and came back for it the next day with no issues. So ya, my 380 cannot pack a whole moose with two guys and gear. It will float that weight with no issues but it cannot get back up on step.

That is where the 420 is nice. The one I was in had the heavy duty bottom, top gunnel tubes, transom brace and jet tunnel. It is rated for a 40hp jet, which is lots in this boat. The added hull planning surface with extra hp can get a whole moose with 2 guys and gear out of the water. The boat only weighs 20 pounds more than the 380 but the motor is quite a bit more, taking it almost out of the portable weight class. My 25/20hp merc 2-stroke jet is only 140 pounds so I can load it in the truck easily. A 25hp 4-stroke adds another 40 pounds or more and then when you get into the 40hp range it takes two guys to handle it around. So there is a trade off. Pack more but not as portable or make 2 trips with an animal.

My 25/20 actually pushes the 420 better than it does my 380, so I wouldn't consider the 380 again. The added planning surface more than makes up for the extra 20 pounds the hull weighs. Would the difference have gotten all our gear and the bull out in one trip? It would be close either way but I'm thinking it would have still been 2 trips.

The new hulls don't have trim tabs and after being in a new 420 it didn't need them. I'd like the reinforced bottom for piece of mind but after hitting a lot of rocks mine shows no damage. I've also got the aluminum intake and a poly one would be nice. So far no real damage and I've hit it hard. I have the shallow water drive removed from the leg so that when the motor kicks up in goes back down on its own.. A bungee cord across the back of the motor stops it from coming up violently when the pump hits a solid rock. The tunnel helps direct water into the intake but if you are not paying attention you can ride a rock right up it and hit the intake hard. I've had a dozen days on the river this past year where I traveled over a hundred km with a couple at close to 200km. 80 km up river with a 4-6km/hour flow and back down, so 160km round trip, and I'm burning about 10 gallons of gas total. I've modified the exhaust in my Merc to be free flowing and I have both a stainless impellor and stainless liner. Neither show any sign of wear and while the intake does get plugged up with weeds I've never sucked a rock up and jammed it. The small intake stops bigger rocks from going by and tiny ones go right through the pump.

If you want an inflatable tunnel hull jet your choices are the Solar or Alaskan Jet Ranger. The Jet Ranger has smaller tubes and is a bit narrower. From what I've seen on the Alaskan forums the Solar seems to be the choice most get now.

Jetech LLC in Alaska imports them and that is where most I've seen have come from. Mine was bought used in Mission last fall but it was basically new and a 2019 model. The guy I bought it off of was the original owner and he bought it through a gut in Alberta that was importing them for a bit. He stopped bringing them in over a year ago. Your best bet though if you want one is through NR Motors in Prince George. They have been bringing them in for a bit and seem to be pricing them less than what it would take getting one from Alaska. For a 420 tunnel hull jet with top tubes, transom brace and heavy-duty bottom you are looking in the $6,000 range. A new 25hp 4-stroke Merc is another $6,000. So for $12,000 you can have a portable jet boat that could be packed around in a SUV and still get you out for a lot of fun on the water and into places most guys with the bigger boats would not go. Would they make it? Sure, but replacing UHMW gets to be very expensive and takes the fun out of it.

At the end of the day every boat is a trade-off.

Not me and I've never met the guy in person but I've sent a couple guys his way who have ended up purchasing a boat from him and they seemed to be treated pretty good and the price was right:

Darren Bell
NR Motors
https://www.nrmotors.ca/
Dbell@nrmotors.ca

[msawyer]

Hello all...

Great insights Fuzzybuiscits...

For everyone's information, I just got a quote today from Darren at NR Motors in PG for a Solar 520 Super Jet Expedition with the polyurethane bottom for $ 8,299.00 plus tax. I'm not sure what the smaller models sell for...

[emerson]

It’s always better to be on the water than wishing you were. I would love to travel with 2 of these boats and maybe 3 guys. A lot more flexibility and less load concern.

[fuzzybiscuit]

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.

[fuzzybiscuit]

All loaded up but as mentioned, it was way too much for this little boat...

https://i.postimg.cc/KzGMLfqR/682-EE6-D6-DDA1-41-B4-9727-1-E5-B233758-CB.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

A second load with the other half of the bull...

https://i.postimg.cc/VsHCrjjk/D6-F65329-5302-4-A21-A140-4-B9-C0-E9-DF17-E.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[fuzzybiscuit]

Why doesn’t it ever go down like this in bow season...

https://i.postimg.cc/PrKGG4s4/01770-A5-D-7-CA4-4-A6-E-A04-E-F4-AF8-A8-EA549.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[fuzzybiscuit]

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

A short video of the bull above...

[emerson]

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.

[fuzzybiscuit]

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.

[ryanb]

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

[northof49]

Great feedback on the Solar fb

[fuzzybiscuit]

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.

https://i.postimg.cc/3w5G7HNh/56-F3-F99-C-E60-A-4426-A34-A-0-A9-FE2-D0-C25-D.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/7ZB78tqB/FF783448-8171-40-D8-A4-B2-01-DD758-C835-C.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[ElectricDyck]

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?

[fuzzybiscuit]

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.

[fuzzybiscuit]

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.

[ElectricDyck]

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..

[Ride Red]

The 2 stroke will always holeshot better hp vs hp.

[fuzzybiscuit]

The 2 stroke will always holeshot better hp vs hp.

They do for sure. The 25hp Merc 4-stroke jet is also rated at 25hp at the pump. But it has all the same specs as the 30hp prop Merc that is rated at the head. So the math puts it at about 21hp out the pump in all reality and from my observations it would be closer to that than a true 25hp out the pump.

So same power at the head as my Tohatsu but the better part of 70 pounds heavier. I think I’m farther ahead throwing 70 pounds up front in the way of additional fuel to even the load out. Plus the 2-strokes do have more snap.

As far as noise. The difference on the river means instead of hearing the 2-stroke coming for 10 minutes before you see it you only hear the 4-stroke for 7. Both are loud in all reality and if an animal is going to be scared off by the 2-stroke it probably will be by the 4-stroke too. They all sound like airplanes from a distance and I drive right up to a ton of moose and deer so it doesn’t seem to bother some animals. Can’t say what was there and got chased off the river before I got there. One thing I have learned though is the prevailing breeze always seems to go with the current so I see way more animals running than I ever see drifting.

[fuzzybiscuit]

I have a bit of an update...

NR Motors in Prince George has split off their boat sales so if you want a new Solar you now need to buy it through Cycle North marine and powersports division. Maybe coincidentally but along with the move the prices for new Solar boats have also gone up significantly. A new Solar 420 Strela jet hull with a heavy-duty bottom, transom braces and additional top tubes will cost you over $7,000 plus tax. They are great little boats but in the end they are only a 13' PVC inflatable so in my mind they are starting to price themselves out of the market. In just 1 year they have gone up $2,000 so to put that in perspective it's a 40% increase in price.

I've reached out to Jetech in Alaska and their prices on the same boat seem to be more reasonable, even with exchange. I was getting ready to pull the plug on a new 420 Strela so as much as I'd like to support a Canadian company I'm going to get a price delivered from Alaska too just to see what buying Canadian is costing me.

[Junior2106]

I’m curious as to the cost difference as well.. I hate not buying local but I also hate paying way more then needed when you can go else where. Have you looked at ordering direct from Russia?

[fuzzybiscuit]

I’m curious as to the cost difference as well.. I hate not buying local but I also hate paying way more then needed when you can go else where. Have you looked at ordering direct from Russia?

Solar will only sell through a dealer. The prices for each model can be found on their web site. A $3,000 boat in Russia is now $7,000 from the dealer in Canada. I know there is shipping, customs, etc… but it seems like a big markup.

[Junior2106]

That’s starting to get steep in price….. I keep searching for a used one maybe 1 day I can find the unicorn…..

[Ride Red]

Here’s some inspiration https://youtu.be/x7BIFd5cWUQ

I certainly wouldn’t be taking the fish for a swim up this boulder run.

[Ride Red]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Product-Service/Jetech-LLC-574710489535823/posts/