Rigging for Backcountry Jet Boat

[msawyer]

"Tis too late for this year but I've just taken possession of a 17'6" jet sled powered by a 115/80 HP Mercury outboard and I want to equip it and/or work on it over the winter so I ready for next year... So I'm looking for input and advice from experienced "backcountry" jet boats on what are the essential equipment, tools, or parts that need to be onboard if you are 150 km upriver (or down)... Your thoughts?

Best regards

Capt. Hook (aka Mike Sawyer)

[knothead]

Fuel, come-a-long or gas powered winch and long lines, inreach, enough gear to overnight if it becomes necessary.

[Ride Red]

Always pack as light as possible. In saying that I have a plastic bin with a new starter, fuel pump, belt, main relay, fuses, fuel filter, electrical tape and tools pertinent to my motor. Also carry a lithium jump start pack, long rope, custom aluminum paddle/push pole, axe, sometimes chainsaw, fire starter, ass wipe and paper towel. Go through and understand every part of your boat so when shit goes wrong, you know where to look. And always keep your impeller/sleeve tuned as that’s one of the biggest factors in keeping you out of trouble.

[emerson]

I reiterate the cut weight mercilessly advice, aside from critical spares. Pack like a sheep hunt, with extra fuel. Also, a successful jet boat pilot has a bit too much aggression for polite interaction. Don’t get stupid, but god hates a coward. You will dent your boat and bang your motor.

[Drillbit]

Dump the mercy and get a Yamaha. Haha, that’s just my opinion from my experiences! The new made in Japan mercs aren’t too bad, just loud.

Seriously tho,
does it have a bilge pump?
is it a tiller?

i always have lots of rope, a chainsaw, come along, axe, a spare impeller sleeve and bottom foot (hit a Rock once) all the tWrenches needed to change it, spare fuel line and some brass barbs n hose clamps to fix a line. Baby wipes too, ripped a big hole in the hull one time and stuffed it with baby wipes, ran it for the rest of the season and welded up back up in the winter
Waders are good too and a 6or8’ 2x4 for a pry bar

[Tuffcity]

Maasdam rope puller... basically an endless come-a-long (look it up). I've started carrying one in my snow machine too. Echo the lithium jumpstart pack, but make sure its got a fresh charge before every trip. If it sits in your boat box all season you might be in for a rude surprise late in the year if you need it.

Have a pre-trip check list!

[elkrub]

Don't Let "Captain Morgan" Drive.....

[msawyer]

Drillbit... I would have gone with a Yamaha but with the Covid supply chain/manufacturing crunch my only option was the Merc, and that was hard to find... And yes, it has two bilge pumps and no, it does not have a tiller. Center console with steering wheel ect.

[msawyer]

Understood. I owned and operated a whitewater rafting business for over a decade so I'm reasonably skilled at reading moving water but still, I cringe at the thought of my first wreck, major or minor... I'm going to ease into operating this new boat...

[msawyer]

Great advice on the Maasdam rope puller... I was going to get a reefer but was shocked to see the price of those now-a-days...

[msawyer]

I never do... but still very good advice...

[ryanb]

Understood. I owned and operated a whitewater rafting business for over a decade so I'm reasonably skilled at reading moving water but still, I cringe at the thought of my first wreck, major or minor... I'm going to ease into operating this new boat...

Things happen much faster in a Jetboat going downstream than a raft, plus in a raft you can back paddle to almost stop things when required.

Something that gets most new jet boaters is that they forget they can't steer unless you have power on. Something happens, you panic, pull the throttle while trying to steer away from danger, meanwhile you just continue straight into what you're trying to avoid cause your steering is ineffective.

For an outboard jet I'd definitely have a spare intake shoe and impeller.

[emerson]

Things happen much faster in a Jetboat going downstream than a raft, plus in a raft you can back paddle to almost stop things when required.

Something that gets most new jet boaters is that they forget they can't steer unless you have power on. Something happens, you panic, pull the throttle while trying to steer away from danger, meanwhile you just continue straight into what you're trying to avoid cause your steering is ineffective.

For an outboard jet I'd definitely have a spare intake shoe and impeller.
And dropping off plane can make things much worse pretty quick too. Not always though.

[Ride Red]

Things happen much faster in a Jetboat going downstream than a raft, plus in a raft you can back paddle to almost stop things when required.

Something that gets most new jet boaters is that they forget they can't steer unless you have power on. Something happens, you panic, pull the throttle while trying to steer away from danger, meanwhile you just continue straight into what you're trying to avoid cause your steering is ineffective.

For an outboard jet I'd definitely have a spare intake shoe and impeller.

^^^^^^ And an outboard jet doesn’t have a reverse bucket, so throttle off doesn’t slow you down either.

[Drillbit]

Drillbit... I would have gone with a Yamaha but with the Covid supply chain/manufacturing crunch my only option was the Merc, and that was hard to find... And yes, it has two bilge pumps and no, it does not have a tiller. Center console with steering wheel ect.

Ya, I bet. I just sold a mercy outboard jet to a guy in moosanee Ontario. He said he couldn’t find anything else even new

a battery jump pack would be good too
But I honestly don’t shut my motor off the entire day. If I do it’s only because I’m leaving the boat for awhile. There’s no help where I go, no cell service, and I’m usually alone, so I’m pretty careful

I start it up while it’s still on the trailer in the the water and pretty much leave it run till I get it back on the trailer

same with ATVs and sleds. Always start them up before unloading.
it hard to load up a dead machine by yourself.

[msawyer]

Ryanb... good points that I fully understand... I'm not suggesting years of whitewater make me qualified to operate a jet boat - it only means I'm very familiar with rivers, river hydrology and morphology and am very experienced at "reading" the water... Transferring those skills to jet boat operation will be another thing....

[fuzzybiscuit]

For an outboard jet I'd definitely have a spare intake shoe and impeller.

Best advice on here.

I’d buy a new Jet Wolf polyurethane intake and install it with a new stainless impeller if your jet came with an aluminum stock. Stick to a 3 blade and don’t waste your money on the 4 blade. Keep the stock aluminum intake and aluminum impeller as spares.

Nail one rock just the right way and a stock aluminum intake can break thus ending any chance to beat the flow when heading back up stream. Ask me how I know. I’ve also seen the stock aluminum impeller suck enough small pebbles up to take a 1/4” inch off the leading edge in just a few days. Performance is greatly impacted then. Don’t but the stainless impeller thinking you will gain much in performance, because in most cases you won’t gain anything and may actually lose a bit of top rpm’s but it will last much longer than a aluminum one.

[fuzzybiscuit]

^^^^^^ And an outboard jet doesn’t have a reverse bucket, so throttle off doesn’t slow you down either.

They do have a reverse bucket but it definitely won’t slow you down if you are on step.

[fuzzybiscuit]

Mike, congrats on the new boat. I ran a Yammy 115/80 jet on my Explorer WT166 and it was enough power and much more fuel efficient than any comparable sized inboard I’ve been in. They all have their place but it had lots of room for a couple guys and gear to head out on an extended trip. I even loaded my old Honda TRX350 on the back and had no issue getting it up on step.

A couple things I did that made a world of difference was lose the rotary helm in place of a new quick turn rack and pinion helm and add auto trim tabs on the back. I went from almost 4 turns lock to lock down to 1-1/2 turns lock to lock. It went from being sluggish to turn to being very fast. The Nauticus automatic trim tabs made a huge difference too. I could keep the boat on step down to 14mph with them on and it really helped get the boat up and on step fast. When they hit a rock they just folded up with no damage. There is also a mounting bracket that you can buy that was designed so they could be lowered almost straight down for trolling. I used the bracket and mounted it so when in the lowered position the trim tabs were at the right deployed angle, but when raised up the trim tabs were angled up from the bottom of the boat. I pulled them up like that when drifting so the couldn’t be snagged like regular trim tabs.

The combination of the two allowed me to run fairly slow while staying on step. When going down steam and I noticed a rock at the last possible moment a 3/4 turn of the wheel had me locked to one side and a quick punch of the throttle had me around the object…most times.

As I mentioned before, a Jet Wolf polyurethane intake would be my first purchase. They handle a ton of abuse and the one I have on my present boat has hit hundreds of rocks this season with almost no wear on it. The aluminum one lasted 2 days before breaking in the same low water conditions. If you run fairly deep rivers it’s not as much of a concern but it only takes one well placed rock to ruin your day.

[tyreguy]

Look on chats or google your motor/jet combination and see what is a common problem.
Prevention - do your work on the boat at home before you hit the river and you'll have a better trip.
And be careful, slippery slope with a small boat/motor and heavy hunting load - you don't want to learn the hard way

[7mag]

If you haven’t already added the jet foot intake fins, I would recommend it. It made a difference on both the 115merc and 140 Suzuki jets I had on my 18’ Alumaweld. More positive (as positive as a jet gets…lol) steering and 3+MPH top speed.

[bensonvalley]

No point in repeating what the others have said for spare gear. Lot of good suggestions there. It was a bit of extra money I really didn’t want to spend but I’m extremely happy I bought a Honda capstan winch, it never leaves the boat. If you were a raft guide you will transition into jetboating super easy, I grew up canoeing and it really helped with reading rivers. The biggest adjustment, as previously mentioned, is being aggressive. I struggled to get the old “hold and slow down” habit out of my system instead of trusting my channel selection and trusting the boat. You’ll love it when you get it all dialed in.