JET BOAT!! Something different, cheap and fun.

4th launch.

My eldest son and I launched at the Hwy 52 bridge on the Snatee River. Our destination was the last rock ledge the Santee crosses before it gets to the ocean. I forgot to bring the GPS coordinates so we were kind of winging it. As it turns out, the water lever was so high we blew right across the top of it at 25 mph and went about 10 miles past it. It was a great day on the water. Temps were in the high 50s, the sun was shining and the only people we saw were 4 kayakers and a couple of fishermen.

Total mileage, round trip, was about 35 miles. The bilge pumps never ran, the engine never missed a lick. We burned about 5 gallons of gas which puts me at about 7mpg, which isn't too bad for a boat.

I'm going to call this one a unqualified success. The steering and throttle was spot on. The choke, I installed yesterday, worked great.The boat is damn near perfect.

Here are a few pictures.

The launch at about 11:30 this morning.

Why yes, it will cross a 12" diameter tree floating in the river. A bump, a shot of throttle and it's across.

About the point we figured out we blasted past the "shallows."

There were a bunch of places we went through, that couldn't have been more than 8"-10" deep. The boat didn't seem to care. It didn't even suck any crap up off the bottom.

This is where the rock ledge is. With the water this high, there was 3' of water above it rather than the 6"-12" there usually is. We found it after we started looking for landmarks, rather than a shallow place, with fast moving water. I'll have to come back up here at low water to look around.

This is a trip we will definitely be making again. There are some outstanding camping spots along the river, and SC is nice enough to make anything below mean high water fair game for camping.

FYI, this is what the shoals look like when the water levels are lower.

I would love to set a cot by the river and fall asleep listening the the water.

These were taken by another guy with a home built jet boat. Do a search for Aluma Jet on Youtube.

The only thing left is the trailer and I'm not sure when that will happen.

The boat is done, finished, complete. I seriously appreciate all the support, kind words and encouragement, throughout this project. It's been a fast 4 months and I enjoyed almost every second of it.

I do like the color contrast.

If anything changes with the boat, I'll update here. I don't expect that to happen any time soon.

I'll start another thread as soon as I start another project. Thanks for following along.

Until next time.

Really enjoyed this build, Toyman. Thanks.

Awesome build.

Nice work.

Amazing work and now you have an awesome boat!

And no lower unit to snap off!!

Revisiting an old thread. Still awesome, and giving me horrible ideas.

Lets see.

Old running Jet Ski . .. . Check

Old (but good) 14' boat. . .. . Check

Time to do this. .. . .

If you EVER consider selling that thing PLEASE put me on the list. I would drive down to get it!!!!

I can see this being pulled behind Sanford.

In reply to NOHOME:

Double decker trailer. Samurai on the bottom. Jet boat on the top.

Unload Samurai, lower Jet Boat to bottom deck, use Samurai to back the boat down the boat ramp.

The plans are already in the back of my head, and that will probably be my next project.

Something like this, but no boat trailer necessary.

That is "awesome on a stick!"

YAAASSSSS!!!! I keep eyeballing ways to put my 14' sailboat with trailer up on the bedrails of the TooFiddy so I can take the boat and my pop-up camper somewhere.

This thread gets better every time Toyman posts.

I didn't know about this build until today. Holy crap that boat is awesome!!!

Here is an update for the interested. The boat has been in the water a lot less then I would like over the last year and a half, but it's been used hard for the last couple of months.

It's still running like a champ. It's sucked up a fair amount of sand and mud without any dire concenquences.

The boys and I put 23 miles on it today, exploring the creeks around Edisto Island.

The kids have played with it.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/PICEANLS4Fk

Made a few trips to the beach.

It's been such a perfect boat, I've started the search for a engine and drive for a Mk 2. Something in the 160 hp range with a 4 stroke engine. More to come on that sometime in the distant future.

Edit. Not sure what happened to the images in the post, but here is one.

I love this thread. I think it was why I first signed up for GRM actually.

The Jet Boat got a little love this morning. It's been pretty much neglected since I finished it. It saw some pretty hard use this summer and a couple of issues cropped up.

Number 1: No way to tow a tube or anything. The stern cleats aren't strong enough. I also didn't want to have to use a harness. That meant a center mounted tow eye. There was a slight problem though. The structural support for the back deck runs right down the center. That would mean mounting the tow eye too low. A little digging on the internet solved the problem. The eye is 6" wide and straddles the structural support. It has has the added benefit of being used as a handle when dragging the boat off the beach and being bolted in at the strongest part of the transom.

Next up. The front of the boat drained through a small hole in the engine compartment. Trash kept stopping it up. Time to enlarge the hole.

Tiny little hole.

Large slot. It drains much faster and trash will flow on through the system

The fire extinguisher has been floating around in the bottom of one of the dry boxes. Time to get it mounted.

The last problem was the paddle. I carry two. One that is collapsible, one that is not. Since the boat has no reverse or neutral, the paddle needs to be readily available. Also helpful for turning sharply in tight places, you can use the paddle as a pivot point. It has been stored on the floor of the boat. I'm tired of tripping over it and stepping on it. Problem solved.

If you noticed above, the bilges were nasty. Two stroke oil has a tendency to coat everything. So I put the drain plugs in, filled the boat with water and Dawn dishwashing liquid. Much scrubbing later, and the bilges are clean.

Edit: I also pulled the carburetor and cleaned it. It was running a little lean on the top end.

Tomorrow I'll be hitting the water somewhere.

If anything else changes, I'll let you know.

Time to upgrade the motor! needs about twice the horsepower.

Jet Boat doing jet-boaty things.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/tUs2Utv96Wk

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LVFBhCKbRt4

So after yesterday's run on the Santee (Here), I have decided to keep this thing rather than building a new one. Toward that end, it's getting a couple of other upgrades. With that in mind, I spent a little more money on the beast.

Shiny new SS impeller to replace the factory aluminum one. It should be much more efficient than the factory impeller and more durable as well. It will help with acceleration and top speed.

Next up is a aftermarket wear ring. This is the housing the impeller runs in. The factor housing is all aluminum and must be replaced when it wears out. The replacement has a high density plastic insert that can be replace when damaged.

More to come.

In reply to Toyman01: I read through the the entire thread. Very impressive! Thanks for sharing. I look forward to the updates/upgrades.

Do you not get some funny looks from bystanders? What is the actual draft for this thing?