Conference vicki::boats

    
    Trailer Boats Magazine carries at least one ad every month for a
    Left Coast distributor of Berkley drives and parts.  I don't have
    a copy here with me today, but will look it up for you tonight.
    
    I think you may end up getting your stuff from out west, where jets
    are much more popular than here in the east.
    
    Rick

    Where are you located?  Performance Boats in Hooksett, N.H does
    alot of jet drive units.  Ask for Curt.  He also has alot of used
    stuff stashed away which he is trying to get rid of.  He had a 
    blown big block Chevy engine with a jet drive for sale the last
    time I was there.  That would make your 17 footer scream!
    Wayne

   I stopped at the boat show at the Manchester (NH) armory last weekend and
   saw a couple of cute little toys.

   Bayliner and Whaler both had small (13' or so) little runabouts with
   80 or 90 HP outboard powerunits mounted inboard and coupled to jet drives.
   The Whaler dealer said that Searay also makes one.

   The bayliner had a traditional 'steering station' on one side and had
   a big flat front platform while the Whaler was a standard center console 
   except it had handlebar steering mounted on the console (tradional 
   wheel sterring is available).

   Both claim about 40 mph top end, drawing about 4" of water under way. 
  
   Slap a pedestal seat and trolling motor on that bayliners' flat front deck...

    
      The jet drives (On any boat or Jetski) are great for their intended
    purpose, but they are much less efficient than a 'normal' propeller
    setup. For shallow water use or safety they are needed, but for normal
    use a propeller driven boat will go faster and use less fuel than a
    comparable HP jet drive.
    
      I happen to know the 80(something) hp OMC drive uses the 115 powerhead.
    I also know that the other manufacturers do the same thing with the
    horsepower ratings. The difference is that the jet drives are rated in 
    equivalent power output so they can be compared to 'normal' hp ratings 
    for the purpose of choosing the correct size for the boat.
    
    				Kenny		

    The polaris Jet Ski 750 is rated at 75 hp and has a top end around 50
    Mph.  Not bad for a snowmobile motor. 
    
    					Steve m..

    One of the largest jet drive applications I've experianced is the
    Lachine rapids boat ride up in Montreal.  They take about 25 people
    out in this big flat bottomed scow powered by two large volvo diesels
    coupled to jet drives.  You go up river from Montreal to the Lachine
    rapids and play in them for about 1/2 hour.  It's quite a ride..lots
    of sliding sideways off crests and burying of the boat into wave
    fronts.  At times you can just see the sky obscured by a 'ceiling'
    of water just before it comes crashing down on you...
    
    Ooops..I started daydreaming (come on iceout)...The River is loaded
    with weeds.  they have to stop once or twice in both directons to
    clean the strainers on the water intakes.  You can feel the drop in
    boat speed as they clog up.  But, they do have their place.

    There are three boats of this type being built right now. There's 
    the Bayliner "Jazz", the Sea Ray "Sea Rayder", and the one built 
    by Boston Whaler.
    
    Both the Bayliner and the Sea Ray are produced by Brunswick, but
    are significantly different from each other.  Each uses a 90hp
    jet drive, and gives a top speed of about 40-41 mph. The Whaler
    uses a 50-something horsepower jet drive, so is down quite a bit
    on hp compared to the other two.  I don't know what the top speed
    of the Whaler is, but guess it's somewhere down in the low 30's.
    
    A few weeks ago, I attended a sales seminar given by Bayliner's
    national sales manager (sorry Jim B., please send any additional 
    complaints off-line).  The question was asked, why Brunswick is 
    producing two competing jet boats from Sea Ray and Bayliner.  He 
    said that the two perform very differently, and are intended for 
    different markets.  The Sea Ray is intended for those who would 
    normally buy a small traditional style boat that performs well, 
    can go in shallow water, etc.  He then explained that the Bayliner 
    is intended for people who may otherwise have bought a jet-ski, but
    want extra space for passengers and gear.  The Bayliner has little 
    carpeting and a more solid hull, is intended to get wet, is better 
    suited for jumping waves, and can actually be spun out while at full 
    throttle, without fear of flipping over.  You know, all the things 
    that endear other powerboaters to jetskis in the first place...  8^)
    
    Rick

    A couple of things struck me looking at the bayliner and whaler..
    
    The whalers standard handlebar steering from the center console;  The
    whaler rep said that jet drives tend to 'wander' more than conventional
    drives and the handlebars make it easier to respond to it.  OK...
    
    The Bayliners large, flat, raised, forward deck, combined with the low
    profile and real shallow draft might make for a versitile fishing 
    machine.  It is a little small though. 
    
    I heard from someone else that one of the outboard motor makers is
    coming out (has?) a "outboard" jet drive as well.  It seems like
    they are resurecting and repackaging ideas and making another run
    at the market.
    

re: Note 738.8 
>> I heard from someone else that one of the outboard motor makers is
>> coming out (has?) a "outboard" jet drive as well.

Just about *all* of the major outboard mfg'ers have had jet units for
quite some time now.  Trailer Boats did an article on them several
months back.  With the exception of one company, I think it's Mercury,
they're all using jet units made by the same aftermarket company.

What they're also doing, is rating the HP at the *equivalent* performance
that could be expected from a prop driven outboard.  In other words,  if
a jet-drive outboard with a 90hp powerhead performs as well as a 60hp
with prop drive, they're calling it a 60.  So you'll get the fuel consumption
of a 90, the performance of a 60, but all the extra bennies of a jet drive
like shallow water capability and the added safety of no exposed prop.

Rick

    
    For what it's worth, Performance Boats of Northern New England in
    Hooksett, N.H. are heavy into jet drives, parts and service. Berkeley,
    and Dominators. Phone number 603-627-1250.
    
    Have fun,
    
    Bob
    

    Speaking of jet drives, I saw one "screaming" up the Merrimack River in
    Nashua yesterday.  Do jet drives require so little water to run in that
    you don't worry about the rocks or was this guy just crazy?
    Wayne

    
    Both - though if the bottom is less than 6" under the boat and sandy,
    the jet drive will suck it up and it tends to wear the impellor. Crazy
    people don't *usually* suck up sand.

    Smart Jet drive owners, throttle back, and slide over the sand bars,
    and so on. 
    
    Peter Q (Whose Brother-in-law runs those craxy New Zealand Jet boat
    tours).
    

    
    Peter,
    I've read alot about those tours, they really sound great. How much
    would one cost?
    
    
    Bob

>    I've read alot about those tours, they really sound great. How much
>    would one cost?
 
    I think it was about $50.  I took one when I was done there for DECUS
    a few years ago.  Definitely worth what ever I paid.  They come within 
    inches of the gorge walls, at pretty high speeds.

    George   

Hi,

	I have the boat listed in note 1072.  It is a Turbocraft with a 
Turbocraft Jet Drive.  Can someone tell me which way the drive is supposed
to turn.  Before we put the enigne back together we need to make sure it turns 
in the correct direction.

Thanks,
Gregg

    
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Note 1157.0                   JET BOAT DEALER ???                     No replies
DCP1::poirier                                         7 lines  25-FEB-1994 09:04
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	Do we have any idea as how to find a dealer who plays with jets???
  I would like to buy a jet boat, I feel the need for speed in 6 inches of water !


					DCP