Thread: Jetboat - someone spend my money

Any experts on jetboats here?
What i want is something big enough for 3 guys but probably most use will be two guys and a bit of gear.

Will be used for river bashing.

What should i look for in terms of hull size and more importantly engine size? How much am i going to spend?

@scottrods @mohawk @Spanners

$10-50k
10 will get a used jetski motor wee boat..50 will get you a lot of overpriced bits in pretty colours that are better suited for some brand worshippers than actual use. Lol
3.5m ish is my suggestion for 3 up light and as a hunting setup. Any bigger and you are starting to get into real boat size.
Heaps of vids on YouTube of wee boats. Most around 3m though

yeah i was thinking 3.5-3.7m. Powerplant @Spanners? what do i need to start looking for bearing in mind being reliable is a must

I'm a BIG fan of the seadoo 4st motors. Heaps of grunt, reliable as hell.
Marinised obviously, closed loop cooling, compact, reasonably light, wiring designed to be wet etc
Basically the same engine in 130, 155, 185, 215, 255 and 260 hp. Supercharger, mapping and injector size is about it.
I have just brought another 2x 215 engines. That's makes 4 215s and a 155 available
Got some bits to poke 1 well over 300hp also.
In saying that, you won't find a boat with one in for under $17k I wouldn't think simply due to engine price. Skis are around $10k if you buy one to wreck down for a boat thus bumping the price up.
This topic will turn out to be a Chev v ford v nissan as no 2 people will have the same opinion.

Basically you need something to cart around 300kg of blokes. 100kg of fuel and prob 100kg of crap. And it needs to get on the plane easily and be stable. So anyone reccomending a jetski powered unit should catch a reality pill. you will need a boat with a decent freeboard with all that weight on it. If you're running rivers then a Hamilton 212 will be too pricey for you. Look for a multiple stage older hamilton 752/772/773 or colorado 3 stage
Min V6 pushing it.

Originally Posted by scottrods

Basically you need something to cart around 300kg of blokes. 100kg of fuel and prob 100kg of crap. And it needs to get on the plane easily and be stable. So anyone reccomending a jetski powered unit should catch a reality pill. you will need a boat with a decent freeboard with all that weight on it. If you're running rivers then a Hamilton 212 will be too pricey for you. Look for a multiple stage older hamilton 752/772/773 or colorado 3 stage
Min V6 pushing it.

Noah called.. He wants his Ark back...
It's pretty ignorant to think that ski powered boats don't have their place.
There is prob a lot more ski powered boats getting built at the moment than real sized boats.
2-3 people and gear for a hunting boat is exactly what everyone is building the mid 3m boats for.
I'd like to hear why 4 stroke 130-300+ hp all day long in a 100kg package, designed from the ground up as a marinised unit with a closed loop cooling system, waterproof wiring etc is not a reality?
400kg skis, with 60 litres of fuel on board with 3 people up doing 60mph effortlessly.. All day long.. Fair cry from a dirty old Holden v6 or a cabbage cutter engine in all respects..

Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

Any experts on jetboats here?
What i want is something big enough for 3 guys but probably most use will be two guys and a bit of gear.

Will be used for river bashing.

What should i look for in terms of hull size and more importantly engine size? How much am i going to spend?
@scottrods @mohawk @Spanners

If I bought another river boat I would buy another Rakaia Marine with a Legacy or WRX power plant and single stage Colorado unit.
Go out and have a look at what Keith does. Great Boats for SI rivers especially the coast.
They get where other boats can't and are light enough to move yourself when in strife. Mine had a 2.2 legacy and could get up with 2 blokes 2 deer couple of packs and a dog.
I went everywhere in mine.
I still have the use of a mates one that has a smaller motor in it and it does everything we need it to do.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

PM me your email address & I'll send you a copy of an article I wrote a few years ago for the club on getting your first Jetboat.

Depends what you want to do with it & where? Fishing, playing, family boating, whitewater, adventure boating, hunting, water skiing, etc? A lot of people naively end up buying the wrong sort for what they want to use it for, I'd also strongly suggest you join Jetboating NZ & do there new boaters program & go on a few club runs, at least until you get a bit of experience.

Jet Boating New Zealand check out the forum, there's a section on project builds, etc

And lastly learn the river rules! It's not nice when some idiot who doesn't know them comes barreling at you on the wrong side or doesn't give way!

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

PM me your email address & I'll send you a copy of an article I wrote a few years ago for the club on getting your first Jetboat.

Depends what you want to do with it & where? Fishing, playing, family boating, whitewater, adventure boating, hunting, water skiing, etc? A lot of people naively end up buying the wrong sort for what they want to use it for, I'd also strongly suggest you join Jetboating NZ & do there new boaters program & go on a few club runs, at least until you get a bit of experience.

Jet Boating New Zealand check out the forum, there's a section on project builds, etc

And lastly learn the river rules! It's not nice when some idiot who doesn't know them comes barreling at you on the wrong side or doesn't give way!

Are they the same as international boating rules IE pass port to port?

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Are they the same as international boating rules IE pass port to port?

Yes, stay right in the channel your in, boats heading upstream give way to boats coming down stream, powered boats give way to all unpowered craft

Scottrods , R93 , and outdoorlad (tony?) are very wise people and speak from experience spanners (that you don't seem too have alot off ).
Stay far away from the jetski rubbish if you want a decent reliable boat.
The perfect first boat is about 3.6 -4 mtr , commodore 3.8 , and a 2 stage pump . Well set up it will pack any load you can fit in it and get close too 50 mph light. Motors are cheap as hell and idiot proof too and the pump will eat jetskis hole . (im running an LS1 on a 2 stage and getting 60mph @4800 if you wana go faster later on ).
Expect too pay 12 - 15 k for a good one and get someone from your local nzjba or your local jb shop too look first.


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Originally Posted by mohawk

Scottrods , R93 , and outdoorlad (tony?) are very wise people and speak from experience spanners (that you don't seem too have alot off ).
Stay far away from the jetski rubbish if you want a decent reliable boat.
The perfect first boat is about 3.6 -4 mtr , commodore 3.8 , and a 2 stage pump . Well set up it will pack any load you can fit in it and get close too 50 mph light. Motors are cheap as hell and idiot proof too and the pump will eat jetskis hole . (im running an LS1 on a 2 stage and getting 60mph @4800 if you wana go faster later on ).
Expect too pay 12 - 15 k for a good one and get someone from your local nzjba or your local jb shop too look first.


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Thanks for that Mohawk just what I'm after. Can you give me an accurate estimate on costs or where the savings can be made. Eg 3.6-4m Ali hull, engine and jet unit, trailer, seats wheel etc.

I see you're in Hamilton, I'm up that way for the next couple weeks if you no of any where I can go to see some boats

Read from it what you will - I said at the start it would be Holden v ford v Nissan.
As I said, I'd like to hear why the suggested engine packages I listed aren't a reality and why they are 'rubbish'

I'm with Spanners on this.
We have a 17 foot alloy with a Nissan V8 running through a berkley unit.
The berkley cavatates?? "Bad spelling" a bit in big white water but shit she flys, 60mph.
Seats 5 but it takes 5 too push her aswell.....
My mate and neighbour has a 12 foot alloy boat with 3 seats and and 225? Sport jet in it I no which I'd rather have.
Either way you'll throw lots of $$$ at it and have lots of fun


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Originally Posted by BRADS

I'm with Spanners on this.
We have a 17 foot alloy with a Nissan V8 running through a berkley unit.
The berkley cavatates?? "Bad spelling" a bit in big white water but shit she flys, 60mph.
Seats 5 but it takes 5 too push her aswell.....
My mate and neighbour has a 12 foot alloy boat with 3 seats and and 225? Sport jet in it I no which I'd rather have.
Either way you'll throw lots of $$$ at it and have lots of fun


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Umm , no ones told him too buy a 17 with a mixed flow pump