Thread: Mini Jetboats

My mate based in Rotorua is into them big time and has just completed a tour of the South Island with his plastic 2.5m boat. He has a 2.0m alloy boat as well but while its fun he prefers the 2.5m for a bunch of reasons... things like comfort and performance. He also has 2.5m and 3.0m alloy jetboats... the places he's been and the stuff he's done is worthy of a book.

When he showed up here with the plastic boat a couple of weeks ago I asked about the pro's and con's - evidently the alloy and plastic boats weigh about the same (~ 200kg) however the big plus for the plastic boats is they're much easier to drag over the ground... something that has significant advantages not only when it turns to shit but also when launching and retrieving in places there's no easy river access. He literally kicks it over a bank to launch it sometimes and uses the ute to drag it up and out... he has 100m of rope to help with that. The plastic boat is constructed from 10mm thick sheet with a 20mm thick bottom and I noticed even the reverse cups are made from plastic. Totally cool little package.

The 2.0m boat fits nicely in the tray of the Hilux, whereas the "big boats" need a trailer. They look totally ridiculous when being towed by a campervan!

Photos from the other day as he passed through: