Need help looking for a hunting river boat

[ctd]

This thread is awesome.
How would a jon boat handle on the North Sask, what about a bit of rapids. Would a v bottom boat be better?

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by ctd

This thread is awesome.
How would a jon boat handle on the North Sask, what about a bit of rapids. Would a v bottom boat be better?

I never ran the NSR , but I used a 5 degree hull on skinny water and deep on the Athabasca, Horse, Clearwater, Ells, piles of small and big water in Northern Alberta. When running bigger waves it could get nasty but I bought it to run skinny and it excelled at that!
Marathon 120 Lite, they don't make 'em like that anymore!
Cat

[Dale S]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

Your sport jet burns 5-6 gallons an hour with 2 guys and gear for the weekend at 45 mph ?

That’s incredible, I’ve never seen one that would come close to matching those numbers.

Sorry your confused. I said just under 45mph. That's with a empty boat, empty fuel tank and a new impeller. The average is 5 to 6 gallons a hour.

[Dale S]

Originally Posted by Stubb

Wow, my 200 SJ on a heavy duty boat topped out empty at 40 mph. 5300 rpm burning at least 10 gallons an hour. What a lemon i had!

To the OP- either a jon type boat or maybe a used 16' explorer would get you started.

My 16 ft Lynx has nothing in it. A hull, steering wheel and a motor. Weighs 1800 lbs.

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by Dale S

Sorry your confused. I said just under 45mph. That's with a empty boat, empty fuel tank and a new impeller. The average is 5 to 6 gallons a hour.

How many rpms are you pulling at just under 45mph

[Dale S]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

How many rpms are you pulling at just under 45mph

What ever those 175 rev up to.

Sent from my SM-A705W using Tapatalk

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

Your sport jet burns 5-6 gallons an hour with 2 guys and gear for the weekend at 45 mph ?

That’s incredible, I’ve never seen one that would come close to matching those numbers.

Those Sportjet 175's are amazing, and the Lynx is an excellent boat.
At 45MPH the 175 is turning about 3,600RPM IIRC.
Cat

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by Dale S

Sorry your confused. I said just under 45mph. That's with a empty boat, empty fuel tank and a new impeller. The average is 5 to 6 gallons a hour.

Not confused, just under 45 mph to me is 43-44, not 35-38.
And when claiming the boat will do “just under 45 mph” I didn’t expect you meant with a fresh high skew, a new wear ring, running on fumes with a 12 year old at the controls and no seats to get it lol
But it’s your story man....

Sport jets are awesome in small boats for ditch banging small channels with nothing in them.

I’ve never seen one burn 5-6 gallons an hour unless it was drifting down river for half the hour lol
Put any load in it and they suck fuel so hard you can’t pack enough drums to keep it fed. We had to fly drums ahead in fact which doesn’t work for most on long trips.
Everybody I know has gone to V8’s for their larger boats now. The performance is night and day, and you don’t have to yell at each other over the screaming engine. Plus you can put a 3rd person in the boat and still get on plane.

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Those Sportjet 175's are amazing, and the Lynx is an excellent boat.
At 45MPH the 175 is turning about 3,600RPM IIRC.
Cat

Maybe in a striped tomcat, I’ve never seen a lynx that will do it.

Even the fabled 240 was a stretch with anything in the boat.

[Yukongold]

Originally Posted by SouthWestRanger

Hey guys,
I’m looking at getting a watercraft specifically as a river boat for hunting rivers here in southern Alberta. I’m aware of my options with jet bots but they are really expensive and I would love to hear if there are other options that people have used before. Smaller zodiac style RIB boats? Jon Boats? Any help is greatly appreciated!

I ran a jet for years and can offer you a few ideas. As a rule outboard jet drives are on a scowl front river boat.( ie Jon type boat) which makes their application on big lakes limited and often dangerous depending on conditions. You can go combination with a " V" front and flat at the transom (no deadrise) but you don't have the same lift when loaded with the Vee front as you do with the flat scowl front. Jet drives are very load dependant and this takes some practice depending on the boat as the location of the weight is paramount to getting on step. Jet boats are a lot like airplanes in relation to weight and balance. If you're not on step you are not going anywhere and fuel consumption becomes the issue. Once you get more proficient at operating you start looking for shallow water to get on step with a fully or often an overloaded boat. If you a buying used you may have to rebuild the outboard jet. They operate by pressure so the tolerances between liner and the impeller are critical as the liners get grooved up and eventually are toast and need to be replaced. A bunch of guys I used to hang around with run stainless impellers (pricey) as they have an extra flute which some say give them a better hole shot. I personally never found much difference if you keep the aluminum impeller filed in good shape. The important thing is pressure and this is done very simply by using washers on each side of the impeller. You are either taking one away or adding one to whatever side to have the impeller flutes as close to the liner as possible without touching and scraping. And some guys don't like the jet as you lose so much efficiency and they use a prop on a sliding transom which can be mechanical (tiller application) or hydraulic depending on how fancy one whats to get. You can also build a prop guard out of rebar better than anything thats on the market and still retain efficiency and water flow. There are some great systems out there which guys have developed that suits their needs often for very little capital outlay. Good luck finding the right boat!!

[Big Grey Wolf]

When we use to hunt the Peace River for bear we used a 4 tine pitch fork (metal) bolted to the leg. When you hit a rock or sandbar bounched the motor out of danger. Worked like a dam, poor mans jet.

[Yukongold]

[QUOTE=Big Grey Wolf;4314122]When we use to hunt the Peace River for bear we used a 4 tine pitch fork (metal) bolted to the leg. When you hit a rock or sandbar bounched the motor out of danger. Worked like a dam, poor mans jet.[/QU

There you go. Innovation and happiness go hand in hand!! Seen similar setups which worked just fine. As long as the motor floats on the transom and is not locked in with hydraulic tilt life is good.

[Jim Blake]

Picture of the Lynx we have. Works for me for what we do. NSR friendly for sure.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Positrac

Jet number two. 166 Explorer with a 115/80hp jet. It sipped fuel and could really pack some weight. I wish I never sold it.



upload images

dam that's my wife's quad...now I know who she ran off with

some wicked set ups fella's.

[catnthehat]

This is a Marathon 120 (120 horse Sportjet)Lite, this model is not made anymore but if you can find one they are a fantastic skinny water boat!

Coming upriver at 30MPH with a moose and a half in her!


This Lowe is owned by a friend, he runs a 60/40 jet on it, and it runs skinny as well.

Cat

[SouthWestRanger]

Originally Posted by Yukongold

I ran a jet for years and can offer you a few ideas. As a rule outboard jet drives are on a scowl front river boat.( ie Jon type boat) which makes their application on big lakes limited and often dangerous depending on conditions. You can go combination with a " V" front and flat at the transom (no deadrise) but you don't have the same lift when loaded with the Vee front as you do with the flat scowl front. Jet drives are very load dependant and this takes some practice depending on the boat as the location of the weight is paramount to getting on step. Jet boats are a lot like airplanes in relation to weight and balance. If you're not on step you are not going anywhere and fuel consumption becomes the issue. Once you get more proficient at operating you start looking for shallow water to get on step with a fully or often an overloaded boat. If you a buying used you may have to rebuild the outboard jet. They operate by pressure so the tolerances between liner and the impeller are critical as the liners get grooved up and eventually are toast and need to be replaced. A bunch of guys I used to hang around with run stainless impellers (pricey) as they have an extra flute which some say give them a better hole shot. I personally never found much difference if you keep the aluminum impeller filed in good shape. The important thing is pressure and this is done very simply by using washers on each side of the impeller. You are either taking one away or adding one to whatever side to have the impeller flutes as close to the liner as possible without touching and scraping. And some guys don't like the jet as you lose so much efficiency and they use a prop on a sliding transom which can be mechanical (tiller application) or hydraulic depending on how fancy one whats to get. You can also build a prop guard out of rebar better than anything thats on the market and still retain efficiency and water flow. There are some great systems out there which guys have developed that suits their needs often for very little capital outlay. Good luck finding the right boat!!

Appreciate the advice, this boat would strictly be for rivers, I have other boats for the lake and ocean! I really appreciate all the technical advice, important stuff to look for.

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Those Sportjet 175's are amazing, and the Lynx is an excellent boat.
At 45MPH the 175 is turning about 3,600RPM IIRC.
Cat

Sorry but there’s about a 0% chance that your running 3600 rpm at 45mph
I have one in my boat that I was mentioning earlier
45mph your probably at around 5300 or wot
And it’s not going to be getting 5-6 gph at those rpms
Probably closer to 30gph

They are fairly efficient if you can get them on step fast at lower rpm but they don’t not get anywhere near these burn rates

My new explorer with the 2.3l ecoboost is exponentially better on fuel and it gets 6gph at 30mph which is 3000 rpm. And that’s with the place divertor set perfect.
If you get it just on step it burns in the mid 2’s at like 2300-2400 rpm
Which is incredible

This sounds like a story about the terminal performance of a 6.5 Grendel
Sorry lol

[kilgoretrout]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

This is a Marathon 120 (120 horse Sportjet)Lite, this model is not made anymore but if you can find one they are a fantastic skinny water boat!

Coming upriver at 30MPH with a moose and a half in her!


This Lowe is owned by a friend, he runs a 60/40 jet on it, and it runs skinny as well.

Cat

Pretty sure the last boat (blue one) is a Hyde Power Drifter

https://www.hydeoutdoors.com/drift-b...power-drifter/

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by kilgoretrout

Pretty sure the last boat (blue one) is a Hyde Power Drifter

https://www.hydeoutdoors.com/drift-b...power-drifter/

It may very well be, I will have to ask Alec !
I always thought it was a Lowe but it may be a Hyde.....
Cat

[QIsley]

Originally Posted by ctd

This thread is awesome.
How would a jon boat handle on the North Sask, what about a bit of rapids. Would a v bottom boat be better?

Jon Boat is fine for the North Saskatchewan. I went from Drayton Valley to the Saskatchewan border bridge with a 16X48 Polar Craft pushed by a Pro-drive Mudmotor.... was a great trip, camped two nights.

[bushbug]

Took 14 foot explorer up the Chinchaga this fall and came back with an elk . Ran fine is easyon fuel and light weight . It has a 40 HP YAMAHA 4 stroke for power

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

Sorry but there’s about a 0% chance that your running 3600 rpm at 45mph
I have one in my boat that I was mentioning earlier
45mph your probably at around 5300 or wot
And it’s not going to be getting 5-6 gph at those rpms
Probably closer to 30gph

They are fairly efficient if you can get them on step fast at lower rpm but they don’t not get anywhere near these burn rates

My new explorer with the 2.3l ecoboost is exponentially better on fuel and it gets 6gph at 30mph which is 3000 rpm. And that’s with the place divertor set perfect.
If you get it just on step it burns in the mid 2’s at like 2300-2400 rpm
Which is incredible

This sounds like a story about the terminal performance of a 6.5 Grendel
Sorry lol

Sorry that was the 175 that was in the 120Lite, and it did that with no issues.
The big 18' Marathon runs my mechanic's boat at 3,900 flat out at about 42MPH
There is a huge difference between the standard MatahonX and the 120 light

Cat