Anyone run jet outboards?

Ever since moving to Georgia and learning just what passes for a river here I've about given up hope of ever having water under a hull again. I've been pretty much relegated to 1arse powered manual stroke motors on my canoe but the idea of once again hitting the water to run lines just won't go away and I've been studying up on skinny water hard bottomed river running and it looks like some form of jet or drive a few hours to find deep water.

Here's my local river, the Flint.

You must be where the banjo players duel.

I’ve run some pretty skinny water in a 20 ft jet and an 18 ft jet only chance in some of those areas would maybe be a 12 or 14 ft flat bottom with a outboard jet and I wouldn’t wanna be on that ride lol.Looks like to many rocks for a clean run even at full power.You can blast thru 6-8” if water over sand but from the video I can’t see it happening unless a down river run but it’s still gonna leave a mark lol.

I have one , and thoroughly enjoy it . They take a little to get used to because you cant steer on idle . It takes thrust to steer . The worse the conditions , shallow or tight the faster you have to go . The throttle is your fiend . When in doubt give her gas

I don't know of anyone running flat shoals. That one is about the biggest before you get to yellowjacket shoals which is class iii and iv whitewater, ledges mainly, when the river is running full. But its indicative of the middle to upper flint which is shoal/pool/shoal. There is a several mile run above this to a wma launch and several miles down to a state park launch. But there are plenty of bumps along the way in both directions.

That what I gather, no second guessing. Ignore the pucker and go for it because coming off plane can put it in park.

I've been running them for years. Decades actually. What do you want to know ? I have both 2, and 4 strokes. If the gravel is wet, I can go.

After watching your video I myself wouldn’t run my jet on that. I run some skinny places but I like my boat too much and I know what it costs to get one fixed.

If its shallow you get a sudden stop but if the motor dies before you get in reverse or the motor isn't locked down . You may coast with no steering . To make a tight turn you must throttle down enough that the boat doesn't skip across the surface sideways then goose it to develope enough thrust to turn . There is a lot of timing and finesse to running a riffle with boulders or a snaky channel .

i rode in bigfoots jet drive in some shallow water ......once

Tunnel ram hull is you friend
Best shallow boat is the woolrich alaskan

Just a few things.

Weight is a killer in any attempt to plane and more so in jets. Any sort of chart or data I could read to figure boat size to hp? Bat out of Atlanta speed has never been top priority in my boats but fast enough to plane with any reasonable load with enough reserve to get out of the way has always been my safety margin.
I figure a 14-16 moderately wide modv jon hull is what I'm comfortable with but I really know nothing of tunnels. I think I've got the gist of it where a slight dead rise with well designed tunnel sheers of air to provide a clean sheet of solid water. Nor do I fully understand sponson design other than it helps get the arse end up with material missing in the tunnel. Should they be an extension of the hull bottom/sides or slightly above and inside to minimize drag?
On motors, count me in the 2 stroke camp. Specifically OMC 2 strokes as I spent many hours wrenching on them to understand them. But the tree huggers have all but done away with them and anything late model has electrical gremlins all over them. I know the foot is a fairly straight forward swap but wonder if aftermarket swaps are counted at the powerhead or foot as far as regulation and restricted waters. Probably moot for me as the only real restriction I might face is a 25hp on just a couple lakes and I doubt 25 would push the weight I'm thinking. I could always do a kicker. The coast guard plate might matter if I go big.

The rest is just general inside layout which in my ideal rig regardless of propulsion is as open as possible with minimal decks forward and aft as catfishing and running lines is best done from inside the boat not on top of the boat. Center console forward is my preference.

At this point it's just spitballing but could be a future project.

I got a 15 footer with a tiller last year that has a 4 stroke 40/30 on it. I think its got enough power, but the tiller is a killer sitting all the way in the back because i weigh it down. It takes me some water to get on plane, but 3 inches or so when im there.
Like already stated, when in doubt hit the throttle. So basically the opposite of your reaction after running propped boats.
Im gonna put it for sale and not be in a hurry. They are rare around here and bring decent money. The 15 ft just isnt as big as i want. Dream rig would be a Blazer console 17 ft with a 60/40 on it. If i keep it, im getting flotation pods in the back.

Since ur looking in that sized category, i should add that its mounted from the factory and i dont have a jack plate. I kicked it back one hole on the manual tilt and gained over 3 mph. Next hole up i was suckin air. If i had a jack plate and could raise another 1/2-1 inch, id have cleaner water and could peobably do better. I hit 26 goin downstream on our little river and about 23-24 goin up. I felt somewhat “on plane” at around 16-17 mph”. Boat is a g3 1548.

I've got a 1654 alumaweld side console with a mercury 60 45 . .the biggest thing i would change would be if the bottom of the boat extended past the transom . Once in awhile a rock will snag the bead on one welded on the edge and pull the transom away from the bottom of the boat . It's only happened to mine a couple times . Both times i was trapping away from home and just stuck some mastic in the crack and hammered it shut until after season when i could weld it . Most of the new boats are made with the bottom sticking past the transom .
The Jet Doctor in eminance Mo is the cheapest place ive found for parts and motors . I need to get another impeller and cone .

If you run extreme water keep a tool kit in the boat to pull the foot off and move the impeller shims if you suck it full of sand . Tools to straighten intake fins ,they dont get on plane very well with the intake screen smashed shut .

I think the 60 45 is a great motor for the 1654 boats, ive had mine on plane with 9 beaver , five otter and two friends.

What hacks can help low speed maneuvers? Not that I see major issues but loading and unloading in river current often needs low speed correction.
Do the finned intakes help? I saw one add on that attaches like a whaletail but has two vertical tabs that look to act like a rudder. How would that help as rudders need forward momentum to steer.

I know where a 70hp mid 90s Johnson is locally. With a jet foot that would be around 50hp?

Guys up here are running the Solar type inflatables in some ungodly country. Rocks/velocity, meh….

I watched the video. Ran/run jetboats in Alberta/Alaska/British Columbia/Mongolia/Argentina/Chile

We call those types of rapids “ ledge rock”

You definitely want too master “backing down”. over the ledge rock drops


Running rapids like that, nose down will end in disaster

40 outboard jet on 18’ wide bottom Jon boat would be fine

If ur talking loading onto a trailer, a jet is easier than a prop in stiff current has been my experience.

Please explain backing down. Not that I would ever try it mind you.

You need a jetech to run that water.
Solar inflatable with small jet on the back and poly foot.
I've wrecked a few aluminum boats running too skinny rocky stuff.
He has some rad videos on fb and IG.
Here's one from SE AK, Steve K ripping on the tiller.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.facebook.com/574710489535823/videos/739296343494973/&ved=2ahUKEwibxKattoLxAhVJrJ4KHaRXBpYQo7QBegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw3XZJIBTJ3tOjeEPgPQ3z7i

Backdown the hairy/technical rapids

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l-B-JmP67tk

It’s much safer than blasting nose down

I have two Lowe 1648s, and had a 16 foot Explorer. I have 2, two stroke Johnson jet drives that are 30 HP at the pump.Hard to say how many hours those two engines have on them now, but they are still running strong. I had one of the first Yamaha 30s that came out. They were 30 at the pump, and a great engine. I wore my first one out after 15 years of hard use. Just bought a new one this winter.

With my setups I can haul two large fishermen and gear easily. I have hauled entire moose many many times. The two strokes are better out of the hole for quick power. They will get you up on step faster when your loaded heavy. The 4-strokes are much better on fuel, and have plenty of power once you get them up on step.

The water I run most often is much smaller and shallower than the river in the video. We do have a couple of rivers that are similar that we hunt on. Hard to say for sure without being there and actually seeing it, but from the video I didnt see anything I couldnt run with my boats.

Whatever boat you get, get some Wetlander, and paint it on the bottom. Makes a huge difference.

How about a hovercraft ?

I had a jet outboard on a 17' welded aluminum boat. Got tired of having to drop the lower unit to get the gravel out. Lived in fear I'd lose one of the bolts in the river. Went back to canoes and rafts.

I wouldn't try that stretch of river. I don't see a route.

Maybe an airboat would work.

Jim