Ok, I know this has been done a million times, but I'm looking for some of your sage advice. I have a 1990 17' Jetcraft Pro Steelheader Lite. It currently has a 65HP Suzukiprop and will run all day long at 34 mph. The boat was designed with a tunnel for a jet. I have fished it out of Sekiu and all over the sound, but I'm thinking of changing to Jet for the rivers, which I enjoy fishing more than the salt. Problem is, I also like to take the family out on the lakes and pull a tube. I have a line on a 140HP Suzuki which yeilds 100HP at the pump.

Lets say I fish 20 days a year.
10 days on the river
5 days in the salt
5 days pulling a tube.
Will I be dissappointed with the Jet performance?
How do they run in salt, especially if there is some chop?
Will it pull my kids ok without putting a jet wash in their faces on the tube?

Thanks!!!

I have the Suz DF140 w/jet on a 20' predator and couldn't be happier with the power to weight ratio of that combo. I have never pulled anything with it, but it has no trouble doing 20-25 mph up river with a full load at a comfortable throttle setting. On a 17 foot boat, that motor has more than enough get up and go for your intended purposes.

My predator has a tunnel hull as well and with the fin kit on the motors lower unit, I rarely have any cavitation problems unless I have it trimmed way up for super shallow water. With the lower unit trimmed all if the way down, I can't get it to cavitate unless I slide out in a tight turn, but drag is noticeable with that much boot in the water. I have run mine on big lakes with 3-4 foot chop/waves with no issues. Tight radius turns at high to medium speeds will be a thing of the past with a jet unit.

The motor throws a pretty good stream out behind the boat. I don't know the standard length on tow ropes, but I think you would need at least 100' to get out of the nozzle wash.

The one thing you won't like about the motor is the fuel economy compared to your 65hp prop. The 140 is very good for its class but will be much more thirsty for sure.

put a jacking plate on it and get a pump and a prop. not that hard to change

Thanks for the replies. The weight is one thing that worries me. The 65 weighs 240lbs, the 140 is 379lbs. It's like having another person in the boat. I wonder what the optimal motor size for this hull might be. The build tag says max HP should be 115. But is that an HP rating, or weight related?

Not "in the boat" but "hanging off the back of the boat", which is not the same. I'd think uour hull manufacturer should be able to provide guidance on that issue though.

That's quite a bit more engine than the boat was designed for. You should consider your insurance coverage and safety if you go over the maximum rated hp. Some jurisdictions consider it illegal to do it.

Why not find an engine that's rated 65 HP "at the pump," then your performance numbers should remain comparable to what they are now. I'm thinking that would be around a 90 HP engine....

Performance in the saltwater is a legitimate concern. If the waves become large enough that your transom is being lifted out of the water, you lose propulsion quickly and can get in trouble fast. This is not a jet or prop issue, it's an issue of how far your drive unit is sticking down into the water(with jets inherently being built as shallow as possible).


-david

+1
Buddy of mine swaps out his pump/prop on his 200HP in about an hour.

The Suzuki 140 came to mind because it was a deal $$$ and is badged 100HP. I think I'll just have to take little trip down to 3 rivers tonight and discuss a new 90/65 or 115/80 with them. The new 4 strokes are heavy though!

That boat looks really close to my 1989 16 Pro steelheader by Duckworth
115 yammi pump and a 6hp yammi kicker about 27mph on the speedo
don't pull no tubes but I ran 4 gal. of mix thru it from sept. to march last year. Does what I want most the time with 3 guys and gear. Salmon , Steelhead And Crab. I would post a pic of it, but I have figured that out yet busy fishing.

So where is the hammer time?

All I saw was a wheezy old merc that couldn't get out of its own way.

Kyle_A:

Don't sell the ETech short.......I have a custom made 17' boat, 6' bottom, came with a Etech 90/65. I just knew the motor wasn't enough, so I sold the motor and got the Etech 130.....Now I smile.....like the "get up and go"....can plane at 3800 RPM and have lot's left.

2 stroke, weight 90/65 was 320 and the 130 is 390.....the extra 70 pound made my boat track better and the "hole shot" is good.

Chuck S. MAJOR LIKE! Still looking. Thanks guys.

Chuck, was that supposed to be impressive? Kinda looked like routine, unimpressive business.

If you were in search of a decent weight to power ratio, this is a good example. 11 foot boat, V8, you get the idea.





The kiwi's are years ahead of our most imaginative jet boat dreams and have been for some time.

ColeyG, that little boat has a nice hole shot but the dance floor is limited.

Looks like fun!

Everything comes at a cost.

My god! Cant wait to watch that on my desktop and not my phone and I wish they had left the music off so you could hear nothing but the engine.