Looking for a small jet drive outboard

Backstory, Have a drift bolt. Solid aluminum drift boat by thunder jet. When we got it, it had a 9.9 kicker that could push us around pretty nice. Then some dirt bag broke into my garage and stole the kicker ect. Looking to replace it with a smaller jet, maybe a 25? The boat weighs in at just under 600 lbs and the transom is reinforced for a motor. Anyone have any experience or advise?

I wanta say upfront that I have a 17' jet boat......don't think I'd ever want to change it to a "drifter"....

Why do you want a jet motor....if it had a 9.9 kicker that you were happy with?

Maybe you want to do what Clackacraft is advertising.....a boat that has a jet motor but can be rowed when going down river. You have to realize that the Clackacraft is completely designed to be handled both ways.....

Good luck.....be safe!!!!!

You'll eat your words when you try to row that boat...
9.9 vs a 20hp is gonna totally change the way that thing rows, sits in water and tracks for plugging, and not in a good way...not to mention the heavy ass will make it try to get ahead of you on the corners, just like car.

Not to mention that drift boat hulls aren't meant to plane, so you'll be making the engine work harder than it needs to withought any real difference. I also doubt you'd get a good alignment with your hull to your intake to make it worthwhile as well.

The final nail is that a 20hp jet isn't going to do dick for pushing a loaded drift boat many places that you'd want it to, you'd need at least a 30 and then we get back to a problem of too much weight and again the hull issue on plane

Do yourself a favor, get another 9.9, a good prop gaurd and get back after it