Questions for shallow water outboard jet operators

[urbanredneck]

Hi all.
I've got a couple very basic questions geared towards someone new to purposely running skinny. Gonna give yall some context first. I typically fish the Snake River in Southwest Idaho and Eastern Oregon. I've heard it's comparable to the Susquehanna among many others. Rocky. Sketchy.
I've spent the last 30 years running jack plated prop engines through these waters until I finally had enough. Currently running an 1860 tunnel jet with a 115/80.
I'm trying to gain confidence to run these waters and I always seem to end up the the same predicament; Take it slow, off plane so if I do hit a Boulder the damage is minimal. Mark the spot on the graph and keep going VS. full tilt WOT thru the sketchiest of runs in order to draft less on plane and hopefully not hit anything. But, that seems to be quite risky in the event you hit a Boulder.
Is there a happy medium? Any reason why most will recommend running shallow only on plane? Seems to me that scouting your run would be most logical. But not always possible. You're either in or your out, and it happens real quick.

Lastly, I'm wondering if I'm just being a wimp and over thinking it all. I've blown out entire lowers before on these rocks so I'm hesitant to just go for it. Not sure what to expect, or what part of my rig will hit first and how severe of an impact to expect.
Sorry for the novel...hoping some veterans can see where I'm coming from and help me out. Thanks

 

[Scott Danforth]

Sounds like you need a New Zealand jet boat. Designed to bounce off rocks in skinny water. The bottoms are usually lined with HDPE


There are kits and full boats available from a multitude of companies

Wattscraft | NZ Jet boat hull kit-sets

WattsCraft | Otago, New Zealand. Jet boat hull kit-sets. Custom aluminium boat hulls. ASP Parts + SSS Parts. Mini Jet Boat NZ.

www.wattscraft.com

You run WOT to draft less
And yes, with a traditional prop lower that hurts when you smack a rock. A jet conversion has too much in the water to run really skinny

You may need a specialized boat

 

[dingbat]

Grew up on the Potomac River upstream of the fall line. Fish the Susquehanna above the fall line as well a couple of times a year.

Both are very shallow and littered with rock and debris. It’s not if, it’s when you hit something or run aground.

Jon boats are king and it doesn’t matter if your running a jet, sporting a “pitch fork” or any of the other prop protectors marketed to “river runners”. Nobody in their right mind “goes for it” without prior and or recent knowledge of the area.

Not only do you have rock, there is tons of debris moving down river with each storm. That open cut between the two boulders you blew through yesterday may have a huge tree stump lodged between them after last night’s storm.

Loose a couple of people a year to “boating” accidents in water shallow enough to walk across.