Why don't I see more jet motors?

[Country Dirt Kid]

The river I fish is shallow, mostly 3-5 feet deep with gravel bars and rocks and yet I never see jet motors. The most popular motor out there is definitely the older Mercuries from the 90's either 25-30 Hp. That leads me to think that there is something undesirable about jets. Is there a performance or maintenance tradeoff? I'm looking at one and the price seems good because it comes with the impeller already installed and the propped outboards from Mercury don't come with a prop installed. So what's the deal with jets?

thanks

 

[matt167]

Iirc it's a 20% drop in power. Inboard jet is better for running a River

 

[racerone]

Agreed----Huge power loss in the jet pump.---EG-150 HP outboard is rated 105 HP to compensate and reduce complaints to the dealers.

 

[roscoe]

Oh good luck with that one kid.
You really think its just that easy to get a deal on an outboard.
Order it from singapore ?? And hope you get it?

Jets loose 1/3 of their power, so it will be like a 15 hp motor.
Plus, control and maneuverability are poor.
You have to be powered up to steer.
Reverse is not fun.
And good luck with the repair bill when the impeller/wear ring goes bad.

Stick to a propped motor.
Buy local.
And add a Rock Hopper motor guard or a Mac's River Runner guard.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Yeah, what they said PLUS jets tend to suck up every piece of floating aquatic vegetation and get jammed in the impeller......!

 

[Sea Rider]

Besides what's been posted, need to install the jet engine on a light boat lightly loaded as possible or risk loosing extra power. Other issue is that won't be possible to go for a prop maximization as with outboards and probably the motor will only rev at around middle of its wot rpm range. Wonder if there's a impeller kit for racing to get rid of what comes already installed at an extra cost ?

Happy Boating​

 

[Country Dirt Kid]

Points taken, thanks for the replies, I read all of them. So what's going on with the dealers? No one has any inventory. I hear that the industry is booming and the production line cant keep up. Why is the industry suddenly booming?

 

[Scott Danforth]

the china site listed for the outboards are not US spec'd motors. they cant be sold back to the US because they do not meet US emissions. that, and the motors will not show up.

regarding jet boats, in the 90's and the early 00's there were hundreds of boat manufactures jumping on the jet boat bandwagon. most powered by either Sea Doo motors or Mercury motors, most with Baja built hulls (rebranded as needed). Then Yamaha joined. Now Sea Doo is out of the market, Yamaha is still in, and there are specialty brands like Scarab offering jet boats.

however no where near the popularity from 20-30 years ago

Same goes with outboard jet motors. in the past, there were many offerings

Why have they fallen out of favor, because they were significantly inefficient, and from a fishing perspective, flats boats became popular with powered jack plates as standard

want to go in shallow in a boat designed today, slow down and raise the motor and you can be fishing along in less than 2 feet of water.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Points taken, thanks for the replies, I read all of them. So what's going on with the dealers? No one has any inventory. I hear that the industry is booming and the production line cant keep up. Why is the industry suddenly booming?

because of covid. the whole world discovered you can socially distance by being in a boat, kayak, canoe, tent or RV.

so instead of people burning their vacations and savings on cruises or trips to europe, they are now spending their money and time on boating, renovating the house, camping, hiking, etc.

 

[racerone]

Many folks are say not spending coins supporting the millionaire pro sports athlete types.----Many have realized that if you spend beer tokens on a boat you will have that boat for the next weekend.-----After a pro sports event you ticket money is gone forever !

 

[roscoe]

No motors because no parts, many of which come from china. China has no workers in factories because of covid, they have had many many more deaths than they have admitted to.

Same goes for riding lawn mowers. You can buy a $3,000-$9,000 mower, but try buying a smaller one, say a cub cadet, troy bilt, or snapper, or even a cheapo Murray 30" rider.
There are NONE in stock anywhere.
No engines or parts from china,
and not workers in the factories to put them together.