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Looking for a Tunnel Hull Jet Drive Boat

16K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  RedfireSVT 
#1 ·
hey guys i'm looking for a shallow water aluminum boat, tunnel hull with an outboard in the 16 foot range. i have been looking online but haven't seen much. i do like the looks of the tunnel hull G3 1656 Gator Tough with the 60hp outboard, has anyone had any experience with this boat? i need something for the river and it gets shallow and it's all rock bottom where i would use it so if anyone has a suggestion on a good boat let me know. if anyone has any advice on a good dealer in texas or where i could look for a good boat either new or used i would appreciate it. Thanks!
 
#7 ·
Take a look at the SJX boats www.sj-x.com and if you like what you see and are on a budget, then go to SeaArk's webpage and order the same boat for a lot less. I think SJX adds some graphics and maybe a little extra fabrication, like custom consoles, etc.

Make sure you don't get a boat with a prop tunnel, as that won't work for a jet. G3 and Lowe both have decent budget tunnel jet setups. The SeaArk will be a lot tougher and probably last you a lifetime.

The river I run is mostly shallow sandbars and stumps, so a tunnel prop works great for me. Anything shallow enough to show a ripple in the water, I can go around - if it's too deep to make a ripple, the boat goes right over it. YMMV if your river doesn't have much current.
 
#8 ·
back in the 80s I lived in Alaska and had a 16' aluminum boat and a 50 hp Johnson with a jet foot. That thing would go up rocky rivers in inches of water. I really had some great times moose hunting and fishing out of that boat. I had a prop 40 hp Merc I'd switch out for salmon and halibut fishing in the inlet. Sorry this doesn't do anything to answer your question but it's fun to reminisce.:smile:
 
#9 ·
I've built a couple of small aluminum scooters for outboard jet drives and they do seem to like a tunnel for water feed, if in fact you are wanting the jet to stay above the hull bottom. I'm no boat building expert, but it seems to be the case for me when I was playing around with fabricating them. The tunnel on my current scooter is only about 2" vertical and 17" wide, though, not nearly as big as a prop tunnel. I think a prop tunnel would throw too much water on top of the jet and throw water around. No only is the tunnel on mine made shallow, but I build a flange around the tunnel that kind of fits back to where the jet drive sits. The motor is rarely if ever tilted and the jet intake is slightly canted forward to accept water feed, so the water feed is pretty nice for me. I don't know how the experts do it, but that is what worked best for the couple that I built.
 
#10 ·
For clarification, in general:

Jet tunnels should be less than 3 inches in height and less than 3 feet in length.

Prop tunnels should be around 6 inches in height and 6 feet or more in length.

IMHO, it would be good to have feathered (rounded) edges from the hull bottom to the tunnel, to reduce disturbance to the water flow. The one exception is if you have a vented tunnel (for props only), then you should have a plate over the leading edge of the tunnel to cover the vent hole. I don't think venting would work for a jet motor.

I've often wondered if having a keel down the middle of the tunnel would help or hinder a prop's performance - I can only guess that it would help when running straight but hurt when turning.
 
#19 ·
jet drive

I've fished a jet drive for the last few years. Pic attached. Portland marine made ours. They are very helpful, though it's a little tougher to make them since you can't get the yammi 2 strokes anymore. We're going to sell ours later this year. Let me know if you're interested in buying used. Ours has a very small tunnel and will run in 2-3" (i've never actually run out of water in it, so I don't know for sure how shallow it will go). I've heard that you can still run plenty shallow and gain speed if you run the jet without the tunnel.
 

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#23 ·
I've fished a jet drive for the last few years. Pic attached. Portland marine made ours. They are very helpful, though it's a little tougher to make them since you can't get the yammi 2 strokes anymore. We're going to sell ours later this year. Let me know if you're interested in buying used. Ours has a very small tunnel and will run in 2-3" (i've never actually run out of water in it, so I don't know for sure how shallow it will go). I've heard that you can still run plenty shallow and gain speed if you run the jet without the tunnel.
Care to share any more pics?
 
#25 ·
still looking. i really want something small, about 16ft or so, jet drive tunnel with just a stick steer in the front. i won't use this boat for anything other than running up and down the river which is very shallow and all rock bottom. so i want small and light, nothing special and i don't care about options etc. i just want it to have enough motor to not be a dog and light enough for me to push it out or thru areas it might get stuck. i wonder about stern drives, seems like even with floats on the back, with all the weight in the rear it would still sit to low in the back?
 
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