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Two weeks ago we went to Havasu (sorry if I spelled it wrong) with some friends who had a boat. I haven't had that good of a time in a while. I used to go with my friends parents to Lake Mead when I was a kid. Well my wife and I decided to look into geting a boat. My, question is this... What are the performance pros and cons with both Jet drive and prop drive. I know the mechanics of each, as in how they work, but don't know why you would choose one over the other... Thanks
man wbe,you dont know the can of worms your opening with that ?
What, did I ask a forbidden question in this forum? Boatnam2 which do you have? And why did you choose the one you did. I just want to be a little informed befor I purchase. Thanks
i have a prop but can appreciate all kinks of propulsion.i not one to bag on this or that if its a sweet boat or even if its a little run down if your out boating thats all that matters.iv'e owned a couple of ob's and a couple of inboards and liked both.actually i have a poonton boat with an outboard so i guess i have both right now.never owned a jet but would if i ever decide to go back down in the size of the boat.my new boat is 28 ft and an outdrive is best for my application.ofcourse the biggest problem with a prop is hitting bottom or tearing someones arm off.dont really no the down side to a jet never owned one.
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[This message has been edited by Racing Ray (edited March 12, 2002).]
Hey, thanks for the insight. The 2:1 gas savings is good to know. I would appreciate any other insight anyone might have out there. Its very cool to be able to go somewhere with such a weath of knowledge at your fingertips. I hope everyone had a great time this weekend.
[This message has been edited by WetBehindtheEars (edited September 02, 2001).]
Hey, thanks for the insight. The 2:1 gas savings is good to know. I would appreciate any other insight anyone might have out there. Its very cool to be able to go somewhere with such a weath of knowledge at your fingertips. I hope everyone had a great time this weekend.
Sorry for the double posts.. I am still getting used to the editing feature..
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[This message has been edited by Racing Ray (edited March 12, 2002).]
To expand upon the thoughts of my esteemed colleagues:
Jets
Pro- No sharp blade to chop up things you don't want to chop up.
Con- Can be disabled by sucking up a rope, or something as basic as a plastic bag. Also, no steering without power.
Outdrive
Pro- Will chop through most ropes and plastic bags, etc. In addition, you can steer without power.
Con- Will also chop through most things you don't want to be chopped through (like boatnam said).
I don't think the jet fanatics...er.. I mean guys come over here much. Post this in the "Jet Performance" or "Hot Boats Hot Spots" sections, and you might get some passionate responses.
http://www.goldenplasma.f2s.com/foru...es/happy25.gif
[This message has been edited by Havasu Hangin' (edited September 03, 2001).]
Thanks for all your helpful advice. I will take your advice Havasu Hangin' and post something in the Jet Performance section.
If you run in shallow water, get the jet otherwise get an outdrive. If you do run an outdrive at the river the cost savings of the gas will quickly be redeployed in props, gears, and propshafts...
If you want some more feedback I can post in the Jet forum and you'll have more Pro feedback than you know what to do with. I run 21' Open Bow Caliber 1 502 (440hp) with a Berkeley Jet. I love jets simply because (like V-drives) most jet boat owners are pretty fanatic. Find something within your price range that you like, either v-drive, jet, outboard or I/O and go for it. Good luck.
If I may quoted the great and powerfull Edroe: "Never Tailgate a Jet Boat"
Later
Slick
WetBehindtheEars, would you like to be passing people or gettting passed? In here lies the answer to your question http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
Go with a prop go twice as fast with half the power. However jets are safer when it comes to swimming etc....
RD
Hey RD i got one for this topic buddy. I was following a freind of mine on sunday when all of the sudden the Fufu queen yells OHHH as i look up i see this gray thing come off my buddys boat and sink as drove over what he hit with my slow jet. By the I just want to say welcome to my buddy drveless who i was following on sunday.. Soo Dave after that miss haps i think i will stick with the Hustler and my slow jet.
Hustler
Read: Lost my outdrive at the Delta
OK R.D. - I'm gonna give you crap (in a humorous way of course) for that last post.
We all know that an outdrives and jet with equal power perform differently. The jet will kill the O/D out of the hole and up to about 35mph. From there the O/D will generally walk away from the jet. However, my jet boat with 454 mag goes 57-59mph. I know for sure the same boat with an outdrive will NOT go 114mph! It would probably go in the mid to high 70's though and that's pretty damn fast for a stock engine package.
RiverCrazy, you have a very valid point about not running 114. http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif I'd be interesting in seeing (Particularly on your boat) Accelleration data from shockwave on both an I/O and a jet. Now I'm not the worlds smartest man but I don't think there's going to be a very big difference. Does shockwave have that Data?
RD
I really was only trying to be funny here RD.
I can't find data on the same two boats with the same HP ratings with different drives. I can speak from experience though. I met a guy at the river with the same hull as mine with the open bow. He had the Merc EFI 385hp model and I have a Marine Power 390hp. Its still not apples to apples as the Marine Power is rated at the crank and the Merc is rated at the prop shaft. I think mine would be rated at 365hp at the prop shaft.
We raced a bit. I took him out of the hole with my A impeller (buy about 4 boat lengths). He was running his 4 blade which he said was better out of the hole. He walked past me at about 40mph. He said the 4 blade would run 74-75 and with the 3 blade 77-78.
It did make me think twice about having a jet versus outdrive though. He would run about 60 at 4,000 rpm. Mine only runs 43-44 at the same rpm.
RiverCrazy, I know bud, but once you get me thinking about something I can't stop. I.E. Prop on the front of the outdrive. I was just wondering if there was actually any data available. Most O/B guys run there jack plates so high that they don't accellerate that well, but they kick a** on the top end.
RD
To bad Merc has not engineered a telescoping lower gear case. That way the outdrive could be raised strait up and down like an outboard on a jack plate.
Trimming an outdrive has its advantages. However, you can only trim up so far before you alter the angle of the prop. Trimming it up too high will impact the props ability to run at an angle it was designed for.
Hey if merc would put the prop on the front of the outdrive and create a telescoping outdrive, it might take a big bite out of outboard sales. Ahhhh now I think I'm figuring it out!!!!
~!
[This message has been edited by RiverDave2 (edited September 05, 2001).]
Hmmmmmmm.......... http://www.goldenplasma.f2s.com/foru...ifferent04.gif
Hustler: OUCH! Are you making an example out of me? While I appreciate the tow, I hope you are not going to rub this in my nose forever. Funny how you never mention how many times you had to rebuild the engine in your 'slow' jet before you could make one lap around the local lake without spinning a bearing. Better ease up on the fufu's...
-driveless
driveless, i'm not trying to make an example out of you, just making a point and yes i did go through a couple motors but none of wich had any thing to due with the fact that its powering a jet. can you say asshole engine builders? allthough the last guy made good for his mistake and your motor is proof that he can do things right. besides i was just trying to ruffle daves feathers.
Hustler
[This message has been edited by Hustler (edited September 06, 2001).]
(Looking in the mirror) yep, feathers still in tact! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
RD
Just a thought. You didn' mention what you and your family want out of a boat,and where you do most of your boating. As the others have mentioned, ther are a lot of differences between a jet and a prop drive. I have never owned a jet but have worked on and driven a few.I am presently running a 17ft Larson with a 4.3lx It will do 50 with 4 people in it which is good for a V6 but I long for the V8 rumble(middle age crisis)I boat on a natural lake(no dam) but in the spring the lake can rise 13 feet and with it comes logs, mosly from logging opperations and log booms. These can be devastating to an out drive but barely faze a jet. It is true that an eqally powered boat will be much faster and fuel efficient with a prop than a jet. Jets also do not steer very well if at all in an idle or no power situation and can be very dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced operator, just look at the stats on the PWC accidents, back off the power in a turn and it will go straight, usually into what they were trying to avoid. Jets are generally cheaper to maintain, but for a given speed the jet has to turn a higher RPM so the engines are working harder and therefor may not last as long. Jet rooster tails are cool too but aare they really that necessary? Some times they can be used as a weapon,ie; tailgaiting PWCs. Very illegal to hose them down but I have considered it a few times. Jets will pull harder for popping a skiier out but put up a larger wake,ok for wakeboarders and tubing but not for slalom or begginers. Props are just as safe as a jet if used sensibly, like shutting the motor off when boarding. I have only cut one ski rope off a prop but have done countless removals of ropes sucked into jets, it seems like a magnetic attraction or something. Anyway I am rambleing and should be boating instead, good luck in your quest, read Hot Boat for good info and enjoy whatever you decide to buy. Boat safe!
Hey StevieRay,
No, I appreciate the rambling. Like I have said before, I need all the help I can get. The only lakes I have been to are Lake Mead and Havasu. At Havasu their were a couple of places it got pretty shallow. The friend we were with could tell by the color and waves of the water if it was too shallow to go through or not. Anyway when I do get a boat I will probably go with someone experienced, so I can learn a few things. We are thinking of going to the Long Beach Boat Show in October to get an idea of what we want.
Thanks again for the advice. Talk to you later...
hey wet in a nutshell if you want to go fast get an outdrive, but if you want the best of both worlds get an arneson surface drive, still on surface, throws an awesome rooster. and most important , never breaks. and more power and torque can be thrown at it then a o shit it broke again bravo
2fastforYou, Arneson surface drives eh?? How well does that come out of the hole? Last time I checked there great for top end speed but they struggle just to get on plane. Is there anyway to tame that bad boy rooster tail for skiers/toobers? Not to even bring up how long a rope is going to survive once you throw it in the water and Idle out. http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
My main point is if your going to go racing then hell yeah, surface drive is the way to go, but for the river/lake use??
RD