This is going to be a little long. First you need to know I'm old (66 this year) Very successful in business (not boats). I've been reading the posts for a while now and I've noticed a common thread. We all seem to live in the past. The boats that we enjoy are old with big old (usually) motors. Some well healed dudes got blank checks and always let it all hang out. The rest just bust their chops to get a good ride and always have something to look forward to. I live on a lake in Mich.. There is a "Lake Assoc." with over 1200 members. It's a good sized lake. There are about a dozen "bad boys" on the lake. Around here 80mph is fast. State speed limit is 55 on lake. As long as your not stupid or real loud, the cops leave you alone. The point of this is....what does a new jet boat look like? Seems like the PWC's have taken over. There is obviously a market for a boat that looks like a boat and sounds at least a little bad. Don't they make 8 cyl motors any more? What would a modern jet boat look and sound like? Why does it need to look or sound very different from the boats we know. On this lake less than 1% of the boats are over 20'. Michigan had more than 800,000 registered watercraft owners 3years ago. I got $100 that says less than 5% are over 20' long. There is a huge market for "small" (20' or less) boats around here. Looking at the posts on the forums, it's easy to see that there is a lot of talent out there. The only thing that seems to be missing is marketing. Who is selling 2002 jet boats (not PWC folks), and what do they look and sound like?
Old Guy
Old Guy,
Do little surfing and you'll be able to see pictures of what your asking about.
www.ultraboats.com (http://www.ultraboats.com) www.essexboats.com (http://www.essexboats.com) www.lightningbyultra.com (http://www.lightningbyultra.com)
so on and so forth.
Have fun,
Chris www.liquidaddiction.net (http://www.liquidaddiction.net)
Sweet, 66 yrs old and getting a new custom jet boat! That's cool. I just want to say Ultra sells the most custom jet boats per year then any other custom builder. There gelcoats are very good, and they work with you on everything. Anyway, good luck and let us know what you decide to go with.
HBjet
Hi Old Guy, I'm in Rockford, Mi. and a member of the Mi. Hot Boat Assn. You are welcome to come to any of our meets and see what boats people have. We are getting together for a winter party in Midland on Feb. 16. What lake do you live on?
Old Guy, check out this thread for a great example of what a new custom jet boat can look like: http://free.***boat.net/ubb/Forum4/HTML/001704.html
I live in the Southeast and agree completely that there is a market for JetBoats here and elsewhere. When I was in the market 2 years ago I had to fly to the West Coast and have a boat shipped from there. Somehow ***boat has managed to convince the boat companies that the only viable jetboat market is the Parker Strip area. SeaDoo and Yamaha are making lots of money selling crappy PWC jetboats to the rest of the country.
I'm from MI too. http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif
And I'm one of those guys with "alwways something to look forward to".
Doesn't www.californiaperformanceboat.com (http://www.californiaperformanceboat.com) sell new Jet Boats. They have retro styling cues but maybe that's not what you want? I still like theirs the best.
[This message has been edited by MoJetBoPar (edited January 23, 2002).]
A cool thing about Ultra is the story behind a friend of mine's 21' Ultra jet. When he wanted a new boat, he wanted just the hull. He wanted to set the engine, pump, rigging, upolstery all himself. He had all the hardware and the means to this himself. He said Ultra was the only Boat builder that would sell him one. He said that everyone else just blew him off and wouldn't give him the time of day. I thought it was cool of Ultra to do that. They don't stand to make as much $ from someone just buying the hull rather than the whole complete boat. Not to mention what if the guy just wingin it and hacks a new boat together and then people might see it on the water and think, "Man the new Ultra's look like shit!" As it turned out this wasn't the case. This guys boat is sweet. And he saved a bundle too.
beached1
Couger, Tom Papp and liberator would sell me a hull with no engine or pump no problem. They all said send them my intake and they will set it in the hull for me. You just have to shop around.
MikeW
I thought Eliminator did that a lot (or used to). That's how dcb and carrera got started, from what I've heard. Unless they only sell the bare hulls in bunches and not one at a time. I know there are other companies around that'll do it though.
B1, when did your friend buy his hull?
RTJas.
Hey Old Guy, check with some of the boat performance shops around, that specialize in jets......they can set you up with a total custom boat....we did it last year and are very pleased. We also live on the east side, been running jets for 15 years and loving it. If you need any advise drop me an e-mail.
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