Often people tend to get confused between jet boat and jet ski. Are they one and the same? The answer is mostly ‘no’. The only similarity between these two is that both use jet propulsion.
What do you mean by jet propulsion?
The first version of jet boat was created in the year 1950 and today in the marine industry, it is one of the fastest growing segments. It uses a simple concept – here the water will be sucked up from below the boat via an intake and shots out through a nozzle.
A pump/impeller will be just behind which will suck the water in then will push it out.
On jet boat there will be no external propeller which is a big difference from the traditional outboard powered boat, there will be no external propeller on the jet boat.
Jet boat variations
In case, you are acquainted with different personal watercrafts, or jet skis, then you probably will realize that mostly all of them are quite similar in size and style. Presently, most of the personal watercraft are about 8′ to 12′ in length.
They also feature set of handlebars with seat for riders so that they can sit back-to-back while the craft is operating. Most of them are typically meant for 2 to 3 passengers and there are jet engines whose power ranges between 80 to 350 HP.
Due to their light weight it will make them to perform essentially like motorcycle on the surface of the water. If you are interested to buy Yamaha outboard motors for your boat then you can find them from jet outboard for sale.
If you look at jet boat, then you will find it much similar to traditional fiberglass runabout. During the year, 2018, the majority of jet boats will be available in size in the range of 16′ to 24′.
The smaller sized jet boats that are under 20′ length typically will have 1 engine. Larger jet boats usually will have twin engines.
Advantages of the jet boats
As compared to traditional stern drives Jet Boats offers many advantages. Based on where and how you wish to do boating, any of the following advantages will be enough to choose jet boat in place of traditional stern drive version.
Shallow draft
Since jet boat has got no outdrive or prop/driveshaft, hence there will be typically nothing hanging below the boat. Therefore, you can potentially operate any jet boat just in 12” water or even less. If you want to boat on lake which is shallow or got stumps, this can make jet boat certainly a good choice for you.
Interior space
Just have a look at few of the modern jet boats, then you will notice immediately that the space available inside the cockpit will be significantly larger as compared to what you can get in stern drive.
This can be due to placement of jet motors in the boat. Usually, they sit lower further back. Also, they do not need a large sun pad over top and can extend cockpit area by 12 to 18” longer than stern drive of similar size.
Thus, you could potentially obtain the interior space of 24’ stern drive within smaller 22’ size jet boat.