Jetboat or outboard

[Derekb2102]

Good morning everyone

I am new to the forum and boating in general and just looking for some advice.

I’ve read on the forum multiple people explaining that their jet boats have been great in salt water and that any concerns in that area are taken care of. The question I have is, does this still stand true I’m murky marshy water.
My wife and I live in Savannah GA and have been looking into purchasing a Yamaha ar190-210. We are just a little concerned that everyone seems to be recommending an outboard for this area.
Does anyone have experience here or similar? I struggle to gain confidence from the salesmen as I feel they always want to push towards what they have to sell.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Betik]

We live in Dallas, so not much salt here, but until east coast folks chime I can say that there are plenty of JetBoats in Florida and salt water in general. I would not discount a jet boat just because of the salt water or murky waters.
It kind of depends what your boating plans are or what you think they might be.

 

[Derekb2102]

I have read about the salt water but from what I understood, I thought the water was clearer further down south.
We went to the launch ramp last weekend to see what boats everyone was using and really didn’t see many jet boats (all bar 1). So if just had us a little concerned.
We would plan on using it for running around, visiting the local islands, little fishing and sports.
we want an sx/ar model, we want to stay away from the more fishing style center consoles.

 

[Derekb2102]

A dealer at the local store referred to the Yamahas as an inboard/outboard. Am I correct in thinking that’s only stern drives and a jet boat would be its own classification?

he was saying the maintenance is much higher. I knew this could be true for stern drives in salt water but didn’t think it applied the same to jets.

 

[BeauSko]

@Derekb2102 ...which body of water are you talking about when u say murky/marshy? If you’re talking about the rivers, jet boats do just fine. I boat in the Charleston, SC area in mostly brackish water (mixture of salt and fresh water)...further toward the ocean than inland. I will say, that when I go further up river I start to see a lot more debris. This is a concern when it comes to jet boats as they can potentially ingest stuff through the intakes.

I also, rarely see jet boats in my area. They’re here, but nowhere near the abundance of center consoles with outboards. My personal opinion is that jet boats used to have a bad rap and so long time boaters have a hard time overcoming that stereotype. I’ve only had my boat 2 months and it is amazing. Do a search in this forum for “bulletproof” and I’m sure you’ll see a ton of threads talking about the reliability of these bad boys.

If it’s any indicator on the popularity of jet boats (Yamaha’s at least) I’m sure you already know that you cannot find a 2020 anywhere! Yes, this year was unique with COVID so a lot of people looked to boating but extremely popular nonetheless.

As long as you flush out after every use and spray down you’ll be just fine.

 

[Dave burke]

The dealer is all wet. The only boats Yamaha makes are jets I’m pretty sure. They also make outboards, but just the engines.

I’ve owned outboards, I/Os (also called sterndrives) and jets. The lowest maintenance is with jets.

 

[PEARCE]

The only problem that you'll have with a jet that other boats don't have as bad is grass, or vegetation in the water. Props will usually just run through it and chew it up. A jet pump will get clogged and possibly overheat if you get too much trying to blow it out. Jets are a fine choice for most everything else. If you plan to trailer it or keep at a marina in dry stack then it's a perfect boat. If you plan to leave it in the water then it's not, especially in saltwater. What I'm saying is that it is not a good idea to store this kind of boat for long periods of time in saltwater. Fresh water it's ok, you get growth, but your jet pumps won't erode away. If you want to wet slip in saltwater then get an outboard. You can tilt them up to keep them out of the water. Happy shopping and good luck!

 

[zipper]

A dealer at the local store referred to the Yamahas as an inboard/outboard. Am I correct in thinking that’s only stern drives and a jet boat would be its own classification?

he was saying the maintenance is much higher. I knew this could be true for stern drives in salt water but didn’t think it applied the same to jets.

I would call them Inboard jetboats. Yearly maintenance costs are less, especially when it comes time to Winterize, way less than our Beneteau and I do the labor. The only problems we have had was Milfoil wrapped around the impellor shaft, twice in nearly 5 seasons, a 5 min/episode delay with cleanout plugs. We hold onto her because of low cost of ownership. We do own a couple of outboards for our dinghies, A 4hp for our 9' West Marine and a new15hp for our new 11' Zodiak aluminum rib. The smaller one would not plane, the new one will be fun.

 

[the MfM]

A dealer at the local store referred to the Yamahas as an inboard/outboard. Am I correct in thinking that’s only stern drives and a jet boat would be its own classification?

he was saying the maintenance is much higher. I knew this could be true for stern drives in salt water but didn’t think it applied the same to jets.

FWIW my registration lists my boat as an inboard. In form and function Yamaha jet boats are closer to stern drives then outboards. So I wouldn’t hold it against the dealer for calling them I/O’s.

The biggest advantage of an outboard is the ease of maintenance. Standing at the back of the boat sure is nice vs hunched over in an engine compartment.

 

[Julian]

The biggest advantage of an outboard is the ease of maintenance.

I'd say the biggest advantage of an outboard is that you can get the entire engine out of the water when you aren't using it. This means it takes much less of a beating (especially salt water docked boats).

 

[Julian]

Good morning everyone

I am new to the forum and boating in general and just looking for some advice.

I’ve read on the forum multiple people explaining that their jet boats have been great in salt water and that any concerns in that area are taken care of. The question I have is, does this still stand true I’m murky marshy water.
My wife and I live in Savannah GA and have been looking into purchasing a Yamaha ar190-210. We are just a little concerned that everyone seems to be recommending an outboard for this area.
Does anyone have experience here or similar? I struggle to gain confidence from the salesmen as I feel they always want to push towards what they have to sell.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

If your murky/marshy water also has a lot of vegetation then I would say a jet boat should not be your first choice.

 

[the MfM]

I'd say the biggest advantage of an outboard is that you can get the entire engine out of the water when you aren't using it. This means it takes much less of a beating (especially salt water docked boats).

That too. But you could use a lift if you wanted. No avoiding the damn engine compartment.

 

[Derekb2102]

It would be trailered so that wouldn’t be an issue. Good point I didn’t think of tho