New mini jet build

[Smitty82]

Hey all, new to the forum but had a question for anyone who may have some answers:

So, I live in south eastern ontario and I’m seriously interested in building a 12-14’ mini jet boat. My main question is this: if I’m not planning on running in skinny water, is a welded hull still a necessity?
Im an avid angler and have always wanted one of the fancy bass boats to play around with, but they’re extremely cost preventive and also pretty 1 dimensional boats in what they can do. Dropping down to the “ski n play” style boats isn’t much better for cost. But if I could build my own jet boat, I could have something that’s a ton of fun just to drive around in, I could pull a skier or a tube, and with the right design it could also function as a half decent fishing boat too! I have less than zero welding skill, but I’m pretty confident I can pound a ton of rivets if I has a pre cut and bent hull to work with.
So, is it worth even trying this option or is welding really the only option for this style of hull (I saw someone mention cavitation in another post, so maybe rivets would cause a problem in this area?)

 

[HangOutdoors]

Thinking outside the box, what about an older 19' Yamaha that needs a lot of work or engine rebuild. You may be able to come up with one on the cheap and build your self a nice all around boat. Family and Fishing. May not fit what you exactly want, just a thought.

 

[Smitty82]

Thinking outside the box, what about an older 19' Yamaha that needs a lot of work or engine rebuild. You may be able to come up with one on the cheap and build your self a nice all around boat. Family and Fishing. May not fit what you exactly want, just a thought.

I think there’s an appeal for me to build my own from the ground up with all the customizations that I want to suit my own needs. I appreciate the feedback though, if I wasn’t so stubborn this would probably be a great option! I also like the idea of having an aluminum hull, I’m sure I’ll take it shallow here and there to try and yank a fish out of somewhere.
Looking to build something along these lines, but a bit more customized for how I want to use it:

 

[2kwik4u]

I think there’s an appeal for me to build my own from the ground up with all the customizations that I want to suit my own needs. I appreciate the feedback though, if I wasn’t so stubborn this would probably be a great option! I also like the idea of having an aluminum hull, I’m sure I’ll take it shallow here and there to try and yank a fish out of somewhere.
Looking to build something along these lines, but a bit more customized for how I want to use it:

Cleetus McFarland on youtube has built a couple of these. They look like pretty ridiculous amounts of fun to be honest.

No idea how they would do for fishing. Nice fore and aft decks to stand on. Not much for trolling motor mounts though. I'm not a fisherman, so I have no idea if that's good or bad.

No idea on cost.

Don't think I would want to begin to wrangle tubes and ski's on something this small. Nowhere to put them when they're not being towed around. I'm sure it's doable, but it's gonna be a masters course in space management.

No idea on welded vs riveted for light use. Welding is a lot like poker. Super easy to learn, super difficult to master. I would expect a "welding 101 class" at your local technical college might get you far enough to b dangerous.

 

[Smitty82]

Luckily, jetstream boats offers welded hulls as well as just the pre cut ones. I don’t think I’d want to place any faith in my own welds lol. And yeah, space management would be tricky, but should be doable with a little creativity, and I wouldn’t be carrying the skis or tube when not in use (same with fishing gear).

 

[2kwik4u]

Luckily, jetstream boats offers welded hulls as well as just the pre cut ones. I don’t think I’d want to place any faith in my own welds lol. And yeah, space management would be tricky, but should be doable with a little creativity, and I wouldn’t be carrying the skis or tube when not in use (same with fishing gear).

I would totally build one if I could get the hull already pre-welded. Sounds like from there, there is little fabrication, just mostly assembly. I can do assembly WAY better than I can do fabrication.

 

[Smitty82]

I would totally build one if I could get the hull already pre-welded. Sounds like from there, there is little fabrication, just mostly assembly. I can do assembly WAY better than I can do fabrication.

Lol I’m the same, I figure it’ll cost about the same to buy it pre-welded as it would to take courses and buy my own welding equipment to do it myself.
I think the biggest appeal to me is I can build it myself and end up with a boat that can kind of do it all, may not be perfect for fishing to skiing/tubing, but it can get the job done pretty well, and still be a ton of fun just to drive around in.
I’m also really interested in building an electric jet boat, Taiga motors in Montreal is coming out with the Orca full electric PWC. I’m contacting them to see if they’ll sell just their drive unit and battery pack separately. Paired with the new electric F-150, you could theoretically go back to the launch and do a quick charge from the truck in 20 minutes to get back to 80% battery on the boat. Lots of ideas for this project, just hope I can pull it all together!

 

[2kwik4u]

Lol I’m the same, I figure it’ll cost about the same to buy it pre-welded as it would to take courses and buy my own welding equipment to do it myself.
I think the biggest appeal to me is I can build it myself and end up with a boat that can kind of do it all, may not be perfect for fishing to skiing/tubing, but it can get the job done pretty well, and still be a ton of fun just to drive around in.
I’m also really interested in building an electric jet boat, Taiga motors in Montreal is coming out with the Orca full electric PWC. I’m contacting them to see if they’ll sell just their drive unit and battery pack separately. Paired with the new electric F-150, you could theoretically go back to the launch and do a quick charge from the truck in 20 minutes to get back to 80% battery on the boat. Lots of ideas for this project, just hope I can pull it all together!

I think a DIY Electric MiniJet would be a great project. More time/effort than I have in the bank, but a neat idea.

I honestly have no idea what I would use a mini-jet like that for, other than random shenanigans, but it looks like fun.

Maybe I should build a fleet of them and rent them out in Florida and give up this engineering BS I've been doing for years . Weather would be nicer and I could make my own hours.

 

[Smitty82]

I think a DIY Electric MiniJet would be a great project. More time/effort than I have in the bank, but a neat idea.

I honestly have no idea what I would use a mini-jet like that for, other than random shenanigans, but it looks like fun.

Maybe I should build a fleet of them and rent them out in Florida and give up this engineering BS I've been doing for years . Weather would be nicer and I could make my own hours.

well hopefully I can pull it off, just depends on if I can source the drive unit and battery somewhere, not sure I could figure that out on my own. Luckily my next door neighbor is an electrician, so I’ll have the help for wiring it up. And I’m sure I can recruit a few more helpers along the way too

 

[84rzv500r]

I do admit that I've watched McFarland vids and the aluminum mini jet boats look fun!! Just be sensible about what your gonna do with it... In fact I've plated the last 24 inches of my keel between the jets with aluminum after clipping a mangrove stump at 40 knots with my AR210.... I live in FL keys and run my 15' jet boat or my 21' twin jet boat boat nearly every day for the last 5 years. Going outside the reef in less than 19-21ft boat with a reasonable freeboard can be a gamble on all but the calmest of days...

Im looking at an aluminum boats and Im really Liking a 28-30' Munson catamaran sport landing craft with a pair of 6.2 LS engines or maybe some diesels and Hamilton Jet drives if I hit the Lotto.

 

[Smitty82]

I do admit that I've watched McFarland vids and the aluminum mini jet boats look fun!! Just be sensible about what your gonna do with it... In fact I've plated the last 24 inches of my keel between the jets with aluminum after clipping a mangrove stump at 40 knots with my AR210.... I live in FL keys and run my 15' jet boat or my 21' twin jet boat boat nearly every day for the last 5 years. Going outside the reef in less than 19-21ft boat with a reasonable freeboard can be a gamble on all but the calmest of days...

Im looking at an aluminum boats and Im really Liking a 28-30' Munson catamaran sport landing craft with a pair of 6.2 LS engines or maybe some diesels and Hamilton Jet drives if I hit the Lotto.

For sure, I wouldn’t really be running it in less than 2’ at any time as most of the water around me is pretty deep. My wife had said she wanted a boat we could ski or tube behind, but a fishing boat was my priority, with one of these we’d have a good compromise that won’t cost 60k+ if I can do the majority of the work myself.

 

[2kwik4u]

Im really Liking a 28-30' Munson catamaran sport landing craft with a pair of 6.2 LS engines or maybe some diesels and Hamilton Jet drives if I hit the Lotto.

Cheese and Rice these are some serious boats.

 

[84rzv500r]

2 ft of water...