jetfoot

[kingbee]

I am thinking of buying a boat with a jetfoot outboard motor.  Anyone out there who can advise me what to be on the lookout for or the downside of a jetfoot outboard.

[hardwood]

I hear they're not very good at mulching manatees :-D

Scott

[AllenF]

 :-D     

I have wondered about them also.   How shallow can you run the one you are looking at?

[divemaster1963]

Just make sure any one that you look at has a good revease hood for backing up and remember that when you cut the throttle you loose control steering. Make sure the unit has a idle lockout so when you cut power you don't go into idle until you press the release that helps keep you in control of the boat. some have clearence of as little as 10 inches of water for output. they are neat but tricky to get use to.


John

[kingbee]

I hear they're not very good at mulching manatees...

I hope this wasn't you, but one day I got behind a Volvo SUV with Florida plates.  He/she had two bumperstickers one about scuba diving and another saying "Save the Manatees!" 

Now I don't want to nor do I plan to chum with manatee, but VOLVO outdrives chew up more manatees than almost anything else. Why would someone who cares about the fate of manatees buy a Volvo? :scrach:

[kingbee]

...
How shallow can you run the one you are looking at?

I don't know.  Maybe 6 inches with one person at a slower speed with some loss of control or I suspect at full speed in a foot of water and with two on board.  The jet foot doesn't provide any protection to the boat from collisions with underwater objects so there are some concerns that a skipper with a jet foot outboard could get himself in more jams that a prop skipper, by the simple fact that the prop boat could not operate in the same shallow places.   I also know that jet boats suck at towing and that they do better when more of the weight is placed forward.  That may not mean as dry a ride as a prop boat?

I don't really understand how a tunnel hull helps but I've been told that it does.

[BeeMaster2]

A regular prop pushes water out as well as backward. The energy being pushed outward is wasted. The jet drive takes that energy and directs all of it behind the prop so that for the same amount of energy you get more thrust.
Jim

[RC]

I don't really understand how a tunnel hull helps but I've been told that it does.


The tunnel creates a high pressure water zone directly in front of the foot of the outboard. In other words, it force feeds water to the prop, or in this case, the jet drive. It also maintains a water supply for the drive when there's not much water under the boat. They work very well, for shallow water applications.
With a correctly designed tunnel, you can actually raise the motor ( with a jack plate) and still provide water to the drive. You just have to keep in mind that if you raise the motor too far, the water pickup for cooling the motor can be out of the water. You will overheat the motor. Also, if you raise it too high, you can't steer. Ask me how I know that.

[jayj200]

We have all been sold every day

some are just the art of overselling