painlesstom said:
Thanks. Between bolting everything together with 30 stainless 1/4-20 screws using polyurethane, and reinforcing the whole area with fiberglass, I am confident there won't be any leaks or movement to alloy any to develop.
Sounds like a good plan, build it good and strong. As long as it's done this way, the cut-and-splice method works, and saves a LOT of time, when compared to the all-out fabrication method like I used to do my boat. I shudder to think of the total hours I spent on my boat :shock: My girlfriend was starting to get jealous of the boat for a while. That is, until she rode in it, and saw how much fun it was...almost like the 14' Sea Doo speedster we used to have, but better!
The motor is the small 587 Rotax, 55 hp. I'm not worried about warp speed, 30-35 mph is what I'm expecting to see, I probably will only cruise at 25 anyhow. Less power usually equates to lower maintenance, longer life, and better fuel mileage. Time will tell, as always.
Heck, I didn't know they made engines smaller than the 717. But based on that, yeah, your estimate of 30-35 MPH is about right. One good thing about the smaller engines is that they are easier, and much less expensive, to rebuild. Not to mention being light enough that 1 man can install or remove it by themselves, without too much trouble.
I will be using aluminum angle to frame out over the engine area for a 1/2" plywood deck, the fuel tank will probably get mounted inside what was the middle bench. That will help keep some weight forward. So far, I would be willing to bet the entire boat is still lighter than the jet ski was, before I chopped it up.
Probably so, and that's a good thing, too. While I love my jetboat, fact is, that sucker is HEAVY, like 1200 lbs. So, if I screw up and ground it, I'm not going to be able to drag it off by myself, or even with the help of someone else. Which is why I carry a come-along and lots of rope when I go on the narrow inland rivers. That way, if I make a mistake, I can hook to a tree, and winch myself off the shoal. Never had to do this yet, and hopefully never will, but there's always a chance! So, this is where a lightweight jetboat comes in real handy, especially when exploring unknown areas that don't have much traffic.
PSG-1, I have looked at your aluma-jet before, nice job. I thought I started with a rough Jon, you brought yours back from the grave!
Well, thank ya! :mrgreen: It was a labor of love, to say the least. But worth every bit of it.
I have welding and machining capability, I just don't have the means to weld aluminum. The aluminum angle for the frame work will get bolted together, makes things easier if engine work is later necessary. So what I'm doing can be duplicated by anyone with a sawzall, a drill and a tape measure, with regards to joining the two hulls together anyhow. Measure three times and cut once...
I'm still contemplating the need for reverse, not sure if it would be worth the effort yet. It comes in handy on my 14' Sea Rayder w/ sport jet 90, it's also a much bigger and heavier boat though. Some feedback on this would be appreciated from those who have built one of these boats.
Reverse is nice to have. Not just for reverse, but if you like to fish by trolling, the reverse gate works like a trolling plate on an OBM, only, the range of adjustment is infinite, from full ahead, to full astern. Also, it's nice for when you come in to the dock, or you're trailering the boat, so you can 'crab' the boat into position, instead of having to cut the engine off right before you get to it, then scramble to keep from hitting something.
If your jet pump is not equipped with a reverse gate, don't worry, you can get one that mounts onto the ski/boat, instead of mounting to the jet nozzle, like mine is. You'll want the reverse gate from a Sea Doo Speedster jetboat, or something like what's used on the Yamaha VX110.
All you have to do is make a set of brackets that come off the hull, for the gate to mount to, then, run a Teleflex CC633 series control cable, and make a shift lever like the simple levers used on my boat.
Hope this helps!