Hello, new to the site. I live in Laughlin and spend a lot of time on that area of the river. We currently have 27’ Speedster which has been a great boat for the weekend chop. The past couple years I have been wanting to put together what I would call the weekday hot rod, the perfect little fast jet boat to dump in the river for an hour or so before dark after sneaking out of the office a little early. Plus, I would like to be able to take the boat south of Parker and run that part of the river. If all goes right, I may try to put together a new jet boat after the first of the year to hopefully be ready for early summer. I know there are a bunch of you guys on this forum that are very knowledgeable when it comes to putting together a nice jet boat. I posted this hoping that I could get some advice that would help me in picking what boat to put together. What I have seen and liked are the Cheyennes, 19 daytona, placecraft, CP, and Bonneville TR; although, I have never actually ridden in any of them. The only jet boats we have ever had was a Bahner my parents had when I was young and then a Caliber 1 open bow. What I am looking for is a hard accelerating jet boat that tops out around 90-100mph safely. Boat would have a river layup that could take a little bit of a beating. I like the idea of a large reliable naturally aspirated BBC that would run on pump gas. I am cool with the boat only having two seats. I like the hulls I mentioned above from the performance that seems you can get out of them, but my wife likes the idea of having a little more room. She says that she wants to feel like she is sitting down inside the boat as opposed to sitting up high out of the boat. Would be curious to know which one you typically sit lower in with a two seat setup. Well, here are the questions….. If you had a 50k budget, what would you put together for a new badass river jet boat? What hull would you use? What motor package & pump would get it done? Can it be done for 50k? I am interested to know what boat others would put together. Sorry if this has already been dicussed. Any advice/opinions are appreciated. Thank you in advance. -ML
Tunnels are fast and handle rough water, but you do sit higher than a gullwing (CP et al). Both gullwing and tunnel can be fast with less power than some of the other hulls. If it was my boat, I'd have GS layup a carbon/kevlar and bagged TPR (I like the look better than Daytona, personal preference). It would have race weight with ski/play strength. I would then have a pump built and a 547ci stroker Ford (mild 800hp pump gas motor) and do part of the rigging myself to keep costs down. Here's how it would break down with your budget amount;
Hull & trailer & bottom work $30k
Engine and pump $15k
Rigging and misc. $5k
I think you could do the same with either hull and probably for less than what I estimated if you're patient and find good deals on parts.
As much as i love the tunnels...all of them...you're recipe (making wife happy) the CP or variant in an open bow would seem to fill up the card, just thinking out loud.
If you put a solidly built alum. headed, hyd. roller, single dominator 540c.u.+, backed with any pump B1 builds for that motor, in any of those hulls. You will have a lot of fun!
With a $50,000 budget, you could buy my boat, and still have money to treat your wife to a nice Hawaiian vacation! WIN, WIN.artyguy:
<<<<<<<<<<This boat, accelerates hard, runs about 100 mph, turns heads, and your wife will love the attention she gets riding shotgun,....or driving.:wink2:
It would NOT be practical to spend that kind of money building anything unless there were no other like new running boats already for sale out there, which there are several, and you could still have some
money left over and not have to waste all your time building.
It would NOT be practical to spend that kind of money building anything unless there were no other like new running boats already for sale out there, which there are several, and you could still have some
money left over and not have to waste all your time building.
Sounds like you are looking for exactly what I was looking for. I just picked up an 18' CP with a big blower motor that I'm taking out for the first trip this weekend. If its too crazy Im going to pull the blower and just throw a carb on it. I'm sure it will be plenty for me
Sounds like you are looking for exactly what I was looking for. I just picked up an 18' CP with a big blower motor that I'm taking out for the first trip this weekend. If its too crazy Im going to pull the blower and just throw a carb on it. I'm sure it will be plenty for me
Forgot the point of my post haha.. I picked it up for half of what you are looking to spend and it already has the bottom done, nice pump, etc, so you can definitely get it done. A lot of nice stuff out there.
^^^^^^^ Agree. Racer J's Placecraft, then pick your engine combo. 540+ CI are easy to find and everywhere. You'd have some money left over to boot. Unless your interested in a 21', 600" CI TPR :grin:
I was going back and forth between farmer johns grey 19' TPR and this one. This one fits in my garage and the tunnel wouldnt have, but I really wanted that tunnel. Hope I dont kick myself in the ass too bad, havent even driven a CP before so we'll see how it goes
Cp fun, safe, room, sitting more in boat, can handle big power and rougher water, can put chairs or a canopy in it, if you want to hang on a beach. will tow skiers and have room for a few skies, and also for 4-5 people. oh ya and a cooler will not be in your way. plus some have 15 gal tanks so you can go a little ways. stick to pump gas.
21 Daytona. Blown 468.. Should be able to pick up a motor turnkey for 8-10 grand.. boat for another 10grand or so.. Would run your number safely.. handle the rough water and look nice... seats 4 as well..
with todays technology and composites you can have light and strong for the river, Older boats are just that old and usually heavier if there river duty.
You said you've never driven a winger or a tunnel. Wingers turn on a dime. Tunnels...........not so much. Being able to turn is a nice feature especially on the lower river.
I have driven many larger tunnels, just not jet boats. Our current ride needs damn near the whole width of the river to get turned around. When there is a lot of traffic, it can be difficult at times. Being able to spin around and go the other way quickly would be a nice feature, although not enough for me to steer away from the tunnels.
Give me a call. Name is Pat I live in Boulder City. I can give you good info on 18ft gullwings. The best 2 seat river boat for Laughlin. 1-702-204-5035
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