Jet Boat 2.0

[jdmidwest]

I took possession of a boat that I have fished out of with a buddy of mine since the 90's.  It was repowered in 2010 with the Merc 25 4 stroker.  The boat has been banged off most of the rocks and a few stumps on the 11 pt for years.  Welded and straightened out a few times.  But it still floats and sheds water. 

I have been working on it all winter, adding new things and fixing broken stuff.  It had been setting for 2 years since we last used it.  But I took it out on a shakedown run this afternoon.  Heading to Van Buren this weekend for a run on the Current River.  Sporting new OAF decals.
 

[Jerry Rapp]

the recessed tray on the front?  Storage or is that where the trolling motor battery sits?

[BilletHead]

2 hours ago, Jerry Rapp said:

the recessed tray on the front?  Storage or is that where the trolling motor battery sits?

         Used to come with a cooler that dropped into that spot Jerry. Not sure what JD has in there,

[jdmidwest]

Cooler tray.  Leaving it out. Had a tool box in there yesterday.

[Jerry Rapp]

46 minutes ago, jdmidwest said:

Cooler tray.  Leaving it out. Had a tool box in there yesterday.

thanks.  I wonder how many ice cubes would come flying at your face when you were running over choppy water?  Being in the front end was bad enough in those stick steering jobs, but to hit a good wave and the cooler lid flying open......  but I am still seriously considering a stick steer for a future purchase since I don't tournament fish anymore and could care less about going anywhere fast.  Plus the ease of just sitting in one spot all day.

[gotmuddy]

Its great to be able to use a boat that already has memories in it.  How do you like the stick steering with a jet?

[Flysmallie]

I love stick steer boats. 

[fishinwrench]

17 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

I love stick steer boats. 

That's cool, as long as you don't forget to love a nice short kill switch lanyard too. 😐 

If there was ever a good reason to have a Hotfoot throttle, it would be on a stick steer rig.

[jdmidwest]

I love the stick steer on a Jet, you sit high in the front and can see whats coming.  Sometimes.

When I got cancer 2.0, we were looking for a hull to replace this one.  It was getting beat up and there is a leak somewhere, either rivets or the livewell lines.  I came across a Panfish 17 with a 60/40 jet on it.  It has the revolution V back on the hull.  My buddy drove in from Tn and picked me up to meet the guy in St. Marys.  We took it for a run on the river slough there and fell in love with it.  Only took a few trips to flatten out the V to where it stopped cavitating.  Its a bigger, stronger boat and have fished it almost exclusively since.  This one was reserved for 11 Pt trips where we were limited to 25 Hp. 

And now its mine.