Posts: 157
Location: Collegeville Pa | I run a 90/65 Yamaha Jet on a 17' all welded Xpress for the Susquehanna, Lehigh and Delaware rivers. Heavy boat. A couple of years ago, I considered dropping down in boat size and length due to the fact I was fishing alone more and the ramps I use are many times, simply accesses to the river and then only a beach. Getting the boat off the trailer was an adventure at times.
The problem is that if you go to the smaller jets, i.e. 40 hp and below, depending on the load in the boat, you will not get a shallow as possible. Since the whole goal of a jet is to run really skinny water, 10" and less, you want as much HP as possible. 2 guys, gear, gas, trolling motor batteries all add to the weight and you may not end up running as shallow as you like. It's no fun running a ground!!! I also recommend a 24V trolling motor since you will be running a river and dealing with current all day, especially in high water conditions.
I ended keeping my boat and modifying the trailer with slick slides and extra side bunks to ease loading and especially unloading.
Jet are awesome for shallow water but the setup is critical and I would recommend as much HP as possible.
Greg |
