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| Hi, all I am about to purchase a newish boat. I am currently using an older Alumacraft Deep V but it has been beaten to death from previous owners over the years and currently the engine is blown. I've found a Lowe Roughneck 16" with seems like a 56ish inch hull. Guy is wanting to take my old boat on trade as he has a motor to put on it. The Lowe is a tunnel hull jet drive with a Yamaha jet. I've been fishing alot of small rivers and shallower lakes lately but usually have to wade or bank fish. I'm really diggin the jet drive because I could access these places with ease. I'm not worried about power loss and mileage but I'm very concerned about being able to fish all the usual big water locations in Wisconsin and getting caught out in some 3 and 4 footers in the boat. Plus I've heard they will beat you to death. Which being a center console it should take alot of the pounding out standing but I don't wish to regret getting it on big water. I fish probably about 50/50 between small limited access areas and big water so it is not a simple call to make |
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Posts: 437
| Thats a tough one. Im not familiar with that boat at all, but your ratio of big to small water is much closer than mine so it may be worth it to you.
I fish skinny water very few times so I opted for a boat to feel more comfortable out there.
Your situation has an added complexity in that you have a willing person to trade with and considering your situation is a definite plus.
What I found now that I have had my boat for a few years, I dont even fish in the skinny water areas I used to. Since it is more important to you thats a tough call.
Perhaps you can swing this deal and then in a few years get a boat that works better overall. It will be a sacrifice for a little while, but at least you are fishing. |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | What hp jet is on the boat? The biggest difference I have experienced between a jet and prop is the hp difference. As far as ride quality I haven't noticed a big difference at all. You may have some cavitation issues in 3-4 footers. Biggest concern fishing lakes with a jet is that you need to stay out of the weeds, they will clog your intake. |
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| You will like it on small bodies of water but mod-v/jon boat hulls have a much narrower bottom compared to the beam. You will not like the ride or being out in big waves. |
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| It really comes down to personal preference. From my experience I would suggest running. Fished out of a flat bottom with a 90/65 jet for five years and couldn't be happier it's gone. It was purchased for fishing rivers, but it never got used for its original purpose.
Cons:
1) Jet drives suck up weeds/debris that clog your motor, so it can be a pain to run in/around weeds. Even floating weeds can screw things up.
2) They're hard to steer since the you don't have anything to act like a rutter as you have with a prop.
3) A flat bottom/jet is a pain on big water. A deep V performs so much better.
The only pro I have is that you can run in shallow water. On the other hand, I have no interest running full throttle in less than a foot of water. |
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Posts: 383
| +1 on jets sucking up weeds. I briefly owned a Boston Whaler jet. Cool boat in concept, but get it into milfoil and what a mess. Still, if you're doing rivers and staying out of milfoil infested lakes, then it might be worth considering... |
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| It has a 60hp Yamaha. Both 2010 models boat/motor. Does the weeds and debree actually get inside the foot or does it have a screen that it stops up where I could just shut it off and clean it out? If I do not get it I will probably just get a new/newish Alumacraft since the old one has held up good as it has. I have hit bottom several times with it(motor). I'm not sure if some of those little skids that bolt on the skegs would help a prop motor much or not. He claims that he's ran in 5" of water with 2 people and gear with the jet and that sounds pretty excellent. It also has two HDS-8 Gen1 units. Only thing I might add is some MinnKota Talons or PowerPoles. |
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| Almost forgot to ask this as well. How do you think this boat would work for occasional trolling? |
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| WIRandy76 - 6/11/2012 11:11 PM
It has a 60hp Yamaha. Both 2010 models boat/motor. Does the weeds and debree actually get inside the foot or does it have a screen that it stops up where I could just shut it off and clean it out? If I do not get it I will probably just get a new/newish Alumacraft since the old one has held up good as it has. I have hit bottom several times with it(motor). I'm not sure if some of those little skids that bolt on the skegs would help a prop motor much or not. He claims that he's ran in 5" of water with 2 people and gear with the jet and that sounds pretty excellent. It also has two HDS-8 Gen1 units. Only thing I might add is some MinnKota Talons or PowerPoles.
My buddy had a 90/65 jet on a 18ft g3 and it fished really good. The thing with the jet sucking up debris is try not to take off right where you see tons trash in the water. The most important thing is if you do suck someting significant up shut down your motor right away and pull the debris away from the intake. I was never in it in 4ft waves but it handled nicely and you never have to worry about tearing your lower unit out. |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | I have not had problems the few times i've used mine trolling. 5 inches of water is pushing the edge of "too" shallow. The biggest problem with running that shallow is it is difficult to tell the difference between 5 and 6 inches of water at 30mph. Generally speaking, when running a river, stay in the channel and you should be fine. Odds are that you will beat the boat off of a few rocks/sandbars, or at least I do a little more regularly than I like.
Edited by tomyv 6/13/2012 5:55 PM
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Posts: 10
| If you want to fish big water, a jet is out. It will cavitate and you will not be happy at all. The weeds are another issue and an even bigger issue in the fall is leaves. They clog the intake and will not allow water to the pump. My suggestion if you want to fish shallow water is get a real cheap jet boat and keep your deep V if you can. They can be picked up pretty cheap. I only fish rivers and have two jetboats. They are great for me, but I don;t fish lakes.
Scott |
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