jet hydroplane?

[KEVIN NICHOLS]

i bought a 1980 wetbike that i'm going to use the motor and pump out of to put in a 1990 '12 pugh hydro i think it is a 65 h.p. suzuki....has any one done this before?? and if they have how will it work?? e-mail me at jnichols1220@msn.com

[chris_lacey]

Kevin, just my opinion, but you will likely have problems keeping the pump loaded. That is, you will have problems with water supply to the pump. Flat bottoms make lousy jet boats and the centre section of the hydroplane is just that. Flat. Might try a deep pick-up shoe, but that will be lots of drag.
Good luck with your project.

[Travis Fulton]

i am not familar w/ thoes style pumps but am w/ outboard jet-units and something has to be in the water? sounds like a cool experiment! if it works it should leave out like a rubberband! do you have any pix of the bottom of either(boat or wet-bike)? that would help me with any further advice,

[Raceman]

Kevin, most people refer to hydros as 3 point.........the rear of the two sponsons and the gearcase. To make a jet work you'll have to drag the rear of the boat in the water and I don't see it working as a hydro should. I'd think there'd be better choices. Also the Suzuki wetbike was relatively low horsepower by today's standards. My guess is that you're gonna whack up a hydro and have something that's got MPH capabilities in the low 30's.

[H2OPERF]

I agree with raceman totally, that pump and engine set up was also offered in a small 8 ft runabout type boat and it was not very fast either.Like he said better options take a 3cyl yamaha 1200 port it set up with a straight drive it would probably fly.If ya do go with the suzuki and need parts i have a complete engine and pump sitting in the garage ill let go real cheap,i bought it for a project thats probably not going to happen and i dont need it as much as i do the space its taking up.Dave

[KEVIN NICHOLS]

i thought about the flat bottom also t was thinking about adding a small pod in the middle....the hydro i'm using wieghts about 150 pounds.... maybe it will work hell it will be different anyway....

[Raceman]

Why don't you find a Jon boat and stick it in there. I saw one at the lake several years ago with an old 440 Kawasaki Jet Ski pump unit in it and it worked good. Aint anything gonna be fast with that old Suzuki, but in a Jon boat it'd go anywhere.

[O/B Dude]

Well, Raceman said what I was gonna say. On a 3 point hydro, the points are right and left sponsons and the 3rd point is the prop. Thats what the boat ride on. Since you wont have that 3rd point as the bottom design was intended for, I dont think it will work with jet drive.

[sst45racing]

My dad had a Hondo jet hydro I believe somewhere around '81 or '82. He had a blown big block and the boat would max out at somewhere around 73 mph. The same motor in his Nordic picklefork tunnel got him over 90 mph. The Hondo hydro was cool to look at, but was a real sled.

[chris_lacey]

Know what? Can you make it work? Probably. Will it be fast and economical for a 65hp? Only you can answer that. Is it unique enough to spend all the money on? Ditto.
Good luck, and have fun with your project.
Chris

[Mark75H]

Modern Stock, Modified and alky 3 point hydros are tail draggers. About 5 inches of the back is all they ride on, not really the gear case and the sponsons only touch while you are turning. Cutting down the Pugh and adding a pod will ruin the strength, the cross braces are most of the strength.

A racing runabout or johnboat would be a much better starting place.

[Raceman]

Tail draggers???????? That sounds too much like summa T-Rex's old girlfriends. I don't even wanna think about it.

"Ken Warbys boat is a three point design and ya know it has no prop. "

One important difference with Ken's boat is that it doesn't have to pick up water through an intake underneath to feed the jet.