Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Jet Outboard

Schit, and I'm bitching about a outboard and a service dept. You just put things back into perspective for me, I hope everything is going as well as possible.

tis all relative my friend, she is doing well and thank you for asking

but when one is running skinny water, an outboard and the service department behind it certainly should be a high priority.

we've all felt the frustration of poor service when it happens to us. Hope everything works out with your setup and you enjoy many years of pleasure using your boat.

Randy, glad to hear things are level with with the wife situation. We all can wish and pray for better, but we know we get what we get RE health.

Re motor repair.... Let me just remind you gentlemen... a car motor can be worked on by just about any shop. Airboats run skinnier than jet boats, and are propelled generally by car motors... just saying food for thought next time around.

While the thought of an airboat kinda gets me a little hot and bothered, I'm sure the brown shirts and USFW would get a bit dialed as I tore up through the middle Kenai with it!

The worst of both worlds between a boat and an airplane...

Are there regs disallowing airboats?

Never had a reason to look.

It's the flying metallic projectiles that concern me more than the regs. Some folks seem to take exception to an airplane that never takes off.

The regs state 50 hp max, no PWC or airboats in the Kenai River SMA with exeptions on HP for Skilak and Kenai Lakes. I think you can run airboats and PWC on certain sections of Kenai Lake only.

I can certainly see where an airboat would be real handy for hunting, I just cant get past all the racket they make. My buddy has a 35 hp go-devil surface drive that can go in far more nasty places than a jet and would be good compromise between the two.

Almost bought a complete outfit - 24 foot flatbottom with 35 go-devil from Stu in Fbks. Both used in good shape, already set up. Nice outfit. Brought our butts back from the Cosna to Manley last year, towing my boat after the motor went south. Posted about it.

Two things mitigated against it - well, only one thing, really. My wife...

She did not like the noise the go-devil made, and the boat wasn't Kenai legal- neither of which I cared about. Go-devils don't have reverse either, which was a mild concern of mine, but not decisive.

Tiller steering vs console steering was. But dang - that boat was sweet...didn't rivet-leak either...

Should have gone for a 50/35, maybe, but I'm well pleased with the new set up. Pulling the plug every so often while underway still works - as long as you keep track...

My bud bought the whole go-devil setup from Don in Eagle River. His boat is the 18'er and hell for stout. That boat can take a pretty good pounding and stay dry.

The setup really shines in water with a bunch of weeds, sticks, and all sorts of other garbage in it that jets don't like. Reverse gear would be nice, but you get used to its limitations pretty quick.

I really like the fact it is air cooled. Real nice to let your motor warm up while in the parking lot, and real nice on those 10 deg mornings when you would be worrying about your outboard being froze up.

I still stuck with the jet because he and I have no problem swapping boats when the need arises.

Noise wise, its come down A LOT in the past years. Some is engine noise and 3 mufflers do a really good job, and a pair of turn downs pointed to each other and the water help cancel that.

The prop noise is getting way better, newest props have winglets on them. And wide blades at slower speeds with the right reductions keep the noise under 90 and under 85 Db last I read up on it.

My boat isn't that quiet yet... but I'm working on it.

Lucky the noise is only there for the trip. And it doens't make enough noise at idle while we bowfish at night for hours to bother anything, regularly see deer and pigs on the river at night. And within almost bow range distances.

RE HP you won't get far with little HP on an airboat though.

RE mud motors, a few friends have them. They are ok, and as noted go through some stuff prop outboards dont, but I have not been impressed with the depth of water they require generally speaking, my tunnel with regular prop goes as shallow and i"ve gone over short sandbars with the above, no mud motor.

But they are only a wanna be airboat. The airboats just flat will get up on dry ground, and back in the water etc....

But as noted airboats even down here are banned on certain waters.

I don't know if you guys remember the thread last year where the guy who lived in Fairbanks posted about his mud-motored Scott Freighter Canoe. THAT is what I'd own if I live in the interior. He said it sipped fuel compared to a airboat.

airboats suck fuel pretty bad unless fuel injected. That is a given, but for what they do, if legal in your area, I have 2 and will never be without one ever again.