turning a regular tin into a jet tin

[Bricball]

I have been looking for a reasonable priced tin boat with a jet outboard for quite a while. But I have also contemplated just buying a regular tin hull (bass tracker, lowe, etc..) and then putting a jet outboard on it. My question is.....can this be done and what modifications have to take place to do this? I assume that the transom has to extended somehow height-wise? Are there any forums or resources to reference if I decided to do this?

 

[semojetman]

You are correct. Your transom will have to be the right height for your jet foot to end up in the right location to the bottom of boat.

Luckily you have options on how to do this.
you can have your transom raised thru extensive aluminum work, you can purchase a jackplate, or if you are using a small motor you could probably get away with raising your transom with something other than aluminum.

 

[gotmuddy]

It all depends on what your wanting to do. You can go as small as a 16ft with a 25hp to a 20ft with a 250. What do you plan to do with it

 

[Codeman]

Here is the way we rebuilt/ raised mine, might give you an idea.

Ouachita Transom Rebuild

 

[gotmuddy]

I have a manual jackplate on my boat. It is necessary because I will go from my 9.9 to the jet.

 

[Darkside]

The transom needs to be raised 5-7” to match the length the jet-conversion adds to the 20” outboard prop-drive. It is done here in PA all the time. So much so that every single boat dealer (G3, Lowe, Tracker, Triton, Alumacraft…) offer new jet rigged boats. A good 60-65% of our water is river vs. lakes and this mod is par for the course.

Transom extension using ¼” aluminum sheet or 3” Angle , installing manual and hydraulic jack plates and even removing the entire transom and welding a new higher transom. It is more work, but looks good. Raising the motor can add additional stress – so make sure it is supported. We’ve seen some weld cracks form it, but in most cases it works fine.

One issue we see with the transom jacks is the offset. It seems the OBJ's really want clean water to hit their peak performance. That 5" offset from the transom can hurt performance, where with a prop, it actually helps...

 

[Bricball]

Thanks for the help everyone. I have some GREAT deals on some Trackers, Lowe, G3's, etc.. in Indiana but very few of them have jet outboards. I have been combing ad's and listings for reasonable jet bass boats and have come up dry. ](*,) So I am probably going to purchase a regular tin...put a jack plate on it and either look for a jet outboard or find a pump to replace the prop. I really enjoy fishing our local river because the fishing pressure is very low. I went with my buddy on his alweld with 90hp jet last year about a dozen times and was just in heaven. So I am selling my 19' Skeeter and find a jet bass boat. \/

 

[Codeman]

Being in Indy you aren't too far from SEMO and you can find as many jets that you could possibly want.

 

[gotmuddy]

Thanks for the help everyone. I have some GREAT deals on some Trackers, Lowe, G3's, etc.. in Indiana but very few of them have jet outboards. I have been combing ad's and listings for reasonable jet bass boats and have come up dry. ](*,) So I am probably going to purchase a regular tin...put a jack plate on it and either look for a jet outboard or find a pump to replace the prop. I really enjoy fishing our local river because the fishing pressure is very low. I went with my buddy on his alweld with 90hp jet last year about a dozen times and was just in heaven. So I am selling my 19' Skeeter and find a jet bass boat. \/

give Fred at Current River Marine a call, see what he can do for you.

 

[bulldog]

I took a regular tin and had the transom rebuilt to 27" for $600. I did not shop it as I was pressed for time. After it was done I had some time to shop it and that is right around what everyone else wanted for the job.

 

[goofyexponent]

I just did what you'd like to do. I had a metal shop here in town build me a riser plate for my gregor, the boat is 15' and I'm running a 35hp evinrude. It'll run at about 24 mph by myself, and planes great with 2 people and gear. the problem I have is when I'm by myself, the strake down the center of the boat causes cavitation. If I turn too hard, it sucks air and I'm powerless. With 2 people, no problem. can't have anything to disturb the water before the jet