OK, need to get a boat to both use on the Suwannee River and various other rivers and swamps in Florida, both for pleasure, fishing, and gator hunting.
1. Can you use a jet outboard on a flat bottom jon? Any issues or problems with doing so?
2. I gator hunted the Kissimmee River last year and lots of foliage etc in the water, do jet outboards get clogged readily? I've had waverunners and they get clogged easily and older ones you had to get a mask and snorkel to clear the intake.
3. On the Kissimmee River, I used a conventional outboard with a jackplate and low water pickup and it mostly worked great BUT it would get clogged too but would usually clear its self via an application of reverse. Is there a simple way to clear a clogged jet pick up or do you end up raising the motor?
4. I want a light boat. When you get stuck a 500 lb boat is a bunch easier to unstuck than a 1000 lb boat, so I want riveted? BUT is that sort of a boat going to hold up hitting an occasional rock or log? Florida is fairly benign with both but we have both here and there and I go to some remote places I would not want to sink in.
5. Is an old riveted boat (in perfect condition) subject to problems... metal fatigue? etc? Just asking because I am thinking about buying an older 18 foot riveted jon that is for sale locally (cheap) but I am concerned about safety or issues with an old hull.
Thanks for any advice! BY the way I am looking at 18 footers as the right size for my pax and cargo loads.
1. Can you use a jet outboard on a flat bottom jon? Any issues or problems with doing so?
2. I gator hunted the Kissimmee River last year and lots of foliage etc in the water, do jet outboards get clogged readily? I've had waverunners and they get clogged easily and older ones you had to get a mask and snorkel to clear the intake.
3. On the Kissimmee River, I used a conventional outboard with a jackplate and low water pickup and it mostly worked great BUT it would get clogged too but would usually clear its self via an application of reverse. Is there a simple way to clear a clogged jet pick up or do you end up raising the motor?
4. I want a light boat. When you get stuck a 500 lb boat is a bunch easier to unstuck than a 1000 lb boat, so I want riveted? BUT is that sort of a boat going to hold up hitting an occasional rock or log? Florida is fairly benign with both but we have both here and there and I go to some remote places I would not want to sink in.
5. Is an old riveted boat (in perfect condition) subject to problems... metal fatigue? etc? Just asking because I am thinking about buying an older 18 foot riveted jon that is for sale locally (cheap) but I am concerned about safety or issues with an old hull.
Thanks for any advice! BY the way I am looking at 18 footers as the right size for my pax and cargo loads.
