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Sully

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Joined
Jul 14, 2015
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Location
Jefferson County Mo.
Hey guys
New to the forum but not to jets I had a 1991 16/48 Duracraft 100g all welded w/a Suzuki pu40 jet w/a 4blade stainless impeller and sold it a few years back and miss it. ](*,)

This is the part I'm new to, the big jets. :?: I'm looking at 2 Alwelds a 17/56jc with a 150 Merc pro xs or a 18/56jc with a 200 pro xs. I don't like to be under powered, but the wife is just lookin at $$$. :roll: I have talked to Joe at Troutt and sons and he said both are good choices. I like the 18 but with the 18 should I get the optional tank in the bow to flatten out the attitude of the boat? are the bigger boats as sensitive to weight placement as my 16 was? According to Mercs brochure the 200, 225, and 250 all weigh 505lbs. The 150 weighs 431lbs but I don't know if it is big enough for the 18. I don't want to sound like a idiot, I just want it to be right.

Thanks in advance
Mike
 
With that much weight hanging off the back I'd ask for pods before adding weight up front. Two ways of doing the same thing except the pods will help keep the whole thing drafting shallower.

Other than weight, the only thing that sucks about a big engine is fuel economy.
 
I'm not saying the pods won't work, just don't want them on the boat. I still have people and gear to play with once I get the boat. Took me a couple trips to figure the other one. Besides what's one more trip to the river. :lol:
 
I'm curious why you wouldn't want them? Once installed on my I/B jet, the hull plane smoother and flatter and also came off plane very smooth. The old sinking transom went away and I'm sure it's saved me from banging coming off plane more than once.
 
I personally have not seen a boat that had them on the rivers that I ran, and the boat that I'm looking at has a bass type hull.
 
This guy?

https://www.alweld.com/jc_jet_boat.html

jc_jet.jpg


They offer pontoons or step pontoons on standard hulls and I bet you could get them on this one. 900lbs for a .100" hull is pretty heavy, 30 gallons of fuel (240lbs) and a 20 gallon live well (100-160lb) is going to sink it pretty far in the water. 500 lbs hanging off the back isn't going to help it's rear draft.
 
That's the one. They run them everywhere around here. I am trying for a river/lake boat.

I did check out your build, that is cool, scoots along pretty good.
 
It all depends on how you plan on using the boat.

If you are getting a trolling motor you can put 2 group 27 batteries under the front deck and that will help level it.

A 150 is an excellent size for an 1856. The Mercury 150 Fourstroke would be a good one to look at also, it would allow you to eliminate the 3 gallon oil tank from the back.

If you're worried about the draft and you're going with a 200 or bigger step up to an 1860. It will give you a lot better draft and more room in the boat. It supports the motor weight better and allows you to easily carry more weight.

The bigger motors aren't as bad on fuel as you would think, providing you don't run WOT all the time. I run my 250 usually around 4000 rpm's at cruising speed which is about 35 mph getting a little over 5 mpg. I had a 115 Mercury Fourstroke on the same boat and it got the same because I had to run almost WOT with it when any weight was added. With the bigger motors you always have the extra boost when you need it for steering and don't have to worry about every little bit of weight you add to it.

Mine is an 1860 Alweld with 28" sides, 250 Mercury Pro XS, 2-12 gallon tanks, 3 gallon oil tank, 31 series agm starting battery, 24 volt trolling motor with 2 group 27 deep cycle batteries, livewell and rod box. It gets on plane in a boat length and will run 3" water easily and can get through 2" without touching for short distances. Cruising I can get 120 miles with the 2 tanks with short bursts of throttle as needed.

If you have any other questions or concerns I'll try to help you out.

Troutt and Sons will get you set up, they have been building Jet Boats since the 70's and Joe can get you fixed up.
 

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Yep, I built it with light weight in mind. I think it weighs under 700 lbs fueled up, the pump is rated at 30 hp and it drafts in 5-6" of water with 2 adults. I run a single battery and a 55 lb trolling motor. If I need more thrust I fire up the engine to retrieve lures from chutes etc.

A weight penalty in a hull is the hardest thing to overcome because it costs you every where. You'll need more displacement to counter the draft penalty of the larger engine / fuel / batteries and a longer hull doesn't require as much power as a wider one for the same displacement. From the pics a lot of those Missouri boats draft way deep with the big O/B jets hanging off the rear.
 
dhoganjr said:
It all depends on how you plan on using the boat.

If you are getting a trolling motor you can put 2 group 27 batteries under the front deck and that will help level it.

A 150 is an excellent size for an 1856. The Mercury 150 Fourstroke would be a good one to look at also, it would allow you to eliminate the 3 gallon oil tank from the back.

If you're worried about the draft and you're going with a 200 or bigger step up to an 1860. It will give you a lot better draft and more room in the boat. It supports the motor weight better and allows you to easily carry more weight.

The bigger motors aren't as bad on fuel as you would think, providing you don't run WOT all the time. I run my 250 usually around 4000 rpm's at cruising speed which is about 35 mph getting a little over 5 mpg. I had a 115 Mercury Fourstroke on the same boat and it got the same because I had to run almost WOT with it when any weight was added. With the bigger motors you always have the extra boost when you need it for steering and don't have to worry about every little bit of weight you add to it.

Mine is an 1860 Alweld with 28" sides, 250 Mercury Pro XS, 2-12 gallon tanks, 3 gallon oil tank, 31 series agm starting battery, 24 volt trolling motor with 2 group 27 deep cycle batteries, livewell and rod box. It gets on plane in a boat length and will run 3" water easily and can get through 2" without touching for short distances. Cruising I can get 120 miles with the 2 tanks with short bursts of throttle as needed.

If you have any other questions or concerns I'll try to help you out.

Troutt and Sons will get you set up, they have been building Jet Boats since the 70's and Joe can get you fixed up.
Thanks I talked to Joe a couple of times already. I watched a couple of vids of your boat, very nice =D> a 60 wide might hinder me a little in a couple of rivers. I might ask Joe if a special order of a jon might be a better choice, the jc comes already set. I don't know price wise which is the cheaper way to go, the 17/56 is $11600.00 without motor, I don't know the price on the 18/56. I like the 25in sides on the jc though.

On another note we ride our Goldwing through Arcadia all the time, and one of our sons has a place down at Clearwater.

Mike
 
I ordered my boat in 02', Alwelds were all custom built to order back then and came as a bare hull with just the decks and a few options to add. The dealer did all the finish work including flooring, carpet, console, seats, and all rigging. They have since added the JC line and several others, which are all built the same with a few options. That gets them more money that the dealer was making before, but you can still order it custom and set it up how you want.

I ordered my boat from Aaron's in Rolla because they got the financing for it, he has since retired. Through the years I have pieced it together to get to where I'm at now and what works for the way I use it. Troutt's put in the perforated flooring, Bimini top, rewelded the console where it was just tacked in, and did the repower when I went with the 250. If and when I order a new hull it will be from them, which is what I should have done in the first place.

There shouldn't be a huge difference in the price of the hulls going up a foot or wider. The big price difference comes from going up in engine size. The wider hull will jump on plane faster and run shallower. The 56" bottom will be a bit faster than the 60". It is also unbelievable how much difference 3"make in the sides, it is 85" across the beam. Don't have to worry about waves coming over the side or rear when coming off plane or wakes from other boats, storms, etc as much.

I ran the upper Black above Clearwater Friday and took several videos that would have been excellent in showing how it handles smaller river areas. However I had some settings wrong on the Go Pro and they all turned out grainy. I think I have it figured out now so some new ones should be ready soon.

If you get down that way give me a shout, maybe we could meet up.
 
Thanks Dan, right now the difference between the 150 and 200 is $3000.00 but I can get a 250 cpo (certified pre owned) for the same price as a new 200.

This helps a lot, your boat is basically the way I want mine set up.

Mike
 
The CPO's are completely gone through at the factory by Mercury techs. I considered going that route when I bought mine in Oct of 13'. It just give me a little more confidence having a longer warranty and I got a $1500 rebate during one of their repower specials. It is quite a bit in savings though. The 200-225-250 Pro XS are all 3.0L blocks and weigh 505 with the lower unit, I don't know what the total weight is with a jet.
 
Joe told me he has had real good luck with the cpo engines, and that could save me a bunch of money.

They have a 18/56jc with a 250 cpo for $27500.00 I thought the wife was going to have a heart attack. :lol:
The same boat with a new 200 would be $28000.
A 17/56 with a new150 was $25000.00 I think.
I'm trying to get what I want the cheapest I can :shock: but I do like the 250 :twisted:
 
That was why I originally went with the 115, I didn't want to pay the $ for everything to start with. That and the original dealer said it would run good with it. Joe told me later it should have at least a 150. When I had the hull built I had it built for a 250 so when the time came, I just had to repower. Only took 11 years to do it but it now runs and handles like it should.

If I remember I think the CPO's come with a 2 year warranty and you can upgrade to 3 or something like that.
 
We'll have to see what Troutt and Sons have when they have their in house show in Feb. or March. Unless I can get a good deal before, either way I have to wait till October. :cry:
 
I think an 1856 with a 150 with is a pretty good all around setup. My setup runs low 40s so I would imagine you could get mid 40s out of the narrower hull. I would love to have a 225ho or 250 on my rig, but I couldnt justify the extra money just to gain 8-10mph. With that said, my buddy has a custom Alweld 1860 with a 250hp Mercury Optimax on the back and it is one sick boat! He is in it for well over 30 grand though!
 
Thanks Seth

I'm going back to talk to Joe Friday if my oldest son still wants to go, he wants a jet also, well hell my 2nd son wants one too. Maybe we can get a package deal. :lol: I might just look into a 18/56 special order like Dan has, I would like to have stick steer, or Flo-tec quick steer.

Mike
 

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