Hi Guys, Jamie here from minijetboatbuilder.com. Hounddog and I have been conversing through Kijiji and he suggested i get on here and introduce myself. So here I am.
A little background. originally from NZ been building boats 13 years. Anything from Kayaks to Cruisers to Sail boats 80ft+. I have been in business 3 years now building and supplying parts for small aluminum jetboats using PWC drivetrain. Some of my antics here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUGKk4H ... gPeM_4aQ91As Don quoted me i originally built the outboard boat with the idea of some racing at Petrie Island in Ottawa. Its been quite a busy summer and i haven't really had the time to explore that much but I did manage to get out in the boat a bit and think that it could work with some changes. After reading through all the comments and suggestions here I'm getting a little excited again! Let's do this!
I don't have a lot of experience with organizing events such as this. What permissions are needed etc etc but am willing to help out where i can. The idea of sponsoring some boats has been going through my mind and how much $ i can afford to tie up in something like this. The idea of renting boats out at a club i think could work for everyone. I think i could build up to 4 boats for a club at no initial cost. If the boats were rented at $100 per day (or some other amount) half goes to pay off the boat. Half goes to the club to cover other expenses. Once the boat is paid off the club retains the 2nd half which can go to expanding the fleet, promoting the club/league, buying motors etc etc. You could potentially rent the same boat to more than one person in a day if the races were done in heats which would make it easier to grow the league and would pay off start up expenses faster. Im sure there would be a dealer somewhere that would sponsor/discount some engines to a club in exchange for advertising etc. If your talking boat shows you might even try to approach different engine representatives such as BRP, MERC etc and see if they can offer anything
As far as boat design, after reading comments and driving the boat there are some things i would keep the same and some i would change
- no step back in the hull, boat will plane out quicker and drive nicer/more predictable with a bigger motor on/single person.
- reduce weight of the boat by CNC forming instead of extrusion/welding, go from 0.125" sheet to 0.100"
- reduce engine weight by using short shaft motor? only issue may be harder to find used engines and boat transom will be lower - not good for day use.
- hand holds inside the boat to protect digits
- removeable floor with removable floatation makes a boat easy to repair if needed
- multi use design, more versatile for families wanting to race/cottage/fish weekends
- tiller steer, keeps cost down in rigging and also means engines can be changed easier between classes/uses
- 15HP lake/kids rating 30HP race rating - no mods other than prop, again keeps cost down, people innovating/thinking
An idea to keep things equal - introduce weight brackets for the motors rather than age. Has to be between x-y lbs which will likely eliminate older/obscure models by default and keep power to weight equal no matter what new motors come out/mods are done. I really like the idea of Tohatsu motor - i had not seen them before. Not sure about the jet but that motor in a prop might be the go
That's about what i have for now. I'll keep watching and any questions for me don't hesitate to reach out.