Jet Boats

A jet boat is a high speed craft propelled by a jet of water squirted out the back at high pressure. The engine draws in water from the front, then pumps it through at high speed, and pressure until it’s ejected out the back to provide thrust. The main advantage of these craft is much less drag due to the absence of rudders and propellers. This also means it can cope with shallower, rougher water. Jet boats average around 20 feet in length and can carry up to 10 passengers.Probably the most well known application of jet boat technology is the jet ski. It uses the advantages of the jet boat system to its maximum by providing a fast, maneuverable and stable platform for a rider. The propulsion design allows for some pretty neat tricks to be performed like crash stops, jet spins and tight slaloms. The downside to this method of propulsion is it’s inefficiency at lower speed and the fuel consumption. It would be expensive indeed to run a jet boat for prolonged periods of time, even though some coastguards and navies do just that.Some manufacturers of jet boats are Grew boats, Seadoo, Yamaha Marine and Zodiac Boats. An 11’ Zodiac Boats Projet 350 from 2009 will cost in the region of $28,000.