I have used my PD36 for about 10 years on MS River below Memphis running across river in and out of spots in timber and logged up cutovers hunting ducks. I need more range now to go down river ( 20 plus miles) and was thinking about a Jet Outboard. All i use my boat for is strictly the MS River. Sandbars, logs, treetops etc when river floods to hunt ducks. Has anyone out there had one and used it like i want to? I know its MudMotor forum ( dont cruicify me!) but hell of a lot of knowledge on this board.. thanks for any info

My neighbor on the Big Cypress river has one, Mercury 60 Hp on a 17 ft side console, says it doesn't run as fast as a 60 hp prop does. He stays it uses more fuel and he has to avoid the lilies and other vegetation. He bass fishes and runs trotlines out of it.

Big loss of HP to the jet. That's all I know.

Hp/mpg loss. They hate vegetation. On a properly setup hull they run ridiculously skinny water. I've rode in a few hunting Rockport( shallow all hard sand bottom) not sure how water obstructions would effect them. Would depend on hull ect. They don't sit very far if at all below the bottom of the tunnel/transom.

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A jet drive cuts the powered performance by 1/3. So its hard on gas. They run super shallow the foot sticks down about an inch but if there is grass or trash in the water it will plog the gate and you will have to clean it off. They have spots where they are better. Just have to decide what fits your needs better. If I liked my sd and needed to make long trips I'd get steering wheel.

Jet outboards are popular up here. Two reasons people go to a mudmotor are trash and weeds plugging intake and fuel economy, in MPG, is less than half of a 35-37 hp mudmotor. With a jet, if you get real shallow and have to shut down you may not have enough water to get running. A mudmotor digs out.

I'm about to set up my third boat with a jet in the near future. I love it in the river but it's pretty much a waste of time goin to most spots on the lakes around here. If you get close to vegetation it will find its way to your intake, when the river floods out and all the trash gets in it, it will find its way to the intake. When you're on plane and cross a sandbar with ankle deep water you will scoot right across as long as you don't stop and won't have to buy a prop the next trip out, if you do stop and the boat sits on bottom you will have to push it to deeper water because when you try to go it will suck the water out from under you. All of mine have been love hate but you can get in one a lot cheaper than a mud motor, my next big purchase will be another mud motor but I'm gonna spend a little more on the next one so I know what I'm getting so the jet will have to do for now. If it was me I'd keep the pro drive and rig up another boat with a jet.

Thanks Guys for the INfo!!. Just thinking out loud... but 95% of my stick time duck hunting is in flooded timber and crossing/traveling the MS River. Water has a current in the woods usually. When i say Timber , most is cutover under about 2-15 feet of water. Trash? i guess leaves and small sticks is all i got... no green vegetation whats so ever....one thing keeps sticking out in my mind is that i do not ever see any jet outboards. but we are kind of slow in thinking over here in MS!.... thinking now i need to fine tune my PD setup up for smoother stick time. i run it on a Phowler 1854 Extreme pointed bow

I've had a 40hp Yamaha jet outboard on a 15 foot riveted Sylvan for 5 years and have really liked it. It will run in 3 inches of water on a plane. It does get shitty fuel mileage though. It also has mediocre acceleration.

Fall leaves mess it up too.

Pile of shit

Had a friend using a Yamaha jet on his trapping rig. Trap line was on a very shallow sand bottom river. Always starting and stopping rig to check his sets. He eventually had to replace his pump casing and impellar which had worn thin from pumping sand laden water thru it. Got two seasons out of it, before replacing motor with a surface drive MM. Said props were allot cheaper to replace than the pump. Plus MPG was much better.