Jet ski hull to duck boat?

Shawn Hollis

Shawn Hollis

Active member
Has anybody tried this? I have a line on some free hulls, and thought you might could make a decent small water sneak boat out of one. They range from 8-12 ft. long. I would imagine they are fairly heavy though. They have been stripped to the bare hull, so part of the work is done already. I would like to hear your thoughts. The last thing I need is more junk laying around here. Shawn
 
Shawn,
Look at the hull lines. They are mostly mini versions of some serious planning hull design ideas. These things move at 50 to 60 mph, and let me tell you that is fast over water.
I think they may be too much of a V for stability sake for a sneak, but you might make it work for you. The hull will be of pretty good stuff as the loads on them are extreme to say the least.
A guy up here built a mini lobster boat strip built, and powered it with a jet ski jet.
They cut the hull and fit it into the wood hull, just like a Hinkley Picknic Boat.
Ran right on the lines and was fast with one guy.
Let us know if you go ahead.
 
Shawn,

I acquired a salvaged jetski/waverunner hull this past spring, and like you, I'm intending to make a small duck boat out of it. There's no motor in it, so I'll probably power it with a small kicker motor. This summer I put an addtition on my house, so boat projects were out of the question, but next summer I think I'll give it a try. When I do, I'll be sure to post up pics. Keep us posted if you go ahead with a conversion project - I'll be looking for all the ideas/help I can get!
 
Here's a related project from the Glen-L web site.
Their site uses frames, so I can't give you the exact URL, but start at:
http://www.glen-l.com/

and search for: JET JON

Basically the guy cuts up a jet ski and frankensteins it to a jon boat. Pretty cool.

'
 
If anyone makes this work, get in touch with me. I have to get rid of several. One of the other teachers at school is stripping one to use as a weed sled when cleaning out his swiming beach and I'm telling you I wouldn't want to drag that pig off the side of a road into a ditch. Of course I'm just an old fart and weak but think hard before starting this one. I was interested in using a powerplant out of one on a sneak boat but they don't like weeds and for some reason I end up in the weeds when duck hunting.? ;<)I think I might just drag my big buck scale to school to give you guys an idea of the weight. BUT like I said if anyone makes this work post and let me know.
 
I'm tgetting some ideas for using two hulls to make one safe one: sideXside= towable layout? or end-to-end might make a sneak/scull? I don't think one will work by itself, unless it's huge...cuz most are around 6' long.
 
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