2018 Mercury Jet?

[Crankbait]

Ok well here we go. I bought a 1754 grizzly jon boat last year with a 03 Yamaha 50hp 4-stroke tiller. The boat has the classic bench seat in the back and the standard deck up front with a 55lb Minn Kota Edge. I'm wanting to upgrade the motor to a new 40 jet tiller. I like the open floor plan the boat has because it gives my 2 kids lots of room to roam and play so that's the reason for the tiller and I don't have to walk around a console. My big question is will the new 40 push my boat? I also know grizzly isn't the best jet boat so no since in beating that dead dog to death again but I just need to be able to run our little river down here and not worry about props and lower units. I run a lot shallower then I should with my prop motor now but I'm comfortable in 3ft but I'd like to not have to stop and trim the motor up for any less. The river isn't rough or have rapids with big chunk rock so it's not like I'm really gonna beat this boat so bad it won't be functional. I'm 6ft 180lbs, 6 gallon gas tank, 2 batteries, 6 to 8 rods and about 10 Plano box's includes fishing gear, and then of course fire extinguisher and PFD's. That's my load and I believe the boat weighs about 400lbs so I would think that if the new mercury jets are rated at the jet then a 40 should push it in the upper 20's. That's going by what I've read where people say the 40's have a 60hp head on them. I live in Kentucky and I never see jets on Craigslist around here unless I look in Missouri and that's a long drive! See if anyone who still may visit this forum shed some light for me!

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[LarryMc]

Judging from my experience with a 2016 Mercury 4S 40 jet on a 2011 Lowe 1655 Roughneck Center Console, you can expect around 26 to 28 MPH depending on how much your kids weigh. :mrgreen:

 

[MjinPa]

I had a 60/40 four stroke Mercury 2014 model on a similar size .100 gauge hull. Weight distribution is important. You should get high 20’s out of it. Performance wise it’s by no means impressive but will do what you are looking to do. As far as reliability, I had zero issues with it. 90/65 would be ideal but there are a lot of guys running 60/40 on that size hull.

 

[Crankbait]

The max up rating is 60hp. The 40 up was around 6 grand but the guy there said it wouldn't push my boat and that I needed the 65hp which was close to 10 grand. I'm just guessing it must have the 90hp head but I didn't think he would suggest that since it's over the max up rating. I'm only getting 31mph out of the Yamaha which I know is sad but I think it's in the carbs and I'm just sick of carb motors. I just spent 900 having all 4 rebuilt and the thing still feels like it's having trouble picking up. Idles great, starts easy, and has good response, but doesn't top out good. I've always wanted a jet and now I'm in a position where I can afford one but if this boat won't perform well or plows water then I'll sell it and buy another one.

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[MjinPa]

Like I said, there are a lot of guys running 60/40 on that size hull. It will work. If you are interested in better performance and the ability to plane faster in shallow water situations the 90/65 is the better option especially if it's in the budget.

 

[Crankbait]

I appreciate your guys input. Larry my son is 5 and only weighs about 43lbs and my daughter is 1 and weighs about 20lbs. I hope she never reads this but my wife is around 140 and that's all the people that will be in the boat. I believe I'm going to settle for the 40 as high 20's will be plenty. Now I'm just stuck wondering if the big tiller is worth the 7 or 800 bucks or would I be cheaper off to put a console in it even though I like the tiller but I know it may lead to having too much weight in the back with me sitting back there.

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[LarryMc]

If you like the tiller, just put your wife and kids in the front and you should be good to go.

 

[MjinPa]

Are you totally set on the Mercury 4 stroke. I have nothing but good to say about the one I had but there probably would be some performance gains going with a dfi 2 stroke etec. Been awhile since I've looked at outboard jets. From what I recall the four stroke Mercury was hard to beat price wise.

 

[Crankbait]

Yeah. Dead set on the mercury just because theree is no evinrude dealers near me so to have it serviced or for repairs I'd have to drive 100 miles. Yamaha and mercury dealers is all that's around here.

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[MjinPa]

Let us know how it works out. Should be fine for what you are looking to do

 

[Scott F]

You'll find a problem with the Big Tiller. It's considerably longer than a normal tiller. If you put a seat on the rear bench, the tiller handle can hit the seat, at least it did on mine. I couldn't use the seat, I had to sit on the very edge of the seat on a cushion. I took off the Big Tiller and converted it the to a center console. Get a measurement of the bench seat and get a length of the Big Tiller handle to be sure you can sit without having to modify the back bench. The boat you are looking at may be wide enough so you can sit far enough away to comfortably run the motor.

 

[Crankbait]

The Yamaha I got now is like that. The tiller is so long that I can't use the seat but I sit off to 1 side and it's comfortable. The only issue I have is when I have another passenger the tiller hits them in the back when I turn right but I just raise the handle and fish alone 95% of the time. Conditions just about have to be perfect before my wife will go and my boy still likes to be with his mamma. I would like to get a storage box to sit in front of the bench and mount a seat for the passenger. I seen that on some of the blazers.

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[Crankbait]

Can anyone tell me or post pictures of a boat that the keel had to be removed for a jet outboard? I read that sometimes the center keel has to be removed to give the jet a clean water flow. I'm scared of buying the jet and it not performing well on my grizzly and then be stuck trying to sell a boat and not having one to fish out of.

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[LarryMc]

If the center keel isn't really big, it probably won't cause you any problems. I once had a 1750 Duracraft that had a center keel so big that the drain plug was located in it. It did cause cavitation. I put a spray plate on it and it helped a lot, but it still caused cavitation at times.

 

[Crankbait]

You wasn't kidding! That thing is huge. I'm torn about what to do. I've been looking at the blazer boats. My wife have me permission to go get a new one but I'm so tight about spending money I don't want to! I'm sure any guy in this world would love to hear the words from their spouse "Go get it". Scared the 40hp mercury won't push the boat, thinking about the money spent on a new boat, trailer,ECT could be spent putting a new 65hp mercury, but at the same time I've never had anything New! I've always bought somebody else's troubles and problems and just once in my life I want to know when I hit the key that it's going to start and have that piece of mind that I can get up and go home when I get done and not have that o crap may be dark by the time I get there!

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[handyandy]

is your boat a flat bottom or does it have a slight v to the bottom? If flat it will be fine, if slight v it would still work just not quiet as fast on top. A light 1754 is just fine for a 60/40 lot of guys in southern mo run 1752/1754 even 1852/1854 boats with the new 60/40 merc doing what you want. They aren't winning races, but they perform fine now most those boats are flat bottom weldbilts or blazers. What could you sell your boat for, and what can you find one like what you want for? I know around southern mo there are always plenty of almost new blazers/weldbilts like what you want for 8-10k with motors still with lots of warranty. My guess for that is all the rivers around southern mo you need a jet so people buy one new wanting to get on the water have it a summer realize they didn't use it enough to make it worth the payments then decide to sell out. Sometimes it's worth the drive to get what you want, but I think your hull would do fine with a 60/40 merc, the merc is hard to beat for the price new. I'm a die hard old two stroke guy just a much better power to weight ratio and simple. Honestly a 16ft boat wouldn't be any faster than a same width 17ft or 18ft boat with your full load of family, cooler, and fishing stuff. With just you loaded light the 16ft would be faster, but with a load it will take longer to plane out, and not be any faster on top. So if you went with a different setup I'd say an 1752-1852 or 54 wide with a 60/40 would do you well. But post some pics of your boat specifically of the back to see what the center keel and bottom look like at/near the transom.

 

[handyandy]

I'm a tiller fan, so if you like tiller I'd say stick with that makes the boat so much more open. Where in kentucky are you what rivers are you going on?

 

[Crankbait]

Going to see if I can get these pictures to load.

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[Crankbait]

These are some older pictures when I first got it and before I did the camo paint job. I'm only get to g 31mph out of the 50 with a prop so if I get high 20's and it's not plowing water I'd be happy. I would like to have a box built to extend the front deck if I keep it. I give 4 grand for the boat which I thought was good deal, had it serviced, 900 bucks for all 4 carbs to be rebuilt, and put led lights on the trailer but broke 2 in the fall. I fish barren river lake, barren river, and green river. The lake is getting so full of lake lice and idiot boats that I'm planning on spending this year on the rivers. I can stay out all day and never see a sole on the river and don't have somebody fishing on top of me or a jet ski doing donuts where I'm fishing lol. I'm going to Nashville this weekend to the fairgrounds if any of you guys are close there's a boat and tackle show and it's always a good show but I'm going to see if they have any jets there. After the show I'm going to figure something out real soon cause I got vacation coming up and plan on doing some fishing.

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[handyandy]

You have a slight v in the bottom but I think your boat would run fine with a 60/40 jet on it once you figure out what height it runs best at on the transom if you have a 20inch transom you need a short shaft jet just fyi cause jets have to run about 6in higher roughly. I have been down that way a little I have kayaked green river through mammoth cave national park enjoyed fishing it reminded me of fishing southern mo rivers as a kid. I've been wanting to go down there with my jet boat to run around on the green river caught a lot of smallies when I've been down there.