fender66
Well-known member
PSG-1 said:
TinBoat FAMILY SPIRIT.....
It's everywhere! =D> =D> =D>
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ALUMA-JET- Duracraft 1648 SV Jetboat Conversion
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PSG-1
Well-known member
This same courtesy/invitation is extended to anyone else here, as well. :mrgreen: 8)
fender66
Well-known member
PSG-1 said:
I'm on my way!
.....as I dream of leaving work.
PSG-1
Well-known member
rabbit said:
Speaking of the exhaust signature of the boat, here's a quick video of the Aluma-Jet leaving port at dusk, with distances marked off as the boat blasts by (distances approximate, measured off with Google Mapping tools)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdK7aSp-fME&list=UUHYpuGo2zvfQcgL2J7VdAqA&index=7
When I'm passing at 350-750 feet away, I'm on the throttle pretty good, around 8,500 RPM. In this range, up to 10K RPM, it begins to sound like an actual jet engine. :mrgreen:
PSG-1 said:
Here is a idea for you. I fish some tailrace areas for stripers amd use trout in the colder water in summer, i bought a used 30 cu ft chest freezer to keep them in!!! holds 200+ gal of water, I use a strong aeration (not 12volt) pump, and a timer on the freezer. because of the insulation of the freezer it is easy to keep the water at 50-60 deg or less if you want, I left it on a few times and got trout sicles. Have had up to 70# of trout for a couple weeks in there.
PSG-1
Well-known member
Well, right now I actually have 22 live rainbow trout swimming in my pond
(I started with 24, but 2 decided to jump from my holding tank and commit suicide)
I got them here about the first week of October, their water was 64 degrees, the pond was about 78. So, no way I could transfer them to that, they would have all died for sure. Instead, I kept them in a spare bedroom in the house, with a window A/C unit turned down to 65. Had them in a small tank with water circulation/filtration, and initially, didn't have a cover on it, that is, until I stepped out the room for a second, came back in and had 2 dead ones on the floor where they jumped from the tank. Oops!
Anyhow, I kept them in that bedroom for about a week or so, until we had a cold front that finally dropped my pond down to around 68 degrees. Once it did that, I tranferred a couple at a time, until I was sure they were OK.
Now they're all swimming around in the pond, eating every day, and growing every day. A couple of them are at least 6-7 inches already, and they weren't much bigger than minnows when I first got them.
I figure by spring, I'll be ready to catch and eat a few. I want to leave about 1/2 a dozen or so in the pond through the summer, and see if I can keep them alive. If not, they won't go to waste, they will be eaten. But I think there's a way I can build some type of refrigeration coil to put in the path of my waterfall, to cool the water down. Between now and next summer, I'll be working on that idea.
Anyhow, if you want to see my trout swimming around, check out my video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl7N84SocIQ&list=UUHYpuGo2zvfQcgL2J7VdAqA&index=12
This was taken in the middle of October, when I first transferred the trout to the pond. As I said, they're bigger now, and next spring, I'll update the video to show how much they've grown.
(I started with 24, but 2 decided to jump from my holding tank and commit suicide)
I got them here about the first week of October, their water was 64 degrees, the pond was about 78. So, no way I could transfer them to that, they would have all died for sure. Instead, I kept them in a spare bedroom in the house, with a window A/C unit turned down to 65. Had them in a small tank with water circulation/filtration, and initially, didn't have a cover on it, that is, until I stepped out the room for a second, came back in and had 2 dead ones on the floor where they jumped from the tank. Oops!
Anyhow, I kept them in that bedroom for about a week or so, until we had a cold front that finally dropped my pond down to around 68 degrees. Once it did that, I tranferred a couple at a time, until I was sure they were OK.
Now they're all swimming around in the pond, eating every day, and growing every day. A couple of them are at least 6-7 inches already, and they weren't much bigger than minnows when I first got them.
I figure by spring, I'll be ready to catch and eat a few. I want to leave about 1/2 a dozen or so in the pond through the summer, and see if I can keep them alive. If not, they won't go to waste, they will be eaten. But I think there's a way I can build some type of refrigeration coil to put in the path of my waterfall, to cool the water down. Between now and next summer, I'll be working on that idea.
Anyhow, if you want to see my trout swimming around, check out my video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl7N84SocIQ&list=UUHYpuGo2zvfQcgL2J7VdAqA&index=12
This was taken in the middle of October, when I first transferred the trout to the pond. As I said, they're bigger now, and next spring, I'll update the video to show how much they've grown.
Lowe 2070 CC
Well-known member
Very cool video, good luck with them. And, good job on the filtration system. Looks like you've got water quality down, now it's just temperature regulation.
PSG-1
Well-known member
Thanks. They are growing by leaps and bounds every day. A couple of them are already about 6 to 7 inches long, and by the growth predictions for rainbow trout, by May, they should be in the 12" range, perfect eating size!
I never realized what voracious appetites rainbow trout had, when I toss food in the pond, the water practically boils, and the food is gone. Five minutes later, I can throw more food, and they attack it like they haven't eaten at all. But, it does say that trout can eat more than they can metabolize, so, I feed them in moderation.
As for temperature regulation, I think I've come up with a possible solution....geothermal cooling. Although the pond may get up to around 80 degrees in the summer, the well water is around 70-71 degrees, so, that gave me an idea.
What if I were to pump well water through some type of heat exchanger, placed in the path of the waterfall, and then pump the water back into the ground, through an injection pipe that is sunk into the water table (which, around here, is only 4-5 feet at most)
I'm not sure what the exchanger would be, but I'm thinking something like the "worm" I use for my snowmaker.
Either that, or buy a cheap, small refrigerator at a thrift shop, the type of refrigerator that has the little mini-freezer built into the top corner. Then, carefully dissect those plates that make up the 'box' of the freezer, and use them in the path of the waterfall, along with the other components of the unit.
After all, if it is cold enough to freeze water in ice trays, it ought to be cold enough to knock the pond temp down from 80 to around 74-75. And I can control it with a thermostat that has a probe placed in the water, I used to have it hooked up to a chiller unit on a reef aquarium, but it will work for this in the same way.
I'm thinking the geothermal might work, but then again, the temperature difference between 80 and 70 isn't that much, and may not have an effect. So, perhaps the freezer plates would be better, as there's enough difference between 80 and 32, it has to have some type of effect as a chiller. I've got the next 4 or 5 months to think about it, but I do need to get moving, as summer will be here before I know it.
Right now, there are 21 trout in the pond (had one die, not sure what happened) Not bad, though, considering I started with 24, and they had to make a 7 hour trip from the Roan Mountain, TN to the coast of SC, and then had to be in a storage tank, then transferred to the pond, etc, etc. That's a lot of stress on fish, and to only have 3 die, is pretty good, especially considering 2 of them died by committing suicide, jumping out of their holding tank (I found out real quick they can jump!) So, only one died by something unspecified.
So, out of those 21 trout, I will probably harvest about 15 of them, and leave 5 or 6 to try and grow through the summer, to see if I can keep them alive. If not, they won't go to waste, they will be eaten. But if I CAN keep them alive, then, they will grow to be trophy size trout, and I will get some more small ones in the fall (knowing they will stay alive, I will get more than 2 dozen this time) and repeat the whole process again.
Meantime, don't be surprised if you hear about some guy setting a state record for largest rainbow trout in SC, caught in a coastal county! LMAO, now THAT would be funny! :LOL2:
I never realized what voracious appetites rainbow trout had, when I toss food in the pond, the water practically boils, and the food is gone. Five minutes later, I can throw more food, and they attack it like they haven't eaten at all. But, it does say that trout can eat more than they can metabolize, so, I feed them in moderation.
As for temperature regulation, I think I've come up with a possible solution....geothermal cooling. Although the pond may get up to around 80 degrees in the summer, the well water is around 70-71 degrees, so, that gave me an idea.
What if I were to pump well water through some type of heat exchanger, placed in the path of the waterfall, and then pump the water back into the ground, through an injection pipe that is sunk into the water table (which, around here, is only 4-5 feet at most)
I'm not sure what the exchanger would be, but I'm thinking something like the "worm" I use for my snowmaker.
Either that, or buy a cheap, small refrigerator at a thrift shop, the type of refrigerator that has the little mini-freezer built into the top corner. Then, carefully dissect those plates that make up the 'box' of the freezer, and use them in the path of the waterfall, along with the other components of the unit.
After all, if it is cold enough to freeze water in ice trays, it ought to be cold enough to knock the pond temp down from 80 to around 74-75. And I can control it with a thermostat that has a probe placed in the water, I used to have it hooked up to a chiller unit on a reef aquarium, but it will work for this in the same way.
I'm thinking the geothermal might work, but then again, the temperature difference between 80 and 70 isn't that much, and may not have an effect. So, perhaps the freezer plates would be better, as there's enough difference between 80 and 32, it has to have some type of effect as a chiller. I've got the next 4 or 5 months to think about it, but I do need to get moving, as summer will be here before I know it.
Right now, there are 21 trout in the pond (had one die, not sure what happened) Not bad, though, considering I started with 24, and they had to make a 7 hour trip from the Roan Mountain, TN to the coast of SC, and then had to be in a storage tank, then transferred to the pond, etc, etc. That's a lot of stress on fish, and to only have 3 die, is pretty good, especially considering 2 of them died by committing suicide, jumping out of their holding tank (I found out real quick they can jump!) So, only one died by something unspecified.
So, out of those 21 trout, I will probably harvest about 15 of them, and leave 5 or 6 to try and grow through the summer, to see if I can keep them alive. If not, they won't go to waste, they will be eaten. But if I CAN keep them alive, then, they will grow to be trophy size trout, and I will get some more small ones in the fall (knowing they will stay alive, I will get more than 2 dozen this time) and repeat the whole process again.
Meantime, don't be surprised if you hear about some guy setting a state record for largest rainbow trout in SC, caught in a coastal county! LMAO, now THAT would be funny! :LOL2:
parsleap
Member
I know this thread is a little old, but hoping PSG-1 is still tracking...
PSG-1 - Simply an awesome job. I have a boat that I want to take down a similar path, except that I want to look at the dual-jet setup that someone has recommended. So I'd like to get your thoughts.
My boat is a 1958 Lonestar cruiseliner 23' aluminum cuddy cabin (am trying to attach pic). It has a mercruiser 120 I/O right now, and pre-alpha 1 outdrive. It looks original but I don't know. At any rate, I've wanted to take it to jet since I got it. Duals because its bigger and because of some of the things you can do with a dual setup (I've had the priveledge to run on a military riverine craft with dual jets - incredible - I want a poor man's version of that!).
I've looked at Berkeley pumps, but don't necessarily want to go down that route. The concept I have is for dual pumps - biggest ones I can find out of jet skis like what you've used - and a single engine tucked between, running them both off of a belt (or belts). I know I'd have to go to a closed-loop cooling system and reverse the direction of something (either an engine or an impellor - can they be simply flipped?). I want to pursue this 'folded' setup so I don't extend the power train up into the passenger area any more than it already is, or as little more as possible. That's another the downside to a berkeley and a big ol' engine.
So I'm curious as to your thoughts on my 'folded' concept. What HP engine would it take to spin two pumps, if i could figure out a way to make a belt work? I'd also like to know if you know besides the XL1200 if there were other skis by yamaha that have the aluminum housing pump/shoe. Trolling ebay and CL for those right now.
Again, great post, thanks for taking the time. Any help appreciated.
PSG-1 - Simply an awesome job. I have a boat that I want to take down a similar path, except that I want to look at the dual-jet setup that someone has recommended. So I'd like to get your thoughts.
My boat is a 1958 Lonestar cruiseliner 23' aluminum cuddy cabin (am trying to attach pic). It has a mercruiser 120 I/O right now, and pre-alpha 1 outdrive. It looks original but I don't know. At any rate, I've wanted to take it to jet since I got it. Duals because its bigger and because of some of the things you can do with a dual setup (I've had the priveledge to run on a military riverine craft with dual jets - incredible - I want a poor man's version of that!).
I've looked at Berkeley pumps, but don't necessarily want to go down that route. The concept I have is for dual pumps - biggest ones I can find out of jet skis like what you've used - and a single engine tucked between, running them both off of a belt (or belts). I know I'd have to go to a closed-loop cooling system and reverse the direction of something (either an engine or an impellor - can they be simply flipped?). I want to pursue this 'folded' setup so I don't extend the power train up into the passenger area any more than it already is, or as little more as possible. That's another the downside to a berkeley and a big ol' engine.
So I'm curious as to your thoughts on my 'folded' concept. What HP engine would it take to spin two pumps, if i could figure out a way to make a belt work? I'd also like to know if you know besides the XL1200 if there were other skis by yamaha that have the aluminum housing pump/shoe. Trolling ebay and CL for those right now.
Again, great post, thanks for taking the time. Any help appreciated.
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PSG-1
Well-known member
parsleap said:
I've never actually seen a setup like this, and I'm not even sure if you could put the load of 2 jet pumps on a single 120 HP engine, it might over-lug the engine and cause it to seize. Smaller pumps would equal less total load on the engine, but it might also equal a lot less thrust. It's hard to say, as I've never done one of these types of builds, much less actually seen one.
You wouldn't have to go to a closed loop cooling system, the pumps would supply enough water to the engine. Of course, closed loop is nice if you want to operate in debris-filled water without having to constantly worry about cleaning out a strainer screen, etc. Pretty simple, an electric circulating pump wired to the ignition to pump coolant, a reservoir, and then either a radiator, or a heat exchanger plate attached to the hull, so water flowing over it would lower the coolant temp as it circulates.
Typically, PWC pumps rotate counter-clockwise (viewed from the rear) I'm trying to visualize the mechanics of this in my head, I think what you'd do is to install a set of sprockets on the engine shaft, and a corresponding sprocket on each pump shaft. And since the engine shaft would have 2 sprockets nested together, one of your pump shafts would have to be slightly shorter, and one slightly longer, to allow for that offset. I'm thinking the problem might be one pump rotating the correct direction, and the other one is going to rotate bass-ackwards, and there lies the problem. At least, that's what I'm visualizing. Maybe I'm wrong, and both pumps will rotate in the same direction, it's hard to say without setting up a small scale model.
The XL1200 pump requires at least 110 HP to effectively turn without over-lugging the engine.
A belt drive around water is probably not a good idea, it's going to slip, unless you're able to use a timing belt, and you use pulleys with the teeth for timing belts....and those are right expensive. I think the better option would be #50 stainless roller chain, running on sprockets.
There were. I believe the XL800 used the bolt-in aluminum duct, in fact, someone here built a jetboat using an 800 pump, it looked exactly like my pump, with the bolt-in duct. Not sure what the impeller size is for the 800, though. I know on the 1200, it's a 155mm. I believe there were also a few other pumps made with the bolt-in duct. And that's really the type you want to use, unless you plan on fabricating your own duct. Ranchero50 did that, but it looks like a tremendous amount of work to do it.
The other method most commonly seen is the 'cut-and-splice' method of using a fiberglass pump, bolted into the hull. This also works, but the only problem is if you ever have to replace it, then, you have to take another jet ski, chop up the hull, and then modify the pump with a flange to bolt into the boat. A bolt-in aluminum duct eliminates that problem altogether.
No problem. Hope this info helps out. Keep me posted, and let me know if you have any other questions. Always look forward to seeing jet john projects come to life. =D>
PSG-1
Well-known member
After some thought on this.....
In theory, I do believe you could get both pumps to turn in the same direction and run them off a single engine.
HOWEVER, one variable we have not figured in is a nasty little thing called "deflection"
With the engine in the center, connected to the pumps on either side, via chain drive, the torque of the engine will constantly be 'pulling' on those driveshafts. And since it's not on-center, that will cause deflection of the pump shaft, and will cause premature wear of the bearings and/or shaft.
PWC's and other jet drives typically use a spartan jaw coupler, and the engine PTO shaft is very closely aligned with the pump shaft. A mis-alignment or deflection of more than .020" WILL in fact cause premature wear of the bearings, I've seen that happen with my own set-up, before I got it right.
So, taking into account a max allowable deflection of only .020"....I'm gonna say the chain drive may not be feasible.
In theory, I do believe you could get both pumps to turn in the same direction and run them off a single engine.
HOWEVER, one variable we have not figured in is a nasty little thing called "deflection"
With the engine in the center, connected to the pumps on either side, via chain drive, the torque of the engine will constantly be 'pulling' on those driveshafts. And since it's not on-center, that will cause deflection of the pump shaft, and will cause premature wear of the bearings and/or shaft.
PWC's and other jet drives typically use a spartan jaw coupler, and the engine PTO shaft is very closely aligned with the pump shaft. A mis-alignment or deflection of more than .020" WILL in fact cause premature wear of the bearings, I've seen that happen with my own set-up, before I got it right.
So, taking into account a max allowable deflection of only .020"....I'm gonna say the chain drive may not be feasible.
parsleap
Member
PSG-1 - thanks for the thoughts and insights. I had not thought much about the deflection issue and bearing wear. That would obviously be harder to overcome without some beefier transfer sytem that took that load for the pump shaft, so it might start to get unruly!
I wasn't even going to attempt to spin them with the 120 mercruiser engine. Probably more like a 6 cylinder. Good to know about the pumps getting enough water to the engine. I've honeslty never owned a jet ski so I've got some learning to do. A guy was selling a yammie 1200 this past weekend around here. I tried to make a case to my wife that it really might be fun to own one (knowing I'd try to take it apart after we got it!). Or thought about calling him to go look at it, and taking a measuring tape! Ha! Definitely want to re-use the aluminum housing and not try to make my own like Ranchero - I saw that thread too... wow... to both of you.
I was thinking belts and I was worried about the moisture. There are some very high end carbon belts that are supposed to be good, but the tensioning times two might be difficut. Anyway, I'm more of a powerpoint engineer than anything, but have good friends with welding skills.... so I'll keep at the drawing board and keep you updated! Thanks again!
I wasn't even going to attempt to spin them with the 120 mercruiser engine. Probably more like a 6 cylinder. Good to know about the pumps getting enough water to the engine. I've honeslty never owned a jet ski so I've got some learning to do. A guy was selling a yammie 1200 this past weekend around here. I tried to make a case to my wife that it really might be fun to own one (knowing I'd try to take it apart after we got it!). Or thought about calling him to go look at it, and taking a measuring tape! Ha! Definitely want to re-use the aluminum housing and not try to make my own like Ranchero - I saw that thread too... wow... to both of you.
I was thinking belts and I was worried about the moisture. There are some very high end carbon belts that are supposed to be good, but the tensioning times two might be difficut. Anyway, I'm more of a powerpoint engineer than anything, but have good friends with welding skills.... so I'll keep at the drawing board and keep you updated! Thanks again!
PSG-1
Well-known member
parsleap said:
Indeed! It could perhaps be minimized by using a pillow block bearing mounted just forward of the pump housing. The pillow block would absorb some of the deflection and help save on wear of the pump bearings, but the pillow block bearing would probably wear pretty quick, given the deflection from torque.
The XL1200 pump at 7000 RPM delivers 15 PSI, through 1/2" hose. That's according to the reading on the pressure gauge of my boat. Not sure what the GPM flow is, but I'm sure there's a way to calculate it.
As a rule(r) of thumb, :wink: the average pump and engine setup in a PWC occupies 50-56 inches of space, by roughly 20-24 inches wide, by roughly 18-24 inches high (the smaller figures are for 2 strokes, the larger figures are for 4 strokes)
Thanks. The bolt-in housing is definitely a time-saver. And that's important, because a jet john requires a LOT of fabrication, so, anywhere you can cut down the time and labor, is always a good thing.
Tensioning times 2 might be difficult, but then again, you're pulling from 2 opposing directions, so, it may not be so difficult. I still think the biggest issue is going to be deflection of the pump shafts. The XL1200 pump shaft is .700" in diameter, less than 3/4" of an inch. It's about 2 &1/2 feet long, and when you start turning it at 7K RPM, alignment is important. Again, the side pressure being exerted by being offset and using a chain or a belt, is likely to cause issues.
But if there's a way to pull it off, it would be an awesome build! Keep us posted. And if you need any other info, let me know, as I've done this not once, but twice. The first time with a 2 stroke, and the second time around with a 4 stroke.
parsleap
Member
PSG-1: Another question if you may know the answer. do any of the Yamaha dual-jet boats, including their XR1800, for example, use the cast aluminum housing for the intake and pump vs. molding it into their fiberglass hulls? If so, may be an easier (though slightly more costly) path to go down for me to find one of those, take it apart, and re-use it. Having controls, throttle, all in one package might save a lot of 'inventing' on my part. The pumps all seem to be 155mm, I'm just curious if they used the same aluminum housing. Great if you know, if not, thanks again for all your comments and insight.
PSG-1
Well-known member
Some of the Yamaha jet skis used those bolt-in aluminum ducts, but many others did not, the duct was molded into the glass hull.
As for the one you're referring to, I have no idea. You could easily find out by looking it up through an online Yamaha PWC parts dealer, like XTreme Powersports, for instance. Enter the year, and model, then, look under "jet unit"
There may be 3 seperate pages, like "jet unit 1" "jet unit 2"
But one of those should show the stator, wear ring, impeller, and if available, the bolt in duct.
Look up a 1998 Yamaha XL1200W to see what the duct looks like, for reference.
As for the one you're referring to, I have no idea. You could easily find out by looking it up through an online Yamaha PWC parts dealer, like XTreme Powersports, for instance. Enter the year, and model, then, look under "jet unit"
There may be 3 seperate pages, like "jet unit 1" "jet unit 2"
But one of those should show the stator, wear ring, impeller, and if available, the bolt in duct.
Look up a 1998 Yamaha XL1200W to see what the duct looks like, for reference.
bigwave
Well-known member
How are the trout doing?
PSG-1
Well-known member
They're doing GREAT! Some of them are about 14 inches long now. I still have 18. We caught and ate 2 of them about a month ago, and I let a buddy of mine catch one for his birthday.
The water surface temp got up to 75 yesterday, but I've got a lot of water flowing, running across limestone rocks, which are porous and cause additional aeration.
I've been experimenting with building my chiller, to cool the water if necessary. I used my small copper worm for my snowmaker, hooked to the well water spigot at my pond. Placed the coil in the overflow weir on the pond, and ran water through it, with a hose hooked to it, using the water to water the grass, etc.
The well water is still about 58 degrees, and I could feel the coil getting cold as the water went through it. Used an infrared thermometer, and indeed, the coil itself was reading about 58 degrees. It did drop the pond surface temp about 2 degrees, at least the water in the overflow weir, which is pulled in by the pump....so, that proves that it is feasible.
May need to build a larger coil. True enough, the temp could be dropped in the pond by simply adding well water, but the well water here has a lot of sediment/iron in it, so, adding a lot of water every day is going to result in milky/cloudy water. So, that's the reason for pumping it through a coil and into the yard, instead of directly into the pond.
Also, yesterday, I switched from the Hayward sand filter, to an Ultima 2 media filter. The sand works fine for swimming pools, but for ponds, the fish waste, etc causes it to clog, and backwashing doesn't get it clean. The new filter uses different media that doesn't clog...I've been using one on my koi pond for the last couple of months.
Since I've proven that I can grow trout large enough to harvest from October to April, I'm now considering expanding the operation to a larger scale, and actually raising trout to sell to local restaurants or seafood markets.
Still trying to see just how long they can survive before they are affected by temperature, it would be really interesting if they can actually acclimate to this climate, but I'm skeptical. Another buddy of mine has a birthday coming up next week, so, we're gonna catch a couple and cook them outside on the grill. :mrgreen:
The water surface temp got up to 75 yesterday, but I've got a lot of water flowing, running across limestone rocks, which are porous and cause additional aeration.
I've been experimenting with building my chiller, to cool the water if necessary. I used my small copper worm for my snowmaker, hooked to the well water spigot at my pond. Placed the coil in the overflow weir on the pond, and ran water through it, with a hose hooked to it, using the water to water the grass, etc.
The well water is still about 58 degrees, and I could feel the coil getting cold as the water went through it. Used an infrared thermometer, and indeed, the coil itself was reading about 58 degrees. It did drop the pond surface temp about 2 degrees, at least the water in the overflow weir, which is pulled in by the pump....so, that proves that it is feasible.
May need to build a larger coil. True enough, the temp could be dropped in the pond by simply adding well water, but the well water here has a lot of sediment/iron in it, so, adding a lot of water every day is going to result in milky/cloudy water. So, that's the reason for pumping it through a coil and into the yard, instead of directly into the pond.
Also, yesterday, I switched from the Hayward sand filter, to an Ultima 2 media filter. The sand works fine for swimming pools, but for ponds, the fish waste, etc causes it to clog, and backwashing doesn't get it clean. The new filter uses different media that doesn't clog...I've been using one on my koi pond for the last couple of months.
Since I've proven that I can grow trout large enough to harvest from October to April, I'm now considering expanding the operation to a larger scale, and actually raising trout to sell to local restaurants or seafood markets.
Still trying to see just how long they can survive before they are affected by temperature, it would be really interesting if they can actually acclimate to this climate, but I'm skeptical. Another buddy of mine has a birthday coming up next week, so, we're gonna catch a couple and cook them outside on the grill. :mrgreen:
bigwave
Well-known member
Very cool indeed......I think they might just survive a slow gradual water temp increase as the days get longer and the water warms. I cant believe they grew that big in such a short time.....your commercial idea might just work, most of the trout you see in the restaurant's are whole anyways and 18" is plenty big for one plate. Have you made anymore video's of the trout lately?
PSG-1
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm holding out hope they will acclimate. It would be awesome if they did, so they could grow yet another season, and become trophy-sized trout.
I can't believe how fast they grew, either! It's amazing. Never saw a growth rate like this on any other fish. Heck, I put some fry-size bream in the pond last October, they're still tiny, haven't grown much at all. Unfortunately, because of that, most of them became trout food, only a few small ones still in there. And the hundreds of mosquitofish I had....well, they got picked off by the trout as well...LOL
As for the commercial aquaculture, I consulted with one of my game warden friends on that, he put in a call to HQ to find out exactly what permits I would need. Turns out as long as I sell the fish whole, not processed, all I need is an aquaculture permit, don't even need a land-and-sale license, because it's being taken from a private pond, not from public water. If I were to clean them, etc, I would have to have a facility certified by the Dept of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Not to mention paperwork and HACCP records for that facility. So, I'm thinking the least amount of hassle, get the permit, and sell them whole to the restaurant or seafood market.
My issue now is being able to raise enough of them to make it worthwhile. My pond would hold about 100 fish, but that's it. If I want to expand the operation, the best option may be to build some above-ground tanks.
LATEST VIDEO, BACKYARD RAINBOW TROUT FISHING:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoyBMBfv8sI
That was taken a month ago, they've grown even more since then. I'm going to do another quick video that shows their growth from October to April, as it still amazes me.
I can't believe how fast they grew, either! It's amazing. Never saw a growth rate like this on any other fish. Heck, I put some fry-size bream in the pond last October, they're still tiny, haven't grown much at all. Unfortunately, because of that, most of them became trout food, only a few small ones still in there. And the hundreds of mosquitofish I had....well, they got picked off by the trout as well...LOL
As for the commercial aquaculture, I consulted with one of my game warden friends on that, he put in a call to HQ to find out exactly what permits I would need. Turns out as long as I sell the fish whole, not processed, all I need is an aquaculture permit, don't even need a land-and-sale license, because it's being taken from a private pond, not from public water. If I were to clean them, etc, I would have to have a facility certified by the Dept of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Not to mention paperwork and HACCP records for that facility. So, I'm thinking the least amount of hassle, get the permit, and sell them whole to the restaurant or seafood market.
My issue now is being able to raise enough of them to make it worthwhile. My pond would hold about 100 fish, but that's it. If I want to expand the operation, the best option may be to build some above-ground tanks.
LATEST VIDEO, BACKYARD RAINBOW TROUT FISHING:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoyBMBfv8sI
That was taken a month ago, they've grown even more since then. I'm going to do another quick video that shows their growth from October to April, as it still amazes me.
PSG-1
Well-known member
TROUT UPDATE: Well, when the water hit 75 the trout stopped eating. At that point, there was no catching them on a hook and line. And as it approached 80, the fish started going belly up, at the rate of 1 fish per day. We had a cool period through the middle of June, and I had no more dead loss for a while, doing water changes with well water to drop the temp a little. Then it started getting hot toward the end of this past month, and they started going belly up at the rate of 1-2 fish per day. Honestly, trying to cool the pond with well water isn't feasible, and amounts to putting the fish on life support, so, I gave up on trying to delay the inevitable. The ones that looked OK, I cleaned and ate or froze. The few that were questionable were used in the crab pot. Rather than letting any more go to waste, I went ahead and harvested the last few out on June 30th, cleaned and put them in the freezer.
A few lessons learned, and modifications made: Harvest them by the time the water hits about 74, as they stop eating and growing. Also figured out a way to easily catch them in warm weather. By placing the hose with 68 degree well water running into the 75+ degree water, the trout will flock to the cold water, where they can be netted. Also, removed all the rocks and gravel in the bottom of the pond, as they trap entirely too much detritus and cause ammonia levels to rise, which was detectable in some of the bream and trout we ate a month ago. Which is why it's important to not only backflush the filter like I've been doing, but to do regular partial water changes, like with an aquarium. Also, pulling only from the surface doesn't remove enough sediment and debris. Now in addition to the overflow weir, I also have an intake pipe that pulls from the bottom of the pond.
The fact that they were even able to live and thrive being 350 miles from their normal environment is an accomplishment. And having the majority of them live into early summer (although, we've had a cooler-than-usual June) is a small miracle. It was fun watching how fast they grew, hand feeding them, catching and releasing them on a variety of flies, and of course, eating fresh trout throughout the spring, can't beat that! Been a helluva experience. I plan to do it again next fall.
8) :mrgreen:
BOAT UPDATE: Still running like a champ. And thanks to 4-stroke technology, not only have I saved a good bit of money on fuel, but I'm able to diagnose the engine any time. I recently bought the YDS (diagnostic) software and cable for around 100 dollars. Of course, it runs on Windows and I have a Mac, so, off to Wally World to buy a cheap Windows computer. Got the software installed, (actually, my girlfriend installed it, as she's more familiar with Windows than I am, since I've been using a Mac for the last 3 years)
Hooked it to the boat and got a true reading on the engine hours at 257 hours, which was about 20 hours more than what I had on my hour meter, so, I had to run that up to bring it in synch with true engine hours. Not only does it tell the number of hours, but also the number of hours it was ran at a specific RPM range, and if any sensors tripped, at what hour it occured. Also shows the status of all sensors, and even the status of the no-wake switch! All of the diagnosis on my boat appeared normal when I ran the check, so, that's great news. IMHO, good investment for the boat. Not only that, but I also hooked it to my girlfriend's VX110 jet ski and checked that out, everything was good.
Over the last couple of years, we've done a good bit of running in the jetboat, always exploring new stretches of river. On a typical trip, we run 25 miles out from the launch point (usually up-stream, just in case!) and 25 miles back, for a total of 50. Longest 2 trips were up the ICW and back, total of about 60 miles, and a round trip on the Santee River Delta, for about 55 miles. Doing all that running, we've taken a lot of photos and video.
My girlfriend always takes the photos, she's good at shooting on the move. We've got a bunch of her photos posted to google earth. You can see them on my panoramio photos page. Some of them are really good photos, like calender or poster material.
https://www.panoramio.com/user/6921169
I do pretty much all the videos while driving, which you can see on my youtube channel. In fact, I've got a dedicated section on my channel just for the rivers in SC that we travel. In no particular order, here's the majority of them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0MCQXLKIBc Upper Waccamaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2RvDSG9UuY Lower Waccamaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9cEvnKHj1Q Cape Romain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tzs1Nbiekk Lumber River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J-AVOJBYgk Black River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOf-YRXS2KI Little Pee Dee River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY4IERawXJc Great Pee Dee (up to fall line)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTJcXmlwwxI Upper Santee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss3JGyQyEx0 Santee Delta
A few lessons learned, and modifications made: Harvest them by the time the water hits about 74, as they stop eating and growing. Also figured out a way to easily catch them in warm weather. By placing the hose with 68 degree well water running into the 75+ degree water, the trout will flock to the cold water, where they can be netted. Also, removed all the rocks and gravel in the bottom of the pond, as they trap entirely too much detritus and cause ammonia levels to rise, which was detectable in some of the bream and trout we ate a month ago. Which is why it's important to not only backflush the filter like I've been doing, but to do regular partial water changes, like with an aquarium. Also, pulling only from the surface doesn't remove enough sediment and debris. Now in addition to the overflow weir, I also have an intake pipe that pulls from the bottom of the pond.
The fact that they were even able to live and thrive being 350 miles from their normal environment is an accomplishment. And having the majority of them live into early summer (although, we've had a cooler-than-usual June) is a small miracle. It was fun watching how fast they grew, hand feeding them, catching and releasing them on a variety of flies, and of course, eating fresh trout throughout the spring, can't beat that! Been a helluva experience. I plan to do it again next fall.
8) :mrgreen:
BOAT UPDATE: Still running like a champ. And thanks to 4-stroke technology, not only have I saved a good bit of money on fuel, but I'm able to diagnose the engine any time. I recently bought the YDS (diagnostic) software and cable for around 100 dollars. Of course, it runs on Windows and I have a Mac, so, off to Wally World to buy a cheap Windows computer. Got the software installed, (actually, my girlfriend installed it, as she's more familiar with Windows than I am, since I've been using a Mac for the last 3 years)
Hooked it to the boat and got a true reading on the engine hours at 257 hours, which was about 20 hours more than what I had on my hour meter, so, I had to run that up to bring it in synch with true engine hours. Not only does it tell the number of hours, but also the number of hours it was ran at a specific RPM range, and if any sensors tripped, at what hour it occured. Also shows the status of all sensors, and even the status of the no-wake switch! All of the diagnosis on my boat appeared normal when I ran the check, so, that's great news. IMHO, good investment for the boat. Not only that, but I also hooked it to my girlfriend's VX110 jet ski and checked that out, everything was good.
Over the last couple of years, we've done a good bit of running in the jetboat, always exploring new stretches of river. On a typical trip, we run 25 miles out from the launch point (usually up-stream, just in case!) and 25 miles back, for a total of 50. Longest 2 trips were up the ICW and back, total of about 60 miles, and a round trip on the Santee River Delta, for about 55 miles. Doing all that running, we've taken a lot of photos and video.
My girlfriend always takes the photos, she's good at shooting on the move. We've got a bunch of her photos posted to google earth. You can see them on my panoramio photos page. Some of them are really good photos, like calender or poster material.
https://www.panoramio.com/user/6921169
I do pretty much all the videos while driving, which you can see on my youtube channel. In fact, I've got a dedicated section on my channel just for the rivers in SC that we travel. In no particular order, here's the majority of them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0MCQXLKIBc Upper Waccamaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2RvDSG9UuY Lower Waccamaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9cEvnKHj1Q Cape Romain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tzs1Nbiekk Lumber River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J-AVOJBYgk Black River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOf-YRXS2KI Little Pee Dee River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY4IERawXJc Great Pee Dee (up to fall line)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTJcXmlwwxI Upper Santee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss3JGyQyEx0 Santee Delta
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