Tunnel Hulll ?

[Scottinva]

One more advantage to a tunnel - if you damage the area right in front of the intake on a flat bottom boat, you may not even be able to get on plane. By having a tunnel, the area in front of the intake is protected and isn't prone to damage. My dad had an Xpress and it a ledge and put a dent about 1.5" deep right in front of the intake. He went from beng able to run about 25 mph to not being able to get on plane at all due to this damage. He ended up putting a tunnel in and never had any more problems. He still hit a rocksand ledges, but the damage never affected performance because the tunnel is somewhat protected. Just another + for a tunnel.

Scott

 

[reedjj]

I have been away for a while and just have a few comments. Yes the Susky is that bad. I fish there and the James River and New River in VA. The James gets so low in the summer that you literally have to drive over rocks to get to water. Thus the need for the heavy duty boat. Another comment - it was stated that you would lose performance with a tunnel because the motor was higher. I think this is a little flawed. I have a 6" hydraulic jackplate on my boat and I run the fastest when it it all the way up and pretty much of he jet is out of the water. If I lower it an inch I lose performance. For the record, I run a 16x60 Snyder Mod V with tunnel and with a 115 Etec. UHMW bottom and UHMW intake with a 6" hydraulic jackplate. Optaylor do you have a Jackplate on your Snyder?? Any comments on that?

Scott

you got any pics of your rig? Sounds awesome!

 

[Scottinva]

Here is a pic.

Scott

 

[gotasquirt]

nice looking ride what are the specs on the hull length with hull thickness huow much v thanks will

 

[semojetman]

odd looking boat.

But it looks like its all about function.

Looks like a strudy built boat too.

 

[georgiaken]

Snyder boats are like tanks.

Even the Pennsylvania Fish Commission ran one of their boats on the Susky at some point (don't know if they still do or not).

They are the hardcore boats that Susky fisherman dream of having...bottom line, they get the job done.

I went on a guided trip in one of those...an 18 footer...that boat flat out does what it was built to do.

 

[reedjj]

Wow! That is a nice boat!

 

[Scottinva]

It is 16' long with a 60" wide bottom. 3/16" thick aluminum + 3/8" UHMW screwed on the bottom.

 

[georgiaken]

Really nice boat...

I wish my ranger had a thicker skin

 

[optaylor823]

Nice looking boat Scott. Mine looks very similar just is 6" wider.

 

[riverracer]

I have read some of these posts and it is a catch-22, ok u put a tunnel on ur outboard jet to set ur motor up so u wont damage ur shoe, by putting a tunnel in ur boat u will loose a little of floatation so therefore ur boat is setting deeper in the water. :?:

 

[Scottinva]

WIth the tunnel, you aren't going to be any noticble distance deeper either on plane or while drifitng I guess in theory you would have a little less surface area, but you are raising your intake up way more than the amount you would lose. I would much rather my boat hit than my motor. If you fish any area that will damage intakes, imo the tunnel is well worth it. If your area isn't that treacherous, you may not need one.

 

[optaylor823]

I never thought about it before, but I guess you do lose a little bit of surface area when you put a tunnel on a boat. I also have to agree that the pros out way the cons if you are running where something may tear the jet foot off. Think about the cost of the tunnel compared to replacing a jet foot or two. Not to mention the time you would lose off the water.

 

[turne032]

coppied from jetdoctor.net

Shoe for large jet-when ordering please specify:
6 5/8" part # 141.1
6 7/8" part # 141.2
7 3/16" part # 141.3
7 3/8" part # 141.4 $370.00
Large Intake Assembly (Shoe) - $365.00


i would say it is cheaper for me to replace a shoe on my motor than trying to repair the bottom of my boat!

 

[semojetman]

Well we have heard pretty good argument from both sides. Sounds like it is all personal preference. The pros outway the cons for some and the cons outway the pros for others. Just depends what your going for.

 

[Scottinva]

Again, it is personal preference. For my boat, I am not worried about damaging the hull. That is why I have the 3/16 bottom and UHMW on top of that. I would have to do something real stupid to damage the hull to the point that it would need repaired. So for me, the intake is the weak link and the most expensive repair item and I want it protected - hence the tunnel.

Scott

 

[Lil' Blue Rude]

I see how the tunnel hulls work with a jet but I still think the boat would set down in the water a little farther. When I was thinking of tunnel hulls I've been thinking of light wieght hydros where there going fast enough to pick the tunnel up out of the water. Now that I think about it a heavy boat would be funneling the water up to the jet because it's to heavy to have lift like a small hydro.
How shallow will your guys boats run without hitting the bottom of the boat? I know I've run 2 inches before and I hit with my shoe but the boat never touched. ( I have to thank the canoes for putting be in that position :evil: )

 

[Scottinva]

The length of the tunnel is only about 2 ft long and maybe 1 ft wide. So the total surface area reduction is only about 2 sq ft. Not sure how shallow I can run but I would estimate 4-5 inches depending on bottom structure and possibly shallower over short sections.

Scott

 

[reedjj]

Up untill I learned about Blazers, Legend, SJX, and all these custom boats I've seen on here, I thought this G3 was the ultimate boat. "my dream boat".

The pic's illustrate what a Tunnel means to some us. I say this because I think depending on where your from a "Tunnell Hull" may mean somethinng entirely different to one person than it does to another.

I think most of us east coast guys think of a Jet Tunnell as this.

 

[reedjj]

Prop Tunnel