Gludy-More info on U.S. jet boats

[aswade]

My U.S.-based employer is looking to purchase a flybridge motoryacht in the 70-80 foot range. He too is quite dismayed at the level of standards in the industry when one is considering spending three or four million dollars. He has friends and family who are owners of Feadships and other 200 foot megayachts who spend forty million on a boat, so it's not the dollar amount that bothers him, but a lot of the same issues you have raised- he definitely feels like most builders and dealers look at people like you and him as suckers with deep pockets, ready and willing to be taken advantage of and to put up with practices that nobody would tolerate in the purchase/after-sales support of a $100,000 automobile.

Regarding U.S. jet boats, the newest site for Hinckley is www.hinckleyyachts.com. Hinckley is kind of the "standard" for "Down East" styled jet boats. They came out with the 36 foot Picnic Boat a while back, and have sold quite a few. They now have 29, 40, and 44 foot models. Famous sailboat designer/sailmaker Ted Hood also recently sold his Little Harbor line of jet boats to Hinckley. Little Harbor Whisperjets are available up to 55 feet- see the Hinckley site. These boats are all designed specifically for jet propulsion.

There are a number of other manufacturers who also make jet boats to compete with Hinckley, a few that I can think of off the top of my head:

Santa Cruz Yachts (maker of ULDB racing sailboats) has a 40 foot Coastal Flyer. www.santacruzyachts.com

Rivolta makes a 38 foot Jet Coupe.

Vicem also makes a range up to 50 feet, built in Turkey, that are similarly styled but I don't recall if they are jet powered.

There are at least 4 or 5 other Hinckley competitors, but can't recall them all right now.

 

[Gludy]

Thanks for info.

I have looked at the Hinkley site and found it interesting. They use Hamilton jets, which I ayt present have a strong preference for.

Still in the lead for me is the Cara Marine boat based on a pilot boat hull. If I could, I would much prefer a European built boat.

I know the picnic jet boat in the USA was so popular that it built up a waiting list and you could sell boats above list price for a while.

You know, if we used jets as standard and someone introduced props - they would never take off. The loss of low speed agility, the lower efficiency at plaining speeds, the fact that they hit things and cost a lot to repair.

Then there is the noise and these long prop shafts with their vibration, let alone their varying load on the engine all the time .... so no, props would never take off.



Paul