by Steve Hoffman

I CAN’T IMAGINE A BETTER SPOKESMAN FOR JET boats than Kevin Turner. He ran a flotilla of jets on shallow, rocky rivers from Minnesota to Alabama for almost two decades before he decided to design his own. “Before I knew it,” Turner says, “I had a yard full of boats and a big decision to make. I was convinced that the boat was not only unlike anything else on the market, but also was better, at least for the kind of fishing I do.”

By the time I met Turner a year ago, he’d already spent several months learning the pitfalls of the boating industry. How difficult it is to compete with the big boys, whose names are as well known in fishing circles as Ford and Chevrolet to the general public. How difficult it is to deliver boats without a dealer network, especially when most dealers prefer to sell boats from larger manufacturers. And most surprising of all to Turner, how difficult it is to educate anglers on the merits of jet boats.

After our first conversation, I knew he was on the right track, but I also knew that the boat he’d already designed and built—a sleek looking bass boat with front and rear casting decks—wouldn’t work for most catfishermen. Turner, though, already was a step ahead, having begun development of another model he believed would light the fire of the small-river catfish crowd. After running that boat for six months, I think he might be right.

Powerful Possibilities
What can a jet do that a prop can’t? “They can maneuver in shallow water,” Turner says. “It’s as simple as that.” From a fishing perspective, he’s probably right. Some jet jockeys choose jets because they’re safer for swimmers and skiers, since there’s no risk of getting hit by a spinning propeller. Others think they’re more fun to drive, handling like a sprint car sliding around a dirt track. For catmen, though, jets are the river equivalent of a four-wheel drive truck.

There’s a downside, too, of course. Jets are noisier and less efficient, and boat operators with years of experience with prop motors often find it difficult to learn the different handling characteristics. At least that’s the way things used to be. Jets still behave differently than props, but today’s jet motors—particularly inboards and four-stroke outboards—are much quieter and more efficient than those built a decade ago.

“Jets have a public relations problem,” Turner says, “mostly because more outboard jets than inboards are in use today. To make matters worse, many of the inboard aluminum boats sold during the past decade were equipped with car engines. In my opinion, neither of these options can match the performance of two-cycle inboards like the Mercury Sport Jet® for fishing shallow rivers.”

The efficiency difference is measurable. Mercury recently discontinued their 140hp outboard jet with a 200hp powerhead. That’s virtually the same power-head used on the 175hp Sport Jet, which Mercury says actually produces 183hp at the impeller. That’s less than a 9 percent loss of horsepower with the flow pump on the Sport Jet, compared to a 30 percent loss on the outboard.

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