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custom weld

4 (12.5%)

northriver

7 (21.9%)

thunderjet

6 (18.8%)

harbercraft

3 (9.4%)

duckworth

1 (3.1%)

outlaw

0 (0%)

hells canyon marine

1 (3.1%)

precision weld

0 (0%)

motion marine

2 (6.3%)

sidewinder

1 (3.1%)

wooldridge

6 (18.8%)

weldcraft

1 (3.1%)

boulton

0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 31

[avid angler]

Bh123's post about motion marine having the best fishing boat around, and thick rick drooling over it made me think about different types of jet boats around. theres so many companies building jet boats its hard to find the right one. so i made a list of jet boats that i know of and have this question, whats your dream jet sled? if i left a brand out let me know.
heres a few links to each companies site. my dad owns a northriver but i also like hells canyon marine boats and precision welds, both are quality boats and look awesome.


http://www.customweld.com

http://www.northriverboats.com/

http://www.thunderjet.com/

http://www.harbercraft.com/

http://www.duckworthboats.com/

http://www.outlaweagle.com/

http://www.hellscanyonmarine.com/

http://www.precisionweldboats.com

http://www.motionmarine.com

http://www.sidewindermarine.com

http://wooldridgeboats.com/

http://www.weldcraftmarine.com/

http://www.boultonpowerboats.com

[scruffy]

almost any kind of jet boat will do just depends on size and pump but the custom weld are pretty sweet as i know people with thnderjet and duckworths and I'll say very similar in design but it seem that custom welds are that much better.

[redside1]

hate to say it, but you missed two very good boat makers, Alumaweld and Willie boats. I would personally purchase a Willie over any you have on the list , so my answer is None of the above. Motion Marine makes a very good boat but saying it's the best around is a personal opinion. Not a lot of Washington and Oregon guides are fishing a Motion Marine compared to Alumweld and North River. Go to Alaska and on the Kenai and you will see mostly Willie boats. Just depends on what you are going to do with it.

[Geff_t]

Should this not be in general discussion.

[gofish]

Check out the Wooldridge site. Been on the water and building boats since 1915!!!  I might be a little partial since my sled is a Wooldridge, but when I bought I wanted the reliability and name for resale in case I wanted to trade up or sell off in the future. Their awesome customer service doesn't hurt either! ( you can phone Seattle and talk to one of the Wooldridges personally, not some sales clone ) Boats like the Duckworth or the Boulton might be finished to a higher level but you sure do pay the price tag and unless you are made of money or using your sled more than a month or two a year, I think it is hard to justify the big bucks for them.  My buddy runs a Hewescraft and was able to get that decent boat for under 30,000 but says he would never buy another one since Gallion Marine is such a pain in the my friend to deal with buying and then trying to get customer service out of.  My 2c

[redside1]

Gofish.
I think you mention a very good point, Customer service if you buy a new boat. You want to deal with some one that will look after you if you have any problems.
 I agree with gt,this thread should most likely be moved over to general discussion

[BH123]

Your right, I have a bias opion. There are many great jetboats out there. I like motion marine as they have the most fishing space for a boat with a top. Boats with a V8 have little room at the back to fish. There good for cruising and sturgeon fishing. But suck if you do a lot of salmon fishing out of a boat. V8 are pretty useless for backtrolling. The best fishing jet boat is a open boat with a tiller. But they suck in the rain and wind. I hook a lot of fish. Sometime doulble headers. A motor in the way is the last thing I want when catching fish.

[BH123]

I do like custom weld. The raised floor solves the problem of the large v8. But the high floor and railings would be in the way for backtrolling

[redside1]

BH123
by all means , you have a very nice boat and most of all, you knew what you wanted in a boat when you purchased one. That is most likely the hardest part about buying a boat, making sure you know all the different fisheries you will be using it in and can whatever you buy do all those types of fisheries in the comfort level you are hoping for.

[tnt]

 I am a little biased I like thunder jet personally  saying that a custom weld is better quality is here say when you take a bottom and side and butt weld them together and throw a lifting strake on it, you get severe chine walk. where the back end of the boat will typically slide from side to side, which on long runs results in arm fatique.
when you build boats like precision weld or HCM or thunderJet you get an actual formed reverse chine hull which will get you on plane quicker and with out the tradional back end slide. not only will it drive straighter but you will be able to turn quicker and with out back end slide.dont forget that a formet side will also make the boat far stronger than a flat side or a lapped or stepped side.
the other thing people dont look at is the components put on each boat such as weld on cleats or dual arm wipers and so on and so on, the list is endless.
when it comes down to buying a new sled test drive every boat possible. if the dealer does not do a test drive then walk!!!
and not comparing boats apples to apples is by far the most common mistake.