We are building two mini jet boats to run in super skinny water up here in Alaska. Access to so many areas with shallow water is normally done with air boats and hovercraft. The mini's are now a high performance option for us up here. Problem is most parts have to be custom built or bought from New Zealand or Canada. New Zealand is way ahead of the mini jet boat game and the states are starting to catch on.
We started this project in the spring and had to take a couple months off this summer. Now we are back at it.
Picked up two Honda Aquatrax f15 turbo jet skis and stripped them down. We will use the motor, pump and electronics as a donor for our mini. We bought untested plans from a guy in Canada and ended up scrapping most of it after being cut out and test fitted. Was a costly mistake. This is our first boat build and are learning a ton and making mistakes along the way. Luckily we know a few boat builders who have helped us out as we go.
These will give us access to hunting, fishing and gold mining ground that are otherwise half impossible to get to. My buddy is way ahead of me as I was gone all summer mining but now the build continues.
First two pics here are of guys in Alaska with minis. With full running 1/2" UHMW on top of a 1/4" bottom they can run over almost anything and will run in just inches of water.
We built a leaf brake to bend most of the things we need.
Brake ended up being able to bend 5' long 1/8" 5052
Bottoms were cut and bent locally
We started this project in the spring and had to take a couple months off this summer. Now we are back at it.
Picked up two Honda Aquatrax f15 turbo jet skis and stripped them down. We will use the motor, pump and electronics as a donor for our mini. We bought untested plans from a guy in Canada and ended up scrapping most of it after being cut out and test fitted. Was a costly mistake. This is our first boat build and are learning a ton and making mistakes along the way. Luckily we know a few boat builders who have helped us out as we go.
These will give us access to hunting, fishing and gold mining ground that are otherwise half impossible to get to. My buddy is way ahead of me as I was gone all summer mining but now the build continues.
First two pics here are of guys in Alaska with minis. With full running 1/2" UHMW on top of a 1/4" bottom they can run over almost anything and will run in just inches of water.
We built a leaf brake to bend most of the things we need.
Brake ended up being able to bend 5' long 1/8" 5052
Bottoms were cut and bent locally
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