Allright guys I want to set this straight if possible

I got a grandpa that says prop is the only way to go, and you loose power with a jet

I got a brother of 25 that uses a jet and he ofcoures says jets are much more powerful Dont take the horse power into consideration.

Now is one right and one wrong or are they both knotheads.

What do you guys prefer

You can figure an approximate 30% loss of power when you are running a pump i.e. 150HP powerhead = 105HP at the pump. As far as what is perfered it depends on what you are going to use it for, salt chuck and big rivers like the Columbia, lower Chehalis, lakes etc. prop. For use in the above plus rivers with skinny water no doubt a pump. One thing I will say is if you chose a pump make sure that you buy enough HP, the biggest complait I have seen on these boards and from my own personal experiance is to little power = powerhead rebuilds!!!
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

DM
You loose some where around 25% with a pump. I have a 40 horse pump on a 14' boat. A 40 prop would scare the heck out of me.

Fishhead5

Grandpa is right. You lose HP with a pump anywhere from 12.5% to 30%. My Sport Jet 175XR only loses 12.5%.

After having props for years my preference is now a pump because i can go rivers, lakes and salt with it.

Well, let's see. You lose power by going to a jet, but, by having a jet, you can go places where a prop can't go. Guess it boils down to, do you want to go where a prop can't go?

I run a boat with an inboard jet, which has relatively little decline in power due to the jet. But there is a decline. Outboards will have more of a decline, about 35%. If you can run where you want to go without a jet, get the prop. Else, get the jet. This isn't hard.

I should add, I used to run a 17 ft, 900 lb. sled with an 85 hp evinrude with a jet, and that was too little power for three guys in the boat. I now run a 19 ft, 1800lb North River, with a 175 sportjet, and with four guys, I'm fine. DO NOT buy too little power when you buy a boat with a jet. You will be wasting your time and money.

I've got a 19ft Custom Weld with a 115 outboard prop. I use it mostly in the salt and occasionally around Longview in the Columbia and lower Cowlitz.

I have a few times wished I had a pump, but if it was a pump, I'd want it to be much more HP, and I imagine I would get way worse fuel economy... can anyone verify this? Just seems that if you changed from a 115 prop to a 200 jet, you'd burn more fuel... so for the few times I've wanted that pump, I don't think it's worth it.

It was more of an issue when I lived in Seattle and was tempted to run the Sky and the Snohomish, but now that I live out on the OlyPen, I really don't miss having a pump at all, I just need to buy a driftboat...

-N.

Here is another twist. A friend of mine says when you buy a factory outboard with the pump from the factory, the rating for the motor is at the pump. It seems the 150 on my Wooly Bugger has more power than 105 horses (derated because of the pump). Any thoughts?

If the manufacture of the motor installs the Pump, the HP Rating will usually say 105 Jet, which would be 150 HP Prop, 60 Jet = 90 HP Prop etc.