All things must pass, and I'm thinking about replacing my wood boat with, ulp, aluminum. I've used Lund skiffs a lot in my past and liked their tuffness and overall durability. You don't see them often on rivers, but I'm thinking of putting my old 50 hp jet on a 16'. It is light enough for me to manhandle by myself, easy to trailer with my car, and can handle the horsepower. It seems like it would work fine, and the newer models have a shallow Vee (7 degrees) extending all the way to the transom. A tin boat and galvanized trailer would also make me feel better about using it to putz around the sound as well, something I've usually been reluctant to do with the old boat and trailer. A new 4-stroke jet would also be nice, but that's not in my budget.

Am I overlooking any serious flaws with this idea? What are your thoughts about such an arrangement?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

I looked really hard at the Lund Laker, finally decided on the Smokercraft Lodge for financial reasons, but it has worked pretty good this year, plenty of freeboard in most reasonable fishing situations and will run shallow with just enough V to take the sting out of rough water. Both the Laker and the Lodge accept 50's. I run this thing on tilt with a propsaver and a heavy anchor off the bow, and can get back upstream from Blue Creek even with a prop at 5000 cfs or more. No, not a bad idea at all

I have a Lund SSV 16 which I love. I use it on the Chehalis River and sometimes in the sound. I have a 25hp prop engine and an electric motor. The boat is great and very seaworthy. I bought mine at Nick's Boats and Motors in Ballard. By the way I have taken the Lund offshore at Neah Bay and up in shallow water on the river. The jet should be fine on that sized boat.

I used a similar boat/motor combo on the Nushagak. This one was a Lowe 16 footer, and I think a 45 hp jet. It was a nice, versatile little craft. I think you could do a lot worse than a pump on a boat like that.

One thing to think about, however. Boats used with jets tend to be run in shallow water, right? Boats that run in shallow water occasionally hit a little something, right? If you make contact with any, and I think that means probably any, rock, it's gonna open a lowe or a lund or a smokercraft like it was an aluminum beer can. The jet motor may tempt you into something you might regret.

If you think you know the water you are planning to fish, and can avoid the bottom, I think it's a great idea.