I hope Rservat bought his boat last Jule, 1999. I was wondering who stole my username and then noticed the posts were a year ago LAST July until Gorillafingers' post....just in case anybody cares.

My turn!! I have seen several Kofflers on the river and they are indeed nice units. I also like thunderjets. My choice came down between two makers, Duckworth and Boulton. I chose the Boulton because of price and quality. The old Ducks were very nice and the new Ernie Duckworths(one off customs from what I understand) are also, but the Duckworth (post ernie ownership)seems to be less boat and WAY more money. My boat was chosen for double duty fish and fun and I am extremely happy. As for performance, I believe I can catch any boat in any water. If I had no $$$ worries, I would have gone with a Hamilton pump instead of Kodiak and probably would have opted for fuel injection if I did not plan on hopping up the engine. If I were going to buy a boat today just for fishing, it would probably be a 17' Koffler or Thorbuilt W/ a 200hp outboard or better. I would highly encourage four stroke main and kicker, everything runs off of the same tank that way. If your going inboard, go thunderjet or boulton. The most bang for the buck.

after reading the post above i have to say be carefull with four stroke outboard jets. we put a honda on our 16 alumaweld super-vee center console boat at work. four strokes dont turn the rpm that a 2 stroke does, obviously. the boat would not get on plane no matter whatever we tried. we ended up going with a mercury 115 hp or commonly known as a 80 jet. big difference. you can still run your main engine off your primary tank with a vro variable rate oiling system, and a 4 stroke kicker. we also have a 20 foot inboard jet at work with a chevy 350 with port fuel injection. we went with the single stage hamilton 212 with a turbo impellor. great combo, our top speed is about 45-50 mph. the hamilton also had dual angle reverse bucket that will put your bow under water if your not careful. lastley go with the easy clean system and dont forget a sand sump. if you can afford, and your going with an inboard get the flowteck easy shift lever. one lever does it all, like a remote on a outboard.

Sorry if I ruffled some feathers with my opinions fishtick, and no I'm not associated with any other names on this board. I realized that the original question was a year old, but after reading some of the unknowledgeable replies from people that obviously shouldn't be giving advice I had to add my two cents worth. I'm not trying to be hostile , just attempting to put out some useful information, and clean up some of the mis-information. I am an avid jetboater and have been since the late seventies.over the years I've met almost every one of the manufacturers that have been mentioned. So don't be so defensive and keep on fishing.

rsrvrat
what kind of boat did you buy if you did and how do you like it.

A few comments on the tin boat debate. I have fished river sleds in the northwest for the past 20 years. I presently own an Alumaweld SuperVee Pro with a Mercury pump. I'm always looking for a new boat (just for fun). This past fall my wife and I took a tour of all of the major Oregon sled factories, Northriver, Jetcraft, Willie, Fish Rite and Alumaweld. We watched boats being tacked together and examined structure setups and layouts for the various models. Our joint conclusions were 1)They all have super warranties and the welded aluminum is nearly indestructable. 2)The almost identical, super big, super strong stringer and floor structure system in the NorthRiver and Alumawelds was superior to the other three. 3)If you're a welder and appreciate a nice 'puddle', nobody even came close to the Northriver welding , final grinding and all around finish work.4) Willie was the most flexible as far as making a truly 'custom' craft.5)FishRite's 'lay it on the floor and randomly tack it together system was scarey.
Even JetCraft (a huge outfit) was guilty of quite a bit of flex, hammer and tack it welding... no jig, no preformed bottoms or deadrise. My top quality award definitely goes to Northriver and a close second for strength to Alumaweld. However seating, fishing layout and use applications probably outweigh all of these. I like an open , tiller, pure fishing sled, so I continue to go with Alumaweld even though some of the the other boats were much prettier and faster. I wouldn't really be afraid to buy any of these boats.Just get the one that fits your style and put a bend in those rods.

Don't really know anything about outboard sleds because nobody uses them over here but the best built welded aluminum boat money can buy is a Northwest Jet... No competion at all.

Dear Hogtide. if you're talking about a pure fishing sled you're talking about a Thorbuilt. Double rod trays, a stern tray, under the floor fish box and fuel tank. There is simply more fishing room per foot in a Thorbuilt than anything else...period.

CHECK OUT THE "ALUMAWELD SUPER-V WITH THE SPORT JET.

My fishing buddy bought this boat 1 year ago and he gets more compliments and questions than anyone else on the river. He has a 18ft boat. The "sport jet" doesn't lose any horse power at the pump. He has the 170hp. His boat will easily do 50mph. It's a great boat and is very well designed. with the super-v style he is able to run in the salt water without any worries......very stable. This is a fishing machine. It has a fresh water hook up right on the engine for when you use it in the salt to wash it out. I would seriously look at this boat. It wasn't cheap, with taxes and some additional goodies, he spent right around 20k. We have been fishing a lot over the past year and I tell you what, he gets a lot of compliments. My other buddy has a thorbuilt sled, it's nice, but it is a river boat only. Have fun boat shopping.

Tyeeterror could you please be a little more specific on the four stroke jet pump how large was the sled and how big was the engine.
Sorry to hear it din't work out I had hoped that the cleaner burning 4 strokes ( quite too) would find a home on the rivers.

TJN Never heard of a Thorbuilt. Surprised a haven't seen them at a boatshow. Where do they build 'em ? Who do I call ? FYI fishin the Rogue River this past month I noticed a new brand of boat that was being built in Grants Pass. RIVERWILD was the name. A nice looking craft. Wide with a semi vee entry and many nice fishing amenities. Can't seem to find info. on the web. but I bet we'll be seeing more of them.

native son
we had a 1998 alumaweld 16 foot center console supervee lite with a 90 horse honda 4 stroke jet. no matter what we did that boat would not get up on plane. we ended up putting a mercury 115 hp jet or what is commonly known as a 80 jet on the boat. this bigger 2 stroke was a huge difference. the honda just lugged out and could never seem to get enough rpm to get out of the hole. i have still not seen many 4 stoke jets on the klamath river in california. hope this helps.

Tyee Terror
My fishing partner owns the exact same boat, 16 supervee lite with a 90hp 2 stroke and it planes quickly, moving a good sized load right along. Your 4 stroke and pump opinion might very well be on the money, cause the 2 stroke 90 really gets his boat up and going. Thanks for the input...good info to put in the boat buying data bank ! I believe the 4 stroke also weighs quite a bit more, which is a major factor in getting a jet to plane.