1 reply to this topic

[pscott]

I am in the middle of building a dock and about to purchase a boat. discription of water. I live in a tidal area of the St. Johns river in Jacksonville, Fl. My dock will be about 50 feet and a have a lift (up to 4,000lbs). The water behind my house goes completely to mud up to about 4.5 to 5 feet at high tides. I have two neighbors with docks in the exact same water and depth and they both have about 20ft center consoles with outboards. Basically they say that they can get in about 2 hours before and after high tide. my question is this. With a jet boat, my draft is only about 12 inches with no motor that drops below that, so my total draft is actually less than thier boats...but how much depth below the jet boat do I need to ensure I am not ruining the engine or impeller by takingn in debris. THere is no sea weed issues at all, it is just a flat mud bottom. would be OK idoling in 2 ft of water, or would that cuase me issue being too shallow? Any feedback on my situation would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[FJHIII]

I would not want to idle in 2' of water. You run a very high risk of getting debris in the intake. I am comfortable with the engines running in 4'.

I look forward to other people's answers.

FWIW- I use to ride my PWC in less than 1' going 50mph!