Best Multi-Purpose Boat For The NSR

[edmhunter]

I was on the shore of the NSR by Devon yesterday and was speaking to a person that said there was great fishing down the river that was inaccessible due to it all being private land on most stretches of the river. I was envious of watching the boats go by too. lol

So now I am thinking of buying a boat to fish the NSR. I would also like to use the boat on other lakes in Alberta, as well as to hunt river systems with.

For you fishermen that use a multipurpose boat, which can do all of the above jobs, your recommendations would be appreciated?

Thanks, for your assistance! :fishing: :fighting0007:

[eman05]

The NSR is shallow later in the year so your best bet would be a jet outboard or inboard pump. Cheapest basic design would be a flat bottom aluminum like a Jon-style boat, fitted with a outboard jet. Motor size would depend on payload. I would go with 40-60 hp for a 16' flat bottomed. Explorer makes a nice boat that is wide and nice to fish off of but i'm sure there are other options. Bigger boats get up and down the river faster, but they also are heavier and consume more fuel. Any river boat you could use in a lake, but you cant necessarily use a lake boat in all rivers.

[edmhunter]

The NSR is shallow later in the year so your best bet would be a jet outboard or inboard pump. Cheapest basic design would be a flat bottom aluminum like a Jon-style boat, fitted with a outboard jet. Motor size would depend on payload. I would go with 40-60 hp for a 16' flat bottomed. Explorer makes a nice boat that is wide and nice to fish off of but i'm sure there are other options. Bigger boats get up and down the river faster, but they also are heavier and consume more fuel. Any river boat you could use in a lake, but you cant necessarily use a lake boat in all rivers.

I have owned Jon-style boats, they are good for basically anything, inland! What is an inboard pump, never owned a jet boat before but I have fished out of them on the Skeena River in BC.

Thanks for your input eman05, much appreciated! :)

[dalesilvertip]

I think a jet boat with a 12degree hull is the most versatile. It would certainly go anywhere on the NSR and lots of others .This hull is also pretty good on a lake as well, much better than a flatter bottom boat. Have fun!

[edmhunter]

I think a jet boat with a 12degree hull is the most versatile. It would certainly go anywhere on the NSR and lots of others .This hull is also pretty good on a lake as well, much better than a flatter bottom boat. Have fun!

12 degree hull eh? Interesting. Can such a boat be trusted on the Skeena as well?

[ROA]

I have a kingfisher warrior. It's 18 foot with a 12 degree hull, centre strip of uhmw plastic and a double thick keel with a 200 hp sport jet engine. I just went up through Edmonton from Fort sask the other day with it. And have also been around the Devon area with it as well. I live in whitecourt so most of the time I use it on the Athabasca.

It's a good all round boat and I have also used it on big lakes like great salve and of course cold lake and lesser slave. I would say it handles rough water better than a 17 Lund fisherman with a 115 Honda I used to have but will also run skinny water on the river like a champ. Biggest down side is it needs a thicker bottom (1/4" would be best) and full uhmw to be the ultimate multi purpose boat. Big rocks WILL ruin your boat if you hit one! Keep that in mind when choosing a jet boat. I would never consider anything less than 0.190" thick bottom (that's what mine has) with a fair amount of cross stringers.

[lmtada]

Raft with Anchor.

[edmhunter]

lol, well I was thinking about something I could use on the Skeena as well, that would make for a lot of paddling to get back because it's very swift!

The type of boat you guys are talking about, how much would it cost for a used one, any idea?

[Wild&Free]

Find the BC fishing forum and ask for advice on what boat to use on the Skeena, Kalum and Nass Rivers. Whatever can handle those 3 would not have a problem on the NSR.

[edmhunter]

Good idea, maybe I should check out KIJIJI in BC as well.

The last time I was fishing in a jet boat was on the Skeena. The NSR is an idle stream in comparison! The guy I was with had a 90 hp. outboard on his boat.

While fishing with him he told me that there are fatalities every year on the Skeena involving jet boaters, so before I would even attempt that river I would want to practice a lot on the NSR and the Athabasca as well, thats for sure!! A good day on the water does not involve drowning! :(

I have a ton of experience with outboards, but zero with a jet, apparently they operate very differently?

[Positrac]

This is what I'm running.

2009 Explorer Industries 166 (16.5 foot), 115/80 hp fuel injected Yamaha 4-stroke, uhmw center strip, etc...

Works pretty good and doesn't break the bank running it.

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/r747/arthurjlarsen/image.jpg1_zpspcfznavx.jpg (http://s1365.photobucket.com/user/arthurjlarsen/media/image.jpg1_zpspcfznavx.jpg.html)

[edmhunter]

This is what I'm running.

2009 Explorer Industries 166 (16.5 foot), 115/80 hp fuel injected Yamaha 4-stroke, uhmw center strip, etc...

Works pretty good and doesn't break the bank running it.

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/r747/arthurjlarsen/image.jpg1_zpspcfznavx.jpg (http://s1365.photobucket.com/user/arthurjlarsen/media/image.jpg1_zpspcfznavx.jpg.html)

Wow, that is almost as sexy as my girlfriend! Come to think about it they would make a lovely couple hehe. How much do one of those cost?

[K44]

It really depends on your budget I've got a 20' Harbercraft that I run on the Skeena, NSR, lakes or ocean. 12 degree would be your best choice
let me know if you want to go for a run and I can show you the ins and outs of jetboats.

[edmhunter]

It really depends on your budget I've got a 20' Harbercraft that I run on the Skeena, NSR, lakes or ocean. 12 degree would be your best choice
let me know if you want to go for a run and I can show you the ins and outs of jetboats.

WOW that is a super generous offer K44, I would love that for sure!

[Positrac]

Wow, that is almost as sexy as my girlfriend! Come to think about it they would make a lovely couple hehe. How much do one of those cost?

Mid thirties new on a trailer.

I bought mine with 80 hours on it and in excellent shape. Paid $20,000 on the nose sitting on a trailer with a few extras.

For far I'm pretty happy with it.

[edmhunter]

Mid thirties new on a trailer.

I bought mine with 80 hours on it and in excellent shape. Paid $20,000 on the nose sitting on a trailer with a few extras.

For far I'm pretty happy with it.

Like you I will be buying one used. I am not a big believe in buying anything new, since there are so many great used toys and I hate taking the BIG HIT when you drive anything new off of a dealers lot! Plus with our new government and the oil situation, I believe that there will be a lot of boy toys hitting the market soon enough.

Congratulations on that find Positrac!

[eman05]

You got me looking too! I run a lot of jetboat for work but I never get to bring my wife.

Here's one in terrace:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-motorboat/terrace/16-foot-harbercraft-jet-boat/1071167150?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

I don't know if it's in your budget range but it looks decent, probably a good excuse to go to Terrace and fish from it!

To your earlier question, the jet part of a jet outboard is just a modified lower leg that has an impeller under a grate that sucks water in and shoots it out the back. When you do this you have no moving parts in the water to bang onto rocks so its safer in shallows. You lose about 25% of the horsepower this way so you normally see things like 60/40 when talking jet outboards meaning you are only getting 40 HP of water jets when the head is a 60 HP engine. Shifting is just a cup around the jet, so for jetboats, backing up is really inefficent, and neutral shoots the water down. Contrary to inboard jets that clean the rocks out with a stomp grate, you usually can just lift the leg of an outboard and inspect, pull the impeller, or clean it out which is sometimes handy.

[edmhunter]

You got me looking too! I run a lot of jetboat for work but I never get to bring my wife.

Here's one in terrace:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-motorboat/terrace/16-foot-harbercraft-jet-boat/1071167150?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

I don't know if it's in your budget range but it looks decent, probably a good excuse to go to Terrace and fish from it!

To your earlier question, the jet part of a jet outboard is just a modified lower leg that has an impeller under a grate that sucks water in and shoots it out the back. When you do this you have no moving parts in the water to bang onto rocks so its safer in shallows. You lose about 25% of the horsepower this way so you normally see things like 60/40 when talking jet outboards meaning you are only getting 40 HP of water jets when the head is a 60 HP engine. Shifting is just a cup around the jet, so for jetboats, backing up is really inefficent, and neutral shoots the water down. Contrary to inboard jets that clean the rocks out with a stomp grate, you usually can just lift the leg of an outboard and inspect, pull the impeller, or clean it out which is sometimes handy.

LOL.

That's a sweet boat eh! Wonder what it would cost new?

[ROA]

I dont think you can buy that boat new, looks like a Lake boat with an outboard jet put on it, I could be wrong though. Some guys go that route and add a tunnel to the bottom of the hull and mabey a bit of UMHW or a bit of extra plate to beef the bottom up.

If you are looking to go with an outbord jet Wooldridge makes some good boats, some flat nosed and others v shaped.

One of the best value for dollar is the little Explorer 162 but they are flat bottomed and not so good on the lakes. Probably one or two of those on Kijiji right now, and thier made in Edmonton.

[Positrac]

I wouldn't buy an outboard jet without a tunnel.

I had a 14' Jon boat with a 25hp Merc 2-stroke jet and it did pretty good but the first thing to hit was the jet pump whenever the water got skinny.

The Explorer 162 dual console is a nice boat and cheap to run. I found they didn't have a lot of room in them and that is why I kept a look out for a 166. Wider beam with a lot more open space. It also has a full height transom so if I loose power I'm not likely to fill the boat up if I'm in some nasty stuff.

Lots of different boats out there and with all of them you gain in some areas and lose out in others. I really wanted a Harbercraft Extreme but it would have cost me another $30,000 for a good used one so my cheapness won out. :)