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Interesting build that has mostly convinced me I am not smart enough to build with Aluminium. Ply and epoxy is more work but easier for me to manage. I have just had my trailer sand blasted and it is currently getting dipped. Did you consider that for the jetboat trailer? It looks in need of a little TIC.

OneWayTraffic wrote: ↑Wed Oct 07, 2020 5:26 pm Interesting build that has mostly convinced me I am not smart enough to build with Aluminium. Ply and epoxy is more work but easier for me to manage. I have just had my trailer sand blasted and it is currently getting dipped. Did you consider that for the jetboat trailer? It looks in need of a little TIC.

With the amount of steel in a typical jet boat they are typically only ever used in fresh water. Since the trailer never sees salt water going hot-dip is a big cost with little benefit. The jet boat is actually my Dad's and since he is looking at selling it this summer we wire brushed the surface rust and painted with rust-kill enamel after I replaced the spring hangers. If we were keeping it we would probably rebuild the trailer, that one is fine for a concrete boat ramp but the 155 wide tyres combined with a drop axle mean launching on soft river banks can result in stuckness. It is for that reason most jet boat trailers wil be running falcon or commodore mags with a 225 or 255 tyre instead of the standard galv rims and light commercial tyres.

If I build my jet boat I will also do an alloy trailer. A lot of the builders building a smaller jet boat like I am planning will buy a crashed car (Suzuki Swift, Honda Vitz, or similar) for the engine but also use the hubs, wheels, etc on the trailer. Keeping an eye on Turners damaged vehicle auctions a donor car can often be picked up for less than the engine alone from a wreckers.

Good news and bad news.

Good news is that the build is now finished. I have photos but not on this PC so I will try and upload them later.

Bad news is that the trailer I was planning on using to take the boat to the bach and splash was needed for a house move so the boat couldn't go with me in the end. Splash still to happen. I also found that the outboard I have is no longer running so wil need to do a carb clean and rebuild before I can use.

After all the trailer problems I've decided to re-do the launching trolley I made and modify it to add suspension, lights, etc. and turn it into a road legal trailer. I haven't looked at the rules yet but hopefully the certification process isn't overly strenuous. I know certification for cars is very involved but trailers have always been a bit of an afterthought.

Photo time











I decided not to go to the complexity of hatches and stuff. In the end I just went for a basic hole under the front seat for the anchor locker.


Tote tank for the outboard fits perfectly in the space between the rear buoyancy tanks.

Looks good. Simple, functional and tough the way a kiwi boat should. How much buoyancy room did you put in it?

Nice!!! Jeff

Looking good. Enjoy the splash.

Looking forward to the splash and seeing how it runs.

OneWayTraffic wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:57 am Looks good. Simple, functional and tough the way a kiwi boat should. How much buoyancy room did you put in it?

Centre seat chamber is just over 100L and each of the rear compartments slightly bigger so easily >300L total. 2 of us can lift boat and trailer quite easily and I'd guess weight to be under 100kg so even if one chamber fails there should be double the weight in buoyancy.

Nice to have the garage back after getting 22 months into a 2 week build