I grew up on v-drives and my first two boats were v-drives. And I’ve always heard and even have said for many years, if you want to go fast get a prop boat. I’ve been a jet boat owner for a couple years now. Most of that time was restoring the boat. I have a north of mild bbc which is fairly the same set up as my last v-drive and the v-drive definitely responded better, easier to control and was faster. Now the last piece to my jet boat is a pump rebuild as it’s pretty worn out.

My question is, if you take a v-drive and a jet boat with the exact power plant, what does the jet boat need to do to be competitive with the v-drive. That question of course is my thoughts that pound for pound a v-drive will out perform a jet. Not here to cause an argument, I’m seriously looking to get the most of what I have. Any input would be greatly appreciated


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Yeah I’ve had a great time with the jet. I originally bought it to restore it, have fun with it and see the differences between v-drives and jets. I’m going to be sending my pump to place diverter to have them rebuild it. I’m wondering what type of pump work needs to be done to get more bite. I’m having a bit of cavitation now but the pump is pretty worn. I currently have a Berkeley jc and wondering if I should switch the bowl to a jg so I could get a droop. Pretty new to the jet world


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Ride plate? Is that directly under the pump? My boat actually has cavitation plates. They just don’t adjust like a v drive ie lockout lever or down pedal.


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Thanks for the clarification. Does my cav plate do the same type of thing or should I ditch it and go with a ride plate or both??


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Soooooo , first question that should be asked is how much rpm u running wot??? That’s where u want to start , that will tell u what impeller u are running , 4200-4500 rpm with stock 454 that will tell u that u have a AA or A cut impeller. 
Split bowl will give u more options for Diverter stuff . Droop , HPH . Ride plate , insert nozzle . Then u could get an inducer to help pre load the impeller. Next would be a shoe for the intake . And loader . It’s a tuning game with jets . Have to set it up for the hull u are running . Best way is to talk to Tim place and tell him what u want the boat to run and he will point u in the right direction. As for V-Drives . They rule lol .


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Like having a tournament ski prop on a hotrod flatty. It works, but isn't ideal.

It's like comparing apples to French poodles.

"The power is in the pump"

In certain drag racing classes, jets routinely line up with V-drives, and it's all up to the driver. No clear advantage.
V-drive guys don't like hearing about that.

On the river, in my experience, a few v-drives had their asses handed to them by a (my) ditch pump.
Likewise, I've seen the transom of more than one v-drive. (My junk only gps'd 72 mph)

The one clear advantage is cubic dollars- how fast can you afford to go?

That's all I got.

Dan'l

Lol loved that comment bro . When I run with some of u jet guys they get me out of the hole and get 100-200 feet on me and then I run them down lol . I will run with most guys unless I know the set up lol but if I see a BIG ASS blower then it’s meh it’s cool u less they will run a mile straight then I will . My sled loves chop lol more chop the faster she runs


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Thanks for all the info, much appreciated. I spoke with Tim Place and he’s going to get me squared away. At the moment I have a fairly mild 454 BBC, however, the plans are to put some anger into it. I guess what I was really looking for, being that I was raised on that v-drive attitude, I was contemplating on if a jet could be competitive with a v-drive.... hypothetically speaking same engine/hull set up with the only difference is pump and v-drive. I’ve always heard that if you want to go fast in a jet you have to throw more money at it than a prop drive. It looks like the money going into the jet is money well spent. You guys definitely nailed what I was looking for, thanks guys


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