SoCal Jet Boats
Discussion => The No Wake Zone => Topic started by: Jacuzzi on January 01, 2011, 08:46:49 PM
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???Berkley is far superior of the Jacuzzi. So why can I find that some boat manufactures went back and forth with pump brands?
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Who told you that Berkleys are "far superior" to a Jacuzzi ? What makes the Berkley, Dominator, etc, style pumps more popular is the availability of aftermarket performance parts (loaders, droops, etc, etc). In stock form I dont think there is a noticeable performance difference between a Berkley and a Jacuzzi WJ.
But dont get me started on the Jacuzzi YJ. :thumbdown:
As far as why you see different pumps in the same boats, some companies would let you order your new boat with whatever you wanted in there (even an Olds motor). ;) ;D
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???Berkley is far superior of the Jacuzzi. So why can I find that some boat manufactures went back and forth with pump brands?
Comes down to relationships between Manufacturers and loyalty but also $$$$ , Lots of Mfgs for example used YJs in Big boats (cruisers) because they (YJs) work well at getting big loads up and out of the water . Wjs can be made to work very well , weve spent alot of time with them , the majority of Hondos came with Jacuzzi WJ and Hondo was very competetive in the 70's . Where Berekely had a leg up on Jacuzzi was pressing ahead with R&D and staying in the Market as it began to wane , Small jets became a lesser concern to NAMJ (jacuzzi) in the 80's and forward , thier focus was and is on Tractor jets for Military and Tugs , utility boats etc (again Big $$)I've sold Jacuzzi Parts to Europe , the Coast Guard and even to the Amazon river zone , Belive it or not the performance jet market is a relativeley Small portion of the Jet and Marine market in general ... Funny but the current focus with a few Manufacturers is back to Axial flow jets (like Jacuzzi) that work with small HP .. Tom
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I was told by a friend of mine that was selling boats back in the 70's that the Jacuzzi was considered a premier jet and actually cost more than the Berkeley.
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(even a Ford motor). ;) ;D
Fixed
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I was told by someone who worked for Jacuzzi in their prime that they had a 'blueprinted/machined' pump that they used on their race boats. it was cheaper to manufacture then their production pump and out performed a berk.
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Many Mfg.s would put what ever you wanted in them just to sell a boat. The more performance oriented guys went with Berkley with the exception of Hondo and Sleekraft. We raced a Hondo with a Berkley but we rigged the boat ourselves with Hondo's blessing. Some guys got deals with Bayjet when they were trying to break in. The proof was in the results anything without a blower was 90% Berkley. In KJ Finny had good results with Jacuzzi. Production boats went the way of best marketing I would say.
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I'm just surmising here, but in the heyday of Jet Boats in the 70's, what, close to, or more than, a dozen major boat manufacturers out there and only 2 major pump producers. Panther being around as well, but nowhere near the numbers the other two produced.
Supply/Demand, to my mind, would have probably been a VERY inportant factor. Also why some made even the same hulls with Jacuzzi's AND Berks. Even insert style where the hull is kinda built around the pump. Probably why I've seen almost everything popular with either. Sleek and Hondo were NOT the only ones to throw a Jacuzzi in hulls that would normally sport a Berk. There's more than one example of this on this site. I know of a couple Hallet's with Jacuzzi's and I seem to remember a Sanger quite a while back with one on Craig's List.
Boats can only move out the front door as fast as parts and drives come in the back with an extreme demand like the 70's. The idea was to sell boats, not drives and engines.
Ray