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Author Topic:   Educate me about the Whaler Rage

Agntvbb posted 08-25-2011 12:53 AM ET (US)
I live on an uncharted part of the Mississippi. Well, on the edge of the charted Mississippi at mile 862.6. It's pretty much uncertain waters. The guys that run full season around here run jet propulsion due to the risk of rocks and shifting sand and gravel banks.
I have seen a few Whaler Rage boats come up on the local market but I'm not really sure what to make of them. A jet boat would be good on my stretch of the river but they seem to have issues. Any comments?

Waterwonderland posted 08-25-2011 09:09 AM ET (US)
Much has been posted about the Rage on this site and I have a general search link posted below. The boats themselves have been well liked but the durability of the jet drives has been the issue and the OMC versions in particular.
http:/ / www. google. com/ custom?domains=continuouswave. com& q=rage& s a=Google+ Search& sitesearch=continuouswave. com& client=pub-16400578866 36051& forid=1& ie=ISO-8859-1& oe=ISO-8859-1& safe=active& cof=GALT%3A%2 3008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3A FFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT% 3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A27%3BLW%3A100%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fcontinu ouswave. com%2Fwhaler%2Fgraphics%2FcontinuousWhalerLogo275x75. gif%3BS%3 Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fcontinuouswave. com%2F%3BLP%3A1%3BFORID%3A1& hl=en
Waterwonderland posted 08-25-2011 09:14 AM ET (US)
I should have added that I found a couple of excellent Rages in my area at a good price. I was wary of dealing with the jet drive issues so I bought a used 15' sport instead which turned out to have some issues with the outboard anyway:(
Robert V posted 08-25-2011 09:23 AM ET (US)
Another option may be a 13-15 foot Whaler with a jet-drive outboard. If you can find a good hull, there are jet-drive outboards available from a number of retailers. Typically, I see most of these are Mercury outboards and a few Yamaha.
boatdryver posted 08-25-2011 10:48 AM ET (US)

"A jet boat would be good on my stretch of the river but they seem to have issues. Any comments?"
Agntvbb, this hasn't been my experience at all
Out West, jet propulsion is the norm for fishing rivers with shallow rapids.
For at least a couple of decades the two standard rigs have been a heavy gauge welded aluminum boat (which can have a very comfortable interior) with either an automotive V8 or V6, or an outboard motor with a jet pump, depending on the size of the boat.
Thousands of these rigs are used daily by guides and ordinary boat people like me. I owned one with a GMC V8 and had zero problems for 6 years.
They work fine for tubing and skiing as well. Since the exhaust has to be above water, the noise is higher. the inboard V8's can be muffled but not the outboards.
The people I talked to who used outboard jets said one loses about 25% of the horsepower with a jet drive so the horsepower of the motor needs to be higher, and they tend to run at higher rpm than a prop setup barely up on plane.
JimL
Tohsgib posted 08-25-2011 11:38 AM ET (US)
The boat to find is the Rage 18 whihc had a ford V8 hooked up to a real jet. The rage was a fad(they invented that type of boat) but the OMC 115 outboard blocks seem to be the sore spot as they did not perform that great so people rode them HARD. The 175 bring a large premium over the 115 as it is a 175 Mercury block and they fly. Parts are expensive for the 175's and many are NOT interchangeable with the outboard even though you would think so. Ii would prefer a classic 15 with a jet outboard but fiberglass still goes crunch if you hit a rock. The OMC 150 powerhead only made 105 jet HP so it does rob a lot of ponies.
Agntvbb posted 08-25-2011 11:07 PM ET (US)
I considered the Yamaha 40 HP jet for the repower on my 13 sport, but it's based on a 60 HP powerhead and would have been too heavy for the boat. I don't boat on the river all the time, but when I do, I worry about spinning a prop and getting stuck somewhere. Maybe a little too much.
Tohsgib posted 08-26-2011 09:18 AM ET (US)
My 40hp Suzuki weighs 240 and so does the E-Tec. How heavy was the jet?

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Author	Topic: Educate me about the Whaler Rage
Agntvbb	posted 08-25-2011 12:53 AM ET (US) I live on an uncharted part of the Mississippi. Well, on the edge of the charted Mississippi at mile 862.6. It's pretty much uncertain waters. The guys that run full season around here run jet propulsion due to the risk of rocks and shifting sand and gravel banks. I have seen a few Whaler Rage boats come up on the local market but I'm not really sure what to make of them. A jet boat would be good on my stretch of the river but they seem to have issues. Any comments?
Waterwonderland	posted 08-25-2011 09:09 AM ET (US) Much has been posted about the Rage on this site and I have a general search link posted below. The boats themselves have been well liked but the durability of the jet drives has been the issue and the OMC versions in particular. http:/ / www. google. com/ custom?domains=continuouswave. com& q=rage& s a=Google+ Search& sitesearch=continuouswave. com& client=pub-16400578866 36051& forid=1& ie=ISO-8859-1& oe=ISO-8859-1& safe=active& cof=GALT%3A%2 3008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3A FFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT% 3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A27%3BLW%3A100%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fcontinu ouswave. com%2Fwhaler%2Fgraphics%2FcontinuousWhalerLogo275x75. gif%3BS%3 Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fcontinuouswave. com%2F%3BLP%3A1%3BFORID%3A1& hl=en
Waterwonderland	posted 08-25-2011 09:14 AM ET (US) I should have added that I found a couple of excellent Rages in my area at a good price. I was wary of dealing with the jet drive issues so I bought a used 15' sport instead which turned out to have some issues with the outboard anyway:(
Robert V	posted 08-25-2011 09:23 AM ET (US) Another option may be a 13-15 foot Whaler with a jet-drive outboard. If you can find a good hull, there are jet-drive outboards available from a number of retailers. Typically, I see most of these are Mercury outboards and a few Yamaha.
boatdryver	posted 08-25-2011 10:48 AM ET (US) "A jet boat would be good on my stretch of the river but they seem to have issues. Any comments?" Agntvbb, this hasn't been my experience at all Out West, jet propulsion is the norm for fishing rivers with shallow rapids. For at least a couple of decades the two standard rigs have been a heavy gauge welded aluminum boat (which can have a very comfortable interior) with either an automotive V8 or V6, or an outboard motor with a jet pump, depending on the size of the boat. Thousands of these rigs are used daily by guides and ordinary boat people like me. I owned one with a GMC V8 and had zero problems for 6 years. They work fine for tubing and skiing as well. Since the exhaust has to be above water, the noise is higher. the inboard V8's can be muffled but not the outboards. The people I talked to who used outboard jets said one loses about 25% of the horsepower with a jet drive so the horsepower of the motor needs to be higher, and they tend to run at higher rpm than a prop setup barely up on plane. JimL
Tohsgib	posted 08-25-2011 11:38 AM ET (US) The boat to find is the Rage 18 whihc had a ford V8 hooked up to a real jet. The rage was a fad(they invented that type of boat) but the OMC 115 outboard blocks seem to be the sore spot as they did not perform that great so people rode them HARD. The 175 bring a large premium over the 115 as it is a 175 Mercury block and they fly. Parts are expensive for the 175's and many are NOT interchangeable with the outboard even though you would think so. Ii would prefer a classic 15 with a jet outboard but fiberglass still goes crunch if you hit a rock. The OMC 150 powerhead only made 105 jet HP so it does rob a lot of ponies.
Agntvbb	posted 08-25-2011 11:07 PM ET (US) I considered the Yamaha 40 HP jet for the repower on my 13 sport, but it's based on a 60 HP powerhead and would have been too heavy for the boat. I don't boat on the river all the time, but when I do, I worry about spinning a prop and getting stuck somewhere. Maybe a little too much.
Tohsgib	posted 08-26-2011 09:18 AM ET (US) My 40hp Suzuki weighs 240 and so does the E-Tec. How heavy was the jet?