In November I was able to find and purchase a 6 meter avon searider. I had been looking for one for a long time. I was ready to take a 1000 mile road trip to pick one up, when this fell in my lap right near my house! Fate.
It's been a long winter just staring at it, and not being able to do work on it for the majority of that time. Now that its starting to warm up a bit, i've been able to do some work. There were alot of unanswered questions, but the important things were that the tubes held air, the deck and transom were solid, and the motors had perfect compression. When i got it, it was a complete mess. It had been sitting for 6 years, unused. There was a whole bunch of gunk (like 1/4 inch thick in spots) caked on the back of the deck near the VRO, and under the dash by the batteries. Over the course of 4 or so months, I have disassembled and completely cleaned the boat. I've replaced some stuff, but the majority of it (once the crap was cleaned off of it) is in great condition. The twin 70's now look almost brand new, and run fantastic- yes I am going to paint the covers. It will be a few more weeks at least til she's ready for the water.
Stuff I've done so far-
Many, Many, Many hours of cleaning (i'll post more before and after pics)
New Seastar helm, new seals in steering ram
there were bees nests inside the engine covers, and LOTS of these damn stink bugs that have invaded the Northeast in the past few years.
Remove and plug VRO, rebuild all carbs. The VRO had failed and filled the carbs with oil. This might be why the thick oily goop was all over the boat. I guess thats better than them sitting empty or with old gas.
New powerpack, replace misc wiring and some new SS hardware. New waterpumps, lower unit oil.
I contacted the Durajet people to inquire about the maintenance of the jets, and they spec out ok. I struck up a conversation about the boat and it turns out the guy I talked to had actually built this boat for the USMC as a test boat for their durajet contract. Interesting..
Thanks guys, yea the one cowling says 60 but they are indeed 70hp. I plan on doing a self righting bag setup in the future but I definitely am still in the "lets see what we got here phase"
These jets should not lose alot of power up top (maybe a few percent) and should help the hole shot tremendously. This is the info im gathering on them but ill have to wait and see what it can actually do.. warm weather should be a few weeks away..
Man you just do not see many of these (boats) with outboard jet pumps. I personally have only seen one myself. Do you know how long these were available? Interesting setup, I hope it works out well for you.
Would it be the case that because the nozzles are quite a small diameter (assuming theres a full prop inside the case) that the thrust must be quite high .. so the engine must be highly loaded ?
Man you just do not see many of these (boats) with outboard jet pumps. I personally have only seen one myself. Do you know how long these were available? Interesting setup, I hope it works out well for you.
They are still available in smaller sizes and i think the 70 is still available too. They are manufactured by ACT in Orlando, whom handles the military contracts. All other sales are handled by Premier Marine, and they service them too.
It's a bit different to a full prop and I believe that the water is counter-rotated so that there is no torque effect upon exit, although from the diagram I cannot really see how this could be.
Edit: Looking at it again the red one looks a bit like a normal prop?
It's a bit different to a full prop and I believe that the water is counter-rotated so that there is no torque effect upon exit, although from the diagram I cannot really see how this could be.
Edit: Looking at it again the red one looks a bit like a normal prop?
The red there is the impeller. Everything else is stationary. Ill post a few pics to give you a better idea..
cool .. so you have reverse too .. I wonder how efficient they are compared to props ? .. and issues such as weed and stones getting caught in the turbine area ? cavitation etc... Also would the gearcase need to be a different ratio ? sorry questions questions, just I am interested by the design
No problem, i just learned about them too. They are supposed to lose a bit top end (not anywhere near a normal jet- maybe only a few mph) but low end they give alot more thrust so the hole shot is considerably faster. They say if weeds get in, just reverse and its supposed to clear them easily. Also, its a stock gearcase with (I think) stock gears.
I'm definitely not an expert on these. You can call Premier Marine, and the guys there are very helpful. I'm sure theyll be able to answer more technical questions as well. Here is their contact info copied from their website.
In November I was able to find and purchase a 6 meter avon searider. I had been looking for one for a long time. I was ready to take a 1000 mile road trip to pick one up, when this fell in my lap right near my house! Fate.
.....
Can't wait to get it on the water...
Just one pic for now, MANY more to come!
That is one SWEET boat! I love it. Please keep the pics coming.
Into the Red
Ro Row
.. so you have reverse too .. I wonder how efficient they are compared to props ? .. and issues such as weed and stones getting caught in the turbine area ? cavitation etc... Also would the gearcase need to be a different ratio ? sorry 
questions questions, just I am interested by the design
