1973 Southwind

Phil.....You should buy that SW. Very cool, and unique boat. AND, since it is so impractical to have two boats, I will just go ahead and take that sweet '76 off your hands. I mean NOBODY has more than one CC

Seriously, the SW is cool. Probably not too practical as has been pointed out.   I remember as a kid growing up in Indiana, I used to see the Beuhler jets all over the place. Impractical, but, cool. I remember one day some guys next to us on the beach that got a ski rope wrapped up in the jet pump. I think that is the day I learned to cuss., :).

davidg wrote: I remember one day some guys next to us on the beach that got a ski rope wrapped up in the jet pump. .

Been there done that. Had a jet boat in the 80s



Wrapped the rope once. At the river, there is no easy access to the impellor, Need a knife. .Cut it out in about 4-inch sections. Great fun.

A buddy of mine learned how to cuss just a few days after buying his Beuhler Turbocraft.

Pete - I wonder how much turbulence (aka cavitation) that clean-out port creates? Reason I ask is that I could really use that feature on my jetjon.

When stuff gets stuck in the impeller, it won't pump faster than idle. It doesn't take much either.    

I could cut the port & fiberglass in a sealing flange, like the picture.

Thanks for the info Pete!    I can envision the cap being a plug shape so there is no hollow space in the tunnel.

Haven't sucked up any ski ropes yet :)

1 time it picked up a pc of flostsam & the impellar caught it just wrong, sliced into it & it stuck in the pump. Had to take the grate off to get it out. (back home of course)

Another time I ran up onto a gravel bed & got a rock in between the blades. I had installed a 'scoop' style grate to help with caviation issues. Didn't think about this until the rock incident but the spacing on the scoop grate's tines is wider than the pitch of the impeller . . Hmm maybe the designers had a good idea on the OEM grate which had tine spacing smaller than pitch.

Anyway on that episode I jacked to boat up on a sand bar log, layed on my back & was able to reach in & get a screwdriver to loosen up the rock.   Good thing it was 90 deg that day.

The next time out I took tools to pull the pump out there on the river bank if need be. Probably would drop screws into the river & then be SOL!

The cleanout would be a good update. Need a new project anyway!

nautique frk wrote: If it had a Berkeley Jet Drive and a big block it might be ok, that is the wimpiest jet pump I have ever seen

Michael,
Who's pump is that in the Southwind? I'm not an expert in any way but with that cleanout, it looks like a Berkeley to me? What makes it "wimpy"? The size?

hi all! I have a southwind jet drive powered by a 351 Holman moody I picked it up for the H/M motor.

Hello pete, ill check today.

when I purchased the boat it was all in pieces and it still is