January 7 – Yanmar came for a visit yesterday — the engines tested perfectly — 50 mph achieved at 3900 rpm unloaded.  We loaded the boat up and away we went with 23 people — it really boogies — handles waves GREAT and spins EVEN BETTER.  it is all we expected AND MORE!

January 2 — the Turks Caicos boat is in the water — awesome machine — does what it is expected to do — and we expect a LOT!  Gets up and boogies, spins and is very maneuverable.

Watch a Quick and Dirty Video here

598 hp diesel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24 passenger twin engine diesel

December 12 – Turks Caicos is off to Paint — 30′ diesel – twin engine yanmar…what a BEAST

the team

34 knots w/ 24 people

Naples is flying along — USCG is coming to inspect —

Going to Naples FL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 30

Weld Weld Weld — Turks looks close to being ready for paint — we are using a new system — POR 15 — it is 1/2 as good as they say it will be the best stuff EVER!

We’ve mocked the jets in 

Jets are in

turks caicos on it side

Naples is going together rather quickly …I think we are up to three rolls of wire!

Welding away

November 17

How time flies when you are having fun — lots going on … the last of Turks – Caicos hot work and grinding is being done…soon off to paint.

Cruise Naples Florida is on the floor and going together well — Maxwell-Hall has done an excellent job of giving us a well thought out design

November 4th — back from India — what a great experience … the country has changed  a lot in the last 20 years… good roads, lots of new cars and it’s still crowded…

some photos:

Monday October 24 — the welding mission end is almost in sight…

I’m off to India…actually it’s Wednesday here…Dewali …festival of lights…going to train these dudes on how to use a 410 hp chevy engine!

Weld weld weld!

things are going great — more photos…

Monday — Metal  is on the way for the next 24 seater  – 10 degree beast with twin LS3 410 hp…

Now it is time to weld, weld weld,

Jet units due in from Australia in two weeks and the massive Yanmar engines are sitting on the shop floor.

September 16 — sides are on

September 13

Sides go on Turks Caicos and buying metal for Naples tomorrow…the 24 seaters are going together GREAT!

September — India is gone –it has cleared customs …just waiting for our ship!

we also made the news — hot off the press from the Asheville Citizen Times

Jet boat firm builds new tour boats

BRYSON CITY – After six years of building New Zealand-style jet boats and trying to establish a market, Smoky Mountain Jet Boats has hit its stride with sales of tour boats in 2011 to Pensacola, Fla., Gatlinburg, Tenn., Myrtle Beach, S.C., India, Turks & Caicos and Naples, Fla.

The company has been making a 12-passenger boat since 2006 and this year expanded it offerings to include a four-person recreational model that boasts a 410 HP LS 3 Corvette Engine and two models of 24-passenger tour boats.

Visit Smokymountainjetboats.com or call Nick Williams at 421-5796 for more information.

AUGUST — IT IS ALL GO

Aamby Valley goes into the Container on Tuesday … the wrap is printed on going on over the weekend…

Turks 15 degree 30′ 598 hp diesel is underway…. the cutting has come out beautifully…

GATLINBURG IS OPERATING — CHECK IT OUT….YOUTUBE….here is a ride on the French Broad

INDIA should be in the water by the end of the week!

Here is the wrap for india…printing as I type:

Starting construction on Turks Cacaos 30′ 24 passenger 598 hp twin engine Diesel next week — as soon as the metal arrives.  This 15 degree deadrise beast will really get up an boogie.  We are using a pair of Yanmar 299 hp engines in combination with a pair of Doen 100G’s.  The boat will have a bow loading ladder for beach landings.

Cruise Naples has put a deposit down on a 23 +1 25′ tour boat that will be a really light and exciting machine.  Powered by a pair of LS3 corvette engines in combination with a pair of Hamilton 213 jets this 10 degree boat will be an excellent ride.

Been almost 6 weeks without an update — busy as a one armed Paperhanger!

The G-Force Jet Boat is in operation in Pensacola — the USCG in Mobile Alabama has taken the regulations to a whole new level — but through dogged pesistance  and an Accerometer study we have  proven that the Hamilton Spin produces less than 2G’s.

We have sold a boat to Aamby Valley in Pune India — wicked location in a really nice resort – we will be doing training in Mid August.

Gatlinburg will take delivery of their first boat in a week or so – they are going to run it as a 6 pack boat for the rest of the season.  They have a great ride and the 8 degree boat that spins a full 360 will make for a wicked ride!

Our first 24 passenger boat  — a diesel with a twin engine with a pair of doen 100g’s – is under way.  Should be doing sea trials in October…. we have a pending second order for a gas version that should go firm by August 1

Photos soon

nick

The guys from Broadway at the beach are coming up for training on Friday — our first 8 degree boat …out for testing…

keep you posted for updates!

Lots going on!

Myrtle Beach is out of Paint…the JetSpeed 450 is on the water and really fast.  Like really fast…

check out the first run

Bahamas and India are buying boats…Turks and Cacaos is getting a 24 passenger twin diesel powered by a Doen 100G and Yanmar 6lyp…

Check out the Video

4.12 – #14  — our first 8 degree boat is ready for paint…

4.8 – Where does Time go… SMJB #14 is ready for paint (almost)…looking sweet… Build a quick wing and away we go… Most importantly the RecJet 450 is painted… looks WICKED!

3.28

Windscreen

3.21

First bot is off the jig…installing #12 engine..almost done…JetSpeed #1 is almost ready for its final coat.

things are flying along at the shop — metal for 4 boats is arriving tomorrow…#12 parts are here …just a matter of putting them together…#1 is totally rebuilt…

http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/2011/03/the_united_states_of_charlie_s.html 

is amazing…check it out…

The RecJet 450 is going to paint…hoping for a lovely red —

Our stock tour boat now has a lovely wing

February 26 — what a couple of weeks — work shop is full – the first RecJet450 is into paint, #12 is being outfitted for Pensacola, Our boat for Lake Fontana is finished being rebuilt – new electrics, rebuilt jet and overhaul of the engine…

Couple of weeks ago we had David Reemes come do a weld inspection course for us… we are now all certified.  Knarly old dude with one lung…asked him if it was welding that was the reason for bad lungs…he said no — if it felt good he said he did it at least twice!

February 15 — Radical Rides is back from Paint with a very red boat and Billys JetSpeed450 will soon be in the water.  WE just have to figure out how to get the engine to fit into the boat.  410 hp in a 14′ boat will be exciting to say the least.

I went to the PVA conference and to my brothers 3 wedding (as my buddy Tom said “if you don’t make it on your third try you know your a dick….).  Both were very exciting

Feburary 1 — Gatlinburg just signed up for two boats…so our production is pretty full until May or so… We do have one more 12 passenger that could be delivered by May…unless the Guys in India come through…  Very close on a sale of a big boat to the Carribbean ….

Excellent article in the Sunday NY Times :

• • 

  • Extreme New Zealand, a Thrill-Seeker’s Playground

    Blessed with an extraordinary array of cliffs, lakes, rivers and rolling hills, New Zealand is the proving ground for some of the world’s …January 30, 2011 – By ETHAN TODRAS-WHITEHILL – Travel

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/travel/30new-zealand.html?scp=2&sq=new%20zealand&st=cse

January 13 — MYRTLE BEACH IS IN!  finally they have gotten their contract from Broadway (http://broadwayatthebeach.com) — going to be REALLY cool — spinning in the pond with resturants, shops and bars…. 72,000 people a day wandering through… we area working hard to get things done for an April Delivery.

Work has been really slow  — too cold to spray paint on Pensacola …I don’t think that the snow will ever melt…Pictures tomorrow…

January 5 — rockin’ along this week — the Shred Ready Car is out of the shop and up to Adam’s  — freeing up the booth for Radical Rides of Pensacola

Here is Gatlinburg’s Zipline starting point…they are going to land across the river …look closely and you can see the cars…quite a flight!

January 3 – back in saddle with too much to do — sent the JetSpeed 450 off to the scales and it comes in (just the hull) at a whopping 520 lbs.  being light means being FAST!.  The auction on Ebay ends tonight and alas the SALE is over!  Price are HIGHER!

Billy’s boat is looking good with its new engine hatch.  He is working hard to buy his engine.

Radical Rides of Pensacola is getting a custom seating module with an individual drivers seat.

Gatlinburg has expanded their plan to a three boat operation, sky bridge over the French Broad and an AWESOME zip line that looks like it is about 5 miles long….Coming on Tuesday to pick colors….

December 21 — Adam is working hard to get the engine hatch built on the first REC JET — looking great — definately have a Dance Party on it…

Got the paperwork done on Pensacola — looking good…Radical Rides is going to have a bright RED 12 passenger boat for their spring season!  great Christmas present!

December 15 — Hard to get the rec boat and tour boats into paint when it is getting down to 6 degrees….spent last week doing a test run again in Gatlinburg — even in the freezing cold (it was well below freezing) the ride was AWESOME.  just a few seconds from the docking point it feels like you are really out in the wilderness.  Working on some design changes that will make the boat fit to their needs perfectly.  Watch out Shotover –this will be one of the largest operations in the world in just a few short years – 12 million visitors a year and they are BORED to death!

The 7m “Big Boat” plans have been reviewed by an independent certified engineer and re submitted to the Marine Safety Center — should be around a month for them to mark it as “approved”  it has been a long an arduous journey…killer design … give me a call and we can review over the plans via a go to meeting — give me a ring to schedule an appointment

AS of December 1 prices have gone up and are reflected on the “rec boat page” — if you chat with me soon on the second hull we will honor the old prices…. it looks as if everything is going up 10% or so as the marine industry recovers from the bottom….

More Rec boat photos

Radical Rides of Pensacola Florida are next in line for a boat — using an LS3 with a HJ 212 jet unit…Looking forward to delivering their boat in March of 2010….

Here are some concepts of wrap jobs that we have recently done:

Lots of views of our recboats on EBAY — our first client is getting the biggest, baddest engine possible …decided to use flo tec out of asheville to build him an LS 3 that will produce some serious HP….More later…

The joys of dealing with the USCG has pushed us in the direction of building a “6pac” boat where the operator won’t have to deal with the regulations of having a T-Boat — we are in the drawing phases with Eric of JetSpeed on a 151/2′ boat that will do an awesome spin and carry 4 folks in the back seat and two plus a driver in the front — all for the $70k range… give us a call and be the first!

Our second rec boat is up for sale!  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110607416697

Our Website lists the price for a hull as 8750 … well …that just can’t last… it seems that prices of aluminum are going up …so I guess that we will, after the month of November go up in price about $1250 dollars…

Gatlinburg has signed a contract for one boat and option on two more…. the best location EVER!!!

MONDAY — really trucking along as tomorrow is Eric’s last day… #2 is well under way and #1 has the Scott Jet unit installed…the hulls have turned out REALLY strait…

BEEN at it for a week now …not bad since they started welding on Sunday….

In chatting with Eric on the capabilities — 78 mph — will pull 1.5 G’s on acceleration and probably 5 on turning…

The hull along should weigh around 500 lbs…all up with engine around 1500 lbs…the wife will want you to buy one as you can run over the kids… no propellers…just a jet!

we are now building a couple of REC Jets — Eric is here from New Zealand and we are away building 2 boats in 10 days — it is only Tuesday and they have a big jump on it…they might actually get it done…

Portugal has two locations and needs two boats delivered as soon as possible….hoping for the call today!

Pensacola came to visit…liked the boat and bought two Yamaha Jet Motors…

Waiting on Hotsprings for later in the week!

just got back from the best location in the Southeast — lovely river just outside Gatlinburg — they have the marketing and logistics in place — we are working on a deal for three boats…no question that 3 is the minimum they need….so over half our production for the next 6 months is almost TAKEN!  Finally it seems that, with the amount of interest we are getting form sophisticated buyers, that we are selling a bunch of tour boats…..

Eric from New Zealand is arriving next week to assemble our first two Rec boats — Billy – our first rec boat customer is using a Scott jet pump with a LS3 engine …should do about 78 mph… pictures next week.

Our “big boat” plans — we have the PE has reviewed the plans — so the USCG should approve the boat very shortly…..be the first and get a BIG discount!

Fall is here

October — Yes — I screwed up HUGE! — You might have noticed that the website was down — like totally crashed…. yes…I pushed too many buttons…

Thankfully my Lovely wife Maria was able to fix things for me…we are now back up and running…

Eric from New Zealand is over in a couple of weeks to start our first two “rec” boats …Metal is ordered as is the jet unit…

We will be posting the progress on these two awesome machines….

September –

The metal is ordered …Eric is coming from NZ and we are getting ready to order  Scott Jet pump for our first recreational builds — the little beast will boast a top speed of over 70mph… we have one hull that is not spoken for…be the first kid on the block…

We will keep you posted…

The river is out so we now have about 1mile of whitewater to run…pretty exciting to see how skinny of water a tour boat can go in…

The “season” is over for Jet Boats — Now it seems that we have lots of people wanting to buy jet boats…we are starting our first couple of rec boats in less than a month…Just got back from a tour of Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach — we have a client that wants to put a boat in the pond there — it is sorta a shopping mall (the guy who sells fish food grosses $250k a year) with a lake in the middle — shoppertainment is probably where it is at… the management loved it…nice, quiet and thrilling…

Lots of interest from Florida — especially in our big boat …which is up in DC being reviewed by the Coasties…

check out the photos…

August 23

Wow — the trouble with the working in the tourist industry is that a month can fly by and I can’t remember anything other than telling the same silly jokes 5 to 10 times a day.

We have had a great season – up 20% to 25% from ’09 (even up from ’08).  Thanks to Claudine and John I was able to go out west and do a Main Salmon Raft trip during a really busy week — great to have great staff….Speaking of great staff — Adam and Justin in the shop have done a great job keeping SMJB 1 working through the season — we only had 1/2 day all year where we lost business due to breakdowns — a broken reverse cable — quickly fixed and if I had listened to Adam we would have replaced over the winter…

The Big Boat Plans are in being reveiwed by the USCG in Washington by the MSC — unfortunatly Jarrod the designer has too sophisicated computer software for the USCG — he has to send in calculations in pencil!

Wally in Big Bear is sending in Great Reports — as well as Amadeu in Portugal (after a big battle he is running great guns in Oporto).

We start Billy’s REC BOAT in October….

July 2010

End of July is in sight — been very busy –

We had a visitor from the Caribbean who is going to be the first buyer of our big boat and after a good discussion with Jarrod Hall of Maxwell-Hall and Frank at Doen we have decided that the best match for his area is a Pair of Doen 100G in combination with a pair of  Yanmar 6LPA-STP2.  These state of the art diesels produce a whopping 300 + horsepower with a weight of chevy Big Block….

Can’t believe that July is half way through !!! The Jet Boat rides are going very well — lots of good reviews (see below)….so far we are up 30

30% from last year and the first half of July is looking great — we just need the weather to continue to be nice….

We have sold one Rec Boat Hull and the buyer is off working hard to get money for us to install a Scott Jet unit…we have it scheduled for production in early September when Eric from Jet Speed is coming over to give us a hand…. if someone ponies up before he gets here we will do a free install…Give me a ring

Here is our latest review:

Smoky Mountain Jet Boats

My wife and I are (ahem) over 65 and weren’t quite sure if this was our kind of thing to do, but after a slow historical train ride, well, a little excitement would be welcome indeed. A quick 13 minute drive from Bryson City landed us at their front door. Got the life preserver, then onto the shuttle with several families (ages pre-teen to 60ish), and a few minutes later put out from the dock.

After a few bursts of speed and a few fancy spins, my wife and I agreed this was a GREAT idea. The pilot was fantastic. Knew exactly how to handle the boat for maximum thrills and maximum safety. In-between the speed bursts and spins, there was a fascinating historical description of the waterways, and unique features that was much appreciated.

Sit in the front if you want a minimum of spray; back of the boat for top thrills. We sat in the middle for a bit of each. We’re coming back next year for another ride, this time in the back.

June 2010

Jet boat rides are in full swing — drive, drive drive…

End of June and we are doing 30% more than last year…changing the oil every 10 days….

We are now working on the cut files for our 24 passenger boat — it really looks amazing — a beast of a machine that is very durable but will really get up and boogie…

worked up a price list for our REC boats — if you are the second buyer … you get free “install” of your components:  Give me a ring to discuss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Smoky Mountain 450 Jet Speed Aluminum Boat – 14′ 7″		Basic	Delux
Hull	5083, 5052,5085 marine grade aluminum 4mm,5mm and 10mm	$8,750.00	$8,750.00	$8,750.00
paint	marine grade paint & control tac graphics	$3,150.00	$3,150.00	$3,150.00
components	full instrument panel (tac w/ hour meter, volt, fuel, oil, temp),12v receptacles, 2x 1100 rule bilge pump, high water alarm, hull lined with carpet, high water alarm, 2x fire extinguisher, bench back seats, bucket race seats, full road cover, horn, lights, vhf radio, 20 gallon gas tank	$7,478.00	$7,478.00	$7,478.00
Jet Unit	Hamilton Jet hj 212 w/ close couple	$7,250.00	$7,250.00
	Scott jet	$9,650.00		$9,650.00
	American Turbine	$6,300.00
Engine
	KEM Vortec 6000 375 hp	$11,200.00	$11,200.00
	KEM Vortec 6000 Super Charged 504 hp	$13,500.00
	KEM V6 LSA Super Charged	$17,375.00		$17,375.00
	Mast Motor Sports LY6 Iron block 400 hp	$14,200.00
	Mast Motor Sports LY6 Iron block 500 hp	$15,200.00
	LS3 Aluminum block 450 hp	$15,200.00
	LS3 Aluminum block 500 hp	$16,200.00
	LS3 416 550 hp	$22,000.00
	LS3 416 550 hp – all the bling	$25,300.00
OPTIONS
	Auto Fireboy Clean agent fire extinguisher	$425.00		$425.00
	Stereo w/ I pod doc	$750.00		$750.00
	Ski pole	$175.00
	Ski tower	$750.00
	All Aluminum Road King Trailer	$3,600.00		$3,600.00
	Gas Fume Detector	$220.00		$220.00
	Installation	$6,250.00	$6,250.00	$6,250.00
			$44,078.00	$57,648.00
Please Note	items in purple must be bought with kit
	Warrantee – 5 yrs on hull, 1 year on components
	30% down on full boat on order, 30% after hot work, final pmt on delivery
	100% down on hull only
	50% down on kit

Helicopter mechanic Billy came to visit over the weekend — HE IS GOING TO BE OUR FIRST RECREATIONAL BOAT BUYER….starting out with a hull and by the time he gets off work in October he will hopefully have the dosh to finish it off!

we are really excited about the project and will post things….

Summer is starting to hit us…lots of riders…just need better weather

wrapping went much faster …. out of action for a day and a whole new look!

The memorial weekend was huge — our biggest ever even with a bad weather forecast  — Maria is currently wrapping #1 with 3M control Tac — the design look GREAT — pictures to follow later today.  We have a  client coming to visit to purchase a rec boat on Friday — The plan is, if we can come to deal, to build the boat strait away … so who knows…maybe the little rocketship will be on the water in july… we have various engine packages that we are working on…. it all boils down to how much you want to spend and how fast you want to go…

May 2010 — Big Bear California is up and running — SMJB #10 is a sweet machine.

Here is what Wally has to say about his boat:  “Nick….I put the boat in the Lake Saturday for some practice and ended up taking 10 friends out for an hour! Could not be more happy with the boat. No problems at 35mph into pretty strong chop with wind blowing 20 mph. Got the maneuvers down and love the way she handles. I guess I will have to let Brian have it back and go do my parasailing.”

We now have a design for a small boat 4 seater that will be a rocket ship…bare hulls will be for around $8000, complete boats fro $45k to $70k depending on jet unit engine combinations….

Currently we are working on SMJB 12 & 13 – both have had their weld inspections — just waiting for color and engine choice….

Also this month we got a new machine – I’m not sure what it does but it was built in 1954 — and works perfectly

March 2010  — MY FIRST BLOG POST

As it snows, closing schools, making it so that the kids are once again terrorizing the cat, dog, mom and dad….

I hope for warmer weather and the opportunity to test our latest creation headed to Big Bear Lake California.  Smoky Mountain Jet Boat #10 will be ready for sea trails early in April.  We will be using a KEM equipment 8.1 liter engine in combination with a Hamilton 212 jet….Also instead of Paint we will be using a new 3M system for boats similar to vehicle wrap called Control TAC. See:  (http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Graphics/Scotchprint/Solutions/Applications/Fleet-Vehicle/)

Progress is flying along on our 24 seater — should be ready for submission to the USCG very soon…. call if you want more info

We are currently working on 2 – 12 seaters — with a few more CAD changes things are fitting together very tighly…

here are some photos:

If you are looking for some really good music please visit our buddy’s website:

http://tomkimmel.com/ .  Tom is amazing and I highly recomend his poetry or see him live if you can

As for movies — Man on the Wire is the best movie I have seen in FOREVER!

http://www.manonwire.com/

New For this year for jet boats is more hiking trips — guided hikes out of deep creek in the mornings….

New uses for duct tape, kids and a snow storm:

March 15

We are making great progress on SMJB 12 & 13 — I don’t think that Adam will like it but I think we are going to make our inspection date for #10 (still waiting on parts!) and weld inspection on the others…

Been working with a nice fellow who is thinking of opening on Lake Santeela …he’s at the bank!

It seems that if I am in the shop I just slow things down so I’m going with the family to Panama for spring break.  We are looking at a few places that will be awesome for jet boating.

Here are some photos of Adam installing the jet unit….

Also included are some photos of some work we did for Bryson Cities FIRST BREW PUB….opening soon!

May 8 — after a long struggle we have switched our ISP to Go Daddy – hopefully less down time and no lost emails…. more importantly we sent Wally and Brian to California with their new boat.  Maria use 3M control tac 180c instead of paint… Man the boat looks AWESOME and goes even better….

We are busy doing rides and the lake is totally full…..

Plans for the “big boat” are ready for submission