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Ray Hunt Designed Boats with Waterjet Propulsion

Hunt designers have been working with waterjets since the 1970's. During that time we have watched them improve and develop to become a major player in marine propulsion. Waterjets solve a basic problem for much of our waterfront; navigation in shallow water and water that is congested with pot buoys, submerged logs and other nasty stuff that can destroy conventional underwater gear.

Waterjet boats are extremely maneuverable. They can spin on a dime, but controlling their maneuverability can be frustrating for first-time users. Because you are directing 100% of the thrust, a small adjustment to the helm can mean a big change in direction, and so it is harder to keep a nice straight course. The new fully integrated joy-stick and mouse-type controls can be a help, especially when docking. Jets can be more efficient than propellers in higher speed ranges, 35–50 kts, but less efficient down at 15–30 knots. (For very high speeds, surface piercing propellers have the advantage.) Deep-V hulls are the best match for jets. The deep-V’s combination of a long, deep afterbody and shallow, cut-away forefoot give it inherent directional stability, whereas flatter-bottomed hulls with sharp bows tend to skid around or dig the forefoot in and broach.

Hunt deep-V’s have less trouble controlling course-steering when equipped with jets. To go a step further, we have developed our own special trim tabs for jets that add directional stability and counteract the tendency of jets to suck the stern down both at slower speeds and in the transition from displacement speeds to planing. A Hunt deep-V with waterjets can be driven hands-off and she will hold course upwind and down, and with seas on a stern quarter.

  • Ray Hunt Design 21' Production Built Runabout

    1970: 21' Production Built Runabout
    This runabout was designed for Solcio of Italy. It was based on our HiLiner 21 design. Power was exotic for the time, a double overhead cam 4-cylinder Alfa Romeo engine coupled to a Castoldi waterjet.

  • Ray Hunt Design 25' Surfhunter Quien Sabe

    1973: 25' Surfhunter "Quien Sabe"
    This Surfhunter was built by Fairhaven Marine. Powered by a 203hp Caterpillar 3208 V-8 diesel coupled to a Jacuzzi stainless steel 14YJ waterjet. These were the same units used by the US Navy in its riverine patrol boats in Vietnam. This was a big and heavy propulsion system for a small boat. To save weight, we built a cored hull in an early use of Airex foam with little other structure. Top speed was 32 knots. Last heard from, the boat was living in Maine after many years with her original owner.

  • Ray Hunt Design 32' Custom Day Boat Contrail

    1976: 32' Custom Day Boat "Contrail"
    This boat was built by Chester A. Crosby & Sons of Osterville, MA, for a Cape Cod family’s general summer use. Another lightweight Airex-cored hull based on an earlier raceboat hull with only 9’-6” beam, sport fishing-style sheer and full deadrise, Contrail was a great sea boat. Still in service, her original Jacuzzi jets and high output V-8 gas engines were recently replaced by Yanmar diesels and Hamilton jets.

  • Ray Hunt Design 25' Surfhunter Khronos

    1977: 25' Surfhunter "Khronos"
    This Surfhunter 25 was built for a Maine man who wanted a picnic boat that would not snag pot buoys. She was a center console boat that carried a Dyer dinghy on rollers aft. Powered by two 6-cylinder Mercruiser gas engines and Jacuzzi waterjets, she was designed to take owners from their home to offshore islands. The dinghy would be launched, and they would row ashore with their picnic basket onto one of the many uninhabited Maine coast islands. Khronos was the first jet picnic boat in Maine!

  • Ray Hunt Design 87' Patrolboat

    1981: 87' Patrolboat
    This early large waterjet boat was one of the first cored FRP boats built to ABS rules. Hunt Design and Airex AG of Switzerland were pioneering the development of large, light, fast craft. This Thai-built boat made 27 knots with three, 1000 hp Isotta Fraschini diesels and Castoldi waterjets. This design was copied by others and, ironically, the US Navy nearly bought several from Israel as they had a good reputation in the military for performance.

  • Ray Hunt Design 36' High Tech Launch Jet

    1987: 36' High Tech Launch "Jet"
    This boat built by Goetz was appropriately named by her owner, who wanted a fast launch to take him to his lodge and private island on the Lake of the Woods in Canada. The lake’s snags and peat islands just below the surface were tough on the props on his Bertram, so a waterjet was the obvious answer. The design was limited by a boat house - both for size and weight. Forty knots was the speed goal. The answer was a very high-tech lightweight structure by Goetz, modified 425 hp Volvo diesels and Hamilton waterjets. Finishing touches included custom aircraft seats, upholstered with custom dyed leather and arranged theater-style so all aboard could have a good view.

  • Ray Hunt Design US and Foreign Military Patrol Boats

    1990 - Present: US and Foreign Military Patrol Boats
    Ray Hunt Design continues to design patrol boats with waterjet propulsion from 30-60 feet for US and Foreign militaries worldwide.

  • Ray Hunt Design 36' NSW RIB

    1996: 36' NSW RIB
    We designed this boat for the US Navy standard large RIB. These large RIBS are built in FRP by Willard Marine and are now being built in large numbers. Power is twin 370 Cummins diesels and Hamilton jets for a top speed of 38 knots.

  • Ray Hunt Design Honda PWC

    1997: Honda PWC
    Ray Hunt Design won a contract with Honda R&D to test several existing PWCs and develop a new prototype some years before Honda brought a PWC to market, using their superior 4-cycle engines. This was an extensive project that lasted one full summer and into the winter while we tested and built an all new PWC out of parts from another, of course incorporating a new Hunt hull. This is the smallest jet project we have undertaken to date.

  • Ray Hunt Design 107' Aluminum Motor Yacht

    1998: 112' Aluminum Motor Yacht
    This Italian-styled yacht built by Palmer Johnson was the first boat to carry the largest waterjets made by Hamilton. With 16-cylinder MTU diesels, “Mostro” made 30 knots on her large Hunt deep-V hull.

  • Ray Hunt Design and Hunt Yachts Jet Boats

    1999 - Present: Hunt Yachts Jet Boats
    Several jet boats have been built at Hunt Yachts since their beginning in 1998. These include a single-jet 33, twin-jet 36s, a single-jet 29 and others. While we see waterjets as an attractive propulsion option for many yachting requirements, it is certainly not the only one. Given our considerable experience with waterjets as well as with all other propulsion options, we can recommend the right configuration for our clients.

  • Ray Hunt Design 70' Pilot Boat

    2004: 70' Pilot Boat
    This vessel, built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, was designed for the Galveston, Texas pilots, who have since ordered a second vessel of the same kind. This boat uses Cummins KTA 38, 1300 hp diesels and Hamilton 571 waterjets and operates at a service speed of 30 knots.

  • Ray Hunt Design 64' Screening Escort Vessel

    2008: 64' Screening Escort Vessel
    Owned By the US Navy and operated by the US Coast Guard, this series of 12 vessels built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding is designed for naval asset protection and search and rescue. They incorporate Hunt’s latest design thinking, and the newest waterjet technology. Even before the full production run was finished, the boats gained a fine reputation for their speed, ride and handling.

  • Ray Hunt Design 54' Custom Waterjet Express

    2009: 54' Custom Waterjet Express
    Twin Caterpillar C18s (1001 BHP) coupled with Hamilton HJ403 water-jets give a top speed of 36 knots and a cruising speed of 30 knots. Water-jet propulsion means that this vessel will have an operating draft of approximately three feet, or roughly one and one-half feet less than a propeller-driven yacht of comparable size and type. This boat was selected as Southern Boating's Designer's Choice.

  • Ray Hunt Design 75' Fire and Rescue Boat

    2011: 75' Fire & Rescue Boat
    Ray Hunt Design and Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding developed this 75 footer to perform firefighting and rescue missions at the US Army's Sunny Point, NC munitions transport terminal. Hamilton HM-651 waterjets allow precise maneuvering in the presence of underwater obstacles that could damage conventional props. The jet guard structure incorporates a dive/rescue platform, and a separate control station is located on the afterdeck, for use in rescue operations.

  • Ray Hunt Design 42' Semi Custom Flybridge

    2013: 42' Semi Custom Flybridge
    Ray Hunt Design and Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding collaborated to produce this traditional-looking flybridge sedan for use as a tender to an island house, and for light cruising. Waterjet propulsion was chosen for the twin attributes of shoal draft and freedom from entanglement on a coast thickly populated by lobster pot buoys. The large stern platform protects the jets, houses the dinghy with no need for a crane, and provides a convenient place for dockside and water access.

  • Ray Hunt Design 61' Dive Boat

    2013: 61' Dive Boat
    Ray Hunt Design and Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding collaborated to design and engineer this dive boat to the specific requirements of the New York Police Department's Scuba Team. It provides fast response anywhere on the city's many waterways, and with only 3 ft. draft can go places conventional craft cannot.

  • Ray Hunt Design 70' Tactical Response Vessel

    2015: 70' Tactical Response Vessel
    Designed for the NYPD to improve their response capability for a range of law enforcement and emergency situations that might arise in the extensive system of bays, rivers and oceanfront that surrounds New York City.