WHAT motor for my Berkeley?

Evening everyone

I have a Berkeley jet model 12JC A - H installed in my 24 feet alliminium hull cabin cruiser,my question is,what motor to use with this?
Will a 302 V8 be enough or will i get away with a smaller V8?

 

I know but a little about jets- there are different impellers that work best at different speeds. A vs AA vs AAA if I recall.
And check the rating though I think the JC is good to 400 hp or so.

 

I will mainly do some fishing of the boat and pull a ski or tube every now and then

 

That jet is designed to handle 400 HP and up, depending on impeller. A 302 is adequate, though certainly on the light side, considering what this drive can take. This drive is ideally suited to relatively light boats, say under 5,000 pounds (2,275 kg), so loading shouldn't exceed 25 pounds per HP, for best performance.

 

Thanks Par
I think ive made up my mind,a couple of people told me the 302 will do the job,might even go for a 327 then
Thanks for all the helpfull info guys i appreciate

 

Removing my jet drive tommorow and taking it apart,i will be restoring the old lady,interior and exterior,going for a fun theme,not an elegant look
She must be something different...

 

Will post some photos as i go along

 

Before we began building jet boats, I had purchased a 21 foot aluminum boat with a 460 engine, 330 hp and a 12J A impellor. The boat had a 5 foot chine width, narrow

This boat loaded with 3 guys and 120 gallons of fuel for a few long trips was hard pressed to get up on step, and required about 3400-3600 rpm to run modestly.

Fuel consumption was about 2 1/2to 3 miles per gallon,

When we began building 21 foot boats we went with 12J AAA's normally with a 454 ahead of them and a 6 foot chine width, 454 were about 330 hp as well. With the AAA impellor, we could cruise at 32 mph, 3200 rpm, 8 gallons per hour, for a 4 mile per gallon performance.

I would expect that your 302 with an A impellor in a 24 foot cabin cruiser will give you disappointing performance, High fuel consumption, high RPM,

Later in our process we tried Kodiak 3 Stage, Hamilton 773, then the Hamilton 212,
EFI motors were spec'd at about 320 hp, and by far the 212 was the best pump that we
have installed. With the 5.7, EFI, 212 Hamilton, we would run 32 mph, burn 8 gallons per hour, at about 2900 to 3000 rpm. The biggest advantage of the Hamilton was that they will function with rocks in the grate, ( unlike a Berkley) and also process some gravel on the odd chance you scrape the bottom crossing a bar

(fuel consumptions were taken with Floscan fuel meters, speed off GPS, and speedo

 

Is this the same black pearl jet thread with a new name.

 

Thanks Barry
We will only be using it as a bay boat cruising around,not any extended trips tho,but i will take you advice and have a look at it
Jet drives is hard to come by in South africa so i have to work with what i got
Can you perhaps tell me what kind of wood would be best for exterior trimmings?

 

Same thread but name is still the same,im still really confused as im getting alot of different advice
Im on the brink of opening my first beer!

 

Im even thinking of going for a lexus V8 motor with original harnass and computer box

 

Beer sounds good. So your pretty set on keeping the jet then. You definitely want more power than less. If you go chev you will find it cheaper to marinise because there is so much gear available for them.

 

Hey Brendan

Yes,want to keep the jet,purely for safety also,our lakes can get crowded with swimmers,skiers etc
We have had a couple of bad accidents in the past,not personally me but overall in SA

 

If you have to replace the impellor anyway, try to move up to a AAA and try to get a 300 - 330 hp prox ahead of it. Which most 5.7 efi chevys can do

Wood trim is a lot of work but many manufacturers use teak on the outside because when it fades, you can rejuvenate it with a teak wash and re-oil