These days, people have come to appreciate the value of tiny things, as the diminutive house trend, which is often linked to the world of wheels, can easily demonstrate. Nevertheless, the pint-sized contraption we have here today only needs wheels to get to its watery universe. Welcome to a micro jet boat built by the pair of YouTubers over at the Grind Hard Plumbing Company.
The idea of the builders was simple: put together the least amount of jet boat required to cater to the navigation needs of an adult. Well, this is more about getting the giggles than going from A to B on water, but we’ll get back to that.
How jet boats work and what sets this tiny one apart
Unlike conventional boats, where the propeller needs to be lowered into the water to move the craft about, jet boats can navigate much shallower waters. That’s because they generate propulsive thrust by sucking water into a jet unit where a propeller forces it out, thus pushing the craft forward—this part of is integrated into the body of the watercraft rather than sitting below it.
And since the thrust is directed at a steering nozzle to turn the contraption around, one has to remember to work the throttle when wishing to steer (more on this in the video below).
Returning to this machine, it features a Kawasaki 750cc double-carb engine lifted from a jet ski (hey, somebody strapped a Polaris RZR to a pair of jet skis). The motor delivers 100 hp in its current form, this tiny boat has plenty of muscle. For the record, the watercraft is just six feet long (182 cm) and, as for its width, we can tell you that the dashboard is only 2 feet (60 cm) wide.
Grind Hard Plumbing Co’s Edwin and Ethan are all about unusual builds on a budget
Now, Edwin Olding and Ethan Schlussler, who own the Grind Hard Plumbing Co YouTube channel, are not actual plumbers (it’s the social media way, though). Instead, these builders like to whip up all sorts of wacky contraptions (e.g., Power Wheeled-skinned go-karts), but that’s just half the magic.
The rest comes from their easily relatable M.O. which involves keeping the budget in check and constantly improving one’s fabrication techniques—they’ve also polished their video editing, so you’ll get an awesome carboard-to-aluminum transformation in the clip below.
The guys, whose channel sat at 1.46M subscribers at the time of press, have been working on what they introduced as “the world’s smallest 100 hp jet boat” for about three months now. And the time has come for the toy to enjoy its maiden voyage.
The guys hauled the craft with a 6×6 Ford Ranger they had put together
And, after being being hauled on the back of the 6×6 Ford Ranger (have you seen the world’s first 2022 Toyota Tundra 6×6?) built by Grind Hard Plumbing Co, the boat reached its playground—for the record, this second-gen mid-size Blue Oval truck also features six-wheel steering, so it can handle off-roading bits like a champ.
However, you shouldn’t expect any open sea adventures, at least not yet. For now, Edwin and Ethan are sticking to a small pond, so watching the watercraft turning around is a bit like seeing some high-grade swimming pool acrobatics, but with the help of a screaming Kawasaki motor.
Now, that exhaust needs a bit of extra work, while water leaks are still present. But this is precisely why the boys created the channel, so we expect to see the 100 hp micro jet boat fully polished and hitting a larger body of water soon.
