"My 10c. The biggest differen
"My 10c. The biggest difference is that jet boats lack a fin in the water. Very poor low speed control. Easy to spin if you back off the power in a turn. When crossing waves bigger than just 1 or 2 feet, the boat is inclined to skid up the slope on one side and then skid in the opposite direction down the other side. This behaviour doesn't feel safe at all.
The advantages regarding shallow water etc can be misleading. If you actually run your boat in shallow water, ingestion of rocks and sand off the bottom will have you replacing the impeller and wear ring very fast, once it wears to the point where you are overreving the engine and sucking fuel without much forward motion.
And marine growth can be a curse, particularly nead launching sites in national / state parks. You no sooner get in the water, than you have to go over the side to pull weed out the intake.
I'm though with jets. Thy are better off on PWC for which you don't need expect reliable transportation..
Keith"