Question on outboard jet boats

What depth of water, minimum will these boats get up and go in. Still playing with the idea of one. Example you run up a river and for some reason have to come off plane and stop. Now your sitting in 8 inches of water. Do you have to pretty much idle till you get to deeper water before you can get into it to go faster and get on plane?

All depends on the setup... motor hp, weight in the boat, etc. I like to have at least 2' under me when I have several people and a full bait tank. If it's just me in the boat it jumps on plane pretty fast and doesn't need as much water.

I owned a 90HP jet drive (and still have two jetski's). I take on jet propulsion is this, it will allow u to run though very skinny water (at high speed), but like you already said, if you stop all bets are off. Mercury suggest a minimum of 24" under the intake to avoid ingesting rocks or other debris when starting the engine . Remember, just like a jetski, when you crank a jetdrive outboard, it will start drawing water and the more power you apply the more it will draw. Sticks, rocks, old fishing line, you name it will get sucked into the intake. The main advantages over prop drive is navigating thin water. The cons are harder to stir, especially at low speed and loss of power. Prop drive delivers more torque for the same HP.

I run a 150 Yamaha jet outboard on a custom 24 ft SeaArk. I can drive through 4.5 inches of water if I lift my jack plate. This putting along, not on plane. My river is rock bottom. No mud or sand. Running on plane, it will likely run in much less but I will never find out because it would not take long to rip a hole in it. I just take my time and pick my way through where a canoe gets hung up. It does dip lower in the rear when you get on it to get to plane but it does not take much. However it will pick up every peble and rock. I think I could get up on plane with 8 inches of water. Most jets I see, outboard are under powered and fail to get up on plane and then barge/push water. Many do fine until a load, like a bait tank or friends. Mine runs 32 fully loaded. They run in half the water, but use twice the fuel.... and twice as loud. Great for skinny rivers but not ideal for open water. Even in deep water, trash rafts up in the middle of a lake. You will have to go around it. Navigation is great. The motor always pulls forward. I can turn my 24 ft which is actually 26 with the motor, I can turn it around in 27 feet like it spinning on an axis. I can pull the rear one way or the other, forward or reverse. No delay waiting for the prop to quit spinning, because reverse is just a flap.