Below are PDF versions of some manuals for obsolete waterjet models such as the Colorado, 1031, 750 and 770 series waterjets.  If you have any questions about these manuals, please contact your Regional Manager.

• HJ211 Product Manual

• HJ271 Product Manual

• HJ273 Product Manual

• HJ291 Product Manual

• HJ321 Product Manual

• HJ361 Product Manual

• HJ362 Product Manual

• HJ391 Product Manual

• HJ402 Product Manual

• HS363 Product Manual

• 740 Owners Manual

• 750 Owners Manual  /  750 Workshop Manual

• 770 Owners Manual (Flanged Coupling)  /  770 Owners Manual (Splined Shaft)

• 770 Workshop Manual  /  772 & 773 Owners Manual

• 1011 Owners Manual

• 1031 Owners Manual  /  1031 Technical Guide

• 1300 / 1312 Owners Manual 

• 1313 Owners Manual  /  1341 Owners Manual

• Colorado Explorer Owners Manual  /  Colorado Explorer Technical Guide

• Colorado Junior Owners Manual

• CMU Control System Manual

• HYRC Control System

• HSRX Reverse

Waterjet propulsion has many advantages over other forms of marine propulsion, such as stern drives, outboard motors, shafted propellers and surface drives. These advantages include...

Excellent Manoeuvrability

• Precise steering control at all boat speeds
• "Zero Speed" steering effect provides 360° thrusting ability for docking and holding stationary.
• Sideways movement possible with multiple jet installations.
• High efficiency astern thrust with "power-braking" ability at speed

High Efficiency

• Propulsive coefficients as good or higher than the best propeller systems achievable at medium to high planing speeds
• Flexibility when using multiple waterjets may allow operatorsto continue to operate efficiently on fewer drives

Low Drag and Shallow Draught

• Absence of underwater appendages reduces hull resistance
• Shallow draught - the waterjet intake is flush with hull bottom to allow access to shallow water areas and beach landings with no risk of damage to the drive

Low Maintenance

• No protruding propulsion gear eliminates impact damage or snags
• Minimum downtime and simple maintenance routines

Smooth and Quiet

• No hull vibration, no torque effect and no high speed cavitation gives maximum comfort levels on board
• Low underwater acoustic signature

Total Safety

• No exposed propeller for complete safety around people in the water and marine life

Maximum Engine Life

• Jet unit impeller is finely matched to engine power
• Power absorption is the same regardless of boat speed
• No possibility of engine overload under any conditions

Simplicity

• Single packaged module
• No heavy and expensive gearbox required for many installations. Simple driveline from engine to jet coupling

Easy installation

• Complete factory tested package, ready to bolt in
• No difficult engine alignment problems

Hamilton waterjets have several advantages over other waterjet makes. These include...

Superior Cavitation Resistance

• Pump design offers up to 25% more thrust than other waterjets between 0 and 20 knots. Manoeuvrability at low speeds and acceleration to high speeds are superior.

Precise Steering Control

• Hamilton Jet's unique JT steering nozzle minimises thrust loss whensteering. No central deadband provides higher course-keepingefficiency and higher overall boat speeds.

More Accurate Performance Prediction

• HamiltonJet's experience is supported by accurate performance prediction software to ensure waterjets are an appropriate propulsion option for your vessel, and to recommend the most appropriate waterjet size and set up for every different application.

A waterjet generates propulsive thrust from the reaction created when water is forced in a rearward direction. It works in relation to Newton's Third Law of Motion - "every action has an equal and opposite reaction". A good example of this is the recoil felt on the shoulderwhen firing a rifle, or the thrust felt when holding a powerful firehose.

Put simply, the discharge of a high velocity jet stream generates a reaction force in the opposite direction, which is transferred through the body of the jet unit to the craft's hull, propelling it forward (see diagram below).

In a boat hull the jet unit is mounted inboard in the aft section. Water enters the jet unit intake on the bottom of the boat, at boat speed, and is accelerated through the jet unit and discharged through the transom at a high velocity.

The picture below shows where water enters the jet unit via the Intake (A). The pumping unit, which includes the Impeller (B) and Stator (C), increases the pressure, or "head", of the flow. This high pressure flow is discharged at the nozzle (D) as a high velocity jet stream. The driveshaft attaches at the coupling (F) to turn the impeller.

Steering is achieved by changing the direction of the stream of water as it leaves the jet unit. Pointing the jet stream one way forces the stern of the boat in the opposite direction which puts the vessel into a turn.

Reverse is achieved by lowering an astern deflector (E) into the jetstream after it leaves the nozzle. This reverses the direction of the force generated by the jet stream, forward and down, to keep the boat stationary or propel it in the astern direction.

In the early 1950s, when Sir William Hamilton began experimenting with marine jets, he followed the lead of the most successful invention to date, the American Hanley Hydrojet. Using a round centrifugal water pump that drew in the water and expelled it through a steer able nozzle under the boat, he was able to achieve an encouraging but unspectacular speed of 11 mile per hour.

• Click here for Installation and Service Manuals for many of these older waterjet models.

1954 A slight modification to expel the jet stream above the waterline proved the turning point in marine jet propulsion, increasing speed to 17mph and eliminating all underwater appendages. Waterjet propulsion was at last truly successful and the Hamilton Waterjet was born. This first type of unit was named "Quinnat" and consisted of a vertical shaft centrifugal unit, driven through a right angle gearbox.
1956 The first batch of "Rainbow" jet units were produced. A small direct drive centrifugal type of unit, the Rainbow gave a good performance in a suitable light craft, without the noise of a gearbox. About 100 were manufactured and marketed in New Zealand.
1957 This year saw the birth of the "Chinook" unit. A twin impeller axial-flowturbine, the Chinook was far more efficient with its straight-throughflow and two-stage pressure build up. Following this came the three-stage Chinook unit which increased performance further.
1963 The "Colorado" series of jet units was a completely new, greatly simplified design which halved the cost of the unit. This series was developed into a full range of one, two and three stage units driving a widerange of boats from river-runabouts to off-shore racing craft. Click here to find parts for Colorado Explorer jet... Click here to find parts for Colorado Junior jet...
1970 This year saw the introduction of the "Work Jets" - larger, heavy duty units designed for diesel commercial vessels, large launches etc. The WorkJets were the forerunners to today's Hamilton HM Series of larger waterjets.
1973 The 750 series of jet units evolved a standardised method of installation in hulls, regardless of the number of stages. This gave more cockpit space in the boat and employed modern controls and engines. Click here to find parts for 750 series jet...
1975 First 'commercial' waterjet, Model 1031, introduced.  Large diameter, single stage unit. Click here to find parts for 1031 jet...
1980 400 Series waterjets are introduced. These are four craft up to 30 metres long.
1984 Split duct deflector developed for 1031 jets and then introduced on all Hamilton Waterjets. The split duct design increases astern thrust by directing the jet stream down and to the sides of the boat transom to avoid recycling and increase steering responsiveness.
1990 HM Series waterjets, for craft up to 60 metres, is introduced.
1991 HS Series waterjets, for 50-65 knot craft, is introduced. These were multi-stage waterjet units designed for high-speed light commercial craft with power inputs up to 1,600kW.
1993-98 New jet models introduced to fill holes in Hamilton's waterjet range - HJ241, HJ321, HM461. Existingmodels further developed with more efficient intake and screen designs, 0 and 5 degree intake block options, and improved anti-fouling/anti-corrosion protection. Largest Hamilton Jet model waterjets developed - HM651, HM721, HM811.
1994 Turbo impeller developed along with HJ212 model to replace the multi-stage 773 unit in trailerable boats. The Turbo impeller improves jet performance in aerated water conditions.
1996 Control Monitoring Unit (CMU) developed as a fully electronic jet and engine control system for larger waterjets.
1998 JT Steering system introduced. Nozzle design minimises thrust loss when steering to improve steering control and course-keeping efficiency.
2000 MECS (Modular Electronic Control System) supersedes CMU for electronic control.
2003 HJ403jet unit superseeds HJ391 in model range. New model features improved design for greater efficiency, ease of installation and lower maintenance, as well as a new ahead/astern control systems. Dynamic Positioning interface for MECS developed. This allows MECS to interface with a ship's DP system to improve station-holding ability and general safety around oil-rigs.
2004 VoyageData Recorder interface for MECS developed. Sends waterjet control history to a vessels VDR (similar to an aircraft's "black box") for future reference in the event of an accident. Primarily used on fast passenger ferries.
2005 Introduction of the blue ARROW control system sees a new era in waterjet control. More compact and reliable, and easier to install and maintain, than MECS, blue ARROW brings electronic controls to smaller waterjet models HJ292, HJ322,HJ364 and HJ403.
2006 Enter the MouseBoat - the first installment of next generation waterjet control devices from HamiltonJet. Incredibly intuitive and simple to use, the MouseBoat ensure anyone can harness the full manoeuvring capabilities of waterjets.
2008 The first HT1000 waterjets are manufactured, increasing HamiltonJet's size range above the HM811.