The registry
Thunder Jet Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Thunder Jet is a welded heavy-gauge aluminum boat builder founded by Darrell Mills in 1981 in Clarkston, Washington, where the Snake and Clearwater rivers meet at the edge of the canyon country that shaped its shallow-water jet hulls. The company built five boats in its first year and has since produced more than 6,000, spanning jet, outboard, and offshore fishing models from roughly 18 to 28 feet. Brunswick Corporation acquired Thunder Jet in 2016, and the brand still builds in Clarkston today.
Pick your model
Snake River roots
Darrell Mills founded Thunder Jet in 1981 in Clarkston, Washington, where the Snake and Clearwater rivers meet and where running skinny, rocky water is the local test track. Mills handled sales, his wife Liana kept the books, and the first shop ran with one welder, a rig tech, and a painter. The first year of production totaled five boats. The formula from the start was heavy-gauge welded aluminum with hull bottoms stout enough to take gravel-bar contact that would hole a lighter riveted or fiberglass hull, paired with inboard jet pumps for water measured in inches instead of feet.
Growth and the Brunswick era
Production grew from that five-boat first year to a cumulative build count past 6,000 hulls. By 2015 the company was doing roughly 20 million dollars a year in revenue with a catalog of 18 models running 18 to 26 feet. In July 2016 Brunswick Corporation, the parent of Lund and other aluminum freshwater brands, bought Thunder Jet and placed it in the freshwater division of the Brunswick Boat Group. Manufacturing stayed in Clarkston, the catalog now reaches 28 feet, and the brand remains in production, so parts and factory support are a phone call away rather than a salvage-yard hunt.
Model lines
- Luxor: the most popular line, currently offered as the 185, 200, and 210, with the 200 Luxor the company's best seller. A deep-sided welded fishing hull sold in both outboard and inboard jet configurations, sized for trailering and for trout, salmon, and steelhead work.
- Alexis: the big-water line, with Alexis Pro hulls in 22 and 24 feet, a 26-foot Alexis Pro XL, and Alexis OS offshore versions in 22, 23, and 24 feet, built with taller sides and heavier structure for coastal and large-lake duty.
- Chinook: the crossover series, roughly 20 to 22 feet, with a 16-degree progressive deep-V bottom and 0.190-inch 5086 bottom plate that trades some shallow-water draft for a softer ride in chop.
- Rush: the open-layout line. The 209 Rush OT (Open Tiller) runs 20 feet 9 inches with a 102-inch beam, rated for 115 to 200 horsepower in prop or jet-drive outboard form, and a Rush Center Console variant is also cataloged.
What owners deal with
These are working boats, and the common ownership questions are aluminum questions: checking weld seams after hard groundings, keeping dissimilar-metal corrosion out of saltwater-run hulls, and impeller and wear-ring maintenance on jet-pump models. Because the builder is still active under Brunswick, hull records and rigging answers for older boats are generally obtainable from the factory.
Asked all the time
When were Thunder Jet boats first built, and is the company still in business?
Thunder Jet was founded by Darrell Mills in 1981 in Clarkston, Washington, and it is still building boats there today. Brunswick Corporation bought Thunder Jet in 2016, so warranty, parts, and factory support run through an active manufacturer rather than a defunct one.
What makes a Thunder Jet hull different from other aluminum fishing boats?
Thunder Jet builds welded heavy-gauge aluminum hulls rather than riveted thin-gauge ones. The company grew up on the Snake River, so its jet models carry stout bottoms and inboard jet pumps for shallow, rocky water, while the Alexis and Chinook lines use deeper sides and deep-V geometry for big open water.
Which Thunder Jet models should a used buyer know?
The Luxor (currently 185, 200, and 210) is Thunder Jet's most popular line, with the 200 Luxor its best seller, and it comes in both outboard and jet versions. The Alexis Pro, Pro XL, and Alexis OS cover 22 to 26 feet for coastal work, the Chinook is the 20 to 22 foot crossover, and the Rush is the open tiller and center-console layout.
Jet or outboard: which Thunder Jet setup is right?
A jet-drive Thunder Jet runs water an outboard prop cannot touch, which is the point on rivers like the Snake, but you give up fuel efficiency and pick up impeller and wear-ring maintenance. An outboard Thunder Jet is the better lake and coastal choice. Many models were rigged both ways, so check the transom before assuming.
What should I inspect on an older Thunder Jet?
Check the bottom and chine welds for cracks from hard groundings, look for corrosion around dissimilar-metal fittings on any Thunder Jet run in salt, and on jet models inspect the pump intake grate, impeller, and wear ring. Because Thunder Jet still operates under Brunswick, the factory can often confirm a hull's original build spec.
The wall
The most-documented Thunder Jet vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.