I usually try to stay out of this kind of discussion, but this one is just too predictable. Whenever an outboard guy wants to race a jetboat, he always wants to do it from a 50 mph punch, or something ridiculous like that. I can get a pretty good idea about what this "party" is all about - bring your jacked up outboard and 30" pitch prop, then go about 5 miles down the river and start running upstream. By the time you hit the 3 mile marker, you should have it up on plane, then you can start trimming it out until you hit your top speed for the radar gun at the 5 mile marker. (That's outboard mentality). Under these conditions, most jetboats don't have much of a chance against a high revving outboard on a lightweight tunnel boat.
Of course, jetboat guys like to tilt the scales in their favor also, and most outboards don't stand a chance under good jetboat conditions. Try running your eggbeater against any strong jetboat in a standing start, quarter mile drag race, and your outboards will get whipped just about every time.
It just goes to show you that different setups have their own strong points, and us jetboat guys love raw horsepower and acceleration. Maybe that's why the jetboat forum is so popular that we are bringing in flatbottom and outboard guys.
My 2 cents.
SteveM.