RiverPro Boats

[Guest]

These look like great boats - anyone know how they perform on open water, like a lake?

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RobertC

[kwkfsh]

I saw this on the MN. river forum but thought I would post a reply here as more people would get a chance to read it. Jet drives have some great advantages for shallow water, and some disadvantages. First weeds and jets do not mix! They clog the intake and you lose all of your power. Make sure you have jet rake with you to clean weeds and stones out of the grate. As far as open water use goes the greater the deadrise of the hull the smoother the ride. But as deadrise increases shallow water performance decreases. Most inboard jets run anywhere from 6 to 16 deg. of deadrise ( angle of V in the hull ). A well designed hull will run thru 4" of water no problem, but you still need 2 to 3 feet of water to take off in. A wider hull will run shallower than a narrow hull. Also you need much more power to run a hull with a jet than a prop, the best inboard jets run V8s. Try to avoid ones that use outboard powerheads mated to a jet as their power source. They are usually underpowered and do not perform very well. When you go to a jet you will lose about 30% of your power, burn 30% more fuel, and lose about 30% of your load capacity. For a jet to run thru 4" of water the bottom needs to be smooth and composed of sand or pea gravel. Also getting just one or two small stones in the grate will sometimes be enough to keep you from getting up on step. The same thing will occur with sticks and pieces of bark which the MN river is loaded with. If you are going to run shallow with a jet make sure you carry a shovel and a come along with you to get unstuck. A couple of things that make for a truly sweet jetboat are 3/4 turn lock to lock steering and a posinozzle such as the Kodiak 3 stage jets have (works like power steering). Stainless impeller, preferably 4 blade. Also make sure the motor box is lined with a closed cell foam and a Mylar coating to keep the sound down. Also make sure the hull is made of at least 3/16" 5052 aluminum or even better 5086 which is a bit harder than the 5052. If you absolutly have to run super shallow a jet is the way to go. But if you don't then there a alot of disadvantages to a jet.

[kwkfsh]

Outboards with jets are not any louder, its just that the exhaust exits above the water when they are running up on plane so you end up with unmuffled exhaust.

[BarryG]

You are correct about using the outboards with jets. Down here in MO I have a place on the Gasconade River, when I was small it was always a quiet place, now those yayhoos have up to 200hp with jets and you can hear them coming over a mile away! I truly wish they would put a HP restriction on the river. No more peace and quiet!

[Guest]

A boat that I find very interesting is the Blue Wave, very cool rigs. I have my eye on them as a strong choice for my next rig. I like the 22' Super Tunnel, I seen one and fell in love at first sight.

www.bluewaveboats.com

River Pro is the real deal for river rats and fisherman who work lakes and Rivers that often are harsh on lower units. I have ran one and liked it. They run at a higher RPM and do roar a bit, eat fuel too. All jets tend to eat fuel because of the higher RPMS' needed to push the pump. A trade off for superior shallow water performance I guess?

www.riverpro-boats.com

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Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson..><sUMo>

Backwater Guiding
"Ed on the RED"
(701)-281-2300

[email protected]

http://ed-carlson.fishingbuddy.com