River Pro

[harvey lee]

Fellow told me that a RP was all but destroyed on the Mn river this year in the Shakopee area. Any one know if there is any truth to this, he said he saw the boat and it was split in 2 down the middle.

bad deal if true and hope noone was hurt.

[DTro]

Haven't heard anything about that one. I know most all guys on the river in this area with an RP so that's news to me. There was an SJX jet boat that got dinged up pretty good last year on the river in Shakopee, then later that year was totaled up on Lake Vermilion.

[river rat316]

Knowing the construction of those boats it would be dam near impossible to do that, you would have to be doing something really stupid in order to do anything close to "splitting it right down the middle" now putting a nasty dent in one I can see but have never seen one ripped open and have been around alot of them and seen some pretty hard hits do little to no damage

[Alagnak]

Knowing the construction of those boats it would be dam near impossible to do that, you would have to be doing something really stupid in order to do anything close to "splitting it right down the middle" now putting a nasty dent in one I can see but have never seen one ripped open and have been around alot of them and seen some pretty hard hits do little to no damage

+1. dam near impossible by just driving it alone. The rumor mill in small towns are still the same as when I left 15 years ago I see. ;-) LOL

[harvey lee]

The dude from Chard told me he saw it. Thats all I know. He knows what a RP is also as I believe Tom Chard has one. He works for Chard.

[Gordie]

I asked a couple of guys I know about it and they said that they had not heard anything on it.

[harvey lee]

Must be a quiet deal. I would not tell anyone either if I trashed my boat.

[DTro]

Yeah, Tom does not have a RiverPro he has an SJX so maybe it was that one I was referring to. i don't think that guy works for Chard though.

Why wouldn't you tell anyone? Big deal, so you hit something..

[wastewaterguru]

I saw all the pictures of the SJX....and had several detailed conversations with the repair shop that fixed the damage to the SJX after he gouged a whole in it. Same repair shop did the repair and reinforcement to mine last winter and they all agreed that the RP is built a lot tougher than an SJX.

I don't see the draw about the SJX boats. They aren't built as well and they aren't set up well for catfishing.

[harvey lee]

You could be correct Darren. The guy could have mistaken what style boat it was. Thats what happens when when goes on second hand info.

[TruthWalleyes]

A saw one of the sheriffs river pro's a few weeks ago. They had a huge patch on one of them. I asked them how in the world they accomplished that one...They said they were out and about in ice flow and smoked an old cement bridge foundation. I bet they had to come real close to sinking.

[LukasH]

Two years ago I pulled up the land of memories landing in mankato, there was a nice shiny riverpro sitting on the trailer with the DNR officer sitting in the boat. I went up to talk to him and noticed a huge dent in the side of the boat, I asked what happened and he said he ran into the train bridge by minneopa creek. I then looked down and he had a flat tire on his trailer to top his day off. I'm sure the paperwork was long that day :-)

[BrandonN]

My next boat will be a RockProof boat. Same hull thickness but they run a 3/8" HD plastic bottom that takes shock real well and doesn't damage the bottom any. Those boats are made for heavy rock areas it will have no problems on the Minnesota River

[motownmasher]

I've looked at them all, but riverpro owners always seem happy. rockproof seems well built, however the cost is almost what my house was. the plastic (UHMW) can be put on any boat, but when I looked into it I got numbers from 2500-5000 on a 16" depending on thickness and the areas covered. this also adds significant weight to your rig. if you've got 250hp then it is of no concern but i'm running a 60/40 and notice a huge difference when loaded up for the night, or just going for an evening.

[motownmasher]

hey brandonN! did you get another new rig? saw pictures of your new rig last year, but don't see the kicker on your avatar pic.

[BrandonN]

Yep I have the kicker on there. I just put on new motors and accessories on mine. I am just like everyone though I could always use more power. I just want a heavy duty hull. I've been running jet outboards for about 6-7 years now and don't know how anyone could destroy a hull. I've ran in pretty shallow stuff and hit a few rocks and sand bars and never had any problems.

I think people get a riverpro or a high end jet boat and think they have to act like people do on youtube and purposely run them into rocks and log jams.

If I get a Rock Proof that will prolly be my last river boat for a while

[DTro]

Just remember with a RP or any other inboard jet, you can have all the rock proofing you want and still have a stick the size of your pinky finger cripple you.

[Gordie]

Even outboard jets can be crippled in a hurry , I remember sucking up a small stone and it was lights out for us until I could get the impeller free, Then another time I stuck mine on a shallow sand bar and it was a good 30-40 yards of fun pushing it to deep enough water to float in.

Doesn't matter what you run sooner or later it will be down for the count.

[BrandonN]

All true points stuff happens but its like driving you car on the road. Do burnouts throttle hard and aim for pot holes you will break stuff. Drive it like you have half a brain and use its shallow water capabilities when you need them you'll be alright.

[Gordie]

All true points stuff happens but its like driving you car on the road. Do burnouts throttle hard and aim for pot holes you will break stuff. Drive it like you have half a brain and use its shallow water capabilities when you need them you'll be alright.

No Doubt the "Drive it like you stole it" attitude will not a long ways, Specially on the River