Belleville-based River Raptor Jetboats made for the shallows
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BELLEVILLE -- Whether you are looking to hunt, fish, adventure or even mount a search and rescue effort, River Raptor Jetboats is committed to serving those needs. With models like the Talon, Raptor, XR, XR8, XD, FTX and the Rescue Raptor, the River Raptor Jetboats can accomodate for many needs.
River Raptor Jetboats' goal is to develop world class aluminum jet boats and jet boat systems that provide their customers with a better way to navigate shallow waterways. They thrive on researching, designing and testing new methods of pushing their boats to the limits of performance, function and durability.
Owners Rob Plank and Jeff Kanagy originally worked out of any space they could find, started building boats in both of their garages and leased their first space in August 2019.
"At the time Jeff was looking for a boat to buy and while looking around we thought we could build something that was better than what was on the market at the time," Plank said. "At that point there were not many inboard options on the east coast."
"We noticed that the market was being under served," Kanagy added.
From a performance standard, an outboard jet loses about 30 percent of its horsepower from the engine crankshaft, through the pump and out the back because it has to suck water up the jet foot, spin it around and then spit it out the back for propulsion. Inboard jets are "axial flow" jets. They suck in the water and shoot it straight out the back. There is about 10 percent frictional loss with this design.
"It's more efficient power for power, from a handling perspective and balance," Kanagy said. "We're bringing all that power and weight forward and lowering it in the hull."
When doing anything in shallow water the lowest part of the boat is going to hit so by keeping the boat level the boat will be as shallow in the water column as possible and that is what River Raptor is trying to do.
The business sells most any type of fishing boat accessories as well. The customer can choose to install them or River Raptor can add that into the project.
River Raptor Jetboats can be accessed at the Belleville office from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each Monday through Friday in the front of the old New Holland Plant or online via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or online at riverraptorjetboats.com. The owners are active with their online presence and engage with the public often.
"We try to keep a decent library of models on YouTube and if we come out with a new model we will put it on there," Plank said. "We like to do a walk around and showcase the features of each model and post it."
"You would be hard pressed to find a better built aluminum watercraft anywhere globally," Kanagy said. "We are focusing on shallow water applications."
Those who wish can even get custom added protection on the hull in the form of a skid plate.
"When you are running in just a few inches of water, if you miss a spot and hit a rock you still have piece of mind," Plank said.
Kanagy and Plank said they look to expand into a larger manufacturing facility and utilize the skilled labor force in the area. They see what New Holland had become and feel they can bring something like that back to the area in smaller form.