# The Saturn Raft Project



## cuzin (Oct 4, 2007)

You are a tool.


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## peak (Apr 7, 2006)

sounds like an infomercial...
didn't something like this happen before? new poster, praising SaturnRafts, turned out to be not so "third party"?


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## g.soutiere (Jul 7, 2009)

My saturn is still going strong class II+, III all last season. Scraping over a few pourovers, all it has is surface scratches. If you want to see my boat I will be doing the raft rodeo at fibark. I still not good enough to hit class IV rapids yet but if I get a good guide I am willing to use the short bus


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## troutslayer (Sep 14, 2009)

Everybody has their opinion on these saturn rafts. Even people that have never used them before have something bad to say about them. I personally have a 13' otter and a 14' Saturn that I use. I guide Fishing trips on the Eagle and have only had a small problem with the saturn not really even saturns fault. Yes it made it through the season last year with only one small tear to the bottom of the boat at 395CFS on the eagle super low. As a guide being on the water almost everyday this boat has held up great SO FAR!!! The Real test is going to be if it makes it through this year!! Which is why i always have my 7 year old NRS inflated and ready to fish at any time. Any boat you buy should make it through its first season but the real test is the YEARS to come after. Yes the boat has some things that i would like to see changed like moving the floor farther out from the tubes so it bails faster. The boat really doesn't track that bad even with heavy loads. Thats what everyone really wants to know is if it is a quality boat that will hold up 15+ years such as the Avons and nrs boats have. I guess we will just have to wait and see only time will tell. Joe over at RM Rafts is great to work with and will listen to most ideas and will fix any problem you have. Ive taken it down the Royal gorge at 2500 cfs, Westwater 10,000 cfs, numbers at 1,700. Maybe we should put it to the true Test and get out on the gore race this summer?


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## BullSCit (Nov 12, 2003)

*I'll Give My Saturn an A-*

I have had my 15' Saturn for almost a full year now, and have done Westwater twice (4500 and 5500), Royal Gorge six times (all the way down to 425), Numbers once at 500, Browns 3 or 4 times and a couple of other overnight Class II bloat and floats. Is the boat perfect? No. But it is a real good deal for the money. Like troutslayer said, the overall value of the boat will be measured after a couple of years of use. The only major problem I have had with mine is that I ripped the bottom 0.9 mm thick PVC floor at one of the bailing holes on Westwater this month. It ripped several inches, and we were never sure when it happened. But for $20 in materials we were able to fix it so it was good as new. Luckily whatever punctured it didn't even leave a mark on the air floor. The other two more minor problems we have had are: the tharwts have come out a couple of times in the middle of rapids (but this could be blamed on user setup), and one of the valves leaks a bit (but the cover on the valve stops it). The paddles, the pump and the carry bag that comes with it are the biggest pieces of sh!t you have ever seen.

This raft has taken a lot of abuse from rocks. It has been used by 3 newbs to raft guide the Gorge, and also is being used now for people to learn how to oar rig. I wish I had waited and gotten the current release Saturn, as it has 3 revisions that I wish mine had. The 1.5 mm PVC floor, the wrap all the way up to the bumper on the bow and stern and softer carry handles. 

I second troutslayers recommendation on Joe from RM Rafts. Definitely a good guy, as I also bought a complete Aire Jaguarundi setup from him this year.


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## earthNRG (Oct 24, 2003)

BullSCit said:


> ... one of the valves leaks a bit (but the cover on the valve stops it)...


 You have Halkey-Roberts valves on that boat. Those are a two-part valve that are designed to be completely sealed ONLY when you have the cover on. So, it's not unexpected for for one (or all) of these valves to leak without the cover.


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## wwcanoeist (Mar 23, 2010)

Before I try to retype this message again(thanks Mtn. Buzz), I want to say that this thread is already suffering because for some reason by the time I'm done typing my update and attaching pictures, as soon as I click upload or post this site tell's me that I'm not logged in-again!!!!!


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## wwcanoeist (Mar 23, 2010)

First I'm gonna try the picture thing again before I start typing an update. If this works, these are pics of the boat inflated right out fo the box-close-ups and diff. angles.


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## wwcanoeist (Mar 23, 2010)

Nope didn't work. I'm already starting to not like this website!! It keeps telling me that some security token is missing??? I'll have to get back to this later- any know why this keeps happening??


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## glenn (May 13, 2009)

wwcanoeist said:


> Nope didn't work. I'm already starting to not like this website!! It keeps telling me that some security token is missing??? I'll have to get back to this later- any know why this keeps happening??


Apparently mb.com has instituted security software to prevent ongoing boring and redundent threads. Brilliant!


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## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

Try asking why in the Support and Feedback forum so the webmasters can answer your photo/security issue question.


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## DurangoSteve (Jun 2, 2006)

wwcanoeist said:


> Nope didn't work. I'm already starting to not like this website!! It keeps telling me that some security token is missing??? I'll have to get back to this later- any know why this keeps happening??


*
Divine Intervention.* Gawd is protecting us from Saturn, Satan's favorite raft. _Honest_.


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## bodacious29 (Jul 12, 2010)

*2010 13 ft SB Saturn boat owner review*

Just posting an update to this thread regarding no real saturn raft owners posting feedback. I own a 13ft self bailing saturn raft. I was very scepticle and read all these threads and it almost scared me off, but for the price I thought what the hell. I purchased it 3 months ago and it is the new 2010 model 1450 dollars with shipping. Basically I wanted a nice self bailing boat without dropping 4 grand or buying an overpriced piece of half or more used up rubber on craigslist. Not hating on used boats I just feel people over price old self bailing boats. I purchased a Sotar bucket boat 2 years ago and it has held up but is starting to show signs of it's age(only a few years left). Back to the Saturn raft. I bought it from RM rafts and he got it to me in 3 days just in time for my Rougue river trip. I ran it with an old frame I had that fit perfectly. It handled great in the water, bailed fast no problems, and held my gear and three of us with room to spare. The bottom of the boat is redicuously thick almost excessive(adds weight), but better thicker than thinnner. The valves are Halkey roberts knock offs but work great. Since then I have run the east fork of the Hood river, Sandy river gorge, Klickitat River, and the White Salmon. No problems what so ever. I have drug it across all sorts of jagged rocks and left only some scuff marks. One thing that really impressed me was on the East Fork of the Hood river had a very scetchy put in under a bridge and we lost the boat on some loose dirt and it fell down a 50 foot embankment. Once it hit bottom I accidently knocked loose a 250 or so pound boulder(Shit my pants) and it tumbled down and landed smack dab in the middle of the self bail floor and rolled out of the boat. I thought it was done for and was furious, but when I got to the bottom everything was undamaged. So so far I have no complaints of performance and quality. It is made of glued PVC which I have accepted. I think they should offer a pvc and a hypalon version. In the end this boat may only last 10 years, but I only use it probably 30 days a year and store inflated inside so low uv exposure(put 101 on it) and not hard on seams due to inflation. So for all I know it may last much longer or it could crap out sooner. You have to look at it from a cost stand point. If it lasts 10 good years with no problems at a third of the price I still come out ahead. That means I get a shinny new raft every 10 years rather than a 20 year old worn out one that is still just making it by. So there's my review and you can hate on it and saturn rafts all you want, but right now I give it two thumbs up(this could change over the next few years if it falls apart so I will update if it does). I plan on reposting this in all the other forums too so they can get at least one positive review from someone that actually owns one. I don't want to retype this so I am copying it. 

Hope this helps someone 
Craig


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## Sissel (Jun 15, 2010)

Just finished a trip on the Gates of Lodore yesterday with my 2010 14 foot self bailing Saturn raft. On my first multi-day trip with the new raft, I had no problems with it at all. It did just fine in all the river offered at around 1500 cfs. As we were setting off one morning, a Park Ranger rowing by even commented on how nice of a raft it was. One of the guys on the trip with an older bucket boat was thinking about checking into getting one.

As Craig said above, "If it lasts 10 good years with no problems at a third of the price I still come out ahead. That means I get a shinny new raft every 10 years rather than a 20 year old worn out one that is still just making it by." I agree with him 100%.

And I'm throwing in a plug for Joe and his company, RM Rafts, in Colorado Springs.


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## burros (May 22, 2007)

*not the only cost*

So much for the environment coming out ahead with your thinking. Every ten years you toss a boat in the landfill vs. buying a tough built one to start with that will last 30.

I don't know anything about Saturn rafts, just commenting on the throw away mentality.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

bodacious29 said:


> I plan on reposting this in all the other forums too so they can get at least one positive review from someone that actually owns one. I don't want to retype this so I am copying it.
> 
> Hope this helps someone
> Craig



Good you are happy. 

You need a chicken line around your raft. For safety.


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