If you regularly run shallow, rocky water, my recommendation is the Wooldridge urethane intake. I have used mine for about three years, hit plenty of rocks with it, and bought another one when the urethane became badly worn.
That does not mean it is indestructible. Mine has lost material along the fins and edges, and it gave up a little performance compared with the stock cast aluminum intake. The tradeoff has been worthwhile for the way I use my boat.
If you rarely touch bottom, stay with the stock intake. The stock cast aluminum intake performs well, and there is no reason to accept any performance loss if you do not need the added impact resistance.
Why I Switched From the Stock Intake
In April 2023, I installed a new stock cast aluminum intake and a set of Outboard Jets intake wings. The boat had never run better. Before adding the wings, the pump would cavitate while the boat was getting on plane. The wings got rid of that cavitation during planing.
That test convinced me that intake wings were a must for my tunnel hull. It also gave me a good baseline for judging the replacement intakes. The stock intake with wings gave me the best performance, but I knew the cast aluminum shoe and the wings would take a beating in the rocky water I run.
My Brief Experience With the Monster Intake
I tried a Monster urethane intake in July 2023 while I was waiting on the Wooldridge. Fit was the first problem. With the motor trimmed all the way in, the front of the intake hit the boat. I removed about 1 1/2 inches from the aluminum spray plate behind the tunnel to make room for it.
The Monster did not cavitate when the boat was getting on plane, although I noticed a very slight slip. On my second trip with it, I hit a rock while climbing a shoal on the lower Etowah and nearly lost the entire shoe. That ended my test. This was one intake on one boat, but it was enough for me to move on.
Three Years on a Wooldridge Intake
I installed the Wooldridge urethane intake on July 7, 2023. It weighed about two pounds less than the stock cast aluminum intake. Its built in fins gave my tunnel hull the water pickup it needed, and the boat performed very close to the stock setup.
I did notice a slight performance loss compared with the stock intake and wings. It was small, but it was there. For me, protecting the pump and having a better chance of getting back to the ramp mattered more than that small loss.
I have now run this intake for about three years in shallow, rocky water. The urethane has taken repeated contact with the river bottom. It has worn away instead of staying in its original shape. The worst wear is along the outer edges, the front lip, and the fins. By the spring of 2026, I did not think the urethane body would make it through another full summer.
The part that impressed me most is the grate. Wooldridge identifies these as HardOx steel grate bars, although I have not found a confirmed steel grade for them. Despite all the impacts and the wear around them, the bars on my intake are still straight.
Mounting Brackets and Hardware
The Wooldridge uses curved external aluminum brackets and through hardware to clamp the urethane body to the pump. I call them the smiley face brackets because of their shape. The brackets spread the load across the front mounting area instead of depending on the urethane alone around each fastener.
That attachment system has worked well for me. The intake stayed attached through the impacts that wore away the body, and the brackets and grate bars can be transferred to a replacement urethane body.
Repair and Replacement
In April 2026, I sent Wooldridge Boats pictures of the wear. Grant Wooldridge called me personally to discuss it. He knew someone who might be able to repair the body with a urethane injection process and offered to send my pictures to him for an opinion. I do not yet consider that repair method confirmed for my intake.
Grant also helped me purchase a replacement urethane body. I can move my existing grate bars, brackets, and hardware to the new intake rather than replacing every component.
Would I Choose It Again?
Yes. The Wooldridge is still my favorite intake and the one I recommend for a boat that regularly runs shallow, rocky water.
The urethane does wear, and mine reached the point where replacement made sense after about three years. It also gives up a small amount of performance compared with the stock cast aluminum intake and wings. On the other hand, the mounting system held, the grate bars stayed straight, and the intake remained usable through a lot of rock contact.
That is the balance as I see it. You are not buying an intake that will last forever. You are trading a little performance and accepting gradual wear for an intake that is more forgiving when it hits rocks. For my boat and the rivers I run, I would make that trade again.
See the Wooldridge urethane jet foot
Rockproof
I have also run the older Rockproof UHMW intake. It was the familiar backup I returned to after the Monster intake failed. Mine did not have intake wings, and it cavitated while the boat was getting on plane. That experience is one reason I put so much value on fins or wings for a tunnel hull.
Rockproof no longer produces this intake, so this section is mainly useful for people looking at a used boat or a used intake. I would not call it indestructible, but it was a tough intake and I have firsthand experience with it.
Top Notch CNC
Top Notch CNC currently offers an intake machined from solid UHMW, including a version with a replaceable aluminum fin kit. I have never run one, so I cannot compare its durability or performance with the Wooldridge from personal experience.
It is an option worth knowing about, especially for somebody who prefers UHMW, but I would want feedback from owners who run water similar to mine before making a recommendation.
See Top Notch CNC outboard jet intakes
Jet Wolf
Jet Wolf produced a polyurethane intake with hardened steel grate bars. My experience with it is secondhand, and it is not a practical purchasing option for me now. Because I have not run one myself, I am not going to rank its durability or performance beside the Wooldridge.
Older information about Jet Wolf identifies the grate material as Hardox 450, but availability and specifications should be confirmed directly before relying on that information.
Installation Notes
Replacement intakes may require mounting studs instead of the older bolts. Newer Outboard Jets pumps with drop in liners already use studs, although a particular intake may require longer studs. Older pumps may need to be converted to the stud and drop in liner arrangement.
Follow the intake manufacturer’s instructions and use the supplied brackets, washers, and locking hardware. Do not mount a flexible intake with undersized washers or missing brackets. An impact pulls downward on the intake, and the mounting hardware needs enough bearing area to keep the body clamped to the pump.
Before ordering, confirm the pump series, impeller size, liner style, stud length, fin clearance, and clearance between the intake and the hull or splash plate through the full trim range.