Another airboat bites the water

[stan]

Whilest I was chauferin cntry around kissimee sat an airboat friend was on lake george doin what airboaters do best . When all in an instant he heard a bang and then nothing but the sound of air.His boat was a panther hull , aluminum rigging ,ZZ5 350 ,gear drive and a power shift maximus two blade prop.Not knowing what caused the chain of events but the end results where motor tore in half,half the gearbox stayed with half the engine the other half went in the lake with the rest of the engine,prop gone ,rudder gone ,engine stand ruint,cage and rigging ruint. He did manage to save the hull, two seats , the instrument panel and thank the Lord no one got hurt.
Rough estimate he had about a ten thousand dollar boat ride that day.
Is there any kind of insurance for things happening like this?

 

[Waterthunder]

Might not be the same problem but I have seen three two blade Maxumus props destroy a boat they get some medieval harmonics going when ran in a two blade configuration.

 

[stan]

I realy want to avoid one of these catastrofic events if at all possible.I have slung rods , put props in stobs,props in cages but never have I disentegrated a boat like that.

 

[Waterthunder]

I was in one that should have killed at least two people The idiot driving just floored it after the motor stand came apart the damage was amazing. He didn't realize his prop came apart and that's why the boat stopped moving. When it was all over the motor was in the bottom of his boat holes everywhere and no trace of his rudders or prop.

 

[Rich Andrews]

Holy Shat...any pics of it?

 

[Cajun]

Man, I just don't think my ole ticker could take that kind of crap. Glad everyone was ok, could've been a whole lot worse. later

 

[SAFARI RICK]

There but for the grace of God go I.

 

[ShadowGrass Shooter]

Hey Stan......When did this incident take place? Recently? How come the only carbon props I hear about imploding are the Powershift ones? I'm loving my Sensenich Quite Series on my CR. Sometimes I just sit and marvel at the workmanship that goes into these props.

 

[Ruagatr]

Its no wonder why Powershift changed their name to Water Walker and stuck the new stickers over the old name of all the props at the last airboat show this year in Broward. The newer sirius and maximus props are exploding like crazy. The older props seem fine, including mine, which was a power plus 80 inch. But when i decided to upgrade to the new wider three blade, i just spent my money on a new sensenich 3 blade super wide q-tip. Cant wait to bolt it on and try her out. Best, Charles

 

[stan]

shadow 'This past saturday is when it broke. ruagatr from what I've seen on thunder's boat and the extensive testing cntry and I did with his boat your gonna be real satisfied with your upgrade.

 

[froggigger1]

DUMB QUESTION DO YOU LOSE HARMONICS OR DOES IT HELP BY GOING WITH A 3 BLADE PROP I RUN A AIRCRAFT MOTOR.

 

[Ruagatr]

My understanding is that the "harmonics" are caused by cracks or water that gets into the blades and puts them out of balance. There are theories being advanced about blade shape causing cracks, but who knows. Just stay away from the ones that are cracking. Charles

 

[Waterthunder]

When you have two large masses it is very difficult to dynamically balance that is why the Warp Drives are so smooth. The more blades you have they better (easier) the prop will balance out. Another thing is the air pulses with two blades you MUST do some rigging and rudder mods when running a super wide two blade or your rigging will fall apart and vibrate like crazy. So if you have an aircraft I suggest the Sensenich narrow three blade it's a great prop.

 

[loco pato]

have a great pic of a composite that came apart, How do you attatch an image here,a Computer dummy...

 

[SwampMatt]

Loco - it's pretty easy, especially once you've done it a time or two.

You'll have to know where the photo is stored on your computer (the "path" to it's directory)

Go to the photo gallery here:
http://www.southernairboat.com/photopost/index.php

and find on the right side of the page, "upload photos" and follow the simple instructions there. If you mess up, fear not, you can re-try it till you get it right.

If you have any specific questions, drop me a PM and I'll do what I can to help you learn how it's done. If you make any serious mistake, there are photo gallery moderators who can help fix it up for you. If worst comes to worst, we can trade phone numbers, and I'll walk you thru it while we're both on the phone.

Judging from the amount of views that gallery gets, Southern Airboat's photo gallery is a very popular place on the internet! I know I enjoy looking at the photos and check for new ones every day.

I hope this helps.

matt.

 

[loco pato]

This prop destroyed the back of the boat...no one was hurt..was not my boat, Had this brand when they first came out and had problems back then with leading edges and got major lip service from the mfgr, vowed to never go back.....

 

[NorthWestFloridaBoy]

What brand of prop was that?

 

[loco pato]

What brand of prop was that?

I think yall know the brand... Glad I dont own one, Have pics of the back of the boat (not very pretty) but for respect for the boat builder I wont post it.(logo on rudder,or whats left of it). I would keep a close eye on your blade bases for cracks...

 

[T-REX]

Ill second that question-what brand was that ?

 

[loco pato]

Ill second that question-what brand was that ?

read the thread and get the clues, not my prop so I wont slam thier product, Sure hope the company will fix the problems(I hated dealing with them years ago) and hope they have good product liability insurance.. sounds like some boats are getting tore up and thank god no one has been hurt.