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Does this sound stupid???

F

fred wook

Active member
I was curious about some input on this...has anyone done it or heard of someone doing it?? I am looking for a SMALL but WIDE hull to use as an airboat hull. There are some good welded jon boat hulls out there (sea ark, alumacraft etc.) that are wide (like 60-72 bottom width) BUT the problem is, they are long, mostly in the 16 to 18 foot range. When you get to 14 or less, they are getting very narrow. Now to the question..I am pretty handy at welding and fabricating, including aluminum. I was thinking about getting a wide boat that would originally be way too long and cutting it down in the front to about 10-12 foot for a smaller airboat (75 or so HP). I could ramp the front so it would be wide and similar to that of a manufactured airboat hull. May sound like a lot of work, but I am in SC and it is tough to find a small hull.
 
I would keep the original bow, and cut off the back, and weld the same transom back in.
 
ditto's to what huntnfish said.seems like it would be quicker, easier,
and might look better. ( this aint no shot at your fab ability )
just a thought.
 
time you buy a big john boat, cut the back out, and reweld you could drive down to fl and get exactly what you are looking for (maybe cheaper too). i've had a john boat hull for an airboat and the ridges on the bottom of the hull make it very difficult to turn around in thick vegetation and on dry ground. just my two cents. --brian
 
peanut.jpg
 
You could always build something like the pic above this is my brothers old boat. It was 8x6,8 with a 90hp.
 
Oow, I'll bet that was a snotty little boat!
The J3Cub my friend and I used to fly was powered by a 90hp Continental and we pushed ~425lbs for the both of us at take-off.

If I had a mig or TIG welder and metal working equipment, then I would make my own hull. Jon-Boats just don't cut it for grass-mash'n.
 
You could call Chuck at Airboat Pro's and check out the new Mini Pro 116 hull.
The hull is 11 foot long by 6 ft 3 inch wide. It weighs 200 lbs and is designed for
up to 65 HP. The cost is $ 1695.00. I will try to bump some pictures up from an
old post. Thanks, CHUCK
 
That little boat flew didnt way over 400pds me and my brother could pick it up and walk it around you should of seen the faces at the boat ramp when we carried it to the water.
 
where can I find a mimi for sale looking for frog boat.. didnnt see any in classifieds but that is a cool little boat..also what motors are people using. so incase I run across one
 
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