skeeter185
Member
Has anyone ever used a 1000cc sportbike engine to drive thier airboat?
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engine question
- Thread starter skeeter185
- Start date
A year or two ago I saw a web site I think that had photos
of an air boat with one HD V-twin engine, and another with
two V-twins .I think they were mounted side by side with a prop
for each engine. Don't remember what they had to say
about how they ran or anything ( brain gears are getting a
little rusty) maybe someone else saw it and can remember
more.
of an air boat with one HD V-twin engine, and another with
two V-twins .I think they were mounted side by side with a prop
for each engine. Don't remember what they had to say
about how they ran or anything ( brain gears are getting a
little rusty) maybe someone else saw it and can remember
more.
Des Moines Boater
Well-known member
I saw where some folks tried that on some ultralight aircraft. They did not work well and most shook the airframe apart. I don't think motorcycle engines like propellers being attached to them. Those Harleys will make more noise per horse power than anything I've ever seen. You never see large groups of them riding far without a few trailers to pull them back home after they break down.
Hey, it might work if this is your motorcycle:
Hey, it might work if this is your motorcycle:
Ultralight engines are usually 2 stroke because of the power to weight ratio.
A two cycle engine makes power on every revolution, and they're not encumbered by heavy crankcases full of oil.
I have a little 24 hp Zenoah single cylinder 2 stroke that will surprise you. It can turn a 42" prop DD, and a 64" with a reduction drive.
In the Spring I want to build a little one man airboat with it that I can slide into the bed of my pickup. 8)
olf
A two cycle engine makes power on every revolution, and they're not encumbered by heavy crankcases full of oil.
I have a little 24 hp Zenoah single cylinder 2 stroke that will surprise you. It can turn a 42" prop DD, and a 64" with a reduction drive.
In the Spring I want to build a little one man airboat with it that I can slide into the bed of my pickup. 8)
olf
Cold, it won't weigh much (150 lbs ?) so I thought I might strap it to the foredeck and use it for beer runs ..... :lol: .
Seriously, I'll probably use it for a little fly fishing. I'm going to design it so that both of the sheer rails will slide along the bed rails on my truck, and I should be able to drop it on the ground or reload it by myself with a M/C ramp.
olf
Seriously, I'll probably use it for a little fly fishing. I'm going to design it so that both of the sheer rails will slide along the bed rails on my truck, and I should be able to drop it on the ground or reload it by myself with a M/C ramp.
olf
deepsea diver
Well-known member
hhttp://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/19 ... re2_2.html
it was an article on apr 16 1998 from the miami news times.
Skimming the Surface
Airboaters say they are friends of the Everglades. Park rangers and environmentalists beg to differ.
By Kirk Nielsen
Article Published Apr 16, 1998
The airboats they used can be traced to one invented in 1933 by Johnny Lamb and Russell Howard, two Everglades frog hunters who were tired of pushing their little flat-bottom skiffs through the swamp. They needed a boat that could skim over shallow water filled with weeds and mud. An outboard motor was not an option because the propeller would immediately get clogged. So the duo attached a secondhand airplane propeller to a 75-horsepower motorcycle engine and mounted it on the deck of a twelve-foot wooden boat, near the stern. The thrust not only propelled the craft forward but lifted the bottom up to the water's surface. The faster the airboat went, the higher it rode.
I can not think of the company that builds them. I have seen them on the Internet. I was not impressed with the performance. They also have a video. Just to small and under powered.
I think they are in south Fl.
it was an article on apr 16 1998 from the miami news times.
Skimming the Surface
Airboaters say they are friends of the Everglades. Park rangers and environmentalists beg to differ.
By Kirk Nielsen
Article Published Apr 16, 1998
The airboats they used can be traced to one invented in 1933 by Johnny Lamb and Russell Howard, two Everglades frog hunters who were tired of pushing their little flat-bottom skiffs through the swamp. They needed a boat that could skim over shallow water filled with weeds and mud. An outboard motor was not an option because the propeller would immediately get clogged. So the duo attached a secondhand airplane propeller to a 75-horsepower motorcycle engine and mounted it on the deck of a twelve-foot wooden boat, near the stern. The thrust not only propelled the craft forward but lifted the bottom up to the water's surface. The faster the airboat went, the higher it rode.
I can not think of the company that builds them. I have seen them on the Internet. I was not impressed with the performance. They also have a video. Just to small and under powered.
I think they are in south Fl.
skeeter185
Member
thread jack?
Skeeter185, not a thread jack. Just a discussion of light engines in airboat applications. We all thought your question had been answered. There are several old threads on here relating to baby airboats and you can find them with the search feature at the top of this page.
A 1000cc m/c engine has some pretty impressive horsepower if you spin it's guts out, but not very much torque. It takes torque to turn a propeller. It's been tried before without much success, and for that reason.
olf
A 1000cc m/c engine has some pretty impressive horsepower if you spin it's guts out, but not very much torque. It takes torque to turn a propeller. It's been tried before without much success, and for that reason.
olf
A
Anonymous
Guest
Who made a 75 HP motorcycle engine in 1933? :?
airboat4fun
Well-known member
here are a couple of pics of the twin engine Harley powered airboat. it has a custom one-well-two of a kind belt reduction and warp drive props
they said it was built for aquatic spraying and they wanted to keep the cage as low as possible to go under bridges
they said it was built for aquatic spraying and they wanted to keep the cage as low as possible to go under bridges
Des Moines Boater
Well-known member
Man that is one beautiful looking boat. How come the props are tied to the cage with rope? Is the rope used to start them? :lol: I would be interested to see how many hours he could get on that setup.
The props are tied to the cage to keep some idiot at the show from reaching in and turning the prop and maybe starting the engine.
Waterthunder
Well-known member
Yep we gotta protect the idiots from themselves the law and lawyers make sure of that.
Hartline does mold a good lookin hull. Very slick.
One cool thing about this rig is that if one engine pucked, the other one could get you home.
Harley V-twins have some decent torque but they only make around 45 hp in stock form. It wouldn't be a fast boat, but it sure is interesting.
olf
One cool thing about this rig is that if one engine pucked, the other one could get you home.
Harley V-twins have some decent torque but they only make around 45 hp in stock form. It wouldn't be a fast boat, but it sure is interesting.
olf
A
Anonymous
Guest
I bet you'd have to counter-steer a LOT with only one engine working
Here is a link to that manufacturer, http://www.aquaticdesignsco.com/ Click on gallery to see a video of it running. Takeoff does't look too impressive, takes awhile to plane out. Personally I have thought of using a jet ski motor with a reduction for a small boat. You can tune up a 1200cc yamaha triple 2 stroke ski motor to run about 185hp at 5500rpms reliably and weighs about 95lbs. I have a buddy with one of these ski's with over 400 troublefree hours on it run wide open its whole life. Also SeaDoo has a 1500cc 4 stroke triple that is supercharged and intercooled pushing 215hp stock and weighs about 175lbs. Just my thoughts.........
Larry
Larry
spooledup50
Well-known member
i was at alumatech and that boat the black widow was there it was the prototype and it used a river master hull it was heavy and would not slide across the ground Dave and Raymond were so-posed to re design them to make it wear it would actualy run the hill or better yet plain in deep water but i never heard the outcome