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Found a Mini UPDATE

Boz

Boz

Well-known member
I went to look at a airboat and it turned out to be a mini. I think the guy called it a Tom Cat it looks to be about 9 to 10 foot long. Has built in seats and a lever you just move left to right to steer. Has anyone seen one of these before and if so what would a good motor and prop set up for it be? Thanks
 
Might have been had a j-lo snowmobile motor on it. Looking to get my first boat and thought it might be a good starter boat. I'm from Iowa and looking for something just to run up and down the river here.
 
Here's a picture of a "Tom Cat" but they had VW engines...doesn't mean it wasn't changed out for something else.
04_11.jpg
 
I bought one from Aircat in the mid seventies as a kit. It was a great little boat for riding and frogging, but too small for fishing. I put a Super Beatle engine on it and it was very fast, probably faster than the boat I have now with the 220 GPU. We really enjoyed the little boat and had no fear of running it from Bayport to Chassahowitzka. We gigged alot of mullet from this boat. If you just want to ride it is alot of fun. I really like the stick it was similar to flying a airplane with a stick. Should you have any questions PM me.
Gerry
 
I paid $1750 for the boat kit, $300 for Super Beatle engine, and $175 for a used boat trailer. It took me about three days to put it all together. Back then you could buy a good Cub or Champ for less than $2000. My how inflation has chaged things.
Gerry
 
That looks similar to this one and then there are 2 door on the Front that flip forward for storage. I called the guy back and it has a 760 J-Lo 2 cyl on it now but is stuck. It comes with a tilt trailer. He is asking $500 for it. I think I might get it. Just looking for something to ride for now till I can afford a bigger boat. It looks like it might be fun. Boats here in iowa seem to be alot more then they are down South.
 
Hey, Boz,

You decide you don't like it, I'll pull it up to MN and run it. That ad didn't look too different from the pics of the one I was looking at. Not surprising since they are from the same era.

JB
 
Also do these usually only have a single rudder? i think I will go pick it up this weekend. Is there anywhere else to find info on them?
 
Yes; Single rudder. A lot of these boats were shipped north to be used on the ice and snow. They weren't to popular here because you sat at water level. You need elevated seats here in south. Still avery fun boat.
Gerry
 
FP1201 said:
Here's a picture of a "Tom Cat" but they had VW engines...doesn't mean it wasn't changed out for something else.
04_11.jpg
Click to expand...

I had one of those in the mid 70's, bought it new from what I remember being Hurricane Fiberglass, but no doubt the same outfit as the ad here. I was at their shop a few times and it was in Lake Hamilton so its a match.

I could be wrong but I think the VW powered Tomcats were Tomcat II's. Mine had the Rockwell 750 cc 50hp on it from the factory making the difference between the Tomcat and Tomcat II's. It was a cool little boat that I gotta lot of years out of. Their hulls were tuff as hell.

They had a flier out in the 70's claiming to have been providing boats for the military in Vietnam, they had photos (larger boats) of a slightly damaged hull that was cited to have run over a grenade launcher and the damage was very mild.

I was 16 years old when I got this boat.
I did power slides into oak trees, took out fence post , ran asphalt and a number of other stunts and never really did anything for real damage to it....
It survived my teenage years and I sold it running strong...

A lot of these boats were shipped north to be used on the ice and snow.
Click to expand...

Yep, I have seen a couple in Alaska.....

There is a photo of a VW powered TomCat in this gallery
 
Here is another relevant post I just stumbled across....

catfish said:
Mini-Airboats-Post subject: Need help with JLO/Rockwell motor
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:24 pm

A guy I am helping build a mini had bought a 10x5 aircat hull with the original JLO/rockwell motor and prop on it so I know they were at one time used on minis. We ripped the JLO off and put a rotax on it as the JLO had seen better days and parts were not easy to obtain. If you're interested at seeing the actual boat that the JLO was on you could look under the user name CATFISH in the member galleries section of this site and will see some pics of the aircat hull it was mounted on. I beleive the motor was 760cc and put out around 40 to 50 hp. If you call a company called ARROW PROP I'm sure they can tell you what prop you need and could supply you one for a reasonable price. good luck
Click to expand...
 
Boz, here are three pictures of the 10 foot Aircat I had. I think there were known as Tomcats and Aircats. I had the 1600 cc VW Engine and it was a blast. It is a heavy hull and could use more power but the 65 horse is fine for a start.

yellow1.jpg


yellow2.jpg


yellow3.jpg
 
Des Moines Boater,

if you put a redrive on it and swing a bigger prop. there's one in the pictures gallery, i think it's leo something....

may i just comment that you are not getting 65 hp from that engine unless you're turning it at 4,600 rpm...with that prop?

and is that a 2bbl progressive carb, an extractor exhaust on a dual port...wow!

a 1.5: to 1.75:1 redrive will work great wonders on the performance.

of course a new prop :D
 
The one I'm getting Looks like that except the front is closed in with 2 doors on top for storage. I'm looking forward for something to just play with. Where is the best place to get props for these smaller ones? Does anyone know what the 760 j-lo was rated at for HP? Thanks Boz
 
Boz, I would go with the VW motor. They are almost as easy to work on as an aircraft engine. The 1600cc was great but a VW with more cc's would be even better. Run it direct drive and it will last forever. Mine was over 15 years old and it is still running strong in Northern Iowa. The redrive will give you more power but the engine won't last as long.

Lots of places sell props that will work on that engine. Steve Bennett near Omaha, close to you, can tell you everything you need to know. Lots of new VW parts on the market and they are cheap.
 
That little boat would be a scream with a Continental A/C say 85hp. (and the prop would be turning the right direction :lol: )
 
I finally got it home last night. The motor I thought was stuck freed right up. definatly will have to get a prop for it but am happy I now own my First Airboat :D
 
Congratulations Boz !

Might consider a turbo-injected TSIO-360. I bet it would run some dry then. Might even be a little bit fast as well !

Scotty :wink:
 
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