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Scooter and friends on BS Hill
Niced touch by Hamment fuel & storage
darkwader1
A-ticket or E-ticket??????
my new boat
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C

cooter

Well-known member
Guys, I am Brand Spanking New at owning and running an Airboat. Althought it is a used boat, it is in very good condition. It is a 16' X 8' American Boat with a 454 engine. So I would like to pose a few questions for you to hep me with, and then throw in anything that I might not know I will be needing help with, but will. I will be running on shallow rivers mainly, hunting and fishing. I have not even got it in the water yet. I have riden in a few, but never operated one. So nothing is to Beginner for me. Please help save me some money, and bumps & bruises

(1) How many hours before changing oil ?

(2) Any secrets to running one. corners, tight corner, running onto a dry sandbar, starting on dry ground, running in the dark, anything that might help me get away fron the Trial & Error ?

(3) Any secret to starting on very cold mornings ? I assume there are no chokes, due to idling up has the fan pushing.

(4) Anything extra for the engine that would be smart to carry a extra one of ?

(5) I was told that this rig will run dry with no problem, does this sound right for a 454 ?

(6) Is there common problem in getting stuck you just running that I should be aware of, and have equipment ready for them ?

(7) What kind of weight would you think that this boat may run dry ?
Again, if you think of anything that I haven't ask, is it because I don't know. :roll: So I am hoping to learn some things without it actually happening to me. I am old enought to listen. :? Even if I should know, I doubt I do so share all.

Thanks for any help, we will be going for the first trip to the river this weekend. Hopefully just trying to keep the obvious from happening. cooter
 
Cooter, first Congratulations on your new airboat ! You bought one of the very best. American builds a great boat.

My best advice is to find an area with some real shallow water and then confine yourself to it for a day. Shallow enough so that you can't sink the boat. And then just go out and play. See what you need to do to turn it, what effect throttle has on your turns, what happens when you come off the throttle too fast (look over your shoulder at the transom for the answer to that one), and in general just see how your boat acts in as many situations as you can think of. Remember always that when you get out of the throttle you lose steering. Play along the shore with beaching and then returning to the water. Watch your wake for clues. Practice. Have fun, go easy, be careful. You'll get it.

Over 35 years ago when I was a trainee on the railroad an old engineer took me under his wing and let me sit down at the control stand of a fright train. He told me then, "You can learn the basics of this in 20 minutes, but it's going to take you 20 years to do it well." He was right.
 
You have no brakes, Options - change direction always keep that
option in mind. Pushing or pulling the stick will change the
direction the bow is pointing, however only the push from your
prop will make it go that way. If you get off the gas when you turn
you will slide sideways into what you are trying to miss.
Like was said before ,find a shallow place and get the feel of your new
boat.be safe and have fun!!!
 
Airboats are driven with the gas petal brother, And while your learnin that the best tip to remember if your gonna hit something (and its gonna happen every airboater has got to sliding to close to something they didnt want to be ) , rather it be a sawgrass a tree ,bank , dock whatever try to hit it straight on , you and your boat will fare alot better.......lol...good luck man , it wont take long youll pick it up....
 
JUST TAKE YOUR TIME !GOOD ADVISE FROM ALL ! GOOD CHOICE ON THE BOAT IT WILL BE WAY MORE FORGIVING THAN SOME ! DONT BE FOOLISH THERE IS ALWAYS TIME FOR THAT LATER ! ENJOY THE RIDE FOR A WHILE ! OIL- 10 HRS - CORNERS NO POWER NO STEERING WOULDNT TRY TO DO CORNERS FOR A WHILE ! DRY - SORT OF A UNAWNSERED DEAL !JUST TRY SOMEWHERE WERE YOU CAN GET HELP ! SEAT TIME THE ONLY THING YOU NEED ! ITS NOT A WEEK THING ! YOU WILL BE ALRIGHT ! IF NOT TELL US WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU DID AND WE WILL START ANOTHER THREAD GOOD LUCK ! :D
 
Cooter, First of all let me say thanks for becoming part of our family! If you would like to bring the boat over to the factory we can answer all of your questions and help you get started. If your a ways from the factory and would like to call and ask me questions call my cell phone at 409-920-0716. My cell phone is on 7 days a week for my customers. If you have a fax number I can fax you some information that we give all of our new customers when they pick up their boats with suggestions and recommendations.

Oil, We run 40 W. Castrol in that Engine. The engine should have its first change at 25 to 50 hrs and every 25 running hours after that.
When you change your oil the reduction unit should get two pumps of greese in each of the three zert fittings.

Secrets for Running, Slow and Easy, slow and easy, and slow and easy. Learn the boat and once you have it figured out remember it can always teach you something!

Boat should run dry no problem, 4 people in it. Of Coarse there are always certain terrains that can stick 1,000 H.P.

Send me a PM of call me if you need help of have additional questions, I would love to help.
 
Just keep cranking, it will start. If you let it sit for a long time, you probably want to use your squeeze bulb in your fuel line (if you don't have one, get one). Pat the gas a couple times (not too many, you'll flood it) and it will start. You don't need a choke because inertia of the prop will keep the engine from dying while it warms up.

Carry a spare ignition module for the distributor and the tools to change it. You need to know how to change it too, so get a manual if you need to.

One thing I see a lot of beginners forget is that when you come off plane, your wake wants to come over the transom. Let off, then when the wake is coming for your transom, hit the gas again to keep it from coming over and filling the bottom of your boat with water.

D-BREWSTER is on the money. The gas pedal is your friend ..."When in doubt, power out"
 
Thanks guys this is exactly what I was hoping for. I'm 52 and been boating most of my life. I have had a Mud Motor rig for the last 12 years, and no reverse, and things like this are the norm.

But keep it coming. I am listening AND understanding. Thanks very much.

Airboatcapt2 - I am in Texas, so I doubt I can make it out to visit :roll: but I will proably get you a fax #. I would love any info that you might think would help a first time airboat owner. cooter
 
Cooter, what part of Texas areyou in. American Airboat is in Orange, Texas on I-10 Tx/ La Border. I am the Outside Sales Manager but I can set up an appointment for you to come to the factory and have Stan answer all of your questions. You are part of our family now.

These Guys on Southern Airboats are also a great source of informations.

You can call Stan at the factory toll free anytime at 1-800-241-6390.
 
New airboaters just need to take it easy and ocncentrate on understanding what you see the boat do. Go see the folks at American factory. They wont steer ya wrong. Were all one big family here. Just be patient, it won't all happen at once.

Scotty
 
best advice: if your out of throttle, your out of control, period. go easy even if it means you might get stuck a few times until you learn how to handle it. there is no brakes and no reverse, keep that in mind. if you are sliding towards something sideways and you know your gonna hit it dont just sit there, gas it up and spin it out somewhere else, because it was a sure bet where you were headin so somewhere else you got a 55/50 chance. Just go slow and easy and spin a few donuts and stuff till you figure it out and them remember you really aint got nutin figure dout you just gettin luckier. and most of alll burn lots of gas and have lots of fun.
 
The following I have done to the tour boat, inturn I think needs to be done to every airboat on the river for saftey reasons.

The following should be done so it does not go throught the prop

Bolt the airbreather together and strap it to the engine block

Valve cover breather should be strapped to the block

Battery Boxes should be strapped in.

Every 10 time you take the boat out for ride, tighten key bolts to reinsure bolts wont come loose and go throught the radiator. prop

make sure the transom is always clean sand & gravel can eat a prop up.

Invest in a toolset just for the boat.

Your welcome to call me or email anytime for questions towards airboating.

Welcome to the Family

Tim Bryson
Bryson's Airboat Tours
402-968-8534
 
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