Hi everybody ,I am from Northern Ontario and have a water access only cabin that I want to live in year round ,it’s on a river that’s 35’deep ,but only 150’ across .I have unpredictable ice to deal with .I was going to scratch build something ,but found a boat local (extremely rare here )with a vw engine and a composite prop , the boat is fibreglass ,10’long and about 6’wide if I remember correctly (it’s not here ) but is a tunnel hull design .There is a sticker on the side that says “ dragonfly “ but I can’t find any others like it ,but it does closely resemble some of the Tom cat airboats .It does have ice brakes on the back .
Anyways ,I have no need for an airboat from March until December ,not worried about speed as I am not going far ,I am worried about transitioning between good and bad ice and water and am wondering if any of you would know if I will have enough power to get in and out of trouble ,or should I possibly re-power with something better .I live in snowmobile country ,finding sled engines is pretty easy for me ,the prop components would be tough ,I owned my own truck and trailer repair shop ,even worked in the Arctic repairing every kind of equipment imaginable so I have ability to do the work .
I hope to toss the boat in the river in the next few days for it’s maiden voyage .
Also ,I am wondering why airboats apparently don’t work as well in deep water ,something about they don’t get up on plane ,I have 11 ft of water within 6 feet of the river edge ,how much of a problem is that going to be for me when things are wet ? Do I really need to worry about getting up on plane if I am only going 150 feet ?
Sorry about the random questions ,I am excited but concerned about the boat I bought and it’s abilities ,the sellers father purchased it for exactly my use ,but had issues with the trailer bringing it up here ,he was so upset he parked it in the garage for several years and never tried it even once ,so they are unable to tell me anything about it abilities.If the boat won’t work for me ,I have had many local rednecks stop and try to purchase it from me ,so I can easily get out of it if I need to .
Thank you in advance for any help you have to offer !
Anyways ,I have no need for an airboat from March until December ,not worried about speed as I am not going far ,I am worried about transitioning between good and bad ice and water and am wondering if any of you would know if I will have enough power to get in and out of trouble ,or should I possibly re-power with something better .I live in snowmobile country ,finding sled engines is pretty easy for me ,the prop components would be tough ,I owned my own truck and trailer repair shop ,even worked in the Arctic repairing every kind of equipment imaginable so I have ability to do the work .
I hope to toss the boat in the river in the next few days for it’s maiden voyage .
Also ,I am wondering why airboats apparently don’t work as well in deep water ,something about they don’t get up on plane ,I have 11 ft of water within 6 feet of the river edge ,how much of a problem is that going to be for me when things are wet ? Do I really need to worry about getting up on plane if I am only going 150 feet ?
Sorry about the random questions ,I am excited but concerned about the boat I bought and it’s abilities ,the sellers father purchased it for exactly my use ,but had issues with the trailer bringing it up here ,he was so upset he parked it in the garage for several years and never tried it even once ,so they are unable to tell me anything about it abilities.If the boat won’t work for me ,I have had many local rednecks stop and try to purchase it from me ,so I can easily get out of it if I need to .
Thank you in advance for any help you have to offer !
