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Trainer capabilities in Airboat

Whitebear

Silent Prop
R. I. P.
Anybody here ever built an airboat with dual controls? Rudder stick and throttle front and rear?

Lots of new folks getting into airboats it seems.

Might be an idea whose time has come.

Scotty
 
Whitebear ,
We run them up here in Alaska , If it is what I think you are talking about ,I have steering on my upper deck (Up high) and in front of the bow in the bottom, For bad weather. I can post some picks if you want to see.

Alaskatours
 
Love to see them AlaskaTours. Especially of how the throttles are set up. I'll be building my boat in January and have a lot of folks wanting to go out that have never been in an airboat but have the interest. Just thinking ahead this might be a good way to intorduce folks and still maintain some control over the boat if they err.

Open to ideas and thoughts about it too.

Even thinking about an airboat operators school at some point.

Scotty
 
WB,

I had found a training school a few years ago but can't seem to find the link now. I think "Charley" might have took it from me when he crashed my computer in 2004!

Basketcase
 
Google search for words Airboat & School turns up NO exact hits today.

Might be a need, who knows.

Scotty
 
this is how i was going to re rig my boat rear side by side with 2 gas pedles and 2 rudder sticks so that I can ride on eather side and a double or triple front and the rudder stick will be on the left side from eather seat and then I could teach any one to run a boat and still have control
 
Hay Guys most small Aircraft have dual controls you might want to look and see how they are set up it woud be reliable and that's what you want
 
Rudder sticks are a no brainer.

For a double seat the insturment panel could be in the middle.

Airplanes have a single push pull throttle but thats not a good idea on an airboat. I'm concerned about the moving inertia and weight of the double throttle setup. Maybe Im being too much of an ole woman about it. I have never seen it done so its all thought right now, hardware may prove simpler than thinking it through.

My boat will be single front & rear and front operator with possibly second set of controls in the rear. Maybe even a removable second control set.

Scotty
 
Not what I want, someone sitting behind me with a set of controls that they decide to use when I least expect it. maybe if they were removable but side by side would be better that way I could slapem off the boat if they didn't listen LOL just flashin back to my childhood before dr. spock became popular, not the star trek guy but the one who said violence was not the answer, positive comments were better, yeah right.

I think it better to introduce them to driving one out in a wide open area with skinny water and a few floating weeds to try and hit and spin around with no bad things happening if something goes wrong. I have taugt a lot of folks how to drive this way and never had a wreck and never had them wreck after they were on their own either so I think it works ok.
 
Country141 I have always believed that while not always the BEST or ONLY solution, violence IS a viable solution to problems. Especially when repetition, common sense, and logic fails the trainee. A good slap with a wet mullett can return them to their senses.

I too have taught folks to run airboats like you describe with good results. Just wondering about a better mousetrap.

In todays twisted, vertically fornicated society, it may be that a liability issue would make it a bad idea anyway. 'Bout like loaning a beginner your boat.

Scotty
 
I agree with cntry. I would be careful with a boat with 2 throttles. After running boats with dual controls, most of them with an upper station and lower station you have to be careful when people are onboard and happen to grab the throttle, bump the throttle, put something near the throttle and it blockes it from moving, very bad.
Having a gas pedal I think would be worse. Especially if you have kids onboard. they start moving around and step on ith gas and dont know what they are doing and off you go. Not that anyone would purposely hit the gas but could do it by accident.
I is something I would think carefully about.
Tim
 
Or they will stab it on Purpose!

My old man had a Radial powered boat, and it had dual controls on it.

He'd let me drive it from the front seat. After I had been driving it for a spell, and I was getting comfortable and happy he'd stab it WFO and hold it there!

Good way to scare the crap out of a little kid!

It scared me, but no crap came out.

Guess it's just wanna those little torments we all have to endure in this world. Didnt cause me any permanent emotional damage.

At least not that I know of.

Good topic Scotty!
 
hahahah Cowboy just made me think of an old admonition about scaring your kids.

Careful how you treat your kids, remember they get to chose your rest home ! :lol:

Scotty
 
Hey Whitebear, I have dual stick one on my left and one on the right of the passenger seat. Let my passengers get some stick time, while I control the one and only gas pedal. Also works real nice when I want to get a frosty beverage or take a break, the misses can take over. Only thing I have noticed is believe it or not it gets a little confusing when you switch hands and try to steer. Hope this helps.
 
I agree about one gas pedal. I've seen one boat with the stick between the side-by-side seats. I asked the guy if he liked it and he said he did,
for what Billy just said .... he could hand over the steering and take a break or open one. Steering right handed would take some getting used to though, for me.
 
When I first read this my concern was the extra gas pedal also. This concept has been on the back of my mind for a while and I think the key would be to be able to disable the extra gas pedal if there was one or have some way to overpower the trainee's foot feed should they freak out and freeze with the foot pedal to the floor. Relying on killing the engine could save your lives but sink the boat and re-endanger your lives.
I'm sure a safe solution is doable, I'll keep thinking on it! 8)
 
Or you could just set it up with the driver on the left side with the gas pedal in the normal spot and put the rudder stick between the seats and still be able to use your left foot to push the gas when setting in the right seat that should work.

I was told to make a removeable rudder stick for the passanger.
But my way of thinking is WHAT IF I WAS DRIVING FROM THE LEFT SEAT AND GOT THROWN OUT then the person on the right has no rutter stick because you don't have it on. or don't have the extra gas pedal to use so then maybe they crash or maybe they sink. WHAT IF

just and idea my idea no one has to agree with me it's only my idea for my boat.
 
A buddy of mine has a nice setup on his boat that is front driver, single rear pass. He has a lower control arm for each seat with a quick release upper stick with stainless aircraft pins. For the throttle he has a stainless cable with a fishing quick release that connects the rear pedal to the front. He mainly uses this setup when he has a real big load on the front of his boat, usually his duck hunt gear, and can move to the back seat to get his weight off the nose. I'll see if I have any pics of his setup to post.

Larry
 
I wanna do mine side by side! I just remember when one time when my wife pulled me one of the first times waterskiing and she was heading for the beach while I was getting out of the water on one. NO CONTROL
 
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