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Wooden Props ......

Olf Art

Silent Prop
R. I. P.
Here I sit with a just rebuilt SBC boat with a state-of-the-art 3 blade 'Q' prop on it ....... and dreaming of building a small, light, 2 seat boat that is turning a 2 blade WOOD Sensenich.

If y'all had a clean sheet of paper and a boat like this in mind, what would you build ?

olf
 
Olf,
Yuo need to see Cntry's new pet. 3 blade wood with about 60 HP. boat looks to be about 10-12', not real shure. Sweeeet. call him.

joel
 
Hmgm, I have a neighbor with one a lot like that. Why did you say open hull ? Just curious.

olf
 
What I have so far is a 54hp briggs on a 10 x6 aluminum hull with polymer that is totally set up wrong but it has an adjustable 3 blade wooden prop. supposedly it does 45mph as it sits and will run dry with a 150 pound driver.

What I will probably end up with is a 54hp briggs complete with an x-pipe exhaust system and dual mufflers ( one cyl. in each one ) a 11x7 special design hull aluminum with frog spit on it and a full shroud designed to increase thrust. It will run dry with my old fat butt on it. I want a top speed in the 50mph range on water and 25 mph on dry ground. I would hope for 55 in skinny water.

I believe this is doable and I will run all day on 5 gallons of gas. I wont need earmuffs and no one will be able to hear me at all if they are not very close to me. I have already designed a rollback carrier that slips in and out of a short bed truck with an electric winch to load the boat so no trailer will be required.

I am going to devote a lot of time and money to this project with hopes of marketing a true poor boys hotrod. besides it is fun, I already know how to build quiet big boats that haul ass so why not a little quiet boat that hauls ass. see ya on the hill soon with it.
 
Hey Olf,
If I was gonna do it from scratch, it would looks something like this:
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Surprise...surprise.

It may not be politically correct, but I love the sound a wood stick makes.

A four banger spinning up a wood stick sounds like..... well.. an airboat.

At least to me it does.
 
Cowboy you are right there is nothing like the sound of wood props I am old school that is what an airboat should sound like.


Olf what cowboy is riding would be a perfect little boat to me.

160 to 180 on 12' hull glass or alumni. 3/4 or full deck with emt or crome moly.

Oh yea Whitebear boat too. 8)
 
Cntry - that sounds like an interesting boat, I'd like to get at least one. A pair of them would be better so Laura and I can go out together.

One seater would also give it a designation as a Personal Water Craft?

matt.
 
I want to go true old school a plywood hull with a front mounted Model T flat head Ford and a hand made wood prop now that's a great boat! To be honest I love my boat I feel it does everything exceptionally well. It out run's most race boats, never been stuck, get's insane fuel economy, and is extremely quite, has never leaked or needed a drop of oil and my only maintenance after 250 hours was a set of plugs didn't need them but I changed the anyway. Up until this week I felt I couldn't build a better boat for myself now I know I can and things can be much better. Quieter, faster and better fuel economy with a smooth idle. My wife thinks I'm crazy but she has learned I'm never happy with anything mechanical because it can always be improved. I'm gonna miss her my boat that is!
IMG_1153.JPG
 
I had a clean slate and decided first what I wanted. Then I found it. Not a lot different from Cowboy's boat. 200 HP 4-Cylinder, Partial or full deck, wood prop, light weight 11'6".

One old man can load and unload by himself. not hauling half the household with me and no room for half the county to ride in. Jus me and maybe a dog or the ocassional guest.

Going_Back_Together.JPG


Metal_Work_and_Assembly_DONE.jpg


I got it as a basketcase (no pun intended Mr. & Mrs. :)) and have $5,000 in it including paying to have it reassembled and some upgraded parts.

Small, light and cant wait to get there and burn some gas !

Patience and planning & networking is the key, and did I mention patience?

Scotty :lol: :lol:
 
Olf Art":3c9s8rkh said:
Hmgm, I have a neighbor with one a lot like that. Why did you say open hull ? Just curious.

olf
Well to be honest I have all that motor and no way to haul any thing in to my Dad's cabin. Ply wood etc.

Geoff
 
Scotty, that's a very cool little boat alright ...... I know you're gonna enjoy it. And Cowboy's boat is as good as it gets too. The look and sound of a stick prop is partly what I'm after, and it will have to be light. Like Scotty said, something I can load and unload by myself.

I'm after both retro and modern at the same time. Four cylinder, but maybe from a car motor. An LS-1 with one bank of cylinders removed maybe. Something really different, but fuel efficient and reliable.
I don't want to hear anything but the prop when it's running.

Geoff, I know exactly what you mean.

olf
 
Geoff,
Those little boats we have have been haul'in the lumber, plywood, and tear-out debris.
Alot of it is at rest on the grass rake, and hanging out the front.
They may not haul it all at once, but they haul it.

It's about a ten mile run from the landing to our camp.
Guess what I'm saying is if I had your boat, it would be hauling stuff big-time!
Load the stuff on there.
Get to work / gitter done!
 
Olf Art":16lnj9aq said:
I'm after both retro and modern at the same time. Four cylinder, but maybe from a car motor. An LS-1 with one bank of cylinders removed maybe. Something really different, but fuel efficient and reliable.
I don't want to hear anything but the prop when it's running.

Geoff, I know exactly what you mean.

olf
How about a GM Quad 4. That all aluminum motor 16valve makes about 220 horse. I think that would make a great motor with a gear reduction.

Geoff
 
I know where you guys are coming from, but I still think a wood prop looks best hanging on the wall.

Maybe when I get older I'll feel different, but there's just something apealing about more performance and less sound.
 
Sorta like cars...the new ones can out-perform the old classics but people still kill to be seen driving the oldies :p

My powershift is WAAAAAY better than my old wood prop, mainly because of the ability to tune it to my motor, but that old wood prop sure did sound good to me. Maybe not everyone, but definitely me.

Adam
 
Yeah, but when's the last time you saw a '69 Camaro running bias ply tires driving on the street? :wink:
 
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