Airboats... inquiring minds want to know...

A

Andrew

Well-known member
Not that I'd ride in one because I'm scared of gators ; )

But, I've seen some of Hitch's and Bob's pictures and I was always surprised how they manage to get those things up on land. I used to fly planes when I was a kid and in my mid-teens I had a plane-washing business.. I'd taxi planes all over the airport (this was in the mid-70's before lawsuits and insurance companies were invented) and when I went over grass and hit an impression in the ground, I'd have to gun the prop(s) big time to get out. So I can't imagine pulling a flat boat hull with people, gear, etc. up on a road.

So the question I have, just because I'm curious, how is it that the bottoms of those boats aren't destroyed in one season with all the scraping going on? And further, that looks like an absolute blast. Please post more pics of airboats, fascinated by them.
 
Well for one, the boats are flat bottomed and most often they are just john boats with either an aircraft or truck engine attached with a prop on the back. With Hitch, we've only gone over dirt dykes, lots of vegetation, grass and the boat ramp for launching/loading the air boats is cement with 2x4s attached about every 10 inches or so. I don't think that Hitch takes his boat over cement/asfault or what not, so saves a lot of scraping. And yes he does gun the engine as much as he can going over dykes and getting unstuck from the vegetation. Sometimes the extra weight (extra passengers mostly) have to get out to go over a dyke or what not. It is a blast!!!! If only it weren't so noisy :)
 
Airboats have props that move a lot more air than airplanes. I had a friend that had a constant speed prop off the rear engine of a skymaster and that boat would hardly get out of it's own way. Good for speed...no low end power. A sheet of polymer bolted to the bottom of an airboat and it becomes 4 wheel drive. As far as alligators ...don't worry about them...take the airboat ride. My airboat broke down once 2 miles from a canal and I waded out in waist deep water to thumb a ride from a passing bassboat(no cell that day). I carried a paddle to ward off any agressive critters ...it wasn't needed. I would hate to be in the icy waters the guys up north hunt in and have to walk 2 miles. More danger there I dare say.
 
Allot has to do with the prop you use and the gear box if you run a car motor the aircraft engines are more for smaller liter boats now days. the bottoms most use polyemer (basically a thick plastic sheet) if can be replaced if needed but does last a long time and makes the boat slipper, kinda like the plastic bunk stick you use on boat trailers , not exactly the same but you get the idea. some guys also use "frog split " sorry about the nick name can't remember the proper name it is much cheaper but has to be replaced often if you run dry. for a big load or big boat and wanting to run dry car motors with gear boxes are the cheapest way to go aircraft engine parts are very expensive and you can go with a cheap wooden prop or go top of the line with a composite prop this is probally the single biggest factor in what your boat will be able to do (dry, wet, load weight etc..)
I have to disagree with Daini airboat an John boats are two very very very different type hull designs. The bottom of a airboat needs to be as stiff as possible with little to no flex it also need to be wider in the stren to balance the high CG , they can range for 6 feet to 8 feet wide . there are Bowfishing rigs with small fans but it is not real airboat just depends what you want it for
The bigger the prop the more thrust it has and the slower you need to spin it witch saves fuel and makes it much quiter since the prop speed is where 90% of the airboat noise comes form. just look at this guys composite three blade , blades are 15" wide
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Man, a composit prop and rudders with polished stainless tube for the rest of the structure and a custom aluminum radiator. Awesome.
Are you guys facing pressure on use of the boat in some or all areas? I think they are the coolest things but I bet you get a few people giving you a hard time.
Bet one of those boats would be the cats a$$ for moving ice fishing gear.
 
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That is a really nice but way to shinny for me :) you get the people who are aginast everthing just like with duckhunting or heck I do it with "those Darn bass boat guys" and some areas are resitirced or you have to have a permit just a way for the govt to make some more money if you ask me. northern airboat hulls are designed a little different in shape and hull thickness they also tend to have poly on the sides as well as the bottom and some are set up with low cabins to rid behind instead of a tall rack that we need to see.
Airboats are the most envorimental freindly watercraft or ATV that I can think of they disburse the load over a wide area and the fan just pushes air so there is noprop in the water or mud to damage vegitations root system
 
The boat scoots over dry pretty easy now that I have it running really good. Dani knows how much better it's running this year than last. It took a new Prestolite distributor. The MSD HEI is in the trash. It's amazing to me that the prop pushes the boat so much better at any given RPM when it's making more horsepower at that RPM. Anyway I have polymer on the bottom but avoid running on gravel or pavement. Prop pitch is tunable but fixed, usually between 7 and 12 degrees. Mine is set just under 10 degrees. There are 3 and 4 blade props for boats with more HP. The ZZ4 in this boat is rated at 355hp.

Here are a couple of photos, allthough it's a little less shiny now.

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Hitch
 
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Hitch, that boat is sweet. Nice motor. I like the cover over the intake. My pal bent the rods in his 23 sea-craft's inboard small block last year after a rain storm filled two cylinders and he hit the starter about ten times trying to get it to stop going, "clunk!" The, "small boat" ride operators out of everglades city give a pretty good demo of what the boats can do. Had a blast seeing some back alley mangrove running this year at Christmas.
 
Airboats are a lot of fun and it's amazing what they can get through.

In the late '80's I lived in Gainesville and worked with a guy that built his own airboats. He'd get them running good and then sell them. Some of the guys at work were asking him about his latest build. They asked him how fast it was. He said it was fast enough that you wouldn't hold it open. It had a 425 Cadillac motor in it. It wasn't fast out of the hole due to weight. But, once it was going it would run with anything else on the water.

I went out for a ride once, it was a blast! I could tell when he had it wide open, my eyes were so teared up I couldn't see! He also had a 14 foot gator that hung out around his dock.

I lived in north FL for four years, I sure had some great times there.

Tom
 
had a guy on mitchells bay in canada that used to take one out on the ice to go ice fishing - what a racket that thing made going over the ice along with its engine noise - he never had to worry about ice breaking up and getting stranded, thats the plus side - but it had to be one heck of a cold ride sitting exposed with no windscreen like a sno-machine
 
Think it was 2 years ago now, but a guide on the Mississippi River here in WI died on one not even 300 yards from the launch. Seems he went up and was turning around and a wave hit him broadside and flipped him....cold water, late season or whatever, but it caught him....Turns out the whole town knew/loved that guy and no one could believe it since this guy was ALWAYS one of the most careful guys out there....

Guess my point is that they can be pretty dangerous just like any other boat but I can't imagine they would handle much chop/waves well. Be careful out there.

Oh, and Hitch, I would love a ride someday, that rig of your's does look awesome. Nice work. Just let me know when the crocs like to sleep and NOT hunt, and I may get on the river then....
 
Most guys hunt from an airboat. Many will use a bow or a crossbow. The arrow or bolt has a special tip with a line attached. The other end of the line has a float. When you shoot the gator it will go to the bottom and lay there until it thinks your gone or needs air, whichever comes first... after which comes the real fight.

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Hitch
 
What msd were ya running Hitch? and don't tell me ya reallllly trashed it. Our 6A/6AL's need at least 14-16volts to fire hot and steady. That thing looks damn faasssttt sittin still.

Kyle
 
I still have the stuff Kyle. The box is the 6 offroad model and the distributor is a billet HEI. The alternator is a Powermaster racing alternator that puts out 14.7 volts, 110 amps. I checked the pickup before I replaced it and the ohms were right, I think it was 800 ohms, but it was right. It was the last thing that I replaced after sinking the boat, but after replacing it with the Prestolite distributor, I realized it was the problem since day 1. Probably an extra 75-100 HP with the new ignition. Oh and I fried one box about 6 month's after first firing the motor and they did replaced it for me so I know it wasn't just a bad box. It just wasn't putting out the power at 3-5K rpms.

Hitch
 
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