Have a question ask me please, I'm still building this page and know there is much more to put on it. Email is watercatwn6535nd@yahoo.com
This page is under construction but read along and see were I'm headed with it. I'll have the club craft cad drawings up soon feel free to use them or reprint any thing here just let them know where you found it.
ARE YOU READY TO HOVERCRAFT
ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW HOBBY
DO YOU LOVE THE WATER
There are a few of us out here that have built and maintain hovercraft for cruising and camping the waters of Washington State. Were always looking for more people to join in. If your interested in this hobby and would like a look at a machine or even a ride let me know and I can help set that up. watercatwn6535nd@yahoo.com Jeff
What would you build, what will it cost, how long will it take, what can it do
Lets tackle what would you build to come fly with our club. We have many years of hovercrafting under our belts and have broken everything on the machines, been stuck on the bay in the rivers. ran out of gas, had to tow each other, torn skirts almost off! completely rebuilt older machines to make them new again. But we always get home and we always get fixed and we always do it as a group.
This is a one time offer to anyone that would like to build a hovercraft to cruise with our group.
Starting in August will start in on new hulls and work through the winter to have them flying and ready come the end of spring next year. I'm a hard ass on these projects that I give my time knowledge and effort away on. I just happen to be building a craft personally and another member of the group is building the exact same machine. This is an enormous bonus to help out a would be builder.
Were building all the machines together to the exact same specs. Please read this next part 4 or 5 times in a row so you can start to understand in advance.THE CRAFTS WILL ALL BE THE SAME IN SHAPE SIZE AND DESIGN. YOU DO NOT GET TO PICK ANYTHING BECAUSE I SAID! IF YOU WANT OUR HELP THAT'S JUST HOW IT IS. YOU MAY THINK YOUR A ENGINEER AND YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ONE BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU WERE USING A PROVEN DESIGN WITH ALL MY DESIGN UPDATES THAT MAKE IT A SUPER TERRIFIC MACHINE WHEN ITS DONE. THE MACHINES ARE BASED ON A 4 SEAT HULL SET UP FOR 2 SEATS AND CAN BE 3 SEATS WITH THE ADDITION OF JUST placing a 3rd seat in the craft .
All the power plants will be turbo Geo Metro engines. on this project you are only buying the parts and supplies to build your machine. No one is charging for any labor. These builds we do every couple years is simply to get more machines flying and camping with us. We are set up to do the entire build from hull work to engine mounts and engine rebuilds.
Basic specs to give you some idea of what were building
14ft long 7ft wide hull inflated size is 15ft by 9ft.
100hp single engine
chain re-ducted thrust drive
direct drive lift fan
If your new to hovercraft but would like to get out on the water or even back on the water you will not find a more inexpensive way to travel. A hovercraft fly's on the water and acts like a regular boat twice it's size. They are very stable verse's the same size boats. The fuel burn is 30% of what the same size boat would be at the same speeds. This hovercraft will burn in the 2.0 gph range and a little less in slow beach running at say around 25 mph. Were not building trailers just buying new or used PWC trailers and using the simple bunk system they come with.
You need a handful of money, you can't start or get involved unless you have the money to build the entire craft. We start with buying all the materials and supply's up front. You'll need $5k and this should come close to electronics and trailer complete ready to go cruising.
Will meet at least every other week for one day and many times it will be every week to complete the machines on time for next summer cruising. I will give everyone flight training for free you buy the gas, beer and BBQ and I'll bring the steak and show you where the clams and oysters are that you have to have a hovercraft to get to.
I must talk to 50 people every year that flake out or just are wanting to B.S.trust me. I can see and smell you from a mile a way. Were hoping the cash and materials up front cuts most of the flakes out. We just looking for people that have the time and the want to play and cruise and like to build stuff. if you have never built anything before this is probably not for you. If you get serious I'm willing to help any one all the way through to the end.
Now if your not a builder you cab buy a machine ready to fly for $15k new
This link will take you to some pictures of a craft to show you about what will be building and how. link
Starting in August will start in on new hulls and work through the winter to have them flying and ready come the end of spring next year. I'm a hard ass on these projects that I give my time knowledge and effort away on. I just happen to be building a craft personally and another member of the group is building the exact same machine. This is an enormous bonus to help out a would be builder.
Were building all the machines together to the exact same specs. Please read this next part 4 or 5 times in a row so you can start to understand in advance.THE CRAFTS WILL ALL BE THE SAME IN SHAPE SIZE AND DESIGN. YOU DO NOT GET TO PICK ANYTHING BECAUSE I SAID! IF YOU WANT OUR HELP THAT'S JUST HOW IT IS. YOU MAY THINK YOUR A ENGINEER AND YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ONE BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU WERE USING A PROVEN DESIGN WITH ALL MY DESIGN UPDATES THAT MAKE IT A SUPER TERRIFIC MACHINE WHEN ITS DONE. THE MACHINES ARE BASED ON A 4 SEAT HULL SET UP FOR 2 SEATS AND CAN BE 3 SEATS WITH THE ADDITION OF JUST placing a 3rd seat in the craft .
All the power plants will be turbo Geo Metro engines. on this project you are only buying the parts and supplies to build your machine. No one is charging for any labor. These builds we do every couple years is simply to get more machines flying and camping with us. We are set up to do the entire build from hull work to engine mounts and engine rebuilds.
Basic specs to give you some idea of what were building
14ft long 7ft wide hull inflated size is 15ft by 9ft.
100hp single engine
chain re-ducted thrust drive
direct drive lift fan
If your new to hovercraft but would like to get out on the water or even back on the water you will not find a more inexpensive way to travel. A hovercraft fly's on the water and acts like a regular boat twice it's size. They are very stable verse's the same size boats. The fuel burn is 30% of what the same size boat would be at the same speeds. This hovercraft will burn in the 2.0 gph range and a little less in slow beach running at say around 25 mph. Were not building trailers just buying new or used PWC trailers and using the simple bunk system they come with.
You need a handful of money, you can't start or get involved unless you have the money to build the entire craft. We start with buying all the materials and supply's up front. You'll need $5k and this should come close to electronics and trailer complete ready to go cruising.
Will meet at least every other week for one day and many times it will be every week to complete the machines on time for next summer cruising. I will give everyone flight training for free you buy the gas, beer and BBQ and I'll bring the steak and show you where the clams and oysters are that you have to have a hovercraft to get to.
I must talk to 50 people every year that flake out or just are wanting to B.S.trust me. I can see and smell you from a mile a way. Were hoping the cash and materials up front cuts most of the flakes out. We just looking for people that have the time and the want to play and cruise and like to build stuff. if you have never built anything before this is probably not for you. If you get serious I'm willing to help any one all the way through to the end.
Now if your not a builder you cab buy a machine ready to fly for $15k new
This link will take you to some pictures of a craft to show you about what will be building and how. link
Next Generation of Salt Water Hovercraft
The power train
1.0 liter 993cc Suzuki Geo 3 cylinder engine. Its my favorite engine and its very well suited for the hovercraft.
But as in anything I do. I never back away from making something specific and alter it to fit the project perfectly.
My goal in every hovercraft I build is to get as close to or higher than 10 hp per foot of craft. With this machine at 14ft it takes some doing to get a light weight power plant and 140 hp. I run Suzuki power and my goal is to be ultra light on this craft. I am looking for a fuel burn in the 1.5-2.0 gph range. This engine will run a turbo system and be closer to 80hp. Its a very light fuel efficient high power drive train. In heavy winds are hard fast running expect 6-7 gph.
Fuel burn is easy to calculate roughly 1 gallon of fuel per 10 hp. There are exceptions to this but not enough to even mention here. This also is a good way to see how much horse power your machine is using at a given time. If your fuel burn is 5 gph your using about 50hp and if you are using 10 gallons of fuel its about 100 horse power.
All the stock electronics and sensors are being retained in the fuel injection system. The throttle body injection will be operated in a blow through turbo style to retain the stock inexpensive computer control.
I have a theory I have developed over the years of machines needing 5hp per foot to 13 ft & 10hp per ft of craft 14 ft and up. There is a line of blending when you approach the 13/14 ft area where you can have a bit more or less. I find at 16ft you must be at the 10hp per ft and lots of 13ft craft run very well at 50 hp but right after this as the craft gets wider and picks up just another seat or it is a must to use my hovercraft horse power rule.
Many craft run well below these numbers and a simple test ride in a 10mph or 15 mph wind and it becomes obvious of the power issue. The best part of hovercraft building is that most designs work well if you simply upgrade the hp.
You'll find that my HP rule follows very closely to what air boats require. The difference is that air boats require all that power all the time. Hovercraft only need all that power for taking off and lite winds but its the same power requirements.
Hull construction will be 1/4" core plywood with polyester resin and 24 oz fiber glass.
Instruments/Gauges
Turbo boost gauge
Oil Pressure Gauge
Coolant Temperature
Fuel Gauge
Hour Meter
Outside Air Temperature
Volt Meter
Exhaust Gas Temperature
Ammeter
Coolant Water Pressure
Tachometer work with 3 cylinder engines (which is rare)
Air Fuel ratio
Radio/GPS Tracking System
PA Speaker
Depth Sounder
Water Depth and Water temperature Transducer
Super Bright 35 Watt HID Lights 2 sets of lights (2 forward 1 to each side)
Propeller
Front and Rear Poly Seats
Removable Seat Covers
Adjustable Seat Rails 2 sets
Seat Belt 2 sets
Swivel Drink Holder 2sets
GPS Logging Video Tracking and blue tooth