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Alaskan mini build
Hello, new member in the middle of a build and thought I would put it out here to get some feedback.
All aluminum sheet and angle, .040 Hull 4x8. Structural is from.016,.025,.032. Mostly T6, but a few angles from Home Depot when I need them fast. Guessing right now, but about 60 lbs hull weight. Engine is a simonini paramotor set up.26hp @ 50 lbs with fuel, electric start, gauges,battery,prop,mount, etc. all up weight will be about 110-120 lbs. for a fully enclosed mini.
I could use some feedback on bottom coatings. My plan now is to apply a vinyl wrap to the entire vehicle for paint, protection, looks, and water proofing. Along with a vinyl sheet called “Armour” that is 15 mills thick on the botttom of the boat for rock protection, it is used on vehicles and places where you need Very high abrasion protection. Stuffs pretty amazing, if your not aware of it.
Uhmw would be too heavy..I’ve never used or seen super slick 2000. Would like some feedback on that stuff.
My build philosophy for this mini is a mini airboat for hunting and exploring in Alaska. Fully enclosed is a must. I live in North Pole, Alaska...it’s Cold ! Small enough for a single person to move around, pull, push, etc. small enough to go into to tiny sloughs and streams. Hold camping, hunting gear and ability to haul some meat out. Work on snow just as good as water, ice, etc. I set a budget and time frame of 1 month to build. Should have it sliding by the end of the week. If I don’t hurry, there will not be any water around for the next 7 months, because it will all be frozen solid till April.
Thanks to everybody on the site and all your posts. A lot of information and pics to learn from.
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Re: Alaskan mini build
Very interesting !
Keep us up o date.
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Attachment 4113Attachment 4114Attachment 4115Hello, quick update on the build. Going well...3 days till sliding projected. Mainly just doing finishing work now. Finishing the cage, interior ducting, linkages, etc.it’s tedious and time consuming but will result in a nicely finished machine. Should install engine , instruments tomorrow . Then it’s paint and wrap. The windows were a lot heavier than I thought they would be and it will be heavier than I thought. Maybe 150 lbs all up. Still very pleased with the strength and overall usability of the design at this point. Really excited to get it done this week.
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Nice so far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Very nice work there my northern friend. looks like you might have done this before. one thing i will say it is different then we see down here in florida. i can see where you are coming from with the enclosure. that wind can make it rough sliding even down here in winter time. anything below 40 degrees my boat stays parked and for alaska not too many days above 40 degrees i would be like the bears and hibernate. keep up the good work and post some videos if possible.
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Tedious day today filling in the cage and starting the exterior to interior through rear firewall ducting for better airflow to the prop. But, wow..it looks awesome, doubled the strength and stiffness of the firewall engine mount and opened up 2 sq ft of laminar air flow to the prop.Attachment 4116Attachment 4117
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Re: Alaskan mini build
Build update. Well, it’s been a solid month and it’s in painting stage. That’s close enough for me. About 300 hrs total build time to this point. Very happy with the way it turned out and very excited about water trials. It’s frozen solid around here, so we rented a cabin on a lake 6 hours south where they should still have liquid water for another month. The consensus on southern airboat is that it will instantly sink, flip over, catch on fire and possibly bring the apocalypse. I think it’s gonna work awesome. I designed it to be more of a carver than a slider due to the nature of the thin streams and sloughs I will be in. That really shakes up hard core sliders! Enjoy the pics and video trials to come in a week or so.Attachment 4118Attachment 4119Attachment 4120Attachment 4121Attachment 4122
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first off don't pay any attention to what they say on southern airboats. it's hard enogh for someone to get a straight answer there i gave up a long time ago. they talk like they know everything about everything. i think your boat is different but that's what makes it so interesting. i think it might surprise a lot of us. you have done a dang good job and it will do good.
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Looks great !! I'm looking forward to seeing it in action...;thumb;
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Thanks guys, preciate it. Finished painting and am starting to wrap and final assembly, today.
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Attachment 4123Knee deep in th wrap today, tedious with all the rivets, but looking good so far.
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Getting close to being done with paint and wrap. Should finish it today and start with uhmw bottom protection.
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Are you still using the 15 mill armour sheeting ??? What's the projected added weight for that sheet ??
Being an equipment operator here's some thoughts down the road after your initial trial run...The trick here is find solutions with little added weight for the size of your rig...
A}The cab will gradually get extremely cold from the air charge over your head and each side...You may need to address that eventually with some type of insulation/barrier...
B}No windshield wiper ??
C}The windows will get fogged up without some type of air circulation over the windows..Just the operator in there breathing will make this happen...
The build is very thought out and has excellent craftsmanship...The biggest concern with an enclosed cab is the lost thrust from the air blockage to the prop...Even with your provisions you may find it still might block a large amount of air for the size of engine you're using..This is strictly my opinion and I may be proven wrong..:wink:
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Hi Corky, thanks for the replies.
A heater is going to be installed very soon. I can’t believe I didn’t think of a windshield wiper.
Awesome! Thank you. That’s why these forums are great and terrible.
I’m thinking an old school manual one. But absolutely necessary. Thanks.
When fogging occurs, I may need to put a couple of rotating snap open vents in, which would be a good idea anyways. I could really see this being a problem while sitting still. I just thought I would open the door..but if it’s cold, I wouldn’t
.I hadn't got to that point of ...well,it works.... now what? Stage.
I consider these all in the “good problems to have” category.
thanks for the heads up.
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if you do fog up. a little squeegee can clean the fog off the windows, and doesn't leave any marks. all my vehicles one in them, out on the sound. some of the boats, use a little joy soap on a rag and wipe down the inside of the windows to help keep the fog down, there are times that fans can't even keep up.
maybe this warm weather will head up your way, came through Glennallen, this evening and had freezing rain, and it wasn't a fun trip back from Anchorage, usually only takes 5 hours, but the last 60 miles, it was straight ice and heavy rain, ended up making it a 10 hour trip. feels like a monsoon outside right now.
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Update. Got the plastic on Saturday, and even though there was football, I installed the engine and built the harness. Just some touch up areas today and finish items. Then cut a large hole in shop and get it outside! Glad I went with the bottom uhmw. Takes about 10 lbs of push to make it slide across the shop floor.( which is frustrating when trying to drill a hole or apply the vinyl ) to protect the bottom wrap vinyl ( which costs as much as the aluminum, and offers a watertight seal ) I put a layer of 1/4” closed cell foam between the hull and the uhmw. It’s soooo nice ! I can beat on the uhmw with a hammer, hard! And it doesn’t do anything to it. It’s only 1/8” and the foam backing made all the difference. Helps with sound a lot , too. Usually the sound of an aluminum hull scraping the rocks is the loudest noise the boat makes when hunting. Nice that won’t happen anymore.Attachment 4128Attachment 4129Attachment 4130Attachment 4131
hi Bart, thanks for the squeegee tip. Glad you made it through the storm. My old lady is in Cordova and she said the same thing.
please make Star Wars Death Star music in your head when viewing the last pic of the interior.
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Missiles hung and torpedoes loaded !
Just a couple of hours finish work, then it’s on to testing. Got the shoulder straps, kolpin gun claws, rod holders all installed. Tucked away all the wiring. Charged the battery and the engine spins over without anything catching on fire, success! Warm weather and lots of snow in the next few days, makes for great testing weather.
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i'll have to get me some of those rockets to help the fish cooperate when they get lockjaw. love the stealth look. looks like it was built for star wars.
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She is done. 190 lbs, all dressed up , with heater, safety gear, etc. about 40-50 heavier than I wanted, but to be expected as I went with thicker windows and the uhmw bottom. I will live with it. Getting her out of the shop today and start some testing. Thanks for the replies, support and bashing.
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HOT DANG that's one cool tub !!!!!!!!!