After having a number of airboat over the years I decided that the best setup for me would be a 16 foot hull to allow room for 2 to fish from easily. I also knew that I wanted to keep it light. In the low river season you end up dragging your boat over some spots no matter what you have. I've found that by choosing my routes I don't have to get out very often now.



I decided on a reliable 18 hp opposed twin for the power when I came across an old friend who had this setup on a wooden hull. I bought the hull for the engine and prop took it home and had it on the water the next day.
The prop was a 42" stick prop that has seen it's better days but I could still get it up on plane by finding some low water. After a few uneventful seasons I decided I wanted to get it to plane easier so I began to mod the engine.



I added more weight by adding the trolling motor, extra battery and other small items. Now I was really behind. I just did a few engine mods and got another prop to try to catch up to the added weight. I experimented with the pitch of the prop since it was homemade and had plenty of wood left to re pitch it. All is well like this for another uneventful fishing season.

Next I decide that I want to get even more power so I could take a friend along and move at a respectable pace. This is where I am at now, After doing some more engine mods and ordering a new carbon fiber prop I think I'm at the end of this engine capabilities.THIS ENGINE HAS BLOWN!

So in replacing this motor I look for another lightweight motor and decide on a 4A084 From Airboat Pro's. While I wait for that motor to be complete I decide to put on a 4A032 to experiment with. You can see my experiments with this motor in my 4A032 thread.