bad news from club president

[Snapper]

I bumped into the club president this morning at the lease and tod him I was just about ready to get my airboat , and he acted like he wasn't thrilled about it you know body language was saying it , and i said whats wrong remember last time we talked you said it wouldn't be a problem and he said yeah I know I can apply for a permit to the landowner for you and likely get it but I really think the other members will not like it , and he said his nephew who owns a rotax powered rig only runs the lease for lalligator season , which isn't altogether true although he rarely is out their and he said he'd personally rather not see or hear any airboats on the lease I said well what if I don't run in the winter months during the open deer season and just use it for crawfishing and frogging in the summer and joy riding , his response was if you riding around making noise all summer their wont be deer in winter , although this was responding to my possible d/d 350 purchase , so looks like thats not gonna happen , I just hope he will still let me run the mini airboat if i get it , it wouldn't be worth getting to me to ride canals , if thats the case im getting a nice aluminum skiff w/ an outboard instead , needloess to say I'm bummin right now

[av8or]

Snapper,

Sorry to hear the news about the problems from the lease. I was involved in general aviation most of my life and noise has closed more small airports then any other issue. People would build their home near the airport that had been open for 50 years; and within a few years, have it declaired a noise nuisance and have it closed or restricted for hours of use. They would also bring up issues that the noise effects the migration of certain animals. It is always easy to find some "professional" for hire that will bring piles of documation (whether it is factual or not) for the law makers to consider in their decission making process. This issue is not going to go away and is only going to get worse and grow until we are regulated out of most types of recreation.

Good luck with your group
John

[chuckitt]

Hey Thesnapper, Louisiana Sportsman Mag did pull your post. If you get the
newsletter by email then you can find it but when the next newsletter is
emailed, the first one will be gone.
I know the only airboats most people in Louisiana have heard are loud but
the last couple of years we have made many boats under 90 db @ 50 ft. @
crusing speed. That was due the muffler law and the prop manufacturers
designing quieter props that develope thrust at lower RPM's.
When the Katrina storm hit Louisiana, We sent a group of 7 airboats
from our area to help move victims. These 7 boats would not ask for any
payment for their services. Louisiana Fish and Wildlife did furnish fuel for the
boats and food for crews. One of the boats was a new boat we just finished
with a 4.3 V6 engine. I let Airboat World Magazine take it to help in the
rescue. A Louisiana Wildlife Officer said it was the quietest airboat he had
ever heard and the only airboat that used less than 15 Gals fuel per day.
The first couple of days, our group removed people from the Hospitals.
If another storm hits Louisiana, we will be there again with our airboats
to help even if some don't like it.
As for noise making animals and birds leave an area, then why so much
road kill and reports of game incroching on neiborhoods. The only way to
chase away game and birds is to take away their food supply. All these
golf courses built in Florida have put out pesticides and killed most of the
grubs and insects, now the birds leave to look for food.
This coming weekend we will do noise testing on the mini airboats and
publish the results.
We may have to plan a weekend to Louisiana soon to give some demo's.

Thanks, Chuck

[Snapper]

yeah chuck i agree 100% I think the only reason he is feeling this way is because last season a fella bought a small 10' alum. rig with a 160 lycoming on it , and the fella I'm talking about was already a nuisance to our club and an outlaw always bulleyeing deer at night , but never caught , shooting deer on the hill with a bow during times of high water cause he could get to the hills with the airboat . I even remember when the wildlife and fisheries had so many reports about him outlawing they knew him by name and still had never met him , but every body in the club had a bad taste in their mouth for him and his airboat , what pee's me is that they know how he is but yet do absolutely nothing about him know one even talks to him about it only about him behind his back , I don't know or remember if the last time I talked to him about the airboat if he was under the influence or not , most people at the camp are , but still it bugs me because when it was just an idea I had he said nothing but positive about it know when I produce an airboat he crawfish's on me , but again this was a loud 350 d/d with a wide paddle prop , and I know that is probably the loudest prop out their . So the big boat s definitely out of the picture probably for the best , although I still wouldn't mind getting it just to run around in and fix up to resell it for a profit , cause I htink this boat is really worth the money and with a little tlc could really be a nice resell , but I dunno . Its funny how redtop and live oak hunting club still use airboats and GOOD DEER DOGS not dogs called deer dogs that run nutria all day , and they kill tons of deer more than any other lease around and the year before last we had seismec crews running all over our lease in airboats , marshbuggies and flying in and out with helicopters and we killed 67 deer that year a new record for the club and they 80 % of those deer were killed in the front of the lease right smack dab in the middle of all that seismac work , to say airboats are the problem is ignorant to me . why not say hipboats are the problem and we'd be better off using flip flops ... thats just my take on it all , and why the heck or who the heck pulled the ad , I emailed the webmaster about it and still haven't heard back , I wonder if the webmaster isn't a airboat hater as well , makes ya kinda sympatize with black and spanish folks , I'm a minority now , in the sportmans capital of the world cause I support airboats and even promote their use in of all places louisiana , what the heck is wrong with this picture guys .

[chuckitt]

Hey Thesnapper, Good morning, I think it was OK when you posted on
Louisiana Sportsman about our airboats. I think I broke the rules when I,
( as a manufacturer ) posted specs on the boats and put in what they
call a sells pitch. I think the way i done it made the people thats paying
for adds a little unhappy. I will check today and see what it cost to put
an add on Louisiana Sportsman Magazine. If I can afford it, then we can say
what we want to about our boats.
I know these mini airboats are the most effiencent mode of water
transportation for hunting and fishing in swamp areas there is. No destruction
of vegitation, no stiring up mulk and silt like underwater props, wider hulls
make them safer(less chance of roll over), seat level higher for better view,
and they are just as quiet as most other boats.
Once there are a few of these high quality mini's in Louisiana, People will
see the many uses for them. Here in Florida, everone i've talked to has
excepted them and we haven't had one complaint about the noise.
Ask your club members if I can give a demo one weekend. It want hurt
and I think some will change their mines about airboats. Thanks, Chuck

[Snapper]

okay chuck I will do that , I'll try and talk to him again when I see him about the minis , like I said I really don't think a mini would be a big issue when I said d/d 350 with a wide blade wood he was aggitated , I'm just glad I talked to him first , and about the add I agree with you as well , that it probably would be worthy avenue to market , it is by far the most heavily trafficed site to louisiana sportsman out their and I also agree a demo would probably win a few converts . you know their is also a mississippi and texas sportsman website as well and oh I posted somewhere the other day about the section on sportsman for video posting . maybe you can talk to the godfather of the internet the papmister and see if he can post some video for you , I tried but I couldn't figure it out , some things are just to confusing , oh on a different subject , the mississippi is very high by my house right now its about 6 feet up the levee right in front of my house , I launched my go-devil yesterday and me and putt rode around where we normally go rabbit hunting , and last night some friends came over and caught 2 48 qt icechest full of catfish and one weighed around 15 lbs .