Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Hello

  1. #1
    Forum Reader
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Brighton Mo.
    Posts
    1

    Hello

    I'm Ryan, live by Springfield Mo. I've been looking into building a bowfishing boat for a while now. Was going to go with an inboard jet but I think I've decided to go with an air boat build since I could go more places and just the fun factor of course. Haven't got the chance to read up a whole lot on them but I assume that taking a regular flat bottom jon boat and making it an air boat will not work very good right? So any suggestions on a hull would be nice. Like I mentioned I need something I can easily put a raised deck on the front for bowfishing/gigging. Also something that handles good cause I know I'll be playing around in it to. Oh has anyone used any little 4 or 2 cycle motorcycle race engines on these things ? I know most of them make 50-70hp easy and are light weight. Just don't know about the rpms/torque I'll need for the prop. Thanks guys! Look forward to reading through the forum and learning lots of things !

  2. #2
    Administrator Papee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    PA/GA
    Posts
    2,721
    Welcome to the site!

    If you are not on a tight budget I would bypass the Jon boat. This is not saying they don't work, they do and they work pretty well if set up right. The problem with a Jon boat mostly is that they are not very thick and wear through fast and you're always patching holes. I ran one and I was always patching the rear at the bottom of the transom from it dragging bottom when going slow in low water.

    I'm going to start marching to my own drummer and let you know what I find true after many years of experimenting with minis.
    First, I run a 084 direct drive on a 13'6" aluminum hull.

    I know almost everyone but me runs a wider boat for a mini, this is fine because of the floatation it gives you, the better your boat floats the easier it will get on plane. After that statement, with this, the wider bottom, you are adding drag.
    You are adding more surface area in contact with the water when on plane. Your boat will only run on about 1/3 of the boat length and with a wider hull this adds more surface area. My bottom is 5 ft wide where it runs when on plane. In my opinion wider is not always better. For my use I would rather have a little longer boat than wider.

    Everything you do on a mini is amplified because of the low horse power of these boats, with more surface area you need more thrust to overcome the added drag. I am able to get the same speeds or better than a boat that is wider running a reduction drive using this theory. You may not find many folks that agree with me but I'm sure the real "thinkers" would add that this theory of mine is very plausible.

    I use my boat for bass fishing with two people a good part of the time so I have a steep rake on the front of my boat. This makes the boat more stable when someone is on the front and displaces more water because there is more boat in the water with the sharper rake.

    As for the engine, I would stay away form a heavily modified small engine, right now they are not real reliable long term in my opinion. Engine choice is mostly reflected by what is available in your area and your ability to keep it running on your own.

    I've had over 800lbs in mine already and still been able to plane.
    This is just what I use, 99% of other builders will tell you I'm nuts.
    Please check out our YouTube channel and subscribe! Our YouTube Channel helps fund the site. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTv...FrJP7yQVFVZnyA


  3. #3
    Senior Geezer buster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    1540 miles northwest of Miami
    Posts
    1,097
    Ryan,

    Welcome to the Mini forum.

    I just wanted to say that when Papee gives advice about airboats, you can take it to the bank. He has had an awful lot of experience with them, and I believe he knows what he is talking about.

    Good luck,
    Dave
    IF YOU WON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, THEN JUST STAND IN FRONT OF THEM!

  4. #4
    Ryan,

    Welcome to our forum! There is lots of good information slated away in here....

    Papee has a great boat, A proven set-up and much more experience than I, but there is always more than one way to skin a cat. I am running a Old Combee tomcat hull about 10.5 long X 6 wide. My power plant is a 1990 rotax 582 two stroke snowmobile engine. Produces about 60hp and very lightweight compared to 4 stroke engines producing the same hp. What I found during my build is the rotax engine is very popular with the ultralight aircraft crowd so there tends to be a lot of good set-up information on line. Saved me a ton of trouble. I'm sure of that....

    Bruce

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •