My first airboat was a 4x8 plywood hull - pictured in my profile pic. I went through about half a dozen engine/prop setups including a rotary snowmobile engine and even a Berkeley jet drive :/ - finally settling on a fan/duct thrust unit from a hovercraft that just didn't work on a sandy (messy) Platte river. I haven't had it in the water for quite a few years now but hope to have it or a newer similar version on the water this summer. I haven't heard about anyone using this type setup - but mine was running pretty good back in the day. I like the no cage (less weight) - small diameter fan (24") - low overall height (42" from bottom of hull to top of intake duct - after lowering engine/fan module and incorporating 2 small rudders instead of the 1 larger - the entire placement of which is now different from that shown in profile pic) - and finally the less/different type of noise produced - but am aware it does not produce as much thrust as a similar prop/engine setup. Performance was all I needed on my 4x8 boat - and for me anyway the aforementioned pros are more important than the loss/difference in thrust. I would be interested in hearing if anyone here has had any experience running similar units or just wants to throw out some thoughts on the subject - - -
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