# Whos gonna be the test pilot?



## HighSide25 (May 15, 2007)

i think this might put the mud motor/jackplate companys out of business!

i really want one for my gheenoe, but my life insurance agent said NO!

http://www.okiegatorairboats.com/24HpPowerPack.html


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I really don't think many people will be buying that especially for that price, look how slow it is with just one person and an empty 14ft jonboat. I know a bunch of guys with airboats and the smallest motor any of them use is a lycoming 160hp.


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## backwaterbandits (Dec 15, 2006)

Oh yeah...Like you or OSWLD could get life 
insurance! :  

Fan is pretty cool!


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## HighSide25 (May 15, 2007)

i couldnt find the price tag,  thing i like about them, if you look at the 35hp motor it shows how the blades can be altered while running, allowing a "nuetral, or reverse.

remember with those lycomings, LESS is more 

i just think its a cool option to have compared mainly to the mud-motors out there.  i think maintaneince would be easier on this than a longtail or prodrive


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

I like it! Definitely would like to test one.


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## HialeahAngler (Dec 18, 2008)

that's crap. way too slow and it'll scare the fish.


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## Canoeman (Jul 23, 2008)

Yeah, but it'll also scare away all the other fishermen. Then you cut it off and use the trolling motor. Maybe that their plan. ;D


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## Flyline (Mar 3, 2008)

Sounds way too boring for the LT25.

I'll rather drive a 14ft airboat with 220hp airplane engine spinning 8500 RPM. It's fun to drive and we use it for work.

It will be sucks if 34hp motor only spins 3500 RPM on the boat. :-/


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

To me, just from watching those vids, they appear seriously underpowered. 

All versions of them. Oddly, the smallest one seems the be the fastest. 

Notice how in all of the videos the guy avoids any clumps of cattails. Probably because they'd stop it in it's tracks. 

Forget about running dry. 

And remember, the videos all show the boat with just one person, and no gear. What happens when you add gear? Or worse yet, another hunter and more gear? 

I'd hate to pass judgement from watching a 20 second clip, but at face value they look seriously underpowered. And as with any airboat, very loud. 

They might cut it up north where there's no thick weeds/reeds, but down here in S Fl that thing wouldn't make it very far at all. And really if there's no thick weeds, why not just use an outboard and go 3x as fast for less money?

If you're going to go that slow, why not just get a small longtail? They'd be cheaper, quieter, much easier to hide when hunting, and easy to take on and off when needed. A longtail would turn in 1/4 the area that thing needs, and would pretty much never get stuck no matter what you tried. 

-T


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## OSWLD (Apr 20, 2008)

3500 rpms is what you want to the prop. thats around what aircraft motors run. when they run car motors, they install gearboxes so they they can run the motors at a high rpm (where car motors get all their power) and step it down to around 3000-3500 to the prop.

There used to be a company called mosquito power that turned 13ers into little airboats over in tampa. i never drove one though.

A 65 hp rotax is the ticket on a mini, even a 45 would be nice with the belt drives on them.


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## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

We once put 40 HP VW engines on mini-airboats. They were great, but only a single place boat unless both Driver and passenger were small. We built a Benson Gyrocopter with the VW and it was a hoot to fly. 

Best regards,
Frank_S


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

> We once put 40 HP VW engines on mini-airboats. They were great, but only a single place boat unless both Driver and passenger were small. We built a Benson Gyrocopter with the VW and it was a hoot to fly.
> 
> Best regards,
> Frank_S


Frank, someday you need to write a book about all your adventures/misadventures. 

I know we'd all get a kick out of it. 

-T


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

i'd like to have one turned around the other way for those hot summer days  ;D


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

Great motor for powered paragliding....not so for a boat!


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## Tom_C (Dec 10, 2006)

> .
> 
> There used to be a company called mosquito power that turned 13ers into little airboats over in tampa. i never drove one though.


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

> > .
> >
> > There used to be a company called mosquito power that turned 13ers into little airboats over in tampa. i never drove one though.


now *THAT* looks tippy. 

A vanguard twin, that high up??


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## Bumper (Jan 6, 2010)

I've seen boats set up with one of those on a pylon type mount so the fan could be "aimed" left or right, but they weren't interested in speed, they used them while bow fishing, just puttin' along.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Makes a great flounder barge kicker,
no mud stir when pushing across a shallow flat


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## DSampiero (Oct 18, 2009)

> Makes a great flounder barge kicker,
> no mud stir when pushing across a shallow flat


Hmm.. I saw a guy on A1A with a similar setup on his Carolina Skiff just yesterday, now I know what reasoning brought about his ******* ingenuity .


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