crispyspa

.....Or re-building, rather. LOL

I have been shopping around, looking for a Dinghy, Tender or a small 10 foot flat bottom boat to use as a recovery vehicle. The past few weeks I have turned up nothing so it was time to rethink the type/length of boat.

I found this 14 foot John boat today and thought why not shrink it to the size I want?







I brought it home and stared at it for an hour formulating my plan of attack. After removing the middle seat and laying out the spots to cut...



I started chopping!







I called my friend who does tig welding, you remember...the one who works for a "cup of coffee"? :lol: I called to see if he had some time on his hands. I set up the boat, sanded the spots where the welds will go and loaded it in the truck for tomorrow.





The joints are overlapped 6" and the gun wale joints are staggered from the main cuts to add lateral strength.

The best part is yet to come and I'm not tellin' what it is.

Rowboat

Wow a full size project. I will be watching this one.

DJLaPalme

That is real good engineering crispyspa. Are you planning on putting a blow motor on it? It would probably work. Dennis

asmithnc

Man, when you got the will you got a way. Good job. I see twins in your future.

Dreamin Hemi

Nice job! I have plans for a 6' Pram for my recovery vessel...just hard finding the time...someday

Looking forward to your surprise.

crispyspa

It is a recovery boat so I will need to keep the utilitarian side of it intact. Nothing too lofty here I'm afraid.
Welding was not a option, so I opted for automotive seam sealer and 3/16 aluminum rivets.






It did leak a tad, so I had to reseal after the float test, but it will hold two adults fairly well.

Option one for an engine for "daily" use is:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGpnbqMATTw&feature=channel_page
[/youtube]

DONS BOAT WORKS

My Feedback: (3)

That's cool, nice engine.

asmithnc

I see why you did not answer your phone today......Too busy!

crispyspa

Yea, sorry Andy. [&o]

Made some racks for the boat on top of the truck today. This way I can have the retrevial boat and a full fleet of rc in the bed of the truck. [8D]



...and painted the boat.

crispyspa

Just updating old threads...

I've had this boat for almost a year now and the seams are holding nicely. I had a chance to play with it a bit.

I've actually thought of making a dedicated engine and cage for it but then it would be classified as a "real" airboat and subject to all the regulation of when/where/what times I can run.
Videos for those who haven't seen them:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhepc32lsrI[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmI83fkzvqE[/youtube]

Rowboat

Thats the biggest Rc Airboat or the smallest full scale boat! That engine puts out a lot of power!.

DONS BOAT WORKS

My Feedback: (3)

That's just to cool.
Nice videos.

jasperrc

That's just awesome!

So I don't remember why welding wasn't an option. The coffee not strong enough?

crispyspa

He was afraid of severe warping. on a corner or near the gunnel is ok, but to do a whole flat seam had him worried. It worked out ok though.

DJLaPalme

Crispy, I didn't see anyone else in the boat. Dennis

cooperfly

very cool

someday I am going to ride in an airboat

crispyspa

My daughter was seated to my left and was running the camera.