I haven't had an airboat in about 15 years, but got the itch a few months ago and found a fiberglass hull manufacturer on eBay who happened to be near me. I haven't run this boat yet, just finished the (obnoxiously bright) paint a few days ago... The paint was mostly an opportunity to try some new airbrush colors I have bought for other projects. I'm running a 60A esc, a Turnigy 3536 1400kv motor with an APC 9x6 prop, and a Hitec 645MG servo from the parts bin. The motor will handle either 3S or 4S batteries, and I have some of each in varying sizes to try when I can get it to the water. At about 3/4 throttle it will push itself across my hardwood floor quite easily, even on 3S with a big heavy 5Ah hard pack, so I don't think a lack of power will be an issue.
I don't have many build pics, but there isn't much to show really. I built and glassed in a few bulkheads and a deck, sealed everything with epoxy resin, not much to say!
Not being terribly experienced with airboats, I wanted the option to change my setup down the line if something wasn't working the way I wanted it to, without major reconstruction. The motor mount/tower thing can be moved fore and aft, as well as flipped 180* if I decide to try a puller setup. The bottom motor mount bolt hole is slotted, to allow the motor to pivot a few degrees up or down to change the thrust angle. The front hatch is as-of-now unused, but if I need to move any weight forward (seems unlikely) I will have lots of room to relocate the battery.
I'm a bit concerned that the rudder mount/pivot won't be quite strong enough, but bench tests don't show any major issues. If needed I'll go back and add another pivot at the top to strengthen it.
Thanks to all here who gave advice, mostly regarding the power system. Hopefully I can splash it soon. I may try and use it as a retrieve boat for my big gas boats (hence the water rescue stickers), with the addition of some foam bumpers and probably a reversing ESC.
