Mr Cajun Gator

Its time to start a new project. Going to start on 3 aluminum air boats, for the 60 size engines. The style will be based on my wood hulls, except that its going to look more like the real airboat. One of them I will install a DES in it. Have not yet made up my mind on what I'll use for flotation, more than likly will be swim noodles.
I have had very good luck with the aluminum 20 Mono hulls, very strong and light weight.
I'll post pics as I go.

lawnsplus

Yes, please keep us posted. What method do you use to weld the alumium pieces together? Does the metal have any interference and glitching problems?

rcairboat78

Quick tip - make sure the aluminium does not vibrate together.

How i learned - Once i made an hydroplane out of aluminium, I will say that it was not vibration proof, with the engine running you could here it vibrate. Holly interfence! I spent a while trying to get control of the boat but it did what it wanted, but i would not give up! Then i got it going and it seemed to go good, but when i tried to turn i realized it was going straight and full throttle and i could do nothing about it. I went right in the culvert i was standing on, the was a 1 foot step of ice at the entrance, it smacked, bent the boat out of wack, everything was twisted and a broken prop. It made a pretty long bang! I retired the boat and went back to making foam and fiberglass boats

LtDoc

haljmac,
That ought to keep you off the streets for a while! (LOL) I wish I could work with metal as easily as with wood or plastic, it would open up a whole lot of possibilities. It would also mean learning a whole new set of skills and considering my 'learning curve', I probably wouldn't live long enough...
- 'Doc

Mr Cajun Gator

With the aluminum mono the vibaration , was not much of a problem for me. As long as you do not have any metal to metal rubbing, there should not be any interferance.

Mr Cajun Gator

My hulls have been built useing .063" aluminum, most would say that would have to be TIG welded, but myself I like the chalenge, I use MIG welding.

Bsmooth

making em' aluminum so you can can jump em right

Mr Cajun Gator

Bsmooth, I reckon you have done seen some of my pics or the vid that my Buds Terbo posted for me. I imagine that soner or later I'll be trying something dumb with it LOL.
Its started

pro27

I see you added non-trip chines to the rear of the hull..........best way to go imo.....

Thinking of starting your own business yet????

Mr Cajun Gator

Got a good start on it today, 90% of the welding is complete. Finish up the welding, install the rails and the bow and transome gunnel, then I'll be ready to rig her out.

trailerman

Hello, I'm new to this forum (just joined today) and I'm in the process of building an aluminum hull airboat using a 24 cc engine.
the hull is fabricated from .050 trailer roofing (I work on semi trailers for a living) with a cage welded up mfrom 1/4 aluminum rod
it uses a 14x6 pusher prop Its a project for me and my son

Mr Cajun Gator

.050, that thing should be lite. I have to build another aluminum hull, had a guy come by today seen the hull on the table and had to have it. Don't think I'm going to use the .050, the .063 is thin enough for me. If I had a TIG set up instead of the MIG then may be.

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

Hey TRAILERMAN ,
Congrats on the father/son building project . ALWAYS nice to be able to get your son(s) involved .
Suggestion to you ... that pitch on that prop ... might need to be a bit more . ( like around 12 or more )
Don't want to over-rev that motor ....
And HALJMAC ,
Not sure about the rest , but I know I sure am waiting to see the finished project . ( looking good so far .. )

Mr Cajun Gator

Had the engine mounted and the rudders in place, but I did not get any pics. The guy that got it, is going to put a .45 on her, I'll try to get pics when he is done.

trailerman

Hey sorry for thedelay the kids wre in a martial arts tournament and things got kind of hectic anyway the prop turned out to be a good match for this boat but high performance wansn't what I really wanted because one of the co-drivers is only four
in fact a fourteen inch prop makes this motor a little sluggish out of the hole. A friend is racing a 57cc with a six bladded prop and that monster will move it has a knee board for a hull not for beginners thats for sure

Model_Mann

hey haljmac could you send me derections on how to make a template out of paper like the one you posted as a pic,

also i need ideas on how to mount a .19 engine, i've tried, and failed and am now seeking advice

Model_Mann

also what the heck is the difference between a mig and a tig welder,

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

Wire fed verses rod fed .

Mr Cajun Gator

ModelMann
The way I made the temp. on the pic is from auto cad and a printer. Best I can say on how to do it with a pen and paper is to go to the post on airboat plans, and get the numbers there. To give a detailed step by step would take some time, latter I'll try to get it, the wife is on my case about spending too much time with the boats. I will also try and get some drawings on how to make the stand from aluminum.
MIG= Mixxed inner gas. Wire feeder/welder useing orgon, for aluminum, C25 for flux-core, shield mix for short arc, Tri-mix for stainless steel.
TIG= Tungsten in gas. Tig uses an electric arc mixxed with a gas, to fuse together metal, also useing a hand fead filler rod. with this process the control of the heat is much greater,so much that you could set it so that you could weld together to coke cans. Also with tig the heat is in one place and not spread out, causing the metal to warp.
There is a lot more to explaining MIG and TIG, but this basic stuff should help you understand some.
There is also electrode (stick or rod) this is the most command welding process

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

Shoot , HALJMAC , compared to your "basic" description , heck , mine looks like ???? pre - elementary ?
Good description though ... ( from Hal , that is )
P.S. anybody needs some info on metal and what-nots, HALJMAC's the man !

Model_Mann

yep i do, is it possible to solder tin, im gonna try to make a hull using tin

Mr Cajun Gator

what type of tin? Sheet metal workers solder tin all of the time, exactly what type, I'm not sure. Building a airboat from tin, hummmm that would be a clallenge, it could be done, but will it hold together?

pro27

Also, depending on size, a lot heavier than alum.[]

Model_Mann

the type of tin im using is called roof flashing, u use it when your decidingn to roof your house, it's also galvanized

Model_Mann

ill post pics of my accomplishments as soon as i get to school[:'(]