Conference wahoo::fishing

    
    Hi,
    
    I am not a Bass fisherman (no insults please) in the sense that
    you other people seem to be, although I catch a few now and again.
    I do read this file often and enjoy it.  
    Could you please put the address of the company you've sent to for
    the Hovercraft plans in this note, I am a duck hunter and would
    like to investigate using a hovercraft for this purpose. (it may
    be much to noisy for duck hunting, can you paddle one?)
    
    thanks
    
    Steve Prunier

    
    I forgot to ask, whats the estimated cost to build a hovercraft
    as you have described?
    
    Steve

    re.1 and 2
    The company I decided to go with for plans is Universal Hovercraft.
    The address I got from the back of a Popular Mechanix magazine.
    I don't have it handy but will try and remember it for tommorrow.
    It cost $1 for the catalog. They plans for about a dozen hovercraft
    ranging from 10' to 26'. The estimated cost for the one I want to
    build is $500 -$1000 without engines. The engines for this design
    vary from 10 - 18 hp 4 cycle or 200 - 760 cc 2 cycle for the pusher
    prop and I believe 8 - 12 hp for the lift fan. It can be built using
    one engine for both but that is supposed to be more complicated
    to build and the net result is poorer performance. I forgot to mention
    in my original note one of the other benifits. The trailer for this
    can be a wooded flat bed type. The trailer need never see the water
    as you drive it off the trailer and down the ramp/beach and vice-versa
    to put it back on. I don't know about all you other boaters but
    I certainly cursed my trailer a couple of times trying to launch
    my boat from shallow ramps. This should eliminate that problem as
    well as make the trailer basically inexpensive and easier to maintain.
    
    To_good_to_be_true?
    
    RAYJ
    

    Hi Ray, I was told you were thinking of a hover craft and having
    worked with them for many years I thought I'd jump in here.  It's
    a great idea to make the set up your describing, and as far as noise
    goes thats dependent on the engine choice, and prop cowl placement.
    I thought you might be building a VTOL which is what I'm working
    on.  This allows you to fly to any fishing hole you want right from
    your back yard, no trailer, needed.  Just a student pilot license
    and from $8k to $20K depending on the passenger and weight limits
    This craft won't be available for about another year but has some
    inpressive specs, for one thing the noise at 50feet is only 80db
    about the sound of an auto on the highway.  Its all fiberglass so
    its very light weight and durable.  Floats well and can fly up to
    40,000 feet at over 300mph.  I'm designing this thing for comutting
    but it would be great for getting into those remote fishing and
    hunting spots...the ones with no roads...and no civilization.  Another
    thing that might be of great interest to you is the engines I'm
    using.  There a multi-fuel rotary, (gas,alcohol,kerosene,JP4,etc)
    they weigh in at a bit under 50lbs and put out a bit over 100hp.
    My craft uses 8 of them...obviously it FLIES!  The engine  takes
    up only 1 cubic ft of space also...I have no price on it yet, but
    if your not going to be done building till next year, you may want
    to use one of these high-tech babies at least for propulsion, and
    noise reduction.  Distill your own alcohol from used news papers,
    wood, sawdust, apples, potatoes or what have you and your fuel costs
    go to almost '0'.  Buy the whole craft and fly to where no one has
    fished before!
    
    Good luck on your project, and let me know how it works out for
    you.
                  
                  					Dana

    	I to looked into that a while back. An outfit out of Texas (name
    eludes me) had a 3/4 prototype using snowmobile engines and flew
    about the same height at a cruising speed of 150 mph with excellent
    gas mileage. It was supposed to go for about $10,000 for the kit
    with more instrumentation available (at a price) than a 747. It
    looked like an X-wing fighter out of star wars. All of this is a
    little out of my price range and a little bit out of the fishing
    topic but if you get it built, I'd be interested in how it works
    out. I planning to hopefully have mine done for the N.H. Bass Classic
    at Pawtuckaway lake next year (if I can find time between hunting
    and fishing).
    
    Very_high_tech_fishing
    
    RAYJ

    
    I wanted to try the hovercraft for duck hunting, but perhaps the
    VTOL would be better. ( Think I could mount 12 guage semi-auto in
    the nose?) Only kidding!!!!!
    
    

    Ole Coonass tink mebbe de heat done cum op dere to de narth finally!!
    
    You gonna mak dem basses so foonchock dat dey gonna becum mudsuckers
    an run wit dem catfish!!

    re:1
    	The address to send for the catalog is:
    
    		Universal Hovercraft
    		1204 3rd Street
    		Box 281
    		Cordova, Ill. 61242
    BTW, I rechecked the design and the engines are as follows for the
    design I want.  20 - 55 hp 4 cyc. or 295 - 760 cc 2 cyc.. The estimated
    speed is 40-60 mph over water and 45-70 mph over land/ice. It has
    1500 lb. of floatation and is rated for 700 lb payload (about 3
    people).
    
    Be_lookin_down_at_them_basses
    
    RAYJ

    Well, it's been about a year since we last heard from RayJ, adn
    I wonder how he's doing with his Hovercraft Kit?
    
    Hey Ray; if you're out there give us the status!
    
    Do-Bass-Fly-by's-Interest-You?
    

    	I've yet to find the Sitka spruce yet (although I haven't been
    looking very hard). Since building wooden boats has died out over
    the years, so has the availability of specific types of wood.
    	I didn't buy a kit, just plans. I have collected a few more
    things for it but I don't think I'll get to it this year. 
    	I built a shed so that I could work on it indoors. I should have
    built 2 sheds, one for the junk that's in mine now, and the other
    as a workshop. 
    	I still like the idea of the hovercraft but I want one set up
    for fishing (i.e. livewell, rod holders, pedistal seats, etc.).
    The other thing is trying to keep the noise leval down. That is
    why the Scat company refered to in another note used the 6 bladed
    fiberglass prop. Mine will start out with a standard airplane type
    (2-bladed) wooden prop. The breaking up of the fiberglass prop was
    supposed to be a saftey feature. If someone stuck an arm in the
    prop it's designed to hurt like hell :-) Actually it's supposed
    to disintegrate without taking a limb off. I wouldn't want to test
    that theory. Anyway, they came out with a new prop for winter use
    as flying ice chips were wiping out the props.
	If I can build and set-up one of these the way I want, I may
    take it on the local tourney circuit and see what interest it
    generates. If it generates enough interest, I may look at marketing
    them.
    
    RAYJ

    Mon, chew don won to mess roun wit nothin lak dat!!
    
    Many year ago a fran ob mine, name Jacque Essmier, he got hissef
    on ob dem airboats, de kin wit de proppeller on de bak. Wun dey
    he brought hissef to my plece an on de wey he kinda run opon a big
    cypres stomp. Wen dat boat laydon on its bak it take off jes like
    an arrowpleen. Well we aint seen him no mor. He wuz headin north,
    so if somewon see him, tell him to rite, wel all miss him....
    
    Coonass