Weedeater Airboat

[grgbulldog]

My dad gave me an old weedeater years ago, and I've always wanted to make an airboat out of it for cheap. Anyone have any ideas about doing it? I believe the engine is Ryobi, not sure of the size. thanks.

 

[frickenjoey]

Your engine is most likely somewhere around a 26-29cc. Biggest thing is to build a boat big enough to be able to support the weight of the engine/gas tank ect. I have one with a .61 nitro and it is 31" long. Also when building a hull you have to make sure the bottom is not just plain flat. If you have ever seen the bottom of most flat bottom boats they have ribs on them. These are to help keep the boat going in a straight line. If not it is like driving a shopping cart that all four wheels caster....goes where it wants to. For a weed wacker I would think you would be looking at a boat at least 3 feet long. I have pictures of mine in my profile if you need ideas. Sounds like a cool project.

 

[grgbulldog]

Looks good! Whats it made out of? I saw a video on youtube where a guy mounted the engine to a boogie board.

 

[frickenjoey]

Mine is a kit I got from Dumas about 3-4 years ago. It’s the "Big Swamp Buggy"; made from spruce and mahogany ply. It took a lot of time to put together. Comes in a box full of sheets of wood that is die cut. So I had to punch it out, clean it up, shape as needed Using bad instructions... about 60-70+ hours later I had a boat. You might try a large SPAD design. The plastic is easy to work with and comes in big sheets. I would use the real thick stuff and re-enforce as needed.

 

[grgbulldog]

What about that pink foam you can buy at home depot carved out with some kind of coating on it?

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Id make somthing out of a polyester resin, (fiberglass) then fill it with expanding foam.

This is what i used to make speaker boxes out of:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...=true&storeNum=95&subdeptNum=673&classNum=673

https://www.hardwareworld.com/20-Oz-Expanding-Foam-pC440Q7.aspx

 

[grgbulldog]

Thanks. I'm not quite sure about how to do fiberglass work and such, but my dad used to work with it and can help out.

 

[frickenjoey]

What about that pink foam you can buy at home depot carved out with some kind of coating on it?

Maybe the foam carved out then coated with fiberglass. That would work I think. I know mine is very solid with the wood, then I also coated it with resin. So it's double strong.....(and double heavy...lol)

 

[alpinehyperlite]

There is nothing to fiberglassing. All you do is mix the hardening agent..... then paint it on.

 

[frickenjoey]

Hey seriously..it is pretty easy..I mean Alpine figured it out right? j/k

 

[grgbulldog]

There is nothing to fiberglassing. All you do is mix the hardening agent..... then paint it on.

So what do you make the shape out of to paint the fiberglass on?
Before you fill it with expanding foam.

 

[MotoGod]

Normally you build a frame, then stretch some cloth over the frame and paint the cloth with fiberglass. Once it hardens...you have your shape. They sell special cloth for it...and it's almost like a fleece material.

Here is one link that shows the cloth in action:

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_fiberglass/how_to_fiberglass.htm

 

[alpinehyperlite]

I used chicken wire, with MDF board Rings for the speakers to screw into.

 

[MotoGod]

Yup. Anything that will hold the fiberglass resin/cloth in the shape you want will work just fine. Chicken wire is a good idea actually, but wasn't that a pain to work with?

 

[bishiman]

I have used felt that you can buy at any fabric store to cover whatever you want make. I found that the felt was a little thicker then the fiberglass sheets so it made speaker boxes or whatever you want to make a little stronger. Then you just paint the resin over the felt. You can also buy different colors of felt so you might not have to paint the hull.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

I have used felt that you can buy at any fabric store to cover whatever you want make. I found that the felt was a little thicker then the fiberglass sheets so it made speaker boxes or whatever you want to make a little stronger. Then you just paint the resin over the felt. You can also buy different colors of felt so you might not have to paint the hull.

I can gurantee that the fiberglass fabric is firm enough..... some of the systems i have built have made thousands of pounds of pressure inside of them.... and never had a problem...... (8 jlw7 13.5) (3 Kicker Solo-X 18s)

Yup. Anything that will hold the fiberglass resin/cloth in the shape you want will work just fine. Chicken wire is a good idea actually, but wasn't that a pain to work with?

it was a pain, but not near as bad as working with anything else in the back of a van, or suv, or trunk of a car.......

 

[frickenjoey]

Sounds like a pretty nifty idea. I have not worked with it that much. I have only used it as a coating on other things, not a building tool. Sounds like there is now a plan! Go for it!... I might consider trying something like this too....in my free time. Wait...never mind.

 

[grgbulldog]

 

[bishiman]

I can gurantee that the fiberglass fabric is firm enough..... some of the systems i have built have made thousands of pounds of pressure inside of them.... and never had a problem...... (8 jlw7 13.5) (3 Kicker Solo-X 18s)

I have no doubt that the fiberglass is strong enough. I just prefer the felt. Maybe I was getting the wrong type of fiberglass mat. My experience with felt was so much easier to work with.

 

[frickenjoey]

I have no doubt that the fiberglass is strong enough. I just prefer the felt. Maybe I was getting the wrong type of fiberglass mat. My experience with felt was so much easier to work with.

They should both be pretty easy to work with but I am sure the felt is less itchy.