07/15/2011: Ran another tournament last weekend and just about caught the boat on fire! We ran out to a spot and then stopped to wait for dark and checked the engine. Just happened to notice the plastic fuel filter sitting on the exhaust headers...and yes it had just started leaking! Talk about avoiding disaster. We bypassed the now leaking filter and zip tied the line away from the header which should have been done before we left.

The engine did not want to idle very well for a while but then it started idling just fine. The only explanation we have is the carburetor gaskets so we will change them out.  As for the temperature the radiator did its job.  It seemed that it was running closer to 200 during the heat of the day but once the sun went down it rarely got that hot.  Even when running around the lake at high RPMs it did not get above 185.  I can definitely tell that the electric fan did help at idle but once the engine cools down from a big run it has enough air moving through the radiator that we should be fine.
I didn’t mention that we did happen to get third place for the Conroe tournament out of 21 teams.  What really sucks is we had 27 fish pull off our arrows and we lost 1st place by 7 fish!  With no brakes on the airboat we have to make a quick u-turn on the bigger soft fish like grass carp.  A power pole sure would be a great addition to the boat since you could stop immediately.

07/08/2011: Been quite a whole since I last updated this page.  Let me see if I can remember all the things that changes since March! 

First of all we got the temperature under control.  The fuel tank was blocking part of the radiator so we moved it back behind the engine stand’s rear legs and it got a lot more air moving through it.  The bad part is that the fuel tank started leaking.  We drained it and tried welding it up but after we filled it back up with water it started leaking in the bottom.  This tank had no breaks in the alum and we think just the stress caused a problem.  Kyle thinks he might have used the wrong welding rod for the type of aluminum too.

The new tank is only a 40 gallon but it is a rectangle so we were able to break the aluminum so there is less welding and it makes it stronger.  We also went with a smaller tank because we would have had to remove the engine and stand to go any bigger.

As for the engine temperature the main problem was the timing was too far advanced.  We readjusted the timing and added an electric fan.

Took the boat down to the river and while waiting for dark I was playing with the foot throttle control and flooded the engine.  This lead opened our eyes on another issue…the starter did not want to turn over without a full charge on the batteries.  We got the batteries charged up with the generator and got it running but we tried several other things.  Kyle picked up and installed an onboard charger.  This is perfect because we just plug it into the generator while running and it keeps both batteries charged.  However, it was still not perfect and was turning the engine over slowly.  We thought it could be the cheap Wal-Mart marine batteries so we tested out a couple good batteries but it did not make a difference.  Finally Kyle swapped out the starter for one he had on a spare engine and it made a world of difference.  The so called “high torque mini” starter was not really so.  The good news is I still have the original 400 starter and had the local Autozone test it for me and it looks and works great.

Kyle built a little hand/drink holder behind the front steering stick.  I wasn’t sure what to think of it at first but it really does give anyone on the deck something to hold on to.  We also added the front rail around the lights.

Back in June we took the boat down to Coleto Creek Reservoir and shot a 12 hour tournament and the boat performed perfectly.  With the large amount of hydrilla all over the lake it sure was nice being in an airboat.  We fished lot of spots that fan boats would have had a problem getting to and actually won the tournament with 175 fish.  Guess we hadn’t completely forgotten how to shoot!

We added the side bunks on the trailer and they look pretty good.  It does make loading the boat easier but we did find that the guys who built the trailer did not have the winch lined up square.  If you have to use the winch it bunches up to one side so we will have to fix this at some point.

Last weekend we took the boat out to Lake Conroe to do some scouting for another bowfishing tournament and we found another problem.  We had run about 15 minutes up the lake to the stump field and dropped down the idle and I noticed water dripping off the radiator.  We shut down the engine and it looks like the radiator had a leak.  We let it cool down and filled the engine up with water again.  We then fired it up and headed back to the boat ramp watching the temperature the entire time.  I remember turning on the electric radiator fan to help out but the leak kept getting worse.  We ended up stopping three times before we were able to get the boat loaded up again. 

Earlier when we were having temperature issues I mounted an electric fan to the front of the radiator to push air through it when it was at idle.  I thought we might need it because of the slow turning prop that we are using.  Well I was keeping the fan on while we were running the boat around and not just at idle.  It looks like the prop was pulling the electric fan into the radiator while it was still spinning and the plastic fan slowly wore holes in the aluminum radiator!

I got a new radiator this week.  This one is also a 31 x 19 but this one is a triple pass which should help too.  Kyle welded on a plug so we can get all the air out of the radiator when we are filling it up.  We ran it in the shop and it never got about 185 and the temperature dropped to 170 when it was run up to about 4000 RPMs…so that is a good thing.  Oh and we did NOT mount the electric fan again.

Items we still want to add or work on:

·         At some point we want to add the side polymer to the boat

·         I still have not yet finished the lights under the front deck

·         We have been thinking of mounting a temperature gauge to the front deck rather than the idiot light we currently use.

·         Lights….the two front 250s just don’t seem to be bright enough.  I bought two new 400 HPS ballasts but need to test them with the generator and the other lights before I go to the trouble of mounting them.  I really want 400s in the front…not sure if it is because there are 3 lights on the sides and only 2 up front but the sides seem brighter than the front.

03/27/2011: Kyle cut out a new throttle lever to make it more comfortable and I really like it. The two new 250 watt HPS ballasts came in this week and I tested one of them and found that with the 250 watt metal halide light it was pulling close to 300 watts...is that false advertising? At any rate we pulled the ballast mounts off each side of the boat, which is not an easy job.

Mounted up the two very cool blue LED lights under the sidewalks. I got one of them wired but between getting little sleep last night and fighting the cursed polen in the air I did not get done. Kyle found a marine horn that he bouhgt years ago and forgot about it so I mounted it up. I laugh because you cannot hear it at full throttle but at least it will make the game warden's happy. I also mounted the fire extinguisher under the driver's seat.

We ran one more test with the engine to see if we can get the cooling right. Since we have a heater hose running from the water pump to the intake manifold I was thinking we could be recirculating hot water. We pinched this hose off and ran the engine close to wide open for about five minutes and it climbed over 200. We shut it down when it got to 212. We know there is no air in the engine so there must not be enough airflow through the radiator. We talked about this when we found out how long the geardrive was and it was a concern then. So Kyle drained the engine coolant and we started making plans for a new radiator support bracket so the radiator is closer to the prop and also closer to center. Going to keep the electric fan on it because it really seems to help at idle.

Since we need to move the oil cooler, might as well change the oil. We have almost 10 hours on the engine and the oil pan has a leak around the gasket so I will pull that too while we are working.

What this all means is that we will miss the tournament/boat show next weekend. In a way this is good because the list of TO DOs is still long: front rail, side polymer, kill/starter switch, temp warning light, side bunks, radiator mount, oil pan gasket, under-deck lighting, etc.

03/20/2011: Well we got on the water and got it muddy and fishy! Took it up to Lake Conroe on Friday night for the maiden voyage and it fished great. Of course the water was terrible...which is what happens when you put too many grass carp in the lake but that is another discussion. We did get about 10 fish in the boat. It is definitely different driving a boat with no reverse but driving a fan boat is very similar so at least we were somewhat prepared for it. It is hard to explain to someone who has never driven a fan boat or an airboat but you have to start turning before you need to...driving lessons are separate.

What did we discover on the trip? The boat is fantastic to fish from. The deck is great and we REALLY need to hook up the internal lights to light up the bottom of the boat while we are fishing. Kyle's mom got in the boat a couple nights ago while it was in the pond and wasn't paying attention and stepped off the end of the deck and fell in the boat. Not good, but at least she is only bruised and will be fine. Very thankful Christian got bored last week and cut off a bunch of screws off the floor or she might have been cut up. We are pretty certain that if the floor was lit up she would have noticed it and stepped over the opening.

We do not yet have the start and kill switches done but we know what we want. Also going with a temperature warning light up front. Yes, I know their nicknames are idiot lights but it will warn us to go check the engine temp and shut the engine down while we fix the problem. One huge disadvantage to most airboats is if the main engine goes down you are not paddling back to the boat ramp so you might take care of your engine or you could be in real trouble.

We also learned that we want to make a few minor adjustments to the throttle lever because you can wear your finger out pretty quick. I do think you need full thottle up front to pop over stumps or over a sandbar but the reach is a little far right now. We have some ideas to fix this though so more to come later. Speaking of full throttle up front, we need to finish the rail in the front because there is nothing for the passenger to hold onto while hopping over a stump.

We also found that we really need to add those side bunks to the trailer. We already have them made up and covered in carpet but with the crosswind we had, it was a little tough to load the boat. We also found that the cooling in not yet right. We can idle all night without issue but when we run the RPMs up for any length of time we start running a higher temperature. I think the problem is in the way the expansion tank is in the main flow instead of off the heater hose connection like most other airboats. We will make some modifications and I am confident we can get it right.

Almost forgot to mention the lights...well planning to drop the 400 watt metal halides in the front and already ordered two 250 watt metal halides to replace them. While the Generac 4000XL can handle the two lights, they are never coming up to full power when the other lights are on. Additionally I really do not like having to start up three lights at a time.

There are still many things left to do on the boat but at least we can say it is now a bowfishing boat and really mean it. I plan to continue to update this page and add more pictures when we get more done. We have a tournament in two weeks at Coffee City and they are doing a boat show the day of the tournament so we really want to have it closer to complete.

Kyle hooked up his "new" GPS to the console and this is where a little planning really came in handy. The console was designed with a GPS mount in mind and it just looks natural up there.

03/12/2011: Took the day off from work yesterday and spent all day over there and forgot my good camera again! We spent most of the day adjusting the front and rear steering and it is much better now than it was that morning. The angles of the cables needed to be correct to keep the cable from binding up. We also put a shifter boot over the front stick and we like it so much that we are going to put one over the back too. Cannot remember ever seeing one in an airboat which makes it all the better.

We are running both throttle cables all the way to the carb and have a cool little double cable holder that Kyle got for it. I really like the custom throttle lever we built for the front stick.

We are very close to fishing now. No, we don't have the rail around the lights but at this point it is time to get on the water. We are planning to make a short trip up to Lake Conroe next weekend for testing and a little shooting.

Got the part for the generator and it works! The best part is that it runs all the lights with only a slight flicker in the 400s. At this point we are going to go fishing with what we have and if the flicker is too bad I might move the 400s to the sides or find a good generator.

Christian,another one of Houston Police Department's finest, (we have several friends in HPD) and I got to hear his Generac iX2000. While it was not Honda quiet it was certainly not as loud as the Generac 4000xl. I could run two of these guys to push all the lights so that is also an option. Christian started cutting off polymer screws on the floor. It's is a pretty common joke that I ordered the polymer screws too long so this really needed to be done. They were hell on my shoes and you can feel them even through boots. Stepping on the nylocks instead of the bolts is a lot easier on your feet.

03/06/2011: Took the boat over to the Custom Marine Concepts shop again and used the pipe bender to bend up the front rail. Since it is too long for one stick we found a good spot for a splice and will take it back to Kyle's shop to finish it up. More imporantly we got the steering sticks done.

Spent some time on the fuel tank too. We picked up a 3/8" sheet of rubber mat and slid that under the fuel tank and also added thick rubber washers for the bolts so that the fuel tank mounts will flex a little with the boat.

02/27/2011: Got got the lights all buttoned so I got my son's help (Kyle was sick) and we got the lights bolted to the deck. They are very strong, even had one drop off the boat onto the concrete which is a drop of about four feet and nothing broke. Even the bulb was still intact! Only had three bolts where I hit a deck support and had to tap the holes and as always I use thread lock.

I then spent a little time wiring up the lights and tried to make it as neat as I could. That means everything is using either waterproof connectors or they are normal connectors and heat shrink over that. I used 16 gauge electrical cord to run from the ballast to each light. Since they are three-wire I have an extra wire but the price is cheap. Hooked the lights up to the wall and WOW the lights are very bright. I am impressed with the 250 watt metal halides lights. I had no idea they would be this bright! It hurts to look at the 250s and the 400s are just amazingly bright.

Well we then put the Chicago Electric 3500 watt generator in the boat and fired up the lights again and was disappointed. I only paid $230 for this generator from Harbor Freight and it is starting to show. It just cannot run all the lights and the 400s have a bad flicker. I heard that you can play with the throttle so we adjusted the idle up and the flicker is better but it still cannot run all the lights. The 400s never went down but we would lose two or three of the lights on one side while the others were coming up and then when they came up the others went out. We are only using 2300 watts but it wont do it. Granted the 400 watt MH (metal halides) are probably pulling 450 watts the amps and watts are still low enough that the generator should do it. It was so bad I was starting to question myself and hooked everything back up to the wall outlet and it works fine. That tells me it is the generator.

Well Kyle just happens to know a guy with a Honda eu3000 (3000 watt) generator and we hooked it up and it was perfect and we had no light flicker. Worse the generator is extremely quiet. Would certainly like to have one.

Back to reality we start discussing our generator problem and we notice the Generac 4000XL that quit working on Kyle a few years ago. He said the engine worked when he shut it off but for some reason it quit generating power. He even had a book on it but could not figure out what was wrong. I took the book and generator home and spent the rest of the day cleaning it up. I got the engine running like a Generac engine runs. It runs very strong but it is not quiet. After a lot of diagnosing I found that the power control board is bad and we order another one since it was only $60.

02/20/2011: I have been pretty busy lately and have not updated this site. We have finialized the attachment for the tempered glass in front of the lights. The mounts had to be fabricated and I think it will work fine.

Mounting those ballasts on the inside of the bulkhead was a serious pain. The ballast mounts weigh 50 pounds each and since they are inside you have to lie down and hold them in place while bolting them up. I was sore for a couple days after that was done! I also got the wiring run under the deck. Everything comes through a plastic breaker box with three breakers (one each for the front and both sides.) From the breaker I ran most of the wires through the 2X4 bracing to their ballasts and from there to each light. Have I mentioned yet how much fun it is to lay across the t-braces and screws from the polymer? It is almost like laying on a bed of nails except they are not spaced as closely as nails would be! I cannot believe how bright these lights are. Unfortunately I did not get a picture with them running but I will see what I can do soon.

01/23/2011: The light boxes are pretty much done now. Kyle welded up the boxes during the week and I cut the holes out of the front. Since we are painting them the same color as the boat we decided to grind off Kyle's pretty tig welds and sand the boxes down.

Kyle threw on the last of the paint on the boxes. We still have some durabak so we might add a little to them too but not just yet. I finished up one of the ballast mounts (no pics) that will hold four ballasts at once...man, those things are not light! Got started on the second set but still have two more ballasts to go. Wiring those things to make them look pretty is very time consuming especially when you are trying to make them as waterproof as possible.

Here are a couple pictures of the light boxes from my cell phone, sorry about the quality. Of course these were taken before they were painted and before the reflectors are added. We were seeing whay they look like on the deck. They look huge until someone stands on the deck and then they look smaller. They are just right from the top of the deck.

Took some measurments for the steering cable. Did I mention that we did not like the short outboard steering stick? It works but there is too much travel in the stick and it is definitely a little harder since it has less leverage. We are still going to try to build the drivers stick on the right hand side of the seat. This way you can hold a bow while making a short trip. Plus the stick will not be in the way if you decided to just hang out in the seat and launch some arrows.

01/16/2011:  Well it's the start of another new year and am very determined to go bowfishing more than the three times I went last year! Besides we have eaten all the fish I had built up in the deep freeze so it is time. Since deer season is over we have been working on the boat the past couple weekends.  Kyle adjusted the timing on the engine again and it is running great.  We are doing 5100 RPMs now at wide open throttle. 

Also picked up six 250 watt HPS ballast kits as a Christmas present to myself!  These ballasts will run MH or HPS light bulbs.  Got some reflectors from my friend OlBaldGuy and am pretty impressed with how much they helped. I had no desire to try to fabricate some reflectors because they would not be as good anything off the shelf. We sheared up a sheet of aluminum and started building light boxes (guards).  We got all 8 of them (that is six 250watt MH for the sides and two 400watt MH for the front) tacked up and we just need to weld them up. I also started working on the ballast mounts.  Going to have 4 ballasts per plate and will have one plate on each side of the boat.  Since there is about a foot or more for each wire coming off each ballast (and what seems like 50 wires) they will all be trimmed back and wired up as pretty as I can get them.

10/10/2010: Well we got the throttle cable hooked up but since the pond is so low we had to pull the boat off the trailer. We dropped the boat off beside the pond and got the throttle up and it started moving! On dry grass! We ran it around the pond three to four times and drove it up the bank several times too. Needless to say we were pretty excited that it performed so well. The temperature is a little higher than we wanted but that can be fixed. Also still not 100% sure about the carburator. We are running an Edelbrock 600cfm marine carb and have had many people say that we really should be running a 750 because it is a 400 engine. Unfortunately we have not found a 750 carb that was working to test with.

Took these pictures after we ran through the pond so as you can see it is already a little dirty. My son had a lot of fun riding in the airboat but I think he enjoyed driving Kyle's hunting buggy more.

I also took a little video with my camera while Kyle and Hunter were taking it for a spin. It is not the greatest quality video but it is something. These videos are from youtube so if your browser does not allow embedded code then scroll down below for the links.

10/03/2010: I have been really bad about updating this page. Part of it was because my PC at home died and I didn't have a backup...pretty stupid seeing as I am a systems engineer! At any rate I got it running again and just today took some better pictures. The weather could not have been better...normally I am sweating in the deer stand on opening day of bow season but almost needed a jacket this morning.

We got the steering cable hooked up and then fired up the engine but the steering was too tough in one direction. Then moved the cable and hooked it to the front of the rudders and it was much easier to move at full throttle. Finished wiring the nav and white ground light and they look great.

We played with the timing last week and got the engine running better. We still are running only the .5 mark in pitch but we are maxing out at 4900 and we have better throttle response. Sure wish I had $2000 laying around to get that Holley Fuel Injection system. Going to try a larger carb and see if we are better. I have some good recommendations on cams and will swap it if we do not get much better. I think the last thing we want to do is swap the prop.

Also finished adding the last two brackets that mount the cage to the driving stand. We probably did not need them because the cage is already very solid but it wont hurt. We will try to get the throttle pedal installed this week and then try it out in the pond.

Even these new pictures do not really show how huge this boat is. I got a bad angle on the one with the boat and my Yukon because the boat really dwarfs my truck!

09/19/2010: Rewired everything to make it pretty...remember when I said that spaghetti was temporary right? We also swapped all the little zip ties for heavy duty ones and they are really strong. We tested their 150 lb rating and found that it was correct. Kyle built a battery holder that looks killer and the engine runs great.

So this weekend we got the cage back on then had to bolt it down and tap more than a few bolt holes...which is slow work. We added the prop and WHOAH we were moving some air!!! We are a little concerned because we could not seem to keep the engine running cool last weekend but with the prop on there really is no more issue! Had it running at 2000 rpms and it was hanging at 185 just like it should. Probably going to add an electric fan because it wont hurt and could help at idle.

Could be swapping out the S blades for R blades though. Got them pitched at .5 (yes, less than 1) to get max at 4500 rpms and we dont think that it really a good idea. It was worse pitched any higher. Will make some calls this week and see. Once we got the pitch here though you could really feel the boat pushing the trailer and truck! The steering and throttle cables should be here this week but we will see.

08/22/2010: The water pump spacers didn't come in so we decided to put some paint on the boat. Pulled the boat up so it would reach the welding machine and rewelded a couple small holes in the old welds. Have had several people ask why we were painting the boat and to be blunt it is because the boat was covered in buckshot. So we sanded the sides and part of the aft and it already looks better. Then put on the self-etching primer, the real primer, and then color. Looks like a completely different boat now! Yep that is metallic dark blue. Can't wait to get the cage on it to see what it all looks like together. The primer all dried really fast...guess that was because it was 103 today...didn't look to see what the "feels like" temp was but it was not a cool breeze!

Kyle welded in a drain plug to the water line below the engine and we filled it back up and did a water pressure test. No leaks are a good thing.

08/15/2010: It is still hot! It was only feels like 107...yeah yeah normal for August in Texas but still hot. We got the mesh attached to the inside of the cage and I like it. We were not sure the black zipties were going to work well and they seem to be acceptable. I will still keep my eyes open for something better but I was pleasantly surprised to see how stout it is. Also added brackets for the LED nav lights and got them installed. We have the top light but it is not LED so we will keep our eyes open for one while we use this one. We also started bolting down the aluminim mesh to the front of the cage. This will be bolted so we can pull it off to work on the engine easier.

Got the new water pump installed but it does not fit well with the aluminum pulley so we need some spaces. Also changing out the thermostat housing and going with one that has a reservior built in...it will be in next week.

Sure are a lot of people coming by asking when the mayden voyage will be. Well we are shooting for a month from now but we will see. Work has me travelling a couple times in the next month and got the Texas State Bowfishing tournament in a couple weeks too.

The Durabak sure looks good but really think I should have gone with the dark grey rather than light grey...its almost white. Might have to add something to it but will will see.

08/06/2010: This week we put Durabak non-slip coating on the deck and I think it looks pretty good. Forgive the low quality pictures. I forgot the camera again and used the cell phone. We finished the 2nd coat right before dark so the picture was even worse.

Took a picture of the cage all welded up but we still want to add a couple little brackets for KC and extra nav lights. We laid some of the mesh behind the cage and dont like the zipties we were thinking about. We got some better ideas but it will take longer. We also need to lay the mesh with the pipe to make it look better.

This morning we got the driving platform done. We used a marine plastic for the base and a grey foam top. Yeah it has a name and will need to get that from Kyle. The color is not the same but it is close enough. We will see how it holds up and if we had it well we kept about a quart of durabak in a glass jar in the refrigerator so it might keep. We figured out where we are putting the batteries and I picked them up today. Going with two of them even though we really dont need it. This way we have a little more insurance.

We spent a little time getting ready for the Anahuac tournament tomorrow night so we wont be doing much else to the boat this weekend. Sure wish that this boat had been done.

08/01/2010: Yesterdy it was hot...100 degrees hot but I did get the front deck sanded. Today we got the deck door done and the front of the deck welded up. We then cleaned everything up and taped off the deck. We then got the self-etching primer laid down. Sorry I forgot to take the camera but needless to say it really looks bad with that primer on it. It doesn't cover very well but who cares since that is not really what its job is. Will try to get some pictures of it before we lay the durabak.

07/30/2010: It is always the little things. Got the engine up to temperatur several times and found a few little things that need to be corrected. The water pump is giving us problems and found a crack in the neck....cheap Chinese water pump! So that will need to be changed before we put the cage on.

Mudkat got his shop addition done and it sure looks good! We moved the boat over there and the new section looks small. But it is brighter and cooler. Always build your shop facing the Southeast in this part of Texas to take advantage of what little southeast breeze we might have in the summer!

We are going to lay Durabak in light grey on the deck and sides and it should be a whole lot easier to do this now rather than wait till the cage in on. We need to finish welding the front of the deck before we do that too. We did get the deck door almost done and just need a few more bolts on it to get it done. I also installed the hour meter in the back of the console...yes, back because there really is no more room for a full size gauge, or at least no where that would look good. I kind of like it hidden in the back because it is not that noticable which is what I wanted anyway. I figure as long as you can read it you are good. Also finished bolting down the mufflers. You know you can get polished stainless headers, pipe, and mufflers and as soon as they get hot they start to discolor. Will remember that next time, don't waste your money on polished stainless for exhaust.

Got a couple KC lites (that is how they spell that brand!) and instead of getting the stainless lights I opted for the black powder coated because they simple look a whole lot better. They sure are bright!

07/25/2010: IT....IS.....ALIVE!!!!!!! Whooohooo! It sounds so good too. Much more quiet than I expected. Guess those Magnaflow muffler really are working like we wanted. Don't laugh at my temporary wiring....didn't want to post that picture but was too pumped not to. Once the cage goes back on I will have to re-run all the wiring to make it pretty and I assure you that it wont see the water until that is done. I had an electrical fire in a boat before and know how NOT fun that was. We still need to adjust the timing but with the sun glaring inside the shop door we will have to wait until later in the day to get it right.

Here is a short video I took with my camera. Yes, this will direct you to youtube and for non-engine guys it is pretty boring since you pretty much only hear the engine start and rev a few times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH-2rw6Vfbw

I guess I finally broke my promise about not showing the console until the end...well its close now right? I sure love the look of it especially with that dark blue metallic!

07/24/2010: We are real close to firing up this bad boy! Got the mufflers mostly mounted and cut the flex pipe to size. Finished installing most of the sensors and got the radiator hose installed. I think we have the coolest radiator hose on the planet! We reinstalled the seat platform and mounted up the seats and drybox. We installed the carb and air cleaner and mostly finished wiring the console. It is real close to running.

07/20/2010: Well as you can see I have not been doing a very good job of keeping the site up to date. I hope I can get some more pic added soon. We pulled the cage off the boat and finished welding it up. We then finished the seat stand and added some extra bracing and it really looks sharp. Even checked to make sure the generator fits under there fine. We then pulled it off too and finished welding it up.

I started wiring up the console and I must say it sure looks good with the paint and gauges. Still not planning to post a picture of it until the end! Hoping we can get the engine broke in this weekend because we are running really short of time if we are still going to take it to Anahuac on Aug 7th.

Last week we did get the console primed and painted. We first used some self-etching primer that the paint guys recommended but it really did not cover well. So on went the good gray primer and then two coats of top coat.

07/09/2010: Last week after work we finished up the cage. Bent some more 1" pipe to support the rudders and the back of the cage. It really looks good.

Missed last weekend because the wife drug me out to the great state of Arizona. Yep, the one that is fighting the illegals (yes, I called them illegals, not undocumented workers you liberal puke!) and saw Tombstone and the Grand Canyon. If you have never been to the big ditch...well pictures just do not do it justice. It is simply amazing. Saw some beautiful country up in the Arizona mountains that I didn't know existed. If I didn't love Texas and bowfishing so much I could live there assuming the winters are not too bad. While I was off playing Kyle cut down the console and added the gauges and dry box cover.

Today I cut out the switches and took the grinder to it again while Kyle finished welding up the seat platform. He bent a couple pipes on the outside of the seats that will act as hand-holds and seat support. Also cut the door in the seat platform and put the grinder to all the areas we want to paint. Still think it will look killer.

Picked up $400 worth of epoxy paint for the console, seat platform and sides of the boat. Not sure yet if we will paint the rudders yet. Maybe we will get some color on the console this weekend so I can wire the think up.

Trevor and Justin came by and welding some more on the plate. Those guys lay down some tig welds that are just crazy good!

06/27/2010: It really looks like we got a whole lot done! Worked on it a couple evenings this week at Custom Marine Concepts (thanks again Glenn!) and we got the two rear hoops in the cage done. Justin and Trevor started welding up the seams on the plate and man those guys put down some pretty welds!

Then we came back in Sat and got most of the cage done. Today we got most of the fill pieces done and Kyle mocked up the seat box. We still have some pipe to bend for it and it needs to be plated to make it pretty. Glenn, Kyle, and I hung the rudders, which was interesting for some guys who have never done it before. But they are level and look great. I especially LOVE the anodized polished aluminum pipe for the cage. I am sure there are other airboats that have used it but it sure looks good. Some guys might laugh at my plastic car racing seats but I love them. They look cool and are really comfortable. Might do some seat covers for them just not now.

I have not said it yet on here but want to send out a big thank you to Glenn at Custom Marine Concepts who have been getting our materials and let us use the shop the past week. It certainly saved us sunburn at the least. Definitely going to owe you a cold beer and a bowfishing trip!

06/19/2010: Have I mentioned how hot it is in Texas in June! Hot enough that we have changed the work schedule and I am at the shop at 6:30AM when the sun is coming up. We work till lunch and shut it down and sometimes work on it after 6:30PM till dark.

Kyle got a couple guys at work to finish welding up the tank and it looks good. It should be about 75 gallons. We had to install it in the engine stand because it is wide enough that it cannot be pulled. Yes, it was tested for leaks.

We got the engine in the boat which was fun. We got lucky that the tractor had a lift tall enough that we didn't have to use a tree. We then installed the prop blades and man this Sensenich SuperWide is SUPER WIDE! Talked to some serious experts before deciding on this prop. Special thanks to Dantheairboatman for his sound advice. Glad to see another 400 sbc fan out there! We then adjusted the engine stand as far back as we could and we still have plenty of clearance. Drilling those holes and bolting the engine stand down was a serious pain. We also started on the center console but not going to take pictures of that until it is done. I love the look of it.

Got the rudders from Diamondback yesterday and we will start on the cage this week. NOW it is starting to look like an airboat!

06/16/2010: Been busy but do not feel like we have gotten much done. We laid the plate for the back of the boat and started building the fuel tank...sorry no pictures of that. Also installed the oil cooler and I kind of like where it is behind the radiator. We were going to install the engine and stand in the boat but after some measuring it would have been very tough to get the tank in the boat because we have the sidewalks over the gunwales. Played around trying to polish the stainless magna-flow mufflers but did not get very far. Also laid out the instrument panel with the gauges. Still need to get a water temp gauge for the front stick and an hour meter.

The headers and the prop came in yesterday so we will be mounting everything pretty quick. Also finished welding up the fuel tank. I got a little sunburned on my face this past weekend while holding the alumunim while Kyle tacked it.

06/05/2010: The engine stand was coated and it sure looks good. We mounted the engine and got the pulleys and belts installed. Attached the flexplate, flywheel, and gearbox for the final time and relashed the rockers. Checked the oil flow while we were there and all is well with the oil system.

Since we finished everything we could do to the engine without more parts we attached the two plates to the front deck. We riveted it down and will weld the outside edge. Also started working on where we want the lights and what we want. Planning to go with two 400 watt MH lights in front but most likely add more on the sides. Also received the side pieces of polymer and will put them on when we get more screws.

05/31/2010: Engine stand is done. We added the radiator supports. Might have built it a little tougher than it needed but you never want your radiator to break loose. The way it is going to mount in the stand we might go with a slightly smaller fuel tank but we will cross that bridge later. Now it is off to the coater to get coat of liner. That will seal it up pretty good against the elements.

05/30/2010: If it ain't one thing its another! Does not seem like it has been 2 weeks since the last post but hey, time flies when you work a full time job and spend your weekends working on a boat too! Guess I will back up a little. We got the engine over to the shop and put in on a scale. Was pleasantly surprised to see it weighed 398 pounds. Temporarily added the geardrive and it brought it up to 473. That means that the geardrive might be 60 lbs but they might not be counting the flexplate and flywheel? At any rate this is pretty good. Did have a problem as usual. We ordered the geardrive for a small block but the flexplate on my engine seems to be a big block plate. Called Classic Airboats and they took care of it and sent a replacement and it works great.

The trailer has arrived and it does look good. I still think we might add in some side boards to help the boat get centered on the trailer but that is for later. I upgraded to stainless bolts but did not do anything about the wheels and they are galvanized. They are not as pretty as aluminum wheels would be but they are shinier than I thought! Still going to need to pick up a spare tire at some point.

Had to change out the water pump and pulleys since these pictures were taken since the long pump was not going to work with the aluminum alternator mount.

This past weekend we started on the engine stand, and no I didnt get any pictures yet. We built it to sit most of the weight on the two main supports in the back of the boat and will house the fuel tank under the engine too. We figure it will be close to 90 gallons when done. Got the radiator but have not yet built the mounts for it. I will get some picutres of the engine stand soon.

05/16/2010: I cannot believe how little water this wide boat sits in! As you can see by the pictures it is drafting about 1/2" in the back. Of course it has no weight in the back and all the weight is in the front for the deck bracing but this is still impressive. This boat is not light...it was not light before we added the bracing but really wide does help. When I sat on the back the boat rolled back aft and drafted closer to 2". I am just very happy to see that it is not the pig I was expecting. Check out the trailer pics...it showed up and was all wrong...wasn't even a flat bottom trailer, much less an airboat trailer. And it was two feet short. The guys at McClain are making it right and even took the boat to fit the trailer to it. Hope to have it back early next week. We are moving the engine to the shop and will start on the stand when the boat comes back with the trailer.

Oh and we found ONE screw that gauled up and it was one of mine so I cant blame it on anyone. It is in the turning chine so it will be real easy to cut off and replace.

05/08/2010: Kyle flipped the boat over yesterday and we put the stainless nylocks on the 1000 screws in the bottom of the boat. Of course with stainless you must use anti-seeze or they will freeze up and then you have big problems. At any rate was surprised that it only took 3 hours. It was boring work and once you get the routine down it goes very fast. I have no idea why anyone would not do this because it is much faster than drilling and taping. At any rate we had no issues with any screws working out which was very good.

I am impressed with the polymer. I can push the boat by hand now and could not even think about it before the poly went on. We drug the boat over to the pond and push it into the water and was VERY surprised to see the boat only drafting 2 inches of water! Check out the one picture of the rear where the boat is only drafting about 1/2 inch of water. Now I realize there is no weight in the boat except for the deck bracing but that is still impressive. The 2 inches was near the front which was most of the bracing and bulkhead weight. I sat of the back and the front lifted up and the back dropped to about 2 inches. This boat might just draft much better than I expected once it is loaded out.

Boat trailer arrived this week but it was wrong. The trailer guy said to load the boat on it and they will build a trailer to fit it.

Next will need to get the engine over to the shop so we can start building the engine stand.

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04/25/2010: Well I sold my SeaArk fan boat so I could build a jet boat. I wanted a 20ft long with an 80" slick bottom similar to many airboats. I called several places and decided on Epidemic Boats to build the hull for me. He built it to the exact specifications that I wanted but the hull looks more like an airboat than a big jon boat. Let me say this about Roy at Epidemic. He is a great guy and honest. I gave him the down payment and he built me a boat...and did it in a week and a half....yes, very fast!!!! I am still amazed that he could do all this with a wirefeed welder!

Of course then we tried to pick up the boat and found how heavy the thing really was! With 1/8" thick sides and transom and 3/16" thick bottom it is not light at all! It also had 5 t-braces across the floor with the two cross braces similar to most airboats. Check out the picture of the boat on the car trailer, this thing is huge! My old SeaArk was 18ft and I thought it was big but it was a modified V. Since this boat is a flat bottom you gain all that space in the V that you could not use on the other boat.

Of course we thought about turning it into an airboat immediately but tried to get that thought out of my mind. While building the bracing for the front deck we started thinking about how much of a dog it was going to be with any fan motor made. Tossed around the idea of a VW engine for a fan motor but those things are heavier than a 35HP Briggs and while they can be upgraded to some serious horsepower, they are not exactly cheap. Plus I had to think would it really push the boat over a log or through thick grass if it was drafting 8 inches of water?

That was pretty much the time we decided to go with an airboat. I will admit that I have always been in love with airboats but never thought I could afford one. However, I now have the hull and engine and just need a prop and gearbox so this might be as close I as could get to one.

By the way the engine I built for the jet boat and now for the airboat is a Chevy small block 400. Well really it is a 406 since it was bored 30 over. It was an old engine that my father had sitting around for almost 20 years. I wished I still had pictures of what it looked like when it came in. It was covered in rust and the iron heads were simply too rusted to even try to restore. Broke it down and then sent the block out to be reworked. They bored and honed, decked the block, restored the crank and rods, and balanced the whole thing with flat hyper pistons. I added Edelbrock Estreet aluminum heads and Performer intake. Yeah I know the Estreets are not the best but this was originally a budget build. Went with an Edelbrock marine carb and the Proform HEI distributor with mechanical advance. Did get some nice Edelbrock aluminum value covers. The oil pan and waterpump pulley was chrome so I shot it with clear coat to hopefully make it last longer. Went with one of the smaller high torque starters. Still trying to decide if I want to mount the alternator low or high since I don't yet have the mount for it yet. Other than mounting the alternator and adding the oil cooler, the engine is ready to mount and break it.

We are mating the engine to a 2.68 gearbox and planning for an 80" prop, which we have heard real good things about with small block engines. I am not looking for it to run dry ground but do want it to be able to get into really skinny water. I have visions of sliding across the mud flats at Anahuac dancing in my head!

Back to the boat..we added walk-arounds to the sides and four more t-braces for a total of 9. We left the 7 foot long engine mounts to the back of the boat because those things are very strong. Originally they were going to support the engine for the jet but they will be perfect to hold most of the weight of the engine stand and fuel tank. The front deck is 8 1/2 foot from front to the back and the door is 3 ft wide. The old boat deck was 4 ft and I think it was a little too big. We are planning to make this one a little more waterproof. The deck in my old boat leaked rain into the front storage but did not have enough air movement to allow the moister to dry out quickly. We added the bulkhead and welded it to the floor and sides. If we ever take water over the back (or even the front), this will keep it in the back of the boat and have a mostly sealed section in the front. The only problem with welding the bulkhead in is the warping on the sides. Was not planning to paint the boat right away but with all the grinding we had to do and the buckshot, I should be able to sand the warping mostly smooth and make it look good. We also reworked the transom for the rudder supports and made it look more like an airboat. If nothing else it makes crawling in and out of the boat easier right now.

I have not yet mentioned how much help my good friend Mudkat has been. WIthout his expert welding experience and general building knowledge this project would not have happened. I have built plenty with wood and can troubleshoot a lot of things but it is nothing compared to him. Thanks Kyle! Also want to say thanks to Glenn at Custom Marine Concepts and we will be heading back over there when we start rolling the alumunum cage.

Oh let me stop and say something about welding. All the welding that we are doing is with a tig welder because it is really the best way to weld aluminum. It really does a better job of bonding the aluminum and leaves a much prettier and more precise weld. The only place we could not tig weld was the T-braces that we added. We borrowed $10,000 worth of welding machine (between the push/pull wire feed system to the high end Miller welder and cooler) and got the job done. It took a little while to figure out the proper setting for the t-braces but once it was done the welds looked pretty good for a wire feed. It is not the most precise form of welding and threw down some serious burn marks but it did the job. A brass wire brush did the rest.

In the past few days we flipped the boat over which was a chore and then ground the welds on the bottom. We went over them again with the tig and then ground them smooth so the polymer would have good contact. The polymer is Blue Iron from Horn Plastic out of Idaho. They were great to work with but make sure that you tell them not to use Estes shipping because they sucked. Estes got the polymer 10 days ago and since they were not going to deliver it for another 3 days I called them and found out they had it in Houston and drove over and picked it up. Estes freight building is in about the worse part of Houston too! I had to clean off my center console to make sure I could get to my pistol fast! While we were in that area we also picked up all the steel we would need for the engine stand.

Finally got the polymer to the shop and laid it on the bottom of the boat. The 20 foot sheet was perfect! There is about a two inch overhang on the back but it will butt up against the front pipe, which is a 6 inch half pipe in case you were wondering. I won't have to worry about denting up the front of the boat. We put about 50 screws in and called it a day. Mudkat called the next morning and said we better not try to do anything until later because the poly shrank 1/2" overnight. I had always heard that you need to get the stuff hot to put it on and now it makes perfect sense. We started up again that afternoon and put about 400 screws in it and only have the turning chines to do, which are going to suck.