Summer 2004

Ta Da!


Well this summer has been a lot better than the last one, and I have had a lot of fun with this craft.
I was able to take my family on a short trip up the river to nearby town about 20 kilometers away.
We also stopped in this beautiful bay just off the river. The Bow River in Calgary, is pretty swift,
so I figure if we travel upstream, we can always float home if we break down.

It was to the point where nobody wanted to go out with me, because they expected a breakdown of some sort.
I believe I have resolved most of the problems, and I am getting comfortable with taking longer trips from home.

Turning







This is a shot showing the enclosure I made for the cockpit. The side panels will unbutton, and the window unzips for entry.
It helps to keep dry, although as I have improved my piloting skills,
I am getting by with less spray. Still, when you are turning with a cross wind, you can easily get soaked!
I also plan to install the heater from the Subaru, so I can drive in the colder weather,
and keep the windows clear.







After being stuck on the water with a belt that wouldn't engage because of water, and
loss of tension, I determined to install an idler pulley.

I made it from two idler pulleys  from some Ford engines (Aerostar?) at the auto wrecker. I bolted the idlers together back to back.
They cost me $3.00 each! You can tell that you've' lost tension, by watching the tachometer. If the engine is over revving, and you aren't moving that fast, then you know that it is slipping. The UH method is to install more shims under the pillow block bearings, and remove some from under the engine mount, to keep the shaft centered in the duct. You don't want to be doing this on the water. It's much easier
to just tighten the idler, though will try to use the UH method for the majority of the tension. These kinds of belts are not made to bend backwards, and it will wreck the belt, but hey,.. I don't want to be stuck on the water either.




I tighten the idler with the turnbuckle, and set it with a lock nut.

 

Things I Learned

• The belts must be perfectly aligned. As the belts went over the idler pulleys at the front, just before the lift duct, the idlers were to low, therefore the belt was approaching the front lift pulley on a bit of an angle, this would cause the belt to roll over.
• When using a variator, careful that you don't apply sudden pressure to the position of the variator. It could force the variator forward, by pulling against the spring pressure at the back. If this happened before the variator had a chance to 'vari' this would cause sudden slackness in the front belt, and it would come off, or roll over.
• I  discovered that the rear inside corner of the skirt, was scooping water. It was a small hole, but it would slowly fill up the rear of the skir.  I determined this because if I have plow-in, all of a sudden the front of the craft  would get real heavy and almost submerge, as all the water at the back of the craft rushhed forward.
  
• I installed a slit in the rear skirt with a lace up string in it, which runs to the cockpit. This way, I can drain the skirt in a reasonable amount of time as opposed to the five minutes or more it took before. All the while you are trashing your prop as the spray hits it while you drain the skirt.
• I overbuilt my engine stand. I made it from .125 square tubing, instead of the .083 that was called for. Consequently, I have some serious weight issues at the rear of the craft. I estimate the following items have added unnecessary weight
• Engine stand built too heavy
• Steel  drive pulley  instead of aluminum
• 13 Ply plywood thrust pulley instead of softwood
• steel 6" pulley for lift drive of aluminum
• It is possible that I could have made the craft tail heavy by 40-50-60 lbs. I just don't know if I have the ambition to build a new engine stand, and buy aluminum drive parts,...or I could just add 50 lbs to the front, but that means you loose 100 lbs over all!
• The primer I used is terrible, and my paint is coming off. Some of the wood is exposed, and I have to look after it soon. I used 'Plastic Primer' but it was a bad choice. I used Marine Enamel for the final coat, but I should have painted it right to the wood and the fiberglass.
• Another big mistake was a misreading of the plans, which led me to build the craft 6" wider than it should be. It would have made it a little easier to handle and trailer, if it was 7'6" wide instead of 8'. On the other hand I gained a bit of lift capacity.
• I forgot to put in a drain plug. I tried to install a bilge pump, but it was made of plastic and broke quite quickly. I need to reslove this, because some water does accumulate in the 'well' at the back.
• Also, make sure the hole(s) through the lift duct for the belt are as small as possible, When I first tried out the craft, I left the slot open, and took  on lots of water when I stopped too quickly. Now I have some duct tape in very close clearance to the belt, and it works well.
  
• I need to improve the leading edge of my thrust prop. It gets trashed each time I go out. I didn't want to spend $150.00 for a role of 3M  'leading edge tape' (aka helicopter tape), so I ordered some tape from Aircraft Spruce for $20.00 role (US).  The idea is that the tape provides a slight cushioning for the front surface. I have used clear athletic tape in 2 or 3 layers, and found that it extended the life of the leading edge , though the tape didn't last too long.   I was hoping this new tape would be the answer, but it wasn't a lot better than the cheap athletic tape.