Self-Powered wakeboard

[WakeBoardAddikt]

i am an die-hard wakeboarder and i love to build things out of wood or plaster or metal and lately i have been thinking of a new project. I want to build a wakeboard that can run on its own power after it has been lifted out of the water by my Four Winns I/O... my plan was to use a common weedwacker engine and a propeller design that i found at

the motor design is here:
http://www.flapdoodledinghy.com/motor.html

the prop design is here:
http://www.flapdoodledinghy.com/DIY%20boat%20prop.html


i am very open to any suggestions.

Note: i am planning on making a hole through the bottom of the board to allow for a belt or drive shaft to run the propeller underwater... not as an air fan

also feel free to email me @ zlynch@comcast.net

[ancient kayaker]

Suggest you think again after you remember to take your medications. Or buy a Sea-do. Insanity runs in my family too but ...

[Ike]

Actually this has been done and redone with surfboards. (I think the first one I saw was in the 60's) See http://www.monojet.com/product2.html as just one example. However I would not use a prop. A jet would be much safer. People fall off these things all the time and using a prop is just an invitation to disaster. Plus that you are going to have to find a way to comply or get around requirements for things like fuel systems and electrical that a weed wacker engine does not even come near complying with. But, it has been doen so do some surfing (no pun intended) and find out what has come before. No sense in re-inventing the wheel.

[NordicFolkboat]

Here's a crazy idea: Do away with the complexity of an engine and jet drive, and build a bottle rocket powered surfboard! Load it up with compressed air, surf around, then return for more. Select a proper nozzle for appropriate thrust and burn time, and be careful with the pressure vessel so it doesn't blow up under you.

[schakel]

It is easy to try:

Take an old surfboard, saw the tail of the back. Tie a car minibridge with surfstraps at the back. ad a firm wooden plank in the same way.
Mount a 6 hp outboard motor and off you go..

Although it's a bit dangerous when landing in the prop. (I am a safety freak.)

Do not forget to install the dead man chord otherwise if you fall off you can find everything back at the other end of the bay, sea or ocean.

Question:
At how many post or how frequently do you have to post to obtain another description under your avatar as "Junior member".

[Cheesy]

I would not make an exhaust anything like what is shown in that link, a two stroke engine power is very dependent on exhaust scavenging, the exhaust is not a steady flow, when a pulse hits the end of the exhaust pipe a wave is reflected back to the exhaust port, idealy this wave is low presure and helps 'pull' the fuel air mixture into the combustion chamber. The design shown is much longer than the one it replaced so will probably eliminate any exhaust scavenging affect.

[marshmat]

Weed whacker engine on wakeboard: Does not strike me as a terribly good idea.
Even if you can get around all the safety, weight, etc. issues: there is still the problem of why your wakeboard boat has 260 hp in the first place. A wakeboarder carving and jumping creates an absolutely insane amount of drag. If you'd rather be going in straight lines in a crazy small kneel/stand-on craft with a weed whacker motor, and not jumping wakes.... perhaps Phil Bolger's "Skimmer" is more up your alley.

schakel- try your UserCP page, under "Edit Profile", look for "Optional Information". Or wait until your 100th (I think) post.

[Cheesy]

Or just get a traction kite!

[harlemriverman]

the motor design is here:
http://www.flapdoodledinghy.com/motor.html

the prop design is here:
http://www.flapdoodledinghy.com/DIY%20boat%20prop.html

i am very open to any suggestions.[/email]

put your dad's weed-whacker back together before he finds out, and stop screwing around with the cutting torch before you burn yourself.