Left handed propeller

I think people are right to point out that the fire risk has to be mitigated, but by the time all that is sorted out, you would be far better off with a small outboard, probably financially as well.

 

It will be tippy . He has copied the seabreacher hull. That is not even a boat.

 

I really don't understand it. The Netherlands is full of old boats and outboards. Just sell the generator engine and buy something for that money. If you let enough people know about your interest you can probably get a complete boat with engine for free.

 

I rather like to so that I tried to copy the hull but it turned out a bit different. I will post pictures when I am back home.

 

What is the fun of buying or getting a boat for free? I like the building process. Me and my friends already have simple row boat and we have already put an outboard engine on that and it was fun. My family also has a Neptunus 107 powerboat with a dinghy that has a small outboard so it is not that I need a boat but it is more the building process that I want.

 

The key word is outboard.

 

If building something for fun is your goal then go for it. You could make your own prop you know.

 

Daan, with your boat only being 1 metre wide, she is not going to be very stable at the best of times. You will have to be very careful getting in and out, and positioning yourself. Your might need to put a stabilising outrigger on it to help.
However even if you ensure that she has enough stability, there is still not going to be much room for you once you install an inboard engine with a shaft drive.

 

This is what I have so far. As you can see I still have the sides and back left to make.

 

I think you will definitely find that she will be rather tippy as is.

As an alternative to fitting an outrigger for stability, you could perhaps convert her into a RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat) by either adding inflatable tubes to the sides, or you could attach a string of small sausage shaped fenders on each side.
If using tubes or fenders, the diameter would have to be large enough so that ideally they are just clear of the water when she is floating at her load displacement (this could perhaps be with you, another person (?) and an outboard motor as the 'cargo')?
Then when the boat heels slightly, the fenders come into contact with the water surface and their buoyancy supplies a righting moment.
And yes, I would also suggest that you at least initially try the boat with (eg) a 2 hp O/B motor before even thinking about trying to fit an inboard motor.

 

I was already thinking of making outrigger stabilizers but the RHIB idea is somehting interesting aswell.
When the boat is ready to go into the water I will be testing it at first with an electric outboard motor so I know if it will be worth installing the inboard engine.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions!

 

Always thought making my own propeller would be too difficult to do but I will look into that and see if it would be possible for me.

 

Hey Daan - I'm doing exactly the same thing as your project! Well almost - I planned to build an e-boat after watching Tech Ingredients on Youtube (you should check it out). So I was looking around for a cheap little trailer and some small sails I could fit to it and I found a BEAUTIFUL 14 footer (Hood C14) that came with everything including trailer and sails for about as much as I planned to spend on a trailer! Still keen on the eboat idea but just thinking about that was getting expensive, particularly as I wanted enough power for hydrofoils.

So thought I would use my new yacht as a platform for the things I wanted to develop for the eboat but also to teach myself to sail. I looked at outboards but found the same thing as you - cheap and nasty or expensive and my wife would really kill me this time. I love the idea of an inboard and those 6 HP Chinese 4 strokes proved simply irresistible. Certainly better than their cheap outboards, although hoytedow's post shows what can happen with an expensive non-DIY boat ;-{}.

Anyway, I'm chasing the same thing as you - a left-handed propeller! I was also thinking of keeping it simple and using a centrifugal clutch instead of a torque convertor. Also toyed with the idea of using a ATV forward-reverse gear box but that looked like a recipe for problems. One option is a just a reversing gear box which are cheap and you could then use a right-handed propeller but I'm not sure the reduced efficiency and having something else to break is such a good idea.

Wouldn't help me but maybe with your setup a mud/swamp, Thai long tail would work for you? There are kits around or things you could make but seems like you need to have a Southern accent to use these

Sorry for the long post (my first one!) but some of the advice here and the website is great. Found a great doc on this website somewhere called "inboard-engine-installation.pdf" which shows how to do it for a typical sailing boat at least.

Otherwise some of the comments in this thread are useful, cautions about fire and the comment about these engines being for continuous steady revs rather than bursts. Although I'm thinking with 6HP that's kind of what will happen when the wind drops! For fire I was going to make a separate sealed but mechanically ventilated compartment with fire proofing and separate the gas tank and put it where they usually go.. and build a heat exchanger with the exhaust venting into the bottom of the mast.

Anyhow, be good to compare notes (particularly if you find a left-handed propeller supplier that doesnt break the bank! They should be around because any twin prop usually have CW and CCW props (At least I think a CCW prop is a left-handed prop?).

Cheers
Bill

 

Hi Bill,
Nice to see someone is doing something a little bit similar. I was thinking the same about the fire. I also want to make a separate compartment for the engine and I want to separate the gas tank from that compartment. I still haven't found a good left handed propeller so I think I will take a right handed propeller and make a belt system wich will make the axle with the prop on it spin the right way for a right handed propeller. If I make this belt system I can make a reverse "gear" aswell. maybe this is something you can look into aswell.

 

Do you 2 Muppets realise that left hand propellers are standard rotation.. the most common one available..