Squidly-Diddly
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2007
- Messages
- 2,019
- Reaction score
- 190
- Location
- SF bay
The idea would be a minimalist low tech self powering(unpowered) car ferry able to transfer cars from most shores without a dock.
For simplicity it might be paddlewheel powered, and the paddles would be able to walk it up onto shore, or at least get through the shallow muddy bank enough to allow the vehicle to drive off.
It would leverage the built in ability of road vehicles to run their tires/engines at 100mph, or gear down and have enough power to drive up the steepest hills with a heavy load.
I'm thinking a tri-pootoon(barrels?) that would cruise at 10mph with the car running at 50mph, maybe two sets of paddle wheels, bow and stern, connected by chain or belt. Or, since there will be two rollers cradling the car's drive wheels, have one roller power one paddlewheel and the other roller power the other paddlewheel, so there would be two independent systems for redundancy.
Maybe hinge the ends of the paddles and keep them semi-ridge with stout springs, so they would remain straight while driving water, but would bend into a "lower gear" smaller diameter wheel (with more surface area) on landing. And hopefully not tend to break off as easily.
Ramps optional as required by different shorelines.
If 55gal drums are the building material of choice for the pootoons, they might also work as the basis of the paddlewheels.
For simplicity it might be paddlewheel powered, and the paddles would be able to walk it up onto shore, or at least get through the shallow muddy bank enough to allow the vehicle to drive off.
It would leverage the built in ability of road vehicles to run their tires/engines at 100mph, or gear down and have enough power to drive up the steepest hills with a heavy load.
I'm thinking a tri-pootoon(barrels?) that would cruise at 10mph with the car running at 50mph, maybe two sets of paddle wheels, bow and stern, connected by chain or belt. Or, since there will be two rollers cradling the car's drive wheels, have one roller power one paddlewheel and the other roller power the other paddlewheel, so there would be two independent systems for redundancy.
Maybe hinge the ends of the paddles and keep them semi-ridge with stout springs, so they would remain straight while driving water, but would bend into a "lower gear" smaller diameter wheel (with more surface area) on landing. And hopefully not tend to break off as easily.
Ramps optional as required by different shorelines.
If 55gal drums are the building material of choice for the pootoons, they might also work as the basis of the paddlewheels.
