Truck Boat

Hello everybody,

New guy here - Stumbled on this forum while researching a boat design. I came across this truck/boat hybrid a few days ago:


I can't find any other information about the builder but I am fascinated by the boat. I suspect the reason I can't find any more info is that the builder eventually took it out on the water and found it to be unstable because of the high center of gravity. Still, the idea of taking a classic truck body and mounting it too pontoons seems like an awesome idea.

What I am wondering is if you guys think it could ever be made to work and be stable. I work at a boat shop and could imagine taking some of the shop guys to help out in a custom build like this over the winter.

Our shop is in a town that has a strong classic car heritage as well as being one of the larger lakes in the area and I know it'd be a big hit out on the water.

Would using an aftermarket fiberglass body on traditional aluminum pontoons make the craft more stable? I reason that a lighter body that was a bit lower than the one pictured would translate to better stability, right?

Or is this just a classic example of a redneck idea that will never really work?

 

Floats seem large enough to withstand some lead in their bottoms, which would give more stability if needed.

 

The guy really got things backwards. What you are supposed to do is make cars out of the drop tanks, not make a perfectly good truck cab into a boat.

https://saltfever.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/belly-tank-lakesters-at-bonneville/

 

The boat does qualify for a redneck idea. It could work in a calm water pond.

I suspect that the boat would make more trouble in pitch mode than in roll mode. The floats are pretty short. The drop tanks are not ideally suited for the application. More than two or three horsepower would be overkill. To further the scheme, perhaps a pair of covers from a 300 HP outboard would fit over the tiddler motor. That would enhance the redneck status nicely.

I think it is cute even though it's about as practical as a broken leg.

 

I love it.

The pontoons should probably be longer and have a bit more in the bow department, though to be trailerable they may be as wide apart as they can be already, if not wider than that.

I wonder what you might accomplish with an old conversion van or a schoolbus?

 

Like this ?

 

Mo' pontoons!

Performed a search on eBay and old busses were well under 10K, both tractor and conventional. For weight a tractor may be preferable but for appearance the critter with the bonnet would be nice.

Modify the diesel for the marine environment and hook the axel up to a surplus out drive with some Redneck Knowhow.

Sure, I still dream of something yacht like...

 

Haha. When I think of a bus on pontoons I immediately think of this:



I agree that the drop tanks - while very cool looking - are not suited to this particular application. I'd imagine traditional pontoons would be far more stable in pitch and roll.

Would a tritoon setup offer any particular advantages? I'm thinking it'd give you the ability to go a bit faster and take turns better.

I could see the truck bed being converted into seating space. Maybe cut a passageway out of the back of the cab.

Might have to start building a scale model to test the idea out.

 

The Vulcan Shuttle would make a nice wave piercer.

 

That would make an awesome boat. An elevated deck with space to store jetskis or a small tender below.

 

With dual MHDs in the wave piercing toons you could have a silent shallow water boat ... of course Redneck Engineering MHDs might be a bit on the scary side....

 

I like how all spaceships seem to adhere to the intergalactic standard of which way is up, even at times of war.

 

... and aliens, the Gorn or Horta aside, all speak English better than Scotty....

 

Greetings,

28' From Kurt Hughes.

 

A nice concept for use with a pair of cylinder mold hulls.