Burning Alpine Sleds!!!
- Thread starter smwizzz
- Start date
dang....willikers...nice stuff..
A good solution would be a small fuel cell in an aluminum box. Auto racing sanctioning bodies are obsessed with fire safety. I've seen very few cars burn in 15 years of racing. All purpose built race cars are required to use a fuel cell(rubber bladder filled with foam) protected by an metal box. With all that you have to wear a fire suit, nomex long under wear, socks and balaclava. I've only heard of one fuel cell failing and it was horrible. Local guy burns in the car for way too long, finally gets out. Only he drops and rolls in a big puddle of burning fuel. He lived but he was really burned. His lexan face shield melted to his face. Ugh. Fuel cells must be easy to custom shape because all the bigger companies with do custom jobs relatively cheap. When I hear about "fiber board covered with foil heat tape" I just cringe. Fiber board? Really?
Awesome!!!
I recently posted this link...http://www.atlinc.com/sports-cell-series.html
It is precisely what you are talking about. Your comment is exactly what we need here. It gives options to those looking for real solutions. We can take an awesome product and a simple thing like a fuel cell can destroy what should be one of the best on the market.
Sadly I would never purchase another one of Alpines sleds based 100% on the fuel cell construction and installation. On the same note I strongly advise people who are thinking about purchasing one to put forth the question to Dean and Julian... What happens if it lights on fire??? Are you working towards a better setup??? The answer will speak for itself!!!
Thanks for the comment!!!
I recently posted this link...http://www.atlinc.com/sports-cell-series.html
It is precisely what you are talking about. Your comment is exactly what we need here. It gives options to those looking for real solutions. We can take an awesome product and a simple thing like a fuel cell can destroy what should be one of the best on the market.
Sadly I would never purchase another one of Alpines sleds based 100% on the fuel cell construction and installation. On the same note I strongly advise people who are thinking about purchasing one to put forth the question to Dean and Julian... What happens if it lights on fire??? Are you working towards a better setup??? The answer will speak for itself!!!
Thanks for the comment!!!
Todays progress
Had a slow day today. Spent hours laying out the curved chine on the bow section. Then I drew it up and imported it to the CNC table and cut it out. If this works and I build more than one I will build a jig for welding everything together. This one of with no jig is kinda tough. Nothing wants to stay the right shape. I kinda expected this but it is time consuming to make it fit.
This one is going as a home build. Funny thing tho... the more people who see it want one. May have to look into getting it certified lol. May have a new business venture.
Had a slow day today. Spent hours laying out the curved chine on the bow section. Then I drew it up and imported it to the CNC table and cut it out. If this works and I build more than one I will build a jig for welding everything together. This one of with no jig is kinda tough. Nothing wants to stay the right shape. I kinda expected this but it is time consuming to make it fit.
This one is going as a home build. Funny thing tho... the more people who see it want one. May have to look into getting it certified lol. May have a new business venture.
The stuff I would build if I had your equipment!!
New Zealand Jet Boat Dinghy's
Ya you bet. I do a lot of jet boating and have had a few. My big rig is an Outlaw Clearwater in the 22 ft version with steel plating on the bottom. It runs a Hamilton pump and a 496 CID Fuel injected Kodiac. I love my boat like I love my sleds, bikes, jeeps etc. I have a couple buds running some killer boats. One had one of the Eagle race hulls with somewhere around 750 HP powered by a 427. I rode in it... not to say it was nothing but CRAZY!!!
I used to get some of the videos from some of the national events and a few international ones. These days u-tube has pretty much everything on it. The Snake river and the Salmon along with a ton of others. I have watched numerous vids. It is kind of like sleds... some totally awesome drivers running amazing equipment in some radical environments.
I stumbled on these "little boats" over a year ago and vowed to build one. Since then I tried to contact some of the guys running them to no avail. This spring I decided if it was to happen I would have to design, layout and build my own.
So... here I am. The build has gone beyond my expectations. Only minor trimming and adjustments have been made. I purchased a 650 bombardier seadoo and the drive train is about 1 day from coming out and being prepped to move into my little boat. I suspect it will be lots of power (80 -85 hp) in such a small boat. My only concern is the cruising speed which can be altered with impellers if it has enough power. It may end up with more in the 120 hp range...
Time will tell!!!
Ya you bet. I do a lot of jet boating and have had a few. My big rig is an Outlaw Clearwater in the 22 ft version with steel plating on the bottom. It runs a Hamilton pump and a 496 CID Fuel injected Kodiac. I love my boat like I love my sleds, bikes, jeeps etc. I have a couple buds running some killer boats. One had one of the Eagle race hulls with somewhere around 750 HP powered by a 427. I rode in it... not to say it was nothing but CRAZY!!!
I used to get some of the videos from some of the national events and a few international ones. These days u-tube has pretty much everything on it. The Snake river and the Salmon along with a ton of others. I have watched numerous vids. It is kind of like sleds... some totally awesome drivers running amazing equipment in some radical environments.
I stumbled on these "little boats" over a year ago and vowed to build one. Since then I tried to contact some of the guys running them to no avail. This spring I decided if it was to happen I would have to design, layout and build my own.
So... here I am. The build has gone beyond my expectations. Only minor trimming and adjustments have been made. I purchased a 650 bombardier seadoo and the drive train is about 1 day from coming out and being prepped to move into my little boat. I suspect it will be lots of power (80 -85 hp) in such a small boat. My only concern is the cruising speed which can be altered with impellers if it has enough power. It may end up with more in the 120 hp range...
Time will tell!!!
E
EZmoney
Well-known member
COOL BUILD
I have a 21ft thunder jet alexis classic with a 350 and a 212 hamilton but would like one of these to beat on. I was looking at building one of these in the future and try to get some friends to get into them as well. I think these little tubs would be every bit as fun as sledding. PM me a price if you could with all the pieces cut out ready to weld.. Sledders price of course
The reverse chine is awesome!
I have a 21ft thunder jet alexis classic with a 350 and a 212 hamilton but would like one of these to beat on. I was looking at building one of these in the future and try to get some friends to get into them as well. I think these little tubs would be every bit as fun as sledding. PM me a price if you could with all the pieces cut out ready to weld.. Sledders price of course
The reverse chine is awesome!
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Fuel tank
Ha ha... we are on the same page!!! I purchased a Seadoo for a couple reasons. First it has a fresh motor with a couple cool mods. The price was a great price for what I got and the older Seadoo's have brass pump components and a SS impeller. There is a good selection of impellers for Seadoo so it has great potential. Rotax is also one of the lightest power plants available.
Yammy and Kawi are good choices too. The older Polaris have potential but they are fading away so even though I have been happy with Po sleds over the years, I shy'd away from Po.
Yammy's aluminum pump and intake seem to be favourites with these boats, probably because of the size of the intake and the fact the intake is aluminum and not glass.
I looked at various models and pricing. The bottom line... to get back to your question... is I wanted a complete unit so I could use all of the components and not have to buy a bunch of parts and fit them together. Motor, Pump, Ignition/electronics, Wiring harness, Battery, Starter, Fuel cell, Oil injection tank, Throttle cable, Steering cable and post, Trim and (although this model did not come with it) Reverse bucket and cable.
My original plan was to place the fuel cell under the seat. After tabbing the boat and assembling it to this point, I have messed around with 5 gal buckets, blocks of wood and just sitting on the floor. I believe the best position is about 6 inches from the bottom of the hull to the seat. This does not accommodate a fuel cell at this point. I have decided to place the fuel cell on the passenger side in the engine bay. This tank has hose connections for filler and breather so I can place the breather out of the engine bay to eliminate fumes in the engine bay. The tank should help balance the boat if I run it by myself. There is plenty of room on the opposing side of the engine bay for a cooler and fishing gear etc so with a passenger we should be able to offset the balance once again.
I am also going to build a pump guard with a swim platform above with two 25L jerry can mounts for spare fuel for those long trips. I am sure there will be some changes in the rest of the build. I am sure some of the cables and factory gizmo's (for lack of better description) will not work and will need to be modded. I am still considering the foot throttle vs stick and trigger setup. I kind of like a steering wheel and I think in cruise mod it would be nice to have one hand free at any given time and to be able to choose which one. A hand throttle would be great but I think a foot or trigger is more controllable in tight quarters... leaves both hands on the wheel!!!
Once again, time will tell!!! I'll keep ya all posted!!!
Ha ha... we are on the same page!!! I purchased a Seadoo for a couple reasons. First it has a fresh motor with a couple cool mods. The price was a great price for what I got and the older Seadoo's have brass pump components and a SS impeller. There is a good selection of impellers for Seadoo so it has great potential. Rotax is also one of the lightest power plants available.
Yammy and Kawi are good choices too. The older Polaris have potential but they are fading away so even though I have been happy with Po sleds over the years, I shy'd away from Po.
Yammy's aluminum pump and intake seem to be favourites with these boats, probably because of the size of the intake and the fact the intake is aluminum and not glass.
I looked at various models and pricing. The bottom line... to get back to your question... is I wanted a complete unit so I could use all of the components and not have to buy a bunch of parts and fit them together. Motor, Pump, Ignition/electronics, Wiring harness, Battery, Starter, Fuel cell, Oil injection tank, Throttle cable, Steering cable and post, Trim and (although this model did not come with it) Reverse bucket and cable.
My original plan was to place the fuel cell under the seat. After tabbing the boat and assembling it to this point, I have messed around with 5 gal buckets, blocks of wood and just sitting on the floor. I believe the best position is about 6 inches from the bottom of the hull to the seat. This does not accommodate a fuel cell at this point. I have decided to place the fuel cell on the passenger side in the engine bay. This tank has hose connections for filler and breather so I can place the breather out of the engine bay to eliminate fumes in the engine bay. The tank should help balance the boat if I run it by myself. There is plenty of room on the opposing side of the engine bay for a cooler and fishing gear etc so with a passenger we should be able to offset the balance once again.
I am also going to build a pump guard with a swim platform above with two 25L jerry can mounts for spare fuel for those long trips. I am sure there will be some changes in the rest of the build. I am sure some of the cables and factory gizmo's (for lack of better description) will not work and will need to be modded. I am still considering the foot throttle vs stick and trigger setup. I kind of like a steering wheel and I think in cruise mod it would be nice to have one hand free at any given time and to be able to choose which one. A hand throttle would be great but I think a foot or trigger is more controllable in tight quarters... leaves both hands on the wheel!!!
Once again, time will tell!!! I'll keep ya all posted!!!
E
EZmoney
Well-known member
http://youtu.be/3yzwpWmbPDM
Long video but if your into jet boating around the 4min mark will get ya thinking
Long video but if your into jet boating around the 4min mark will get ya thinking
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Awesome!!!
Sweet ride bud. Thunderjet makes one of the nicest finished boats I have seen. The tig welding is smokin!!!
I am in the finish stages. I am going to test what I have and make sure it will perform properly. I am confident it will work but it is still untested. I have a couple buds and my brother who want one. We are going to build a couple more. I was very happy with the fit of the panels. There have been a couple tweaks and trims to the cut files. I am sure after one or two more we will have the design perfected. Once it is so, I will put a price together for those who wish to build their own home builds.
I checked into the registry prior to my build and it is relatively easy to do a home build. I am not sure the legalities on the west coast so you would have to check that out for yourself.
FYI: I am going to use the steel hull plate on this one for testing. UHMW is a great option. Once we get this one perfected, we will probably switch to UHMW due to its high impact resistance and low coefficient of friction. The weight difference is minimal and at this point I have steel to work with and UHMW has to be shipped in.
I have a 21ft thunder jet alexis classic with a 350 and a 212 hamilton but would like one of these to beat on. I was looking at building one of these in the future and try to get some friends to get into them as well. I think these little tubs would be every bit as fun as sledding. PM me a price if you could with all the pieces cut out ready to weld.. Sledders price of course
Sweet ride bud. Thunderjet makes one of the nicest finished boats I have seen. The tig welding is smokin!!!
I am in the finish stages. I am going to test what I have and make sure it will perform properly. I am confident it will work but it is still untested. I have a couple buds and my brother who want one. We are going to build a couple more. I was very happy with the fit of the panels. There have been a couple tweaks and trims to the cut files. I am sure after one or two more we will have the design perfected. Once it is so, I will put a price together for those who wish to build their own home builds.
I checked into the registry prior to my build and it is relatively easy to do a home build. I am not sure the legalities on the west coast so you would have to check that out for yourself.
FYI: I am going to use the steel hull plate on this one for testing. UHMW is a great option. Once we get this one perfected, we will probably switch to UHMW due to its high impact resistance and low coefficient of friction. The weight difference is minimal and at this point I have steel to work with and UHMW has to be shipped in.
Thats the one!!!
That is one of the original ones I saw. I guessed at the dimensions and drew some profiles. I also looked at it from the point of a fabricator and decided they made all panels from one standard sheet.
Here is a real coo link. Maybe a bike engine or a turbo sled engine has potential lol. Guess they bypass the tranny and run this around 1.5 reduction. Sounds crazy!!!
http://youtu.be/iNTTJQk45qw
That is one of the original ones I saw. I guessed at the dimensions and drew some profiles. I also looked at it from the point of a fabricator and decided they made all panels from one standard sheet.
Here is a real coo link. Maybe a bike engine or a turbo sled engine has potential lol. Guess they bypass the tranny and run this around 1.5 reduction. Sounds crazy!!!
http://youtu.be/iNTTJQk45qw
Todays progress
Today was less productive. Cleaned the shop and repaired a few things before I started my work. Then I had a bud show up to see the progress. I got the strakes on and the tie down lugs on the back corners and the anchor/trailer winch lug on the bow. I was going to move onto the Seadoo and start disassembly. I wanted a roll bar and was considering what to do. I have had limited success bending aluminum pipe on the machine I have and just about didn't do it. I had some heavy wall pipe in stock and decided to try it. Well to my surprise it bent very well so instead of disassembling the Seadoo, I built the roll bar. It is a bit tall for the looks of the rig but I wanted to have it cover taller people.
Anyway, the hull is complete. I need to disassemble the Seadoo and build the intake and get everything mounted. Once this is done, I can move onto putting some stringers and hull plating on the rig so I can.... DRIVE IT!!!
Looking forward to that let me tell ya.
Today was less productive. Cleaned the shop and repaired a few things before I started my work. Then I had a bud show up to see the progress. I got the strakes on and the tie down lugs on the back corners and the anchor/trailer winch lug on the bow. I was going to move onto the Seadoo and start disassembly. I wanted a roll bar and was considering what to do. I have had limited success bending aluminum pipe on the machine I have and just about didn't do it. I had some heavy wall pipe in stock and decided to try it. Well to my surprise it bent very well so instead of disassembling the Seadoo, I built the roll bar. It is a bit tall for the looks of the rig but I wanted to have it cover taller people.
Anyway, the hull is complete. I need to disassemble the Seadoo and build the intake and get everything mounted. Once this is done, I can move onto putting some stringers and hull plating on the rig so I can.... DRIVE IT!!!
Looking forward to that let me tell ya.
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