Hovercraft And Trailer

2015 Hovercraft 8' x 18' 1.6L 16V Suzuki Engine, 69.3 Runtime Hours to date.

Hull: All hand laid fiberglass ounce matt covered with primarily 6-ounce cloth, laminated with polyester resin over structural Last-A-Foam brand, urethane foam, the type used in experimental aircraft. The bottom of the hull is laminated with similar construction and a full layer of a special carbon fiber / Kevlar cloth. Sample available, also see upside down photo of unpainted hull with black and yellow woven cloth material stretched over the hull before it was laminated. There is minimal use of wood in the hull to prevent rot and decay. Ultra-high density urethane was used for hard points. There is some mahogany wood laminated in the hull for the engine / lift stand mount and the bow where the trailer winch anchor points are located.

Windshield: Hand laid honeycomb style fiberglass panels. Glass is lightly tinted full laminated safety glass with working windshield wipers. There is an aluminum mount rail around the top of the windshield for a full top should someone want to have one made. The aluminum rail could also be used for a light bar or other mounting point.

Engine: 1995 Suzuki 1.6 liter G16, 16 valve, fuel injected, 4-cylinder engine. The engine was a full remanufactured engine from S and J Engines of Spokane, Washington. Comes on plane at 11 mph, cruises nice at 19-26 mph, top speed approaching 50 mph.

Cooling system: The engine is cooled by an all-aluminum radiator that is mounted inside the lift fans bay. The radiator was all new when installed and originally designed for a 1992 Toyota 4x4 pickup with a V6 engine. The radiator was custom built by Radiator Supply House in Sweet Home, Oregon. The only modification to the radiator was a smaller hose inlet and outlet to fit the much smaller Suzuki engine.

Cabin heat / defrost: There are floor vents, dash vents and windshield defroster vents. The dash and defroster vents can be positioned at nearly any angle.

Drive System: the drive system is direct drive, start the engine and all lift fans and thrust propeller spin at the same time. This makes for a simpler system, less weight and easier to control, especially when learning to operate the craft. Drive shafts are stainless steel, all bearings, pulleys, sheaves and belts are standard industrial parts that are easily found on the internet or at bearings houses. The drive thrust belt system was upgraded to the Poly Chain GT Carbon product line which is a cogged flat belt system designed to withstand 80 horsepower. The thrust propeller consumes approximately 50 horsepower from the engine at full power output. Comes with a new spare thrust propeller Poly Chain Belt and a new spare lift fan belt.

Lift / Propulsion: Lift is provided by two 24" diameter, Multi-Wing brand industrial air-mover type fans. The 9 blades on each lift fan have adjustable pitch by unbolting the fan hubs to change, however is not necessary as this machine is already set up correctly. Propulsion is provided by a 3 blade, Ivo-Prop that is an ultralight aircraft type, carbon fiber composite that was custom designed and built for these machines. The prop is 6' in diameter and has ground adjustable pitch by a torque bolt and nut set up.

Skirts: Hard hull clearance on cushion is approximately 12". The skirt set up is a bag style with multi-chambers made from 18 ounce per yard PVC Vinyl Coated Polyester. The front chamber includes an "air brake" that you can pull to deflate the front skirt only to act as a water brake. The skirt is easily repairable with H66 PVC type contact cement.

Instruments: Full instrumentation and dash controls. The gauges are marine gauges (internally illuminated) that show engine RPM, volts, oil pressure, water temperature, fuel level (12-gallon tank with electric sending unit), operating hours and two dash lights, one is a check engine light, the other is an alternator fault (not charging) / ignition light. Speed has always been monitored by a hand-held GPS and is mandatory as speed can rapidly increase while operating and can be deceptively fast.

Steel / aluminum: Nearly all of the fabricated metal components were powder coated for weatherproofing. This machine has never been used in salt water.

Seating: Four movable forward seats (need to be moveable for weight distribution) and rear bench seat. Comfortably can operate with four adults in the cabin and possibly more, depending on individual weight and weather / water conditions at the time. LED interior cabin lights. Working navigation lights.

Trailer: is an all-steel 8'6" x 18' flatbed deck trailer with tandem axles. The tires are snowmobile trailer tires (20.5 x 8.0-10 or 205/65D10) and although each axle could easily carry the minimal weight of the hovercraft, two axles were chosen for river rock launchings and soft ground floatation. The side boards on the trailer fold down for easier launching and retrieval. All LED lighting on the trailer with a standard 7-way RV plug. The forward axle has electric brakes for pulling the trailer with a smaller tow vehicle. The trailer deck and side board wood is marine grade plywood. All the steel was prepped, primed and painted with hammer type paint that is easily repairable. All trailer wheel bearings, races, seals and dust caps were replaced with new and packed with marine grease in June 2022.

Hovercraft Paint: Paint is glossy white and silver Acrylic Urethane automotive paint over Urethane primers. The graphics are automotive vinyl. The thinner blue stripe is 3M reflective vinyl.

Craft has always been stored inside and never put away wet. Shipping / transport cost is the responsibility of the buyer. The trailer is 18 long, plus 4 of tongue (22 feet). When the hovercraft is on the trailer, the rudders and propeller guard extend 24 inches from the back of the trailer. Measurement from the ball mount on the tongue of the trailer to the back of the hovercraft rudders is 4 feet of tongue + 18 feet of trailer deck + 2 feet of rudders and guard = 24 feet overall. The width of the trailer is 86 wide with the side board tilted up and locked. The width from outside of the tires to outside of the tires is 91 inches (the tires and fenders are up inside the trailer frame to get it lower to launch and retrieve). Cross posted locally, ph num in fuel tnk foto.