Running dry ground at the test lake in mayo fl after the refit on the boat.

 I had the boat totally refitted with new light weight stainless  rigging and a new prop and gear box. Turned the boat into a monster. I cant say enough about the great crew at Stump Jumper air boats Chad Howard and BOBO Kendricks  made the build a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I started this project with a great basic boat from GTO airboats . After spending several months learning to run the boat and researching the airboat business I knew I wanted something extra.  After consulting with Gene Posey the shop foreman at GTO I put a new 600 hp 427 small block on the boat with a new super wide prop. The  service was great and the boat performed incredible. Being a research freak I began to read every thing I could find on the net and in print on airboat tec.  Lots of different opinions. Like any business there were a lot of opinions of what made the best boat engine and prop combination. I asked a lot of questions. I found out about a airboat gathering at a place called Burnt Island near Orange Lake Fl. They had a bunch of race boats gathered and a lot of informal racing. What a great crowd of people most of them willing to share good information with any one willing to listen.  I saw a lot of different  boat combinations . Some with aircraft some with car motors. Air craft motors are very expensive to have worked on buy specialized mechanics. Car motor mechanics are readily available.  I had already decided that car motor was the way to go for my use. I had just spent a good  bit  of money on a very high performance race motor for my boat.  I was running  at 2x1 belt drive that was very efficient. But it would not let me get all the performance out of my new engine equipped  with the prop selection I had made. After talking with several of the experts in the crowd I decided to purchase an new stinger gear drive that would allow my engine to get the best torque advantage. The problem was the drive I had ran in the wrong direction  for me to use my new very expensive prop on a new gear box. I found another expert in the crowd that could arrange for me to exchange the prop for one that would spin in the right direction. I was a happy man. Then the worst possible thing happened the racing started . I was amazed at the performance of the boats  80 to 90 mph in about 400ft. The top boat at this gathering was owned by one of the guys I had met at GTO  airboats. The boat was powered by an engine almost identical to the one on my boat with a few modifications.  The hull  for that super race boat was built by Cad Howard of Stump jumper  Air boats in Mayo fl.  The rigging on the boat was a light weight stainless frame. I was very impressed.  I set out to find out more about Stump Jumper boats. I talked to a few guys in the crowd  and got all the contact information. I contacted Chad about building me a new engine stand because the stand in my boat would not work with the new gear box. I want to do some running in salt water so stainless steel is a must. I went to the shop to talk and found out they do custom work. That is very important to me. My knife business is all custom work. They agreed to do it the way I wanted. That is also very important to me. Standard gear is great but not for my purpose. I started talking  and before I knew it I went from an engine stand to all new light weight rigging. The performance gain from this engine ,gear box, prop and proper rigging is incredible. I also wanted to run some kind of soft ride seats. The air ride seats out there require a total rebuild of the boat rigging. I saw one of these rigs running at the burnt island gathering. I wanted something a little different. I worked out how to do it and the build was  on. I just took delivery of the boat and I could not be happier about the result. The attention to detail is remarkable. My wife loves the new seats and the new sleek look to the boat not to mention about a three hundred pound reduction in the weight of the boat.  I have added enough toys back in the boat to take care of the weight loss. The engine is sitting about four to five inches lower in the boat and a good distance father back . It makes the boat handle so much better. It is like a whole new boat. Well I guess if you change enough parts you get a new boat.  I was  at the shop several times during the build with some new idea. Chad and the crew let me get my hands on the building process it probably slowed the build down but I learned  a lot. All my questions were answered. If my idea had merit it was incorporated into the boat. If it was not practical it was explained to me and discarded. I thank the crew at GTO for the great service and getting me started in the airboat world and the Crew at Stump Jumper  for helping me realize the dream of having the boat just the way I want it. That's all for now more to come I keep getting ideas  as my knowledge increases

Bobo taking the kids for a ride during the testing. Running the boat  with a real world load and checking performance is part of get the most out of your boat.

BOBO   the apprentice bladesmith setting up the new rigging in my boat.  This young man is a genius at custom fitting all the tubing and geometry involved in making one of these stainless steel works of art. I took a friend of mine with me to look at the build. Bob Hair is a master jeweler and a  super machinist. He is very hard to impress.  Bob Hair  guided me in my work for over thirty years. He was taken back by the expertise and quality of the work being done in the small custom shop. I would high recommend this shop to anyone wanting custom work done on their boat. Bobo is  now working with me in the shop learning to make knives.  He  wants to learn about bladesmithing  and he has a head full of knowledge about airboats.  I figure  i can keep him trapped in the shop making Damascus I will have time to soak up some of that  knowledge. I fair trade of skill and information.

Garrett's thrust testing trailer

This is a specialized trailer for testing the thrust made by the prop and engine gear box combination. This type of testing takes the guess work out of setting up the prop  gear ratio to engine torque and hp This combination of aprox 600hp a 2.68 to one gear box and a super wide prop made some incredible numbers  Garrett is coming back down in a few weeks to try a different prop and gear box . To see if the boat makes any gains.

With a boat this fast you need a brake.  The rooster tail in the back is the result of that brake being applied. With a boat that will run 65mph +  it really helps  to have something besides every body in the boat praying  to slow it down

Lora's wild hog pack in the back yard of the lake house

Wild hogs alligators airboats and rattlesnakes in the house  sure isn't Michigan

This is a picture of me being presented my 1st Place Trophy for placing first in the USPF Southwestern Championship Bench Pressing Contest.