Me and Lora flying lake George with the boat in its original form.

330hp 350 Chevy crate motor 2x1 belt drive  no rake or walk boards GTO 15x7 1/2 deep side open hull

Boat with new rigging on the trailer

Same GTO hull   new rake   and walk boards   all new super light stainless steel rigging by Stump jumper airboats in Mayo Fl        427 Mas Engineering  small block 600hp    stinger 2.68 gear reduction from Dan Hubner the air boat man  Three blade sesenich 80 inch super wide prop  Water brake electric water pump  stereo system  New custom seat covers By Fred   Minkota quick connect trolling motor with remote steering

 The best part of this boat is the friends and family that get to enjoy it . The next best things are the many new friends we have made  in this new adventure.  We started this journey by researching a buying a very low hour used boat from one of the top manufactures in the business. GTO Airboats in Ocala Florida even though we bought the boat from a private owner the folks at GTO treated us like family. Norman  Gene and Keith answered all of our questions and helped with anything we needed. Gene helped me up grade the boat with a new short rake and the 427 small block and new prop. The difference was night and day in  performance.  I cant say enough about the  great service at GTO.

  I started researching the technical end of the air boating business . The I went to Burnt Island on lake orange. The exposure to airboat racing lit the fuse. I had already decided to change from a belt drive to a gear box to get all the power out of the new engine. I needed an engine stand  the one for the belt box would not work. I figured if I built a stand it should be out of stainless steel if I wanted to fish in salt water. I began the hunt for a small custom shop that would allow me to get my hands in the project.. I found stump jumper air boats in mayo Fla. They are some of the best people to deal with you ever met . The quality of work is exceptional and the work environment was capable of letting me participate  in the build. The liability in a large operation wont allow that type of service. I have found a home.  Chad Howard and Bobo Kendicks  did every thing in their power to keep me pointed in the right direction. If my idea was good it went into the boat if not after explanation it was discarded. I want to incorporate my new seat design into the boat. It works wonderfully. I am in the process of writing a how to article about it now. Chad and Bobo dropped the weight of the boat almost 350 lbs.  With the gear drive it moved the engine down about 5 inched and back  a bunch. This dropped the center of gravity down  and it made a huge difference the handling of the boat,  The new rigging really lets the prop breathe. Most boats will make a pretty good top end rpm change  when running on the water . The forward motion allows the prop to grab more air. The junk in the boat ,seats ,coolers, people and poorly  designed cages add to this air flow restriction . It is just like throwing a towel over a floor fan if the prop cant get clean air it cannot push properly. Every part of my new cage is designed for safe effective air flow. Even the tie in wires that keep limbs out of the prop are vectored to this end. The boat is a totally different creature. My thanks to the metal artists at the MAYO CLINIC for my new lease on airboat life.       Inside joke         My wife would asked me where I was going during the boat build knowing stump jumper was located in mayo Fla. I would always answer I was headed to  the Mayo Clinic for more tests.  More to follow as the quest continues.

My air boat page

This page is dedicated to Lora and my new hobby

She loves the boat  and we spend a lot of time flying around the local lakes with friends

There is nothing more fun than a good airboat the only real ATV

This is the boat as originally built 330hp 350 Chevy crate motor two blade water  walker prop  single axel trailer  powder coated steel rigging

 Now  600hp 427  Mas engineering small block three blade Sensenich super wide with a 2.68 stinger gear reduction  stainless custom rigging by Stumper jumper  in Mayo fla

This is our boat running the lake behind the house. The rooster tail behind the boat is from the water brake. When you have a boat that runs 65+ mph it helps

 to have something besides every body on the praying to make it stop.

My son Ronnie and my Grand Son Jake on the boat before the rigging change. We were in the marsh just north of nine mile in lake George

Garrett's thrust test trailer Clutch the dog and Bobo Kendicks checking the boat

 Garrett myself and Bobo  setting up to run a  thrust test on the boat

Me and my youngest son James flying cold  before the refit on the boat

Ride on orange lake skinny water for miles and miles.   Beautiful country lots of great people . The hill is a small hump of land in orange lake where the Air boaters gather for a great cook out. Me sitting in Ronnie's race boat. Its all motor and not much hull very fast.  Soon as I figure out how I will up load some video.