Airboat Madness

Ok motor heads here it is. When I was a young boy running around on the Platte River we had airboats. Airboats when I was growing up were pretty much a means of transportation on the Platte River. Go from point A to point B with maybe an occasional ride if the river was high enough. I spent plenty of hours digging out boats because of sandbars. Boy…things have really come a long ways in the last 20 years.

Now the boats are more on the lines of a recreational vehicle. The horse power they are putting in these things are crazy. Heck…now all you need is about 1inch of water to have a good time. If you run into a sandbar no worries….these thing drive right over land. It is truly an amazing experience. Everyone’s doing it and all depends on how much you want to spend. Most of the boats I saw had 8 to 10 blade carbon fiber propellers. Some even had counter rotating blades. Most of them run a gear reduction system so the blades can spin efficiently and can maximize all the horse power. Engine sizes varied from your standard 350 all the way up to a 502 and 572 motor putting out anywhere from 600 to 700 horses. There’s even a boat running nitrous I was told but he was not out when I was there. Of course my parents have the 502 with god only knows what modifications in the engine. Let’s put it this way…IT WAS FAST AND SOUNDED GREAT!!!! It was like being at Bristol Motor Speedway. Below are a few photos of my parent’s boat, few people, and boats sitting on a sand bar. What a hoot!!!!