- Location
- Texas
I have a few of these laying around so whoever makes that aluminum hull I can get ya one for a good deal.
Surfriding Aluminum Hull
- Thread starter Rich_Griff
- Start date
- Location
- Brigantine, NJ
- Location
- Rochester
I am also a union sheet metal worker....its a good idea but alum is very brittle and the vibration alone would crack the hull...thats why everythin alim is either cast or billet
- Location
- Bend, OR
I think it depends on the alloy, the PNW is full of welded aluminum boats I think its a solid idea but it will be heavy... but it could be fun as hell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpR926L_f3I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpR926L_f3I
- Location
- Alaska
So I found this site because I had a similiar question bout building an aluminum hull for running rivers, for different reason, I want to get to skinny water for hunting where no one else is, but I did find this that may interest you.
http://www.wing.com/RibSki-PWC-hull.php this is what you guys were talking about.
http://www.wing.com/RibSki-PWC-hull.php this is what you guys were talking about.
- Location
- McCall, ID
We had aluminum slipon bottoms for 550s back in the day. They handled a little goofy until we sandblasted them. Also they dont glide on rocks like fiberglass, they just stop. Need some uhmw replaceable bottoms for serious whitewater. Anybody want to make me one?
- Location
- Taupo NZ
Nah it could be stamped out and have pretty much the same form as a glass ski, as GSXR Mike describes above your post.You have to keep in mind the hull is gonna be all boxy since it'd be constructed in segments that can't be as exact as fiberglass. The hull will also obviously dent as said above. Which is easier to repair as said, but will look likein no time, and pounding out dents won't ever look the same. If you also dent the hull while you're riding, the hydrodynamics of the hull will be modified. Then there is also the fact the aluminum can't flex. It'd be like riding a car with no suspension, you would feel every little wave and bump, where as fiberglass will flex a little bit and absorb some of the rough feelings of riding.
That said, I think that a roto molded hull (like kayaks) with aluminum inserts for engine/pump mounting would be the way to go.
Can you say white water jet skiing? The NZ guys are all about it.
http://vimeo.com/40326885
- Location
- Brisbane Australia
Stumbled on this thread but like the idea. Here in Oz me and a few mates use to frequently do tight twisty and narrow creek runs and damage certainly occurred on occasion. Hell fun though, get good at fibreglassing quickly too haha.
- Location
- Houston/Galveston
So your saying all the boats today made out of aluminum are either Cast or billet??
There are so many aluminum hull boats here on the coast, mainly for the LEO and Coasties.
Im sure a press form of each side of the bottom deck would be achievable with 2 welds joining 3 pieces. 2 bottom pieces and the back.
The pump area would be tricky but very achievable.
I dont think the OP said this type of hull would be right for everybody. "Y does no one make an aluminum hull for surf riding?"
I think the correct answer would be in the area of cost. That first hull would be costly if he was paying someone to make one.
One thing to consider is, which would be better? A aluminum top deck or a bolt on OEM top deck? Lots of stress factors to take in consideration.
As for boxie shaped, look at a trinity Matrix hull, all I see is box.
- Location
- Alaska
I live in Anchorage AK and own a company that is bringing an all aluminum PWC to market very soon. The benifits are amazing. I unofficially(have to have a guiness book rep present...........Trust me I know!) broke a world record with my prototype by running it up 6 mile river out of Hope Alaska through all three canyons. This is a class six rapid. I am doing it again this summer to claim the record. If you look up "Custom Jetski VS Ice" on youtube, you will see me hitting an ice float going 55. Turn it up and listen to the impact. I was literally trying to break it to find the weak points.... nothing. I had Willow river take it for a ride from me down a section of boulders and I flipped her over and took off. I have one tiny dent in it and that was from hitting a rock going about 60 (they come out of no where sometimes ). The main benifit is a HUGE payload capability, it is 650 pounds dry weight (very very strong obviously), mine runs extremely shallow, extremely hard to flip and it handles like a sprint boat. You can see a clip of mine on the new show "Wild West Alaska" episode 2. It was not an easy task though. We tried many different existing hull designs and had to literally come up with our own design. I have every supply contract I need to put these into the market late this summer to this winter. Getting a motor contract literally took me a year (one reason they aren't out). I do not know how they are going to handle in the surf but it handled our open ocean very well. It is not an easy task to get these things to work as you want that is for sure, but we definitely got it down. We are working to price them only a couple k more than a high end PWC. I promised myself if I could not make them affordable I would not do it. If anyone wants to stay in touch with progress let me know. We did build an all aluminum stand up as well but we are waiting for all this damn snow to go away so we can do the high speed impact tests. testing out in the ocean at -0 sucks trust me. It handles pretty well, but there are some things I am going to change. To answer the question completely, the reason they are not out is that it takes a massive amount of up front investment to make these affordable. Even then, when they do take off it is going to be very hard to keep up with numbers. Fiberglass and injection molding is like bing bang boom thanks for the check. I am doing my best though. There was a guy out of Montana that was selling hulls to place your guts in. I guess he didn't have the right legal structure and got taken to court with very bad results. Anyway, Thanks for reading and I would love any and all support that I can get. People think I am crazy for taking all my profits from my first company to pull this off. I like to tell them "you wouldn't understand... It is a lifestyle" Thanks again everybody and I hope to see you on my rigs soon.
). The main benifit is a HUGE payload capability, it is 650 pounds dry weight (very very strong obviously), mine runs extremely shallow, extremely hard to flip and it handles like a sprint boat. You can see a clip of mine on the new show "Wild West Alaska" episode 2. It was not an easy task though. We tried many different existing hull designs and had to literally come up with our own design. I have every supply contract I need to put these into the market late this summer to this winter. Getting a motor contract literally took me a year (one reason they aren't out). I do not know how they are going to handle in the surf but it handled our open ocean very well. It is not an easy task to get these things to work as you want that is for sure, but we definitely got it down. We are working to price them only a couple k more than a high end PWC. I promised myself if I could not make them affordable I would not do it. If anyone wants to stay in touch with progress let me know. We did build an all aluminum stand up as well but we are waiting for all this damn snow to go away so we can do the high speed impact tests. testing out in the ocean at -0 sucks trust me. It handles pretty well, but there are some things I am going to change. To answer the question completely, the reason they are not out is that it takes a massive amount of up front investment to make these affordable. Even then, when they do take off it is going to be very hard to keep up with numbers. Fiberglass and injection molding is like bing bang boom thanks for the check. I am doing my best though. There was a guy out of Montana that was selling hulls to place your guts in. I guess he didn't have the right legal structure and got taken to court with very bad results. Anyway, Thanks for reading and I would love any and all support that I can get. People think I am crazy for taking all my profits from my first company to pull this off. I like to tell them "you wouldn't understand... It is a lifestyle" Thanks again everybody and I hope to see you on my rigs soon.
Polish jet pilot
4aces4aces4aces4aces4aces
- Location
- Warsaw, Poland
that ski looks a bit like an older Kawa X-2?
OCD Solutions
Original, Clean and Dependable Solutions
- Location
- Rentz, GA
Glad to see someone moving forward on this. I think it's a great idea. I did plenty of river riding back in BC, Canada and would have loved an aluminum hull.
Here's the youtube video mentioned in Brian's first post.
Here's the youtube video mentioned in Brian's first post.
Last edited by a moderator:
subhard
TITS OR GTFO
- Location
- anchorage ak
What?! I live in anchorage too. And I have a gold mine in hope on a river. I wonder if you rode by it. If so that's nuts.
Last edited:
Vumad
Super Hero, with a cape!
- Location
- St. Pete, FL
The obvious solution is build it out of all stainless steel. Yeah, it would be heavy, but drop a super charged RXP motor that can push it into the upper 80's.
Then all you need is a banana and 1.21 gigawatts.
The down side is, if you thought Gas-anol is harsh on your fuel system, just wait until you switch to gas-utonium. It's a nightmare.
Last edited: