Scout SEV Hovercraft - Part 1

San Felipe tidal bore - Baja California, Mexico

Well, that's what's new with me lately.

I decided to build a hovercraft. Why a hovercraft? Why not a hovercraft?

Hovercrafts are very cool! Hovercrafts are unique amphibious vehicles. Hovercrafts can be used on various surfaces like water, ice, ground, grass, dirt, mud, snow, sand, beach etc. It even flies 10 to 15 feet above when wings are added! And you don't even need a piliot's license.

Imagine flying a hovercraft 10-15 feet above the water as you travel along the coastline. What a fantastic view! You can see the water, the beach the people and the animals and they see you too flying 10-15 feet above the water - awesome!

Back to the hovercraft, anyway, I found out that the hovercrafts can be homemade from plans provided by Universal Hovercraft and Sevtec. I liked the UH18SPW WIG and I also like the Sevtec hovercrafts.

Since I am new to hovercrafting I might as well start with something easy that can be completed in a short amount of time. That eliminates the UH18SPW because I do not have the time to build an 18 feet hovercraft that becomes 24 feet when the tail section is added. I do not have a shed or garage space to storage it. It will take more time & resources to tackle a project like that. That would be and interesting project someday - hovercrafting at 15 feet in the air!

The requirements that I wanted in a hovercraft are as follows:

• can be used for fishing
• can be used for boating and cruising
• small and easy to tow and storage
• simple design and construction
• affordable construction materials and common tools
• customizable
• fast and not underpowered

The Scout is perfect for what I need and here is why. It's small and light and nimble. It is capable of 45-50 mph and it only uses a 25 hp engine that is very inexpensive for a 25 hp engine. It is easy enough to maintain and it can carry at least 3 people.

This Tecumsech 25 hp riding mower engines are 2 cylinders and air-cooled! There is no radiator, so that is simple. It is reliable, riding mower engines are very reliable and I have heard of thousands of hours of usage before rebuilding. Well, they are not that expensive so I would probably just run her until she get tired.

Of course, proper break-in and warm ups, oil changes and filter changes, clean fuel, clean carbs and synthetic oil after break-in. These engines will last for years and I think it will last for at least 10 years.

So, instead of getting a jet ski or a jet boat - the Scout SEV will be a better choice for me. When I was in San Felipe, Baja Mexico I was trying to figure out what would be a cool craft for a huge body of water called Sea of Cortes that experiences a phenomena called tidal bore. Basically it means that during low tide the water receeds much more than normal and exposes more beach area. The topography appears to be a very gradual slope to the sea. That means the beach water is shallow, you need to go way out to deeper waters. That is the reason why the water is warm in the summer - the beach is barely covered with water.

That means it will be difficult for boats and jet skis to be on the beach during low tide. Their activities is limited because shallow beach is catasthropic for boat propellers and jets skis need water to keep them afloat. Imagine a jet ski that you launched at high tide on the beach, you ride around for hours and hours and when you decide to go back to the beach where you started. Now that the water receeded you are 1/2 mile from the beach - how can you bring your jet ski back if there is no water - you drive your tow vehicle out to the water and pick up your craft!

If your tow vehicle get stuck it the sand - now you have 2 problems!

I don't need that crap - that is why I am building a hovercraft. I can launch on the beach at high tide and arrive at low tide - and a hovercraft can go on the beach and the sand without damaging anything - it was made to go over water, sand and debris! Just don't get the skirt snagged!

I've had my share of experiences hitting sandbars on the delta and avoiding large timber floating on the water and huge masses of seaweeds just a few feet below the water easily stops my 135 hp boat propeller.

A hovercraft does not have those issues - it will hover on water and sand and gravel and a lot of other surfaces. It is simply an awesome vehicle that is eco friendly as well. I'm hooked on hovercrafts. Dangerous waterways are now a piece of cake, I laugh at sandbars all day long, the seaweeds or anything underwater does not affect my hovercraft, I can go over most debris without any ill effects.

It's no wonder it is rare to see boats and jet skis on when I cross the bridges here in the Bay Area - it's too dangerous and not worth it.

Hovercraft can go where other crafts can't and that means with fish finder I can fish just about anywhere, and that is a cool thing.