Hi all skippers and crews. All is well here in Reno. Getting closer to a possible launch date, rigging up, painting coming along but still much to do. I have been thinking, a dangerous thing, about auxiliary power for the boat. I am aware that most folks use a gas outboard or an electric motor. I am not in a position to spend that much dinero for what is available. Plus I do not like the look of a motor hanging off the transom. That being said my thoughts went outside of the box, and it struck me that something like a jet power might be the answer. Jet, you say, OK so not jet maybe but how about high pressure air......... Ah Ha,. I have done some investigating and so far the answers that I have recieved say that my thought might work. Here goes, don't hurt yourselvs laughing, how about using a high velocity leaf blower. One that has an output of something like 175 - 200 mph. People that I have spoken to seem to be of a mind that it might work.... Ok now does anyone have anything to say or, in fact, has anyone tried to use one for this purpose. OK so I do think outside the box. Love to hear your thoughts. Take care
Remember the thrust is generated by a combination of volume and velocity. These blowers are not real high volume devices. Have you done any expirementation? From an engineering standpoint this is a interesting concept to explore.
i happen to own a small engine shop so perhaps my 2 farthings might be of service....
if you are going to select a blower for such a job, i would suggest looking at the discharge nozzle. all of the cheaper manufactures make the end of the nozzle much smaller than the hose because they are cramming as much volume through a tight space as they can to be able to acheive 100+ mph air speeds. think of a wide river that flows through a tight bottle neck at the end. what i would look for would be a blower that does not have a bottle neck at the end of the hose but still has the mph you want. further, i would consider a back back blower because the blower nozzle is going to be flexible and longer so you can put the engine where you want and fix the hose in an appropriate place. of course, a good back pack blower will cost around 300 clams which is more than i spent for my 45lb thrust electric motor. this is an interesting thought though.... i wonder what it would sound like? kind of bubbly i think.