Project Completed

Thanks Ken ! Well sort of. The hull is made by a local company and the rigging (seat stands, cage and all the stuff is made custom for the hull. Buttraxx.com did the seats. I built the engine and it is wearing a Whirlwind whisper tip propeller. I sold both of my old wore out boats to build this one.

Very nice Dan. It look's like your ready for some Gator hunting now.

Dan ,
That looks like a blast ! Nice job!

Dan: That is a great looking boat nice job, isn't the propeller 'posed to be in the water to make it go?   Is that a Continental or Lycoming 6 any way I imagine it moves right along.  Good to "hear" your still kick'n!

Thanks for the comments everyone. The Details:
The engine is a Lycoming O-540 Narrow Deck. It Dyno'd at 297hp. Bottom end has about 1200 hrs on it and the top has just over 20 now. The prop is a Carbon Fiber 2 blade 72" Whirl Wind Whisper Tip. Blade pitch is ground adjustable and is currently set at 35 degrees. That allows for more power but less top end speed. The blade cord is 10" at the widest point. It is a beast when at full throttle spinning at a max RPM of 3000. The hull was built by ATF (ALL Types Fabricated) 13' 6" long and a beam of 8' The bottom of the hull is cover with 3/8" thick polymer sheeting bolted on. That allows the bottom to be as slick as frog snot which allows this boat to run dry without tearing up the hull. Top speed checked with GPS in deep water (10" or more) is 53 mph. In skinny water (less than 10")the top speed is 71 mph. Way faster than I want to go on water. On dry grassy ground top speed is 40 with just me on board and it only drops to 27 mph loaded with 5 people and a cooler or two. In the video running the trails average speed was about 30 to 35 mph with 3 big ole boys on it. The cage and all rigging is Stainless Steel tubing and wire.
The next items I will be adding to the boat is the lighting. I will be mounting 52" 300w led light bar to the grass rake. The light bar has combination flood and spot lighting arrangement. These are super bright and way more light than actually needed.

I'm not much into gator hunting. Tags in Florida are hard to get and are sold to those that enter and win the tag lotto. My main reason for building the boat was for Fishing/Bow fishing, frog gigging, Hog hunting, and pleasure riding. Some of the best fishing/bow fishing is in areas that no other type of boat can go and some of the biggest hogs are deep in the swamp.

The only down side is that these engines burn allot of gas (about 12 gals per hour at 2500 rpm) and it can't have any ethanol in it. I have to buy my gas at the airport which is usually double or more in price.
Price for ride tickets is absolutely free. You need to be prepared to have the most fun you have ever had with your clothes on. Of course donations to help keep the gas tank full are appreciated!

Dan: I guess now we will have to watch "Swamp People" to hear from you!

Gary, Yes this engine was built in Williamsport, PA Not sure what year as the data plate has been removed.
Bob I probably would be on any episode of Swamp People but I do get out where there gators are a plenty.
Larry I also do some wildlife photography. So come on I'll get you out where the critters are.
Other than the usual matches I have been shooting for years, I haven't spent much time at the gun range. So there isn't anything new on the bench as far as reloading equipment. I did get back into something I haven't done in many years and back then it was just a passing interest.
Now that I can get way back into the skinny waters of the Marshes in my area I started bowfishing again. As soon as I figure out why photobucket won't let me upload some videos I have, I'll I'll post a link or 2.