| Author |
Message |
    
humblechoice
| | Posted on Monday, December 02, 2002 - 10:30 pm: | 
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was wondering if anyone has had any experince or information on converting a lawn mower engine to power a small boat???
i am looking for this info for a school project, would appreciate any assistance ,
--------------------------Bill |
Tim Mulvey
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 04:19 am: |
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As a kid I regularly saw a boat with an inboard lawn mower engine near our place.
I believe it was a Victa - a well known Australian lawn mower.
The mower engine was mounted directly on the inside of the stern/transom (right term?) so the shaft which would otherwise borne the mower blade mounting plate protruded through the stern for the propellor. Gearbox????
I'm a bit vague on whether there was much of a keel but it was definitely mounted against the stern.
The boat was only small and light - made of ply and about 7 or 8 foot long.
Besides this site you could try stationary engine collectors which should include lawn mower collectors amongst their ranks. I did a quick search and camee up with a link to the Australian stationery engine publication called "The Old Machinery Magazine" or TOMM for short - a very good and modestly priced publication. You will be able to get a lead to lawn mower collectors from that page http://www3.turboweb.net.au/~tomm_mag/page2.htm
good luck |
miro
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 09:52 am: |
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Here are some pictures of an old flat bottomed boat with an air cooled motor that could have powered a lawn mower. There is no clutch - you start it up and you go.
The exhaust pipe would be a bit of a hazard.
This boat has been sitting in this boat house for 30+ years. The lady that owns it said it sank almost right away when it was last put in the water 30 years ago. I suspect that te engine mopunt shook the planking loose. The engine was monted on a single flat 1 x 10 pine plank right on the boat bottom.
miro
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solarrog
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 11:47 am: |
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http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1659491&a=30445134&f=0
here is the link to some air cooled inboards. I do not have pictures of my Briggs and Stratton unit but it uses the model #ZZ cast iron engine |
humblechoice
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 03:54 pm: |
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thanks to everyone, i got some great ideas from your posts
----------------------Bill |
Richard Day
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 04:04 pm: |
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Back in 1947/48 I had a 19'-6" bank dory from Hiram Lowell Boat Works, Amesbury, Mass. Cost $120.00. Put a 6 hsp air cooled Wisconsin no clutch in it and it cruised at about 9 knots. Still have the copper fuel tank shaft prop and rudder. My younger brother let it collect rain water and it rotted out the bottom by 1950. Too bad as it was a very seaworthy boat. |
rbprice
| | Posted on Thursday, December 05, 2002 - 07:34 am: |
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Back in the late fifties I had a 14 ft. tunnel boat on the Susquehanna River in PA that had a 4 HP Brigs & Stratton air cooled engine. Great boat for shallow circumstances such as the Susquehanna in the summer time.
The prop was in a tunnel that allowed the boat to go most anywhere it could float without damaging the prop. |
mechman
| | Posted on Friday, December 06, 2002 - 10:01 pm: |
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Goodday Bill here are a couple of photos of a Clarke built with a lawn mower motor--this is the same clark who designed the Clarke troller   |
David Stott
| | Posted on Monday, January 20, 2003 - 08:59 pm: |
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There was a Victa lawn mower powered clinker boat at the Hobart Wooden Boat festival in 2001. It was mounted inboard with prop shaft through the keel. I have a photo of it if anyone is still interested. |
Robert Bodell
| | Posted on Friday, July 11, 2003 - 03:28 am: |
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I have a 8.5 hp vertical shaft Briggs hooked to a 9.5 HP Evenrude Lower unit which is in turn bolted to the bottom of my 26 ft sail boat through a spring loaded idler pulley and a 1:1 gear ratio. It pushes her rite along just as fast as the 9.9 outboard did with about 1/3 less fuel.
The lower unit is actually attached to a plug in the inboard motor well inside the transom so I can actually pull it out of the water after dropping the v-belt off the pulleys with the help of the idler pulley. The shift is in the lower unit so I have reverse. I don't need the water pump so I epoxied up all the water inlets.
The top of the shaft sets into a bearing under the hatch above it when the hatch is closed. The engine is bolted to the hatch. I have a smaller hatch cut into the main hatch to reach through to put the belt on and off.
In this case the prop is behind the rudder but a sailboat has a big rudder anyhow so it doesn't hurt turning it.
The 9.9 was too heavy and bulky for my bad back and I needed something easier to handle and this worked out perfect.
I am experimenting with a gas/electric drive. where the lower unit is powered with a 36 VDC motor and it is in turn powered by an automotive alternator sans regulator which allows it to produce 40 volts. In this case a 6 HP lawn mower engine runs the alternator giving me the 9.9 (2 cycle) HP of speed and work with the fuel consumption of 6 (4 cycle) HP.
The only real problem was the coast guard's requirement of a flame arrestor on the carburetor so I adapted an after market Jet-Ski flame arrestor with a couple of PVC pipe fittings.
Total cost, about $75. Most of that was for the flame arrestor. The rest was stuff I had around the shop. |
B.Osborne
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 11:51 pm: |
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I still have a working 1968 model Victa 125cc outboard and have also used the motors as inboards in small dinghies for my former Sea Scout Troop here in Sydney Australia. The are ideal, simple to repair and the kids could'nt kill them, I also added prop skirts for safety. I have also seen them rigged up on old Johnson & Evinrude 4/5hp legs, rough, loud but you always know where they are!
Tim Mulvey might have seen an earlier trial at using the mower engine.
Some years ago( early 60's) at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney there was a promotion of a 10ft fibreglass hull with an alloy blocked engine/chassis combination (Villiers or Techumseh)driving down through the bottom of the hull like a mower with the blade disc replaced with a radial turbine sicking the water upwards and out through a small steerable jet under the stern.
It was supposed to be safe, float on the dew etc, but I don't think that it was a success (like the ill later fated Victa Jet), Ok for kids to play with, OK as a short distance tender but too slow and noisy for real travel. |
Boyd Osborne
| | Posted on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 11:42 pm: |
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Hi Tim and Mechman!
Yes the Mighty Victa is alive and well, I have a working 1968 model wich was sold by Rydge/Swell boats here in Sydney. It looks just like the Clark but without the underwater exhaust.
I ahne also uesd the 125 motor as an inboard and it works well. |
Paul W.
Visitor
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 04:37 pm: |
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Hi,
Would anyone know a stocklist who has a fuel tank for a Villiers 095B engine serial 58866A/1 ?
Any info greatly appreciated.
thanks
[email protected] |
Andy. P
Visitor
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 05:49 am: |
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Am interested in information and specs on Victa lawnmower engine believe it to be 125cc late 70s motor. wish to use it for kids go kart. need to find out about H.P, gear ratios etc. As a kid I had a Grand Prix mini bike with the same sort of motor and it went well. |
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|
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