Air boat

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An air boat

Air boats, also called fan boats, are flat-bottomed punts powered by a propeller attached to an automobile or aircraft engine. The propeller has the typical shape and size of an airplane propeller and so requires a large metal cage to protect passengers and other users. The flat bottom allows air boats to navigate easily through shallow swamps and marshes as well as in canals, rivers and lakes. The driver sits high on a platform to improve visibility and to permit spotting floating obstacles and animals in the path of the boat. Steering is accomplished by swivelling vertical fins positioned in the propeller wash, so control is a function of current, wind, water depth and propeller thrust. Crabbing into the wind or current is required. The noise from the propeller and engine is quite loud; the majority of the noise is produced by the propeller. Air boats vary in size from 18 person tour boats to trail boats carried on a road trailer and suitable for two or three passengers.

Air boats are a very popular means of transportation in the Everglades, Florida, USA, where they are used for hunting, and tourist rides.

Safety knowledge is an important aspect of airboating. The normal airboat throws off 150 miles an hour winds behind it, and if a tree branch gets into a propeller the spray of material could be very dangerous. Airboat hulls can be aluminum or fiberglass, and selection can depend on the type of terrain chosen. There are no major airboat manufactures in the United States. This is still a mom and pop industry of "assemblers" who normally build to order. Typically a truck or airplane engine is positioned on the back of the boat with a 2 or 3 blade propeller.

Note: in early aviation history the term airboat was applied to seaplanes or flying boats, amphibian aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water surfaces.