Anyone made/own an aluminum tunnel??

[Rampager]

I've posted on a few other boards about this so I may as well here too.
I am considering(well pretty much decided) to make an aluminum tunnel to replace my current homebuilt wood hull.
I have access to woodworking CNC machines to cut welding templates and waterjet connections to cut parts from sheet.
I can do the 3D CAD drawings myself. I also have a donor boat which I may use the fibreglass deck from. I think that would give it a very interesting twist.
Has anyone got any suggestions, experience or detailed pics that may assist me in this project? Tunnel bottom pics would be very helpful. I'm looking at ~17 feet and resuing my running gear which is a 460 BBF with a 12JG
Any useful input or detailed tech info would be greatly apreciated.
At this time I am thinking about a 3/8" keel/center pod with 5/32" tunnels and 1/8" everywhere else.
Cheers

[Cavefish]

I have no idea where you might get a set of plans to do that but I can say your thicknesses sound right on. If you do use aluminu for the deck, you'll want to brace the deck somehow if using 1/8th (.120 I think it actually is).
My Kwik Kraft has a 1 inch square tubing cross hatch under the deck, about 1 foot squares and you can jump up and down on it. My Provost hull had zip, so we added vertical braces every foot and a half and backing plates, wouldn't really want to jump on it but least now you can walk on it. It also stiffened up the whole nose doing this.
I would think a set of plans that were designed for sheet materials (plywood or paneling) would work well with aluminum.
You might get a few clues by rummaging around www.eagleracing.com
I will see if I can find some pictures of tunnels and will post them if I do.
Good luck!
Jesse

[old rigger]

Rampager,
here's a site that has a bunch of tunnel info.
http://www.aeromarineresearch.com/history.html
you can scroll down towards the bottom of the page and theres a little link called 'what makes a tunnel?' Looks like theres a lot of info there, and even some plans. I don't know if that 's what your looking for, but there's some cool stuff there.

[pops1]

Originally posted by old rigger
Rampager,
here's a site that has a bunch of tunnel info.
http://www.aeromarineresearch.com/history.html
you can scroll down towards the bottom of the page and theres a little link called 'what makes a tunnel?' Looks like theres a lot of info there, and even some plans. I don't know if that 's what your looking for, but there's some cool stuff there. Rigger how have you been.

[Jungle Boy]

Why would you try to build a boat when you could buy the winner of the last 12 World Jetboat Marathons from EagleRacing. Seen a few home made jobs and they are very weak in performance and quality.

[Rampager]

Its a common question people always ask.
Its a number of things I suppose. Cost, I enjoy this type of thing, its a challenge so my time is basically "free"
My wood hull has seen better days and I am getting increasingly uneasy about running it with 500 Hp attempting to seperate from the hull!
I get quite a bit of satisfaction from people looking at something radical and cool and being able to say I built it.
I also as I mentioned have zero money invested in a rather nice looking donor boat deck which will be cool to attach. I realize that will not be easy but when has a challenge ever scared me away before?
Trust me if I had the cash I'd buy an Eagle in 2 seconds, nothing gets my blood pumping more than watching the 21 foot tunnel do that 105 mph pass or racing video #6. But last year was a disaster for me and untill my situation imporves I must work with what I have access too. I may well be coming out west this summer to buy a few of you guys some gas in exchange for some rides, and I better be scared @#$%less!
Anyone with technical tips or suggestions or photos?
I will try to post CAD drawings when I have them
Cheers
James

[Jungle Boy]

Cool, A guy from Toronto here. Never seen one yet. If you have any questions, a good guy to call might be Dale at Outlaw Marine in Red Deer. Doug and Rob at Eagle are sled heads, so they spend only a limited amount of time at the shop in the winter. Dale is a ex-Eagle R&D guy and is a very helpful person. He may be able to give you some hints. They're # is 403-347-4565. If you make it out, be sure to call or email. We're out several times a week and would enjoy taking you out.

[Rampager]

Oh trust me I will be taking you up on that one!
As I said last year was the year from hell for me and I can think of nothing I'd like to do more than take a break out west jumpin a beaver (dam) or two!
I am going to start watching very carefully for rivers around ontario. I am sure we have some cool stuff here as well if I look hard enough. It just may involve driving a ways north.
Thanks for the number and lead. I am going to try to get some rough drawings together first so I have something people can look at and make suggestions.
Hey if it goes well maybe I'll tow it out there for some boating!
Any thoughts what an iron BB in a 17 foot boat will be like? Other than a biatch to push I mean? SB's seem to be most popular from what I have been seeing
Cheers

[Jungle Boy]

You should consider making it 20 to 21 ft long. The problem with the short tunnels is they don't have a very long running surface and tend to want to swap ends fast or hook sponsons. Then at higher speeds and they get aired out, it's nice to have a longer nose to keep things heading straight. Most of the "A" boats now are running big blocks. I'm still running a small block, due to I don't want to spend 40K on a new motor. Hope to see you this summer.

[quiet riot]

Ramcharger,
I saw you pm and replied before I came here and saw the thread. I had a lot of fun/learning with mine but its not a tunnel. Like I mention in the pm, you might consider getting a hull/intake combo from eagle or someone if they offer that route to save a bunch of work/money and have the proven design. There was a thread here a little while ago showing someone who did this so you might search for that thread here also.
I'm pretty happy with how mine turned out, and will probably do another someday. Has a lotta stuff the racers and lake cruisers typically don't want (fishing, skiing, storage, etc.) The performance at 70 mph with a mild 351 engine and 80+/12 sec quarter with n20 isn't bad for a vee hull with all the crap I got in it. The detail/customizing for my wants was neat, but it does have a few of my mistakes (uh, I mean learning experiences ) built into it also. Let me know if you have more questions along the way. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna overpower my hull with the new motor (as far as safe top speed) but what they hey, it'll be fun. You might want to consider something a little longer like Jungle Boy said.
There is more to a performance design than welding pre-bent pieces in place and having it all work out, but it can be done. Pre-stressing/jigging can play a big role in hull lay-up.
jd