# Mud Motor Built....waiting on prop



## GSURugger (Jul 13, 2008)

gonna get it goin soon as my prop can get here


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## jdgator (Jul 13, 2008)

Give us the specs! Looks great!


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## GSURugger (Jul 13, 2008)

open shaft motor, actually got it to work, bearings fit SNUG, didnt use anything but hot-rolled angle and square tube, shaft is solid round rod, got most of the stuff from tractor supply, and the motor came from www.smallenginewarehouse.com, great people to do business with.  6HP tecumseh for 204$, including shipping.


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## jdgator (Jul 14, 2008)

How much does it weigh?

I gather you did some aluminum welding to get the frame together. It keep looking at it cause I am thinking of making my own. 

Please share more details and design tips once you get it working and in the water.


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## Wood Smoke (Jul 14, 2008)

*Homebrew mudmotor*

What size boat are you going to put it on?


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## GSURugger (Jul 14, 2008)

going on a 12 foot flatbottom to start, may move up to 14.  weighs about 80lbs, but distributed fairly even.  started it w/o prop after work today, slight vibration in the end of the tail, but once a balanced prop is added, it should help quell that.  no other noticible vibrations and no real excessive torsion on the tail.  and jdgator, it is completely steel, the entire frame.  1, my buddy that helped me piece it together is an excellent welder, but cannot TIG weld, and i can barely weld as it is.  2, aluminum would have taken some real engineering (funny im a civil engineering student..haha) that dealt with rotational dynamics because its torsional properties are somewhat less than that of steel.  hot rolled steel is easily worked and welded, the outside angle that makes up the frame is one piece, just notched and heated with a torch and bent.  we used allot of "eyeball" leveling to get it right.  with a very basic understanding of geometry and trig, and using common sense about vibrations its not that bad.  it took us roughly 3 hours to complete.


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## GSURugger (Jul 15, 2008)

*Caint wait!*

Prop is on the way, threaded the shaft and put rubber grommets on motor studs today, really knocked out the vibration.  Cant wait to get it on the water and see how she does!!


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## GSURugger (Jul 21, 2008)

*Ditto!!*

got my prop today, put it out on the water and it runs great (gonna reengineer the mount, need to remove a hinge to make it easier to handle, lower drive stick) itll run around 10-15mph, ran it thru 2 inches of water and the rest mud and muck, great low end with the prop, it seems like it will push my boat out of anything, will try to have video soon!!


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## kscoggins (Jul 21, 2008)

cool man, lets see the video !!


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## GSURugger (Jul 21, 2008)

short video, youtube is down right now, will post ASAP, will try to get a better one, i had an awsome holeshot on a mudflat, but the camera died


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## GSURugger (Jul 21, 2008)

*short video*

http://www.dropshots.com/joelseagraves#date/2008-07-21/22:34:34

heres the link, it should work, lemme know what you think


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## kscoggins (Jul 21, 2008)

good job on the motor man, but your camera guy sucks


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## GSURugger (Jul 21, 2008)

haha, my pa gets distracted at times, he saw all of it, but the camera didnt


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## jdgator (Jul 22, 2008)

That looks like it will do the job! I think the boat might be a little too small though.


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## GSURugger (Jul 22, 2008)

*boat*

haha...as soon as im no longer a poor college student ill get a new boat, but unless one falls out of the sky of somebody gives me on im stuck w/ the 12footer


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## Wood Smoke (Jul 22, 2008)

Good job! Congratulations, you are quite innovative. However, for your own safety PLEASE add a kill switch and a wrist lanyard!  It should not be too hard to wire one in and mount it on the handle.   

Have you GPS'd your top speed yet?


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## GSURugger (Jul 22, 2008)

working on the kill switch, any body got any suggestions for a pin that wont twist off or shear, im using a 6mm hardened stainless bolt as a pin where the shaft attaches to the U joint, im thinking the hardened is too brittle, b/c the first time i broke one i replaced it with a piece of steel wire about an 1/8'' in diameter, and it did fine


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## kscoggins (Jul 22, 2008)

You want as little slop as possible with the pin if it is absorbing any of the shock from the rotation.  If you think it is 2 hard try buying a few aluminum bolts to see how long they last.


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## GSURugger (Jul 22, 2008)

i founda new pin, i think a little give is better than none at all, the hardness of what i was using was inherantly brittle.  but ill take a broken 12 cent bolt over a broken crankshaft anyday.  this motor has allot of redundancy built into it, also, took it through a mud flat today, about 3-7 inches of water, the boat sat on the bottom and the motor pushed it out with a little digging in, i think its more the prop than anything, ive never run a prop with so much tourque , so im impressed with the prop itself


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## mello_collins (Jul 23, 2008)

Dang! that looks good. I wish I had your fabrication skills. Good job.

mello


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## Wood Smoke (Jul 23, 2008)

Here's pics for  kill switch and spring loaded throttle ideas.

(_Picture credits  - taken from www.mudbuddy.com)_


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## jdgator (Jul 23, 2008)

I built a 9 hp mud motor today. 


Well, I didn't build it as much as I bought it used from a friend.

Whatever. I'm not an engineer or anything.


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## GSURugger (Jul 23, 2008)

haha, lets see pictures man, i just finished puttin the new throttle on mine (literally at 1140), went to the bike shop in town and got an old brake lever, works allot better.


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## GSURugger (Jul 24, 2008)

*cav plate*



> Dang! that looks good. I wish I had your fabrication skills. Good job



thanks mello, but i cant take all the credit, i can barely weld on good days, i got a buddy that welds extremely well, all i really did was draw the plans, do a little cutting and make sure everything was square.  his name is cody hammock, we could probably build another if anybody is interested.  one of these weekends were going to beef up the hinge at the mount and build a Cav plate for it


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## LittleBocephus (Jul 29, 2008)

great job man. i been thinkin about tryin to build one in a few years. where did you get the prop from?


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## GSURugger (Jul 29, 2008)

got the prop off ebay, 125.00 is the best deal i could find, its a 7X4

check www.hillmarine.com


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## mdhall (Jul 30, 2008)

Its going to be a cold ride back when that thing tips over.  Awesome motor, the 14-ft. boat will help a lot I'm sure. I tipped a canoe in March, it was cold then, I'd hate to go under in Dec.


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## d_white (Jul 30, 2008)

He probably isn't as clumsy as you are!


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## GSURugger (Jul 30, 2008)

*thanks*

haha, thanks for your confidence  naw really tho, driving it standing up is hard to say the least, but its easy to drive sitting, and as long as theres not an idiot in the front, the boat rides flat and even on the water, think im gonna stick with the 12, i cant afford a new boat right now, unless someone has one that they want out of their yard.  and besides, i dont want to remount the dual 6'' hellas i have on this one (box on gunwale in video)


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## jcanderson13 (Aug 1, 2008)

Hey man would you mind sending me some pics of your rig , I got a 12ft john boat and thinking about doing the same set up.Would like to know how yours is working out thanks. jcanderson13@yahoo.com


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## GSURugger (Aug 1, 2008)

jcanderson, check pm


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## GSURugger (Aug 2, 2008)

for everybody that has asked for more pictures, i will post some tommorow after i put the cavitation plate on


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## Nicodemus (Aug 2, 2008)

Congrats on buildin` a fine lookin` rig!


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## d_white (Aug 2, 2008)

> for everybody that has asked for more pictures, i will post some tommorow after i put the cavitation plate on


Awesome...can't wait to see how you get that cav plate attached to that open shaft..lol
You may find it makes it want to pull to one side or the other..sometimes you have to tinker with bending the sides of the plate.


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## GSURugger (Aug 2, 2008)

thanks d and nicodemus, im interested to see how im going to attatch it too...haha..i have an idea that i need to try, but i can mess up atleast once, i have a good size steel sheet/plate to cut out of


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## GSURugger (Aug 3, 2008)

*cav plate*

To all that have been asking for more pictures, here are somemore today.  fabricated the cav plate and put it on, well see how it works once i get the shaft welded into the Ujoint, yes you read that right, im tired of throwing pins, just gonna weld it.  

prop/plate





frame




motor mount




new throttle




overall




New cav. plate


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## GSURugger (Aug 11, 2008)

just a tip...make the shaft out of cold rolled steel..pm me for reasons/difference from hot roll.  its a little more $ but worth it


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## Browning (Aug 27, 2008)

Looks awesome. Great job.


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## tinytim (Aug 27, 2008)

Nice Job....

I wil have to agree with on eof the previous posters.....
1---you need a bigger boat
2---what he said about your camera man...but hey we got the point.

I know you must be proud of your work.


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## GSURugger (Aug 27, 2008)

ive been looking for a bigger boat, just tryin to find the right one.  Haha cameraman...thats my dads work.   I Really appreciate the comments/compliments/suggestions!    Thanks yall!


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## Woody17 (Aug 27, 2008)

I got the 14' boat you need!  We'll just put it on my boat and go; already have a blind and dog ramp!  Shooting lessons are FREE for ya!


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## GSURugger (Aug 28, 2008)

caleb??  give shooting lessons??


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## Woody17 (Aug 28, 2008)

Yea, it's free for you!


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## jdgator (Aug 28, 2008)

I don't have anything useful to add except that you look quite menacing in your rugger photo. 

I'm messing with you. Cool motor.


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## GSURugger (Aug 28, 2008)

thanks man, and caleb i truly appreciate that


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## Cuzmike (Oct 2, 2008)

Hey I sent you a pm reguarding a build I have and an issue I hope you can help me resolve.


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