Buying a hovercraft? We hear many sad stories from people who have
purchased hovercrafts from other suppliers, only to discover the hard
way, what works well and what doesn’t. We have created this simple
guide to advise customers what to consider because, cheaper craft are
often sold at greater cost!
Small hovercrafts can be classified as
race crafts, self-build, or
leisure.
1. Race
crafts focus on speed
2. Self-build focus on
low cost
3. Leisure craft focus on safety and reliability
Buyers should consider Cost versus Performance, Safety, and Reliability.
Racing
Hovercrafts
Speed is the key objective, so
weight is reduced wherever possible. For example, to reduce weight,
crafts have very thin GRP (glass-reinforced plastic), so safety can be compromised.
Race craft are
often designed for land rather than use on sea. Thin GRP is needed for
racing but not in leisure use as any impact causes expensive damage.
Safety features such as the fan cage may restrict airflow, so safety
is often compromised by speed. So the Hov Pod is designed for safety
rather than speed.
Self-build Hovercrafts
Folks favor the low cost approach; this often can affect quality,
safety and performance. People spend considerable hours building
hovercraft, (200 to 400 hours) only to experience major disappointment on
the first outing. The Hov Pod has taken years of development to eliminate
the pitfalls associated with hovercraft design and manufacturing. That
said, some people love a challenge, and are happy to spend hundreds of
hours creating their own craft. But at what cost? Too much work and not
enough play can make Jack a dull boy!
Leisure hovercrafts
This type of craft appeals to people who just want to have
fun and demand safety, reliability,
and ease of use. The Hov Pod may not be the fastest craft in town, but
we do like our customers to have fun in safety. We don’t scrimp on
quality either. Check out the build quality and many benefits such as
stainless steel fittings to combat salt-water use, or the high spec
electrical components for trouble free operation. Not all leisure
crafts are the same. Some manufacturers sell new hovercrafts with
second-hand engines, purchased from a local salvage yard. Or craft
that dig the nose into water and stop suddenly with dire consequences.
Crafts that do not contain enough buoyancy and sink! Crafts that don’t
restart on water (a paddle could be useful). One-piece skirts that cost
megabucks to repair. Hulls that crack and let in water. Crafts you
can’t steer without throwing your weight violently into the corners!
Engine Type
The Hov Pod uses highly reliable and
high power-to-weight Rotax engines proven by many years of use in the
snowmobile and microlight industries. They are located under a
uniquely designed engine cover system that offers excellent protection
from the elements yet is very quick and easy to remove (approx 15
seconds). The Hov Pod engines have been put through their paces for
hundreds of hours in very harsh marine conditions in climates such as
Africa, The Caribbean, and the Middle East. The engines are fitted
with Rotax intake silencer and exhaust mufflers to give excellent
noise reduction. When choosing an engine we picked the Rotax engine
for its great pedigree and power-to-weight performance but also
because the only other options were ‘used’ automobile engines or small
commercial engines that need to be re-tuned and upgraded to generate
sufficient power and therefore are prone to long term failure and
overstressing of components.
One engine or two?
Many hovercraft use two
engines, one for thrust, one for lift. Hov Pods have only one engine
for lift and thrust; reason being that it is easier and far safer to
coordinate one set of controls, easier to service one engine, plus you
get less noise from one engine. Thrust engines are often placed in
front of the driver - yuck! All those fumes and noise
coming at you, and the first wave that hits you may swamp the engine,
causing lift failure. We deliberately designed the Hov Pod without a
gearbox assembly, this allows us to site the engine much lower in the
craft, providing lower centre of gravity, reducing the tendency to
roll (we have even seen other craft literally roll over in a simple
low speed turn), and providing much greater ease of control. We also
place the engine low down to ensure no airflow disturbance to the fan;
clear airflow results in greater efficiency. Of course we only use new
engines, whereas many new hovercraft have been sold with reconditioned
engines.
Stopping Ability
Stopping on land
Hovercrafts
should be considered land-based vehicles as well as water-based;
stopping on a small rock shouldn’t cause the floor to crack, since
cracks let-in water. Most hovercraft have a single skin or thin and
weak double skin floor, whereas the Hov Pod has a thick double skin
floor, between which runs a stiff marine grade buoyancy layer for
greater safety and strength. We add Kevlar (as used in bullet proof
applications) and aluminum runners and impact sheets to protect the
craft from the inevitable knocks that occasionally occur.
Stopping on water
During demonstrations, a
number of customers have panicked when we stop the Hov Pod on water,
because other manufacturers have told them to avoid doing this! Many
hovercraft have a problem with starting on water, and you will
sometimes hear the expression "getting over the hump", that describes
the problem in getting back up onto the cushion of air to start moving
again. The Hov Pod is designed to lift a payload of 250 kilos (HP52)
or 310 Kilos (HP65) on water starts. Other craft also have a very
severe tendency to spin and throw occupants when stopped quickly on
water; the Hov Pod has been designed to quickly yet safely and
smoothly stop in a controlled straight line.
Buoyancy
Many hovercraft have poor buoyancy
characteristics and can actually sink if swamped, whereas the Hov Pod
has full buoyancy sandwiched between a rigid, double skin floor. Not
only will the Hov Pod stop quite happily on water but it has also been
independently tested for flooded buoyancy approval. Buying a
professional designed and manufactured craft helps to overcome
regulatory restrictions, where they apply.
Skirts
Occasionally, hovercraft skirts may
get damaged so you need to know how to replace a skirt, and how
difficult the job will be. The Hov Pod has 65 different segments, (for
damage limitation) so rather than having to replace the whole skirt if
damaged, at great cost, you just replace the damaged segment.
Naturally you will wish to go exploring with your hovercraft, but need
to get home safely, so having a few spare skirt segments handy is a
good idea, only takes a minute to change each segment; far easier than
trying to recover a hovercraft with a damaged one-piece skirt. Hov
Pods use a Hypalon/Nylon material (as used on all RIB’s) for excellent
wear, UV and salt-water protection. The Hov pod in tests has operated
with up to 25% of the skirts missing. The careful design of the skirts
also means that in normal use the Hov Pod generates virtually no spray
and the drive and passenger can stay virtually dry.
Safety
Good safety design is no accident.
Extensive
development has gone into designing the Hov Pod. Safety is a very
important aspect of design for the leisure market, and our designers
have considered many factors not found on other craft. For example, we
fit a front and rear guard to the fan assembly. The majority of hovercraft manufacturers
don’t. We also provide sealed batteries and ventilated fuel tanks for
example. As ease of use goes, the Hov Pod only needs fingertip control, no
need to shift your weight to turn corners! Again the Hov Pod has gone
through a full governmental certification.
Hov Pods are designed to withstand accidents
when they occur, protected by an aluminum plus rubber bumper strip to
minimize damage to the craft. Vehicles not fitted with bumper bars
suffer far greater damage during impact, reason why autos have them
fitted as standard. Very few hovercraft have such protection, despite
the fact that cracked GRP damage can be difficult and quite costly to
repair. We also fit aluminum and Kevlar impact sheets, and aluminum
runners on the underside of the Hov Pod for durability whilst coming
to rest on firm ground. The design approach to incorporate a thick and
rigid double skin hull and extensive impact protection is important
because we have seen other craft where the hull has literally fallen
apart after hitting a wave.
"Ploughing
In"
"Ploughing in" is a term to describe a problem
where a hovercraft suddenly stops, due to the nose of the craft
dipping into water. As anyone knows, sudden stopping or deceleration
will cause passengers and driver to part company with a vehicle, so we
have designed the Hov Pod to overcome this problem. The Hov Pod has
never ploughed in, though we continue to hear of incidents where other
hovercraft have suffered this problem, sometimes with quite serious
consequences.
Transporting the Hov Pod
The Hov Pod can be
supplied with a fully galvanized custom designed trailer made by an
approved trailer manufacturer. For safety this trailer is designed for
single person operation. Many cheaper trailers are available but
require either two three or four people to back breakingly lift the
craft on and off the trailer. The Hov Pod trailer utilizes four rubber
coated rollers to protect the hull and stop that annoying banging
when towing and a simple winch mechanism to gently unload or
reload the Hov Pod in about a minute.
Good safety design is no accident; extensive
development has gone into designing the Hov Pod. Safety is a very
important aspect of design for the leisure market, and our designers
have considered many factors not found on other craft. For example, we
fit a front and rear guard to the fan assembly - who in their right
mind wouldn’t? (Actually, the majority of hovercraft manufacturers
don’t) Consider sealed batteries and ventilated fuel tanks for
example. Or ease of use, the Hov Pod only needs fingertip control, no
need to shift your weight to turn corners! Again the Hov Pod has gone
through a full governmental certification.
Other
considerations
Check craft quality, is
the craft constructed of GRP, has GRP chop strand mat been used or as
in the construction of the Hov Pod, quadraxial mat? A whack with a
mallet shouldn’t offend. GRP when new nearly always looks great but if
not made by experts in a controlled environment it will soon suffer
from many hidden problems. Ask to see an older model to check the
quality of the GRP, which can crack and delaminate after 6 months. An
immaculate looking craft on day one can, after 6 months, can look very
forlorn. GRP repairs are costly. Does the craft have a really solid
bumper protection system? Can you give the impact areas on the side
and bottom of the craft good hard whacks with a mallet? Can you sit on
the side quite happily without breaking it?
Check out our Design Philosophy. Stretching the dollar, pound or euro
is important for everyone, but so too is value for money, no one wants
to spend thousands on a vehicle that is unsafe or difficult to repair.
Hov Pods are extremely easy to drive, similar to a motorcycle, and
fantastic fun. In demonstrations, we can usually hand over the
controls to a person after 15 minutes tuition. Hov Pods were
specifically designed for marine leisure and commercial use, and have
many features that you will not find on other hovercraft. Hov Pods are
designed to be easy to use, easy to service, safe to operate,
reliable, durable and fun. We hope you will soon arrange a demo so
that we can show you the superior features of the Hov Pod so that you
can see for yourself, why it remains probably the best leisure
hovercraft available anywhere in the world today. Contact us via our
Contact Page.
HOME |
Personal Use |
Commercial Use |
Video
Page |
Design Options |
Design Philosophy
F.A.Q |
Buyers Guide |
Testimonials |
Contact
Us |
Specifications |
Press Release
|