Gary Anderson

Since it's so dead in here. Let me pass this by you guys.
I would like to build a turbine powered boat, but I have no hans on experience with turbines. So I'm considering a small turbine project boat to get a little experience.

Boat; 21' eliminator daytona, center pod, cat. (I used to have one of these with a 300hp Evinrude, ran 97mph.) There's one for sale on Trader Online for around $7K, no power.

Turbine; Allison T63-A-700, about 300hp, includes reduction gearbox to 6000 rpm. Can be purchased for $12K, w/ guages, stand, starter, all accessories. Better deals are also available, but some assembly required.

Drive; Inline ASD6, got it already.

Installation: Exhaust aft, intake forward. Gearbox output comes out of the intake (front) of the engine. A hydraulic brake can be fabricted or purchased to go on the output flange. This will stop the power turbine for shifting.
Fabricate a drop box with a cogged pully (like a blower pulley) connected to the turbine output. This drives another pulley below the turbine by using a drive belt (similar to "Flash Gordons" drive setup). There will be a 1.5:1 reduction with the pulleys.
The lower pulley is connected to a crash box (already got one) for shifting. The crash box will be mounted under the turbine with the output pointed aft. A drive shaft connects the crashbox output to the ASD6. A carrier bearing will have to be fabricated for this.
Oil tank, batteries, etc. can be mounted in the back in either sponson.
It's either this project or rerig a 31 Excalibur cat that I can get for a song.
What do you think?

Gary

SteveDavid

Gary,

Sounds like a challenging project I'll be happy to help you in those areas where I'm knowledgeable. We've been running Turbines in our Unlimited since 1990. Ours are Lycoming T-55L7C. These were used in the Shinook helos during the Viet Nam war and are still in use today. They are factory rated at 2650 HP. In the boats we're rule restricted to 4.3 GPM of fuel at 110% of N2 for a total shaft HP of about 2900 to 3000.

In the application you're talking about, (T-63) I don't know that the HP (300) will be enough for you. By the itme you load it down with reduction gears, etc. your final propshaft HP may not raise the fun factor high enough to justify the expense.

A couple of good folks to speak with would be Dean Claussen at the Bravo Shop in Fort Myers. He ran a turbine in a 26' Cat for several years as he developed his B Max drive. JAFO on the OSO Board works on jets every day and lives in the Chicago area. Nice guy and boat savvy.

A word of caution: boat insurance and turbine power are rarely found in the same sentence While one might not worry about the hull insurance, it's the liability I'd be concerned with. If a PT section goes away on you, and the containment blanket (available from Security race products) doesn't suffice, you have a pretty heavy disk spinning at lots of RPM flying thru the air like a 25 pound frisbee taking out mstt anything in it's path, including hulls and humans.

If you do it, keep us advised, it will be quite the engineering adventure!

HyperBaja

The weight will have a big affect. 97- all the add weight might bring it down quite a bit. Find a bigger turbine

Cord

iTrader: (2)

I've been curious about one of these projects, so I've been collecting some infor as I came across it. Most of these guys are using jets so that they can have reverse with out the shifting problem that you mentioned. This guy is pretty close to me and just recently sold his boat.

http://www.limiteddesigns.com/

Here is the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...873110538&rd=1

Here is a bulletin board that lists some used turbines for sale:
http://www.barnstormers.com/engJ0000.html

This guy did a project pretty simular to yours-except he to used a jet pump. As I recall the buildup was very well detailed and should provide you with some great info.
http://www.nyethermodynamics.com/

Now, I can't find a link for these guys, but if I recall they were called "Marine Technologies Incorporated" or "MTI" as I remember, they did a bigger boat with a thousand horse engine. Had a couple of video and a bunch of pics too.

Cord

iTrader: (2)

Looks like this is a "must have":

http://www.nyethermodynamics.com/plans/plans.htm

Gary Anderson

Thanks for the input guys:
I'm aware that the hp is a little on the low side. The problem is that there are not a lot of split shaft turbines with reduction gears available in the 500-600hp range. The PT6's are too expensive for me to "experiment" with. And the next step up that is easy to find is the T58 (1100+ hp). A friend of mine has a couple of these (no starters) with gearboxes that I could get relatively cheap. But again, I dont want to "experiment" on something that pricey. The additional cost of bigger hp (bigger drives, etc.) also does not make it that attractive as a first time project.
Any other "resonably" priced turbines I should consider?

SteveDavid,
Thanks for the help, I'll take you up on it if this gets off the ground in the next few months.
I was planning on insuring only for liability. It's funny though, my insurance Co only wants to know I/O or O/B, hp, and top speed. Nothing in the questioaire about turbine vs. piston (dont ask, dont tell?). And yes a containment blanket and scattershield are a must.

Cord,
I've talked to Nye about their T-63 and T-58 projects. They would be the source for the output brake. Although over $1K seemed kind of high for that piece of hardware.

Hyperbaja,
You got to start somewhere. It's sort of like starting with a SBC, then getting a 454, then 502, then tall deck 572, then supercharging. Funny how no one ever goes in the other direction.

Gary

Gary Anderson

Whlie I'm wasting time here, This type of setup would be ideal for a 27-31' cat. 1400hp Gnome (T58?), output to a splitterbox, driving 2 bravos.
Gary

HyperBaja

Hyperbaja,
You got to start somewhere. It's sort of like starting with a SBC, then getting a 454, then 502, then tall deck 572, then supercharging. Funny how no one ever goes in the other direction.


It is a good thing it is like this

Airpacker

Gary,Mark Nye is a friend of mine and one thing I can assure you,if you purchase anything from MAD MARK NYE the TURBINE GUY,what you get will be top drawer in design as well as manufacture. His first boat,Squirt 1 was an old jet hull with a tiny turbine in it. Not real fast but sounded cool. Squirt 2,his current ride has around 1300hp strapped to a reworked jet pump and that thing just plain hauls the bacon. 0 to 90 in 4 seconds The engineering and rigging of that boat are as good as it gets. If you have jet questions,I am sure Mark will talk your ear off because he just flat out loves the things.

P.S.watch for Mark on junkyard wars next spring...they build drag racing jet powered trikes!

Cord

iTrader: (2)

Now, why can't the junk yard that I walk though have a handfull of turbines in them? As I recall, Nye was talking of using a custom impeller for his squirt 2 boat. How did that work out?