North West Highland Hovercraft Cruise - Summary

North West Highland Hovercraft Cruise

The North West Highland Hovercraft Cruise took place from the 23^rd to the 30^th July.

This was the first time this event had ever took place.  Three hovercraft attended the event this year.  There was a Sevtec Surveyor owned and built by myself and local to Lochcarron.  A Sevtec Prospector owned and built by John Robertson from Melrose.  The other craft was a Sevtec Vanguard owned and built by Steve Holland from Aberdeen.  There was also an enthusiast that drove up from Perth on the first Saturday of the event for a few hours.  He came out for a fly in my hovercraft for a couple of hours before returning home.  All three hovercraft are of a GRP foam core construction and are built from plans available from Amphibious Marine in the USA. 

All the hovercraft owners adhere to a cruising code of conduct set out by the Hoverclub. More details can be found on the Hoverclub website at www.hoverclub.org.uk

  

Hovercraft are probably the most environmentally friendly power craft that can be used on water.  They float on a cushion of air, so there is no rotating propeller in the water, which means that they do not create a wake in the water disturbing the sea bed or damaging the wild life.  There is no fuel or oil coming into contact with the water so they do not polute the water.  The biggest concern with hovercraft is noise, which is being addressed and modern hovercraft are much quieter than they were twenty years ago.  Hovercraft are unique in that they are able to reach places no other type of vehicle can. 

A question always asked wherever we go is, “Do hovercraft float if the engine stops?”  The answer is “yes” they do as they have ample buoyancy built in.  I regularly use mine as a fishing platform as it is very stable when floating.

The weather for most of the week was blue skies and sunshine, the only downside for some of the days being the strong gusty northerly winds.  The hovercraft were out exploring every day.  On Saturday 23^rd July was only a short trip to the bottom of Loch Carron, as it was late afternoon before the first of the visiting hovercraft arrived.  On Sunday the three craft went out of Loch Carron and around the corner to Reraig and Loch Kishorn then flew around the point to Kyle and over to Loch Na Beiste on the Isle of Skye.  The wind was very strong and gusting to over 30mph; at one point we encountered waves of five foot plus high which all the hovercraft managed to negotiate safely.   

On Monday the winds were still quite strong, John and Steve flew to Plockton.  On Tuesday we started off by trying to sort my craft out as it was not hovering as well as it should.  We discovered the problem, so I spent the day sorting out my craft while Steve and John went exploring the area around Loch Kishorn.

On Wednesday the gusting wind had abated so we set off to explore Loch Alsh and Loch Long.  John and Steve flew their hovercraft around to Kyle of Lochalsh, but I decided to trailer mine to Kyle after the fright I had on the Sunday with the big waves going around the point.  This time I took my son with me while Steve and John took Dawn and Anne.  We flew to Eilean Donan Castle then under the bridge into Loch Long.  The route up through Loch Long is stunning.  We stopped on the Nonach salt marsh at the top of Loch long for our lunch.  From there we headed back to Loch Alsh and out to Glas Eilean.  Brandon & I decide to head back to Kyle, while the others flew on to Glenelg bay.

On Thursday it was overcast and the northerly wind had picked up again.  Anne & Dawn wanted to visit the West Highland Dairy shop at Achmore.  We landed on the beach below Achmore while Anne & Dawn walked to the dairy shop.  On their return we started to fly around to a quiet bay behind Plockton.  I turned back just before going around the point as the sea waves were getting beyond my comfort zone again.  The others continued on into the bay.

On Friday the weather started off overcast, but very light winds.  Today was to be a hundred mile sea trip for John and Steve as they flew their hovercraft from Lochcarron around the coast to Loch Torridon.  I decided I was not experienced enough to undertake the whole trip in my craft all the way around the exposed west coast to Torridon.  We landed on a small island above the Crowlin Islands and to the west of Toscaig.  We parted company here and John and Steve headed north to Loch Torridon while I followed the coastline back to Lochcarron.  I still managed a respectful 46 mile cruise along the rugged but beautiful coastline.

All in all it was a successful week and a good time was had by all.  We were made to feel welcome pretty much everywhere we went, although a gentleman in Lochcarron had a moan at Steve, which I felt was disrespectful and uncalled for!  I am hoping to host the event again next year where it is hoped more hovercraft will attend.

Photos and videos of the week can be seen on my website, as can other information regarding hovercraft at www.highlandhovercraft.co.uk

Alan Wilkins (Lochcarron)

    

An Carranach Article (Published March 2010)

Recently there was an unusual vehicle travelling on the water of Lochcarron.  It was a 16 foot hovercraft.  The hovercraft had its maiden voyage on the Loch on Saturday the 12^th Dec.  Ironically it was 55 years to the day from when Christopher Cockerall the inventor of the hovercraft, patented the original hovercraft design.

The hovercraft is a unique vehicle, as it is capable of travelling on land, water, snow & ice.  The hovercraft floats above the surface on a cushion of air contained within its surrounding skirt.  This means that there is no friction between the hovercraft and the surface of whatever it is travelling over making it capable of operating in areas that are out of bounds to other types of vehicles.  The hovercraft is also capable of floating like a boat, so can be used for fishing.  The hovercraft also has its limitations because of the air cushion on which it travels, as they don’t work very well on slopes or in strong winds.

The hovercraft in Lochcarron was built by a local ambulance crew member in his spare time.  The hovercraft was built from a set of plans purchased on the internet from a company called Amphibious Marine based in the USA.  Amphibious Marine, owned by Bryan Phillips bought the manufacturing rights a few years ago of the Sevtec range of hovercrafts, from a man called Barry Palmer.  Barry Palmer was an aeronautical engineer, who back in the 1970’s designed the Sevtec range of hovercrafts in his spare time.  There are seven different hovercraft in the Sevtec range.  These hovercrafts are of various size & can be built using various engine sizes.  The smallest hovercraft in the range is called the Scout, which is 11 feet long and can be powered by a 12 horsepower lawn mower engine.  The largest craft in the Sevtec range is called the Mariner which can be built up to 28 foot long, carry up to 16 people and powered by a car engine. 

The hovercraft in Lochcarron is a Sevtec Surveyor.  This hovercraft design can be built in two different sizes, which are 14 & 16 foot long.  There is very little difference to building costs between the two sizes.  The 16 foot version was opted for as this gave a bigger carrying capacity, but more importantly more buoyancy making it a safer craft for use in open water.  The Sevtec Surveyor can be fitted with a range of engines.  It can be powered by a one or two engine configuration.  With a two engine version, an engine of approximately 12 hp would be used to supply the lift and another engine of approximately 18hp to 22 hp for driving the thrust propeller.  The Sevtec in Lochcarron is powered by a 35 hp Briggs and Stratton engine. 

The 35hp engine drives both the lift fan and the thrust propeller via a series of pulleys and belts.  The lift fan is a 2 foot diameter nine bladed air-conditioning fan, which are readily available in the UK.  The thrust Propeller was Imported from the USA, as there are no manufacturers of suitable propellers in the UK.  The thrust Propeller is a 2 bladed 72 inch composite aircraft propeller.  It is the propeller that gives this hovercraft its distinctive sound similar to an approaching helicopter.  Hovercrafts have had a bad reputation in the past for being very noisy.  This was largely due to the use of high revving 2 stroke engines and inefficient thrust fans.  There is still some work to be done on this hovercraft as regards to reducing noise levels.  During the winter months a new exhaust system will be manufactured & fitted, which is hoped will reduce noise levels even further.  Noise levels are already below the HCGB acceptable levels.

The hull of the hovercraft was built from a foam cored fibreglass sandwich.  This is a very easy way of building otherwise complex structures.  The foam used is not the beaded white polystyrene type of foam, as this would not be strong enough and polyester resin dissolves it.  The foam used is a high density foam used amongst other things for marine applications.  This foam offers exceptional strength for little weight gain.  The hull is made up of a lot of smaller panels which are later bonded together. 

To make the hull all the separate panels are measured and drawn onto the foam sheets.  They are then cut out using nothing more than a straight edge and sharp craft knife.  Each foam panel is then fibreglassed on both sides.  These panels are then trimmed again to the correct size & joined together with fibreglass tape.

The skirt is made from vinyl covered polyester as used for making banners.  This vinyl material is easy to obtain, reasonably cheap but more importantly easy to work with and repair.  The skirt looks quite complicated, but when broken down into individual pieces is again, fairly straight forward to manufacture and fit.  The skirt is made from several pieces, which are then glued together using a special contact adhesive. 

The hovercraft was built using all new parts and has taken approximately 14 months to build.  The hull materials, engine, & propeller were the biggest single monetary outlays, but it was the smaller and seemingly insignificant items that soon sent the cost of the craft over the initial budget.  

This hovercraft is going down to the Isle of Wight in April 2010 to take part in a planned event to cruise around the island.  There may be a similar event held on the North West Coast of Scotland in the Summer 2010, (subject to correct permissions & insurances being gained).

Hovercrafts are becoming more popular these days.  There are basically two types of hovercraft.  There are cruising craft such as the Sevtec range, which are used for exploring & fishing etc.  There are an increasing number of cruising craft in the UK as this form of hovercrafting is growing in popularity.  The other type of hovercraft is the racing craft.  Hovercraft racing is very popular in the Southern half of the UK and Europe, but no hovercraft racing events are held in Scotland.  Racing craft can reach speeds of up to 80mph.  Racing craft are not suitable for use in deep water, as they are built with very little inherent buoyancy.  The 2010 world hovercraft racing championships are to be held in August at Towcester in the UK.

If you are considering a hovercraft, the first thing you need to do is decide what you will want to use the hovercraft for, (cruising or racing).  Then you need to gather as much information and advice as you can on the different types of hovercraft & manufacturers.  It is possible to buy new “ready to go” hovercraft from several hovercraft manufacturers in the UK, or there is the self build option, such as the one in this article.

A good place to find out more about the different forms of hovercrafting is from

The Hovercraft Club of Great Britain.  Their website and members have been very helpful with advice while building the above hovercraft.

HCGB web address: http://www.hovercraft.org.uk/