Pictoral build of my hustler 950

[zoood]

[brushcutter]

All that AND a BALD EAGLE I'll bet you came home with worst case of perma-grin you've had in years, I know I would have

[zoood]

Well I went and tested a design I came up with to propel my Hustler through the water. Without elaborating on the design. It seemed to work, however I have to put my plastic tracks on. This way it will eliminate the propulsion that the tires make and allow me to experience if in fact they do work by themselves. I noticed that I will have to seal the lip where the body and the tub join. It took in about a gallon of water. I think the side mounted fan Im using to circulate air for the engine was also bringing water in. The spinning of the tires generated the water to splash into the hustler. Plus I have the 5.5 spacers that make the tires sit out from the fender wells. The bilge pump worked perfectly. Im happy I installed that! I also noticed that from a stand still in the water and then accelerating wide open. The hustler did in fact cause a wake for a moment. If I was to do that with just the tires by themselves. I think they would just spin in the water with no forward momentum. Ive few more ideas that I would like to apply. Hopefully I can perfect my design before Busco.

[brushcutter]

Have you made any progress on the swimmers? I'm really hoping they work...sooo... when do we get to see them in action?

[zoood]

Not Yet. When I put the tracks on to test the swimmers out. When heading down there. The right track came half ways off the rear wheel when making a left turn. I managed to coax it back on with a long pry bar. The plastic tracks are a sloppy fit and some of the steel rods are in need of replacement. I cracked one of the track sections and bent a steel rod as well. Ive replacements. I have a lift here that will allow the atv to straddle it. This way I'll be able to lower or heighten the atv with ease and get the tension off the tracks when installing them on the tires. I plan on letting the air out of all the tires and removing a link and using a ratcheting strap to tighten the track around the tires and hopefully reconnecting the track back together.
I had been running the tires at 7lbs. But this still didn't alleviate the sloppiness between the tires and the track. Maybe 10lbs will do it. I'm also thinking that having swimmers on just the center wheels isn't enough. I'm looking at placing them on the rear wheels too. Funding is kinda short at the moment and I thought all this up while I was reducing the size of my "Honey Do" list. Believe me, I'd rather be 6 wheelin it! I'm not dead in the water. ( No Pun intended ) zoood