Paddles on Hustler 950

[zoood]

Once again,.. I'm back.

Question,... If you could put a set of paddles on one choice of the 3 axles.
Where would you put them? Front, middle or the rear?

zoood

Moderator, if you end up putting this else wheres in the forum. Would you mind posting a link to it?

[Mike]

I would start by putting them on the rear as that is typically where you get more of your propulsion from. If you haven't purchased them already, I wouldn't just based on what others have said about them not swimming well at all. If you have them already and are just experimenting then let us know what you find out.

[zoood]

Mike,.. your fast at moving the thread! Anyways, I dont have "paddle tires" as you have renamed the thread. I made a set of paddles that I'm still experimenting with and so far they seem to work. I just needed to know what axle one may choose for the best propulsion to start with. Which you mentioned the rear. I may end up making four more setups, so I can mount paddles on all the wheels.

RJ

[brushcutter]

Hey RJ welcome back! I'm guessing you are playing around with your swimming attachment idea. It will be interesting to see how it works out. Like Mike said, try the rear first, I think you will get more out of it that way.

[Mike]

My apologies for misinterpreting your question and renaming your thread incorrectly. I have corrected it now. The comment regarding the rear tires still remains as that is where I would start first. What kind of paddles have you made? There are a couple of old threads on here showing paddles that others have tried with mixed results. Perhaps you can comb through those to see how they worked out and save yourself from mistakes that they may have made. Good luck and do let us know how they work out.

Edit:

Here is a video of BW6's design: http://www.6x6world.com/forums/tire-...html#post19496

Here are a couple of more:

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/tire-track-wheel-talk/136-mud-slingers.html

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/tire-track-wheel-talk/2013-water-propulsion-idea.html

[Stonewall]

How about posting up some pictures of what you've made.

I am going to say just the opposite of what Mike and Brushcutter said. I think they should work better on the front, since the front should sit higher in the water. Basically we can think of this like a old steam paddle boat, if you look at one of them, only the very bottom of the wheel is in the water. If your pusing water any direction other than towards the rear, your losing effectiveness. In other words, you want as much of the paddle out of the water as possible. If you notice, in BW6's video, he had his paddles on the back of his Argo, where they were the highest. Since Hustlers have most of their weight in the rear, the paddles should work best in the front where they'll be the most out of the water.

[zoood]

Paddles

I'll have to take some pictures. As for now. What I have read in the posts that Mike put in here. I had seen those before. Also,... about the paddle being submerged and fighting it's propulsion. I have figured out a way around that. That being said. That's why I was asking what axle should I put em on. My hustler sits lower in the water in the rear. What I'm hoping doesnt happen from the thrust of the paddles is I dont want the hustler to do an ass dive. Also, my hustler came with the plastic tracks. But where I run my machine. I need tracks and it needs to be able to swim at times. I have all six 5" hub spacers on. The wide stance is so much more stable in the water. So those will be staying on. I didnt care for the paddles that are mounted on the outside of the wheels. Too easily they can get sheared off. My setup is mounted between the wheels and the body. As for now I only have one set of paddles. They are the prototypes. The steel I used for the paddle design will need to be hardened. First test out in the swamp. I got hung-up straddling a submerged felled tree for about an hour and managed to bend one side and lost a paddle on the other. I have since repaired them and almost ready to take it out in the swamp again. But I have changed the tires on the machine. I no longer have the chevron tread tires. Ive lawn mower turf tires. They were much cheaper and I feel will give much better traction in the plastic tracks. Plus, the tracks fit too loose before on the other tires. Yet not loose enough to remove a one track section. Now I should be able to shorten the track. As for now I cant afford the adair tracks. So since I still have the plastic ones. I'll try and work with those.