"Mad Mud" motor plans?

I've noticed these plans for a build-it-yourself mud motor on eBay. Does anybody have an experience with making one of these?
 
I got those plans 4 or 5 years ago, they are a good starting point but can be improved upon a lot. I've built 3 longtails since then and they are pretty simple when you get down to it. I really don't think it's necessary to buy the plans, there is plenty of info on the net that you can use to build a longtail. How big of a motor are you planning to go with?
 
I have to look more diligently into the building of a mud motor. A friend of mine was moving last fall and decided to give me his lawn tractor because he didn't want to deal with the hassle of selling it and wouldn't need it on the other end of his move. It has a 20hp Briggs and Stratton I/C horizontally opposed twin cylinder engine. B&S claims it is their commercial end of engines.

I think about running the tractor but really have no need for one. 1/4 acre of land with a house and hopefully a workshop doesn't equate to much mowing. Through a 12 year old boy that needs to learn life lessons and how to be part of a family, a 21in push mower works just fine!

I assume one of the biggest parts to determine engine compatability is the orientation of the shaft? Right?
 
CAnderson-most longtails are typically built with a horizontal shaft, if your motor is that way it should be good to go.

Steve-a few places to start are mudmotortalk.com and the boats/motors forum at duckhuntingchat.com. Beavertail has a few PDF diagrams of their motors on their site that will help you get an understanding of what parts you need and how to put them together. In fact, on my last build I just bought an upper bearing housing from Beavertail and had a plumber buddy thread the shaft tube of my motor for me-a quick and easy way to get a bearing on the top end of the shaft. Here is a photo of the frame from my last build-
MMframe1.jpg


Also check out Backwaterinc.com, they will sell you a great prop and you can get some good ideas on building a smaller HP longtail from their site.
Keep us posted!
 
Beautiful work, Cody! Thank you for all the info and advice ... This means a lot, as in my "early retirement" from the aircraft industry, I'm finding it essential to make things myself.
 
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