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Frame clarification
Posted by AK Troutbum on Dec 12 2005
NRS also has break-down long bars at no additional charge it's just a matter of requesting them. I've never had a problem fitting the frame work for my Leopard into a plane, but have also never tried to put it in anything smaller than a Cessna 180. The frame I have is also the largest that NRS makes I think it's called the Fat Cat and is approx. 120"x72" assembled. To the transom I welded aluminum plates approx. 12" long in the middle and either side of the yoke to act as a motor mount, and then welded gussets on both ends of the yoke for support to eliminate twisting of the yoke when the motor is throttled up. This only adds less than a pound to the weight of the frame work and accomplishes all my needs for a motor mount. I use a long shaft 15hp motor and the yoke is designed as such that my prop sits deep enough in the water to run the boat fine and not have any cavitation issues. I don't break any speed records with this setup but it does get me from point A to B. With a good load say 1000 lbs. and on a calm lake I can run about 10 mph. My biggest issue with ARK frames is that they seem to ride too low in the water, especially with a loaded raft. A buddy of mine has a Jag with ARK frame and with just 3 adults 0 gear, the floor (netting) rides about a 1/2" under the surface of the water. I’ve had over 2000 lbs. in my Leopard and the floor still rides above water. Not exactly the easiest thing to row around but my gear’s out of the water. I’m not trying to put ARK down, they run a great operation and do a great business up here, just thought I’d share some of my ideas. NRS also has break-down long bars at no additional charge it's just a matter of requesting them. I've never had a problem fitting the frame work for my Leopard into a plane, but have also never tried to put it in anything smaller than a Cessna 180. The frame I have is also the largest that NRS makes I think it's called the Fat Cat and is approx. 120"x72" assembled. To the transom I welded aluminum plates approx. 12" long in the middle and either side of the yoke to act as a motor mount, and then welded gussets on both ends of the yoke for support to eliminate twisting of the yoke when the motor is throttled up. This only adds less than a pound to the weight of the frame work and accomplishes all my needs for a motor mount. I use a long shaft 15hp motor and the yoke is designed as such that my prop sits deep enough in the water to run the boat fine and not have any cavitation issues. I don't break any speed records with this setup but it does get me from point A to B. With a good load say 1000 lbs. and on a calm lake I can run about 10 mph. My biggest issue with ARK frame is that they seem to ride too low in the water, especially with a loaded raft. A buddy of mine has a Jag with an ARK frame and with just 3 adults 0 gear the floor (netting) rides about a 1/2" under the surface of the water. I’ve had over 2000 lbs. in my Leopard and the floor is still above water, not exactly a dream to row around but my gear stays dry. I'm not trying to take anything away from ARK, I think they run a great shop up here, I'm just throwing out some other ideas.
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