File Name: Ice cream weather again!
File Submitted: August 17, 2025, 9:09:42 AM

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I’ve just got back from having a play out on the loch, hover running great now, so it must have been the lift belt slipping.  Only issue we had today was getting stuck on the beach, as the pebbles were about 2” to 3” in diameter, from memory that is the worst size as they let lots of air escape from the cushion

I've followed your experiments with interest Alf - it would be a wonderful solution but the batteries are not quite there yet, although the latest concept using salt water - if true - could be a game changer.  That said, its not really the engines that make the noise! Direct drive, high torque and low speed with 99% reliability .... we can but dream.

The issue we have with 'travel' is that Gill and I don't have a motorhome now and thus if we tow the hovercraft we are looking at a b&b or hotel together with somewhere to store the craft and a safe place for the Defender overnight - they are just theft magnets.  We are a bit old for tents these days - I'd never get off the ground in the morning !  Hence its basically day trips and I suspect the same now applies to a lot of other club members.


I like the idea of partnering with another club but I guess it really depends on how many operators there are within easy reach of a site and as ever on tidal waters the whole event can fall flat in a stiff breeze.


There is a lovely local quarrying centre that is available for hire near Bristol but to be economic - even if subsidised -  it would need a good number of craft and again, if the weather is bad we are committed and it would be a miserable time.  And to be honest once you've done a couple of circuits, what do you do ?  The joy of a hovercraft is getting to places others can't. Most of the craft are well proven and there is not much fun in driving in circles!


I thought it was just the South West that was fading away but it sounds like the rest of the country is much the same from these posts.  A lot of people seem to have given up, mostly I think in this area due to reliability issues and at Weston the filthy state you get in once the tide has gone out - and that is most of the time.  It just becomes b hard work to operate a craft and keep it in good order when its a 4 hour wash down and service after every trip out.  The Bristol Channel is a balancing act between safe launching, tides that cover the beach if you get delayed, a mile of liquid mud to cross at low tide and a 6 knot tide if it suddenly goes quiet ....


Also a lot of the commercial craft that I've seen are not waterproofed or prepared for serious marine operation and as a result turn into expensive white elephants.  A couple of people I know purchased nearly new ex demo craft that became unreliable with major corrosion and mechanical issues inside a year. They are fine in freshwater but add salt, sand and mud and its a whole new level of protection and maintenance.  The amount of hassle from breakdowns has just taken the fun out of it for them,  despite having a warranty.   Its a great pity as hovercraft operation is one of the few remaining 'outside the box'  hobbies, a bit like the  early days of powered flight !


I am not sure if there is much we can do but it seemed worth suggesting some kind of subsidised activity as things are certainly dying out in this area.  I get a bit lonely on my own !

There is a hover-in every year in Scotland, but numbers seem to be dwindling there also.  That event doesn't need slipway hire etc, has a nice campsite to operate from and plenty of holiday lets to chose from for those that prefer to stay in a cottage or static caravan.  I'm happy to organise an event in my neck of the woods, but people don't seem to want to travel.  Again no slipway hire needed up here.