Airboats are flat-bottomed boats that are powered by an aircraft engine and propeller. The engine, prop and seats are mounted high on the boat to raise the center of gravity so that the boat will skim over the surface rather than having to push its way through the water.
Most airboats are about 16 feet (4.9 m) in length but they have been built as short as 6 ft. (1.8 m) and as long as 30 ft (9.1 m). A comfortable width is about 8 ft (2.4 m), which allows for a stable platform and easy trailering and trucking.
Also known as fanboats, airboats were invented in Nova Scotia by Alexander Graham Bell in 1905 and fifteen years later, the boat was introduced to the Everglades by pilot and engineer of early American aircraft, Glenn Curtiss, to navigate the marshy areas of the Everglades.
The very first airboat to be registered in America was in Florida in the 1920s. Airboats were initially used as means of navigating shallow waters (so that people could fish and hunt), like those in the Florida Everglades.
In places like our Ft Lauderdale location in the Florida Everglades, airboats are the best way to travel on water because the water is too shallow for a standard submerged propeller engine. Airboats are different in that they have a flat bottom and move with the help of a large, caged propeller on the back of the boat. The modern version of the airboat is made from aluminum and fiberglass and its design hasn’t changed much from the past.
With speeds of up to 50 MPH, more than 3,000 airboats whoosh through the Everglades, marshes and wetlands of Florida and are used for sightseeing, hunting, fishing, law enforcement and much more.