RESOURCES
About HovercraftPaul Carr retired as Fire Chief from the Houston Fire Department in 1987, where he constructed ladders and furniture during his 27-year career. Building things is a longtime passion for him. His hobby is woodworking, and he is well known for having built wooden playground structures in the form of trains, trucks and wagons for local parks, schools and churches. But it doesn’t end there. As the media reported in 2015, “Paul Carr can’t stop making things that go … Carr has built two Model Ts, one fire truck, and two monster trucks.”
Paul and his wife Mary plan to use their hovercraft to explore lakes and waterways where their jet skis can’t go. A private pilot, Paul has owned two airplanes, a houseboat, a motorhome and numerous motorcycles. The Carrs say, “The idea of assembling a hovercraft and then flying it sounded like too much fun to resist. The hovercraft will be a new adventure and it will help us achieve the spirit of our motto: ‘Not Fun Not Done’!”
You can see that building a hovercraft was the perfect project for them. Follow along as Paul builds their new adventure, a 4-passenger, combo seat Neoteric hovercraft from a kit …
My wife Mary and I stopped in Iowa to visit relatives while hauling our hovercraft from Neoteric in Indiana back home to Houston.
Paul has ample space in his workshop. “My shop is bigger than my home!” he says. “It isn’t air conditioned, so I took breaks to come into the house and read the detailed instruction manual that came with my kit.”
The battery was placed in the rear of the craft for transit and it bounced and caused some damage. “There was a crack and some bruises in the fiberglass, but nothing to be concerned about, Paul reports. “The clear silicone has made the damage nearly disappear.”
“I started researching hovercraft two years ago. I watched videos, bought a book and exhausted every source of information I could find. I narrowed it down to three companies, but further research led me to Neoteric,” Paul states. “What sets the Neoteric Hovertrek ™ apart from other brands is the patented reverse thrust system that allows it to brake and back up at 25 mph.”
“After all my research, I called Neoteric and had a pleasant conversation with the owner, Chris Fitzgerald. The videos I had viewed of the Neoteric Hovertrek™ were impressive, but I had never actually seen one, so Mary and I drove 1,000 miles from Houston to visit Neoteric. Chris gave us a tour of their manufacturing facility, and we were impressed by everything we saw and the people we met.”
“I have an electric hoist that I have used for taking the top on and off my jeep. It came in very handy when I was assembling the hovercraft. The hoist reduced the consequences of some of the mistakes I made during assembly.”
“Because of my lack of experience with building a hovercraft I had to install and uninstall the engine unit several times during assembly.”
”I thought it would be a neat project, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed assembling my hovercraft, which took me about 80 hours. Everything’s ready to go now and I’m looking forward to a ride!”
UPDATE FROM PAUL:
“I have had the hovercraft out twice now and even though I need more practice before carrying passengers, it was a great experience. It compares with when I soloed while getting my pilot’s license. I’m looking forward to many hovercraft adventures.
As I always say, this life is not a rehearsal. This is the only act you get, so you’d better make the most of it!”
