Custom/Hybrid Melmack's very unique 300sx build

[Melmack]

Check into the krash skis and what they have had to go through to be sold in the US might be helpful.

We're a long way from there at this point however, a lot of what they have to deal with is the engine not meeting emissions. Rotaries burn much cleaner. So the CARB issues go away with the rotary. That was the driving force of this Idea since day one.

I remember drawing up this rotary ski when I was attending MMI back in the late 90's. We were discussing the reasons for the ban on 2 strokes and the way the anti-smog chemical MTBE pollutes the water. Got me thinking of how Kawasaki had just canceled so many models, and the impact off these laws on our sport with no alternative engine. I was a huge Mazda fan at the time and loved the engine. Did some research during that class and it turns out Evenrude had spent at millions in the 70s on developing rotaries for this very reason. (Moller industries bought that research and tooling to build the sky car

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moller_M400_Skycar)

I'm convinced the rotary is the answer. Maybe even a hybrid rotary but, one way to package these is with an avaliable bolt on part that nearly doubles the power to sell for "Racing only applications". This is something unique available to only rotary engines. The 50 state legal engine might be a 225cc single rotor or a 400cc twin. But a kit would be offered to add a rotor making it a dual or tripple rotor. The perfect size engine has been developed using billions of US research money so it's just a matter of time till one of these companies sees the potential in mass producing an engine on existing dies but with far less stringent tolerances than the aviation industry is required.

Perhaps someone gets a fed contract to design but they loose the bid to produce the final engine. Their engine works for our purposes, so either we come in and buy the equipment from them or if they are still in business, get them to produce it for us in mass, saving jobs and making good use of their work.

These engines should be cheap to produce for marine use considering how few parts they use. They are about as complicated as a Briggs kart engine, and not much larger. The light-weight and compact hull is key to making 50hp adequate enough to satisfy most modern riders. And maybe a company like Krash could be part of the solution and produce something like a Footrocket based hull for us to use.

If I were ever to build these, it would be more of a collaboration with known, proven companies. Hopefully using at the very least, American designed parts and materials. But if a company like Kawasaki or Yamaha wanted to get involved, I would love to see something like that. Mazda! are you reading this??? ZOOM ZOOM! Call me! We can call it the "MX-1"!

Anyway, the goal is to preserve the sport, the freeride part of it that I love. How we get back to the "Let the good time's roll" days doesn't matter to me. I see this as a solution and I'm not giving up on it. I would love to be a part of passing this down to the next generation and I believe I was given this Idea, all the way back in the classroom at MMI 25+ years ago, to help do just that. SO, I plan on seeing this through, in God's time, and hopefully include a bunch of my fellow riders in on this journey as well

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Maybe we should join forces, I had an idea from way back as well, I am going to take this way way off course or maybe it's not , you are looking for low emissions options right ?

What if I said zero emissions and super light weight , does that sound like something of interest , this is an idea I had that never made it past the idea stage. so indulge me if you will for a minute.

Engineair in Australia will sell you the rights to produce their compressed air engine , it weighs 14lbs , and is about the thickness of a cell phone , the only other thing needed are compressed air tanks and some kind of throttling control valve to control air flow, the engine starts turning at about 1 PSI has instant torque at zero RPM and has enough power to power a car. The power can also be tuned to provide soft start or instant acceleration.

There is no fuel tank, no carb, no exhaust system, so the weight would be minimal , my thinking was a couple of carbon fiber scuba tanks which since they are compressed air they would also provide some flotation. My thinking is a carbon fiber hull , two carbon fiber air tanks, A carbon Rickter hull is supposedly 80'lbs so a Carbon 300SX should be somewhere in the same ballpark, but I see no real reason to go carbon hull given the weight savings here already .

Carbon fiber tanks weigh in at 33lbs a piece so 66lbs there , Aluminum tanks weigh in at 31 LBS , tanks could possible weight less depending on what would actually fit in there. , the handlepole, pump ride plate , handlebars etc weight unknown but lets throw out a weight of 60 lbs for S&G ,could be less IDK for sure. that brings us to a total ready to ride weight of around 220 lbs. or 230 lbs depending on what tanks you have in it and what the hull is made out of , in comparison a Fiberglass Rickter is 298 lbs with one gallon of gas so really around 24lbs or more full of gas figuring a 5 gallon fuel tank which gives you 322 lbs RTR., a carbon RicKter maybe 312 lbs RTR.

I am not sure on refilling the tanks but there are plenty of dive shops around and it opens up a lot of options as well as ways to make even more money there, now as for swapping out the tanks , I am thinking a bolt together hull like the Seadoo Spark has or some kind removable panela at the rear of the ski to allow tank removal ..

I always thought that the Free form factory hulls were an awesome idea , too bad that totally flopped but the bolt together deck and hull were an interesting concept that would work well in this application , I also don't know what the range would be on these obviously on a car you can fit a much bigger tank but you are also moving a lot more weight , how much range does a ski have on 6 gallons of gas ?

There website shows the engines in Lawnmowers, go karts, motorcycles, a fork lift, a bot and and a car.

https://www.engineair.com.au/

 

[Quinc]

Another guy on here tried a Rotary engine, you might get in contact with him.

Custom/Hybrid - www.wasserjet.com

Teaser... Specifications Type: 2 Rotar Engine Weight: 40lbs (Not including starter or TBI) Power: 120hp Natural Aspirated Torque: 50ft/lbs @ 3500RPM Displacement: 600cc (1020cc 4-stroke equivalent) EFI: Quad fuel injected intake system Rebuild in...

www.x-h2o.com

 

[Melmack]

Another guy on here tried a Rotary engine, you might get in contact with him.
View attachment 447320

Custom/Hybrid - www.wasserjet.com

Teaser... Specifications Type: 2 Rotar Engine Weight: 40lbs (Not including starter or TBI) Power: 120hp Natural Aspirated Torque: 50ft/lbs @ 3500RPM Displacement: 600cc (1020cc 4-stroke equivalent) EFI: Quad fuel injected intake system Rebuild in...

www.x-h2o.com

Yea, that may have been the source of the controversy a few years ago on here. I reached out to them a few years ago to see where they were on this. These guys were pretty far along with this but were going in the direction of a large hull which creates more surface tension/drag. Also, I don't think freeride was their intended market. I could be wrong. However, the website is no longer valid and I think this ship has sailed.

 

[Melmack]

UPDATE:

This photo represents new life in this project. There is a lot going on in this picture. Not only have I acquired a very unique ski that has potential to accelerate development of this concept but, I have been talking to some big names in our sport as a result. This ski here that has lead to some very exciting possibilities.

More importantly; I have found a new engine that potentially lines up with my goals, very similar to the Axiro-50 Kart engine in concept yet possibly, much more ready-for-market with increased power-to-weight capacity and some potential, very exciting features. I am inquiring about obtaining a test engine from this company. This engine has proven to perform; recently powering a robust and efficient craft, utilized by a very important and prestigious US company.

I’ve also developed a trailer for the craft that has unique properties that surf riders and many others will appreciate. (I plan to post a separate development thread on this particular item when I have time)

Currently, I have a big project to work on outside the ski world. This project will consume most of this summer for me; however, I will be perusing the acquisition of the engine, in parallel and hope to present some sort of Kickstarter/Go Fund Me campaign in due time.

These developments are exciting. I am being careful to not reveal too much as not to lead anyone on or create false hope. Only once I am certain the concept works, has a solid backing from top free-riders and the market is ready, will I offer something publicly.

I am keeping in mind those that were originally interested and investing/helping and those of you will be the first to be informed. Please PM me if you are still interested or have found this thread and would like to be notified as things develop.

This is my dream: To develop and produce a lightweight, efficient, EPA friendly, 50state legal stand-up watercraft that will revive the small PWC market.

This concept can also applied to craft like the Blaster, X2, HX and other smaller craft that we haven’t seen mass produced in decades. Even smaller craft like the Wavejammer and the 300sx could use this engine. Those type of small, fun skis could all potentially return in a much more environmentally responsible form that the industry has not been able to provide since 1996.

Project “Tiger” is alive and well.

 

[Melmack]

Very important meeting this morning,1:30 GMT.

 

[Quinc]

How did the meeting go?

 

[Melmack]

Technical issues. Rescheduled for 9:30am tomorrow (CMT not Germany time). Will post info when I can. Should be good news.

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Fingers crossed

 

[Melmack]

Well, good and bad. Going to have to do another NDA in order to get to the more detailed breakdown of what specific parts they could potentially swap out with marine grade parts rather than aircraft grade parts. Here are the biggest obstacles:

1. Block is hyper expensive as thy use a special alloy that requires no coatings but has an extreme engine life of 1500+ hours. Far beyond the 300-400 I believe is expected in the marine industry before rebuilding.
2. Rebuilding is impossible. The block material is trashed as soon as it reaches EOL due to this expensive block needed for cooling.

The way I see it, this block would be unnecessary in our application because:

A. We don't need that type of life expectancy in our engines.
B. Our engines are directly cooled by much cooler lake water, not closed loop 190 degree water and therefore, we do not need the hyper expensive materials to get the thermal efficiency required for a military grade, long life aviation motor.

It's a matter of convincing very smart but one-track-minded engineers to think out of the box.

Fortunately, I think this CEO is different than Paul Moller, or the AXIRO guys as well as the other company I'm probably still bound not to mention as per NDA (US based UAV company). We had a difficult time communicating with the delay and our bad connection at times but, he seemed like a much more reasonable and open person. He did offer me the opportunity to present a business model to him. This is huge. But I have a lot of information to compile if I am going to get his interest.

Right now we are miles apart on cost. Not even remotely in the same ballpark. But, I see the reasons, understand the hurdles and can now work solutions, offer facts and figures to make it feasible.

It all comes down still to getting an engine to put in the ski, prove that a less specialized, lake cooled version of his engine wouldn't have the issues his UAVs do and therefore, would not need those hyper-expensive components.

His engine is tiny. So while he gets just 30 hp using a single rotor, it Weghs only 20lbs, the double and even triple models with weigh just slightly more but make much better hp numbers and are hyper light. There is room to add some weight using steel parts rather than alloys and still keep the ski under 250lbs without going carbon in the hull. Possibly even using smc to get that weight, making production cheaper and faster.

The 300SX, was actually the perfect mass produced freeride hull, IMO. It was light, nimble, and wider than a JS by two inches with a much more comfortable trey, had a rockered nose and, with the right ride plate and such, was a pretty easy ski to ride. It's biggest drawbacks were hat it had too long of a pole, and it was under powered. However, The pump was not maxed out as is, and my version, using a slightly larger FX-1 pump, was proven to handle up to 75-80 HP without cavitation.(Stock fx-1s were just fine until riders put more than head and pipe on them. Also, this smaller pump requires less torque thus making the rotary more viable. So a production ski with similar dimensions and weight, with a Mear 50-70hp would be a RIOT to ride, right out of the box.

What I need to do is break down what exact parts in this companies' design need to be built under license by us. Ideally, they would make the key parts, like ignition, rotor, seals, all the really important parts that they have spent millions developing but are not expensive to produce then, we supply a marine grade block, electrical box and whatever necessary to get the cost down, drop that engine into a quality , proven hull, sourced here in the US. We would have to work out a licensing agreement and label it as "Engine designed by ________of Germany" and built in the USA.

We would source parts from people like Solas for the pump and drive line. Robin (R'hass) for all the mounts and bearings and such, and then work out the rest. There really are not that many components to source. And I don't think I have even touched on my hull material breakthrough that for some unknown reason, NOBODY HAS EVER TRIED, would be sooooo easy to build, 20+% lighter and easier to build than fiberglass.

The power potential is adequate even with the single rotor but the ideal one is the double listed below IMO and what I look to acquire for the prototype to prove my concept. People think 65-70= hp is necessary because they think big hull, like the RN SJ. But they forget just how many 400s and 440s sold for years and years making just 27hp. That power was ample because they were light. And Kawasaki left the freeriders behind in the 90's for heavy race skis that could take the chop. Yamaha had a good balance with the SJ but it was still heavy by almost 60lbs vs "project tiger". I had a Wamiltons lightened RN in the late 90's. Looked just like a RN but was -20lbs. That ski was a beast with only a "Limited" build. WEGHT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Anyway, this particular motor's specks are listed below. There is also a 70+ hp triple. This motor is so light, runs 200:1 oil, and can run alternate fuels. And a bonus for the greenies in Cali and other more restrictive states that almost killed our sport, it has a mild hybrid style system. So, there is new life and lots of potential here, even if the total weight doubled without the expensive metals, still better power to weight than a comparable 550 or 650 but cleaner and technically, a hybrid.

Type	Wankel rotary
Capacity	360 ccm / 20.98 cu in
Power	51.3 hp / 37.7 kW @ 6000 rpm
Speed Range	1500 – 6000 rpm
Weight	without subcomponents 20.9 lbs (15.5 kg)
Oil/Gasoline ratio	1:200 mix
Cooling	Water and oil

 

[Quinc]

This engine sounds amazing. However, how would it handle taking a sip of water?

 

[iangdesign]

That oil/gas ratio is crazy! Cool stuff!

 

[Melmack]

Maybe we should join forces, I had an idea from way back as well, I am going to take this way way off course or maybe it's not , you are looking for low emissions options right ?

What if I said zero emissions and super light weight , does that sound like something of interest , this is an idea I had that never made it past the idea stage. so indulge me if you will for a minute.

Engineair in Australia will sell you the rights to produce their compressed air engine , it weighs 14lbs , and is about the thickness of a cell phone , the only other thing needed are compressed air tanks and some kind of throttling control valve to control air flow, the engine starts turning at about 1 PSI has instant torque at zero RPM and has enough power to power a car. The power can also be tuned to provide soft start or instant acceleration.

There is no fuel tank, no carb, no exhaust system, so the weight would be minimal , my thinking was a couple of carbon fiber scuba tanks which since they are compressed air they would also provide some flotation. My thinking is a carbon fiber hull , two carbon fiber air tanks, A carbon Rickter hull is supposedly 80'lbs so a Carbon 300SX should be somewhere in the same ballpark, but I see no real reason to go carbon hull given the weight savings here already .

Carbon fiber tanks weigh in at 33lbs a piece so 66lbs there , Aluminum tanks weigh in at 31 LBS , tanks could possible weight less depending on what would actually fit in there. , the handlepole, pump ride plate , handlebars etc weight unknown but lets throw out a weight of 60 lbs for S&G ,could be less IDK for sure. that brings us to a total ready to ride weight of around 220 lbs. or 230 lbs depending on what tanks you have in it and what the hull is made out of , in comparison a Fiberglass Rickter is 298 lbs with one gallon of gas so really around 24lbs or more full of gas figuring a 5 gallon fuel tank which gives you 322 lbs RTR., a carbon RicKter maybe 312 lbs RTR.

I am not sure on refilling the tanks but there are plenty of dive shops around and it opens up a lot of options as well as ways to make even more money there, now as for swapping out the tanks , I am thinking a bolt together hull like the Seadoo Spark has or some kind removable panela at the rear of the ski to allow tank removal ..

I always thought that the Free form factory hulls were an awesome idea , too bad that totally flopped but the bolt together deck and hull were an interesting concept that would work well in this application , I also don't know what the range would be on these obviously on a car you can fit a much bigger tank but you are also moving a lot more weight , how much range does a ski have on 6 gallons of gas ?

There website shows the engines in Lawnmowers, go karts, motorcycles, a fork lift, a bot and and a car.

https://www.engineair.com.au/

Just saw this post of your last night for some reason. Anyway, very interesting engine. Not the direction I see but I will look into it. How about a boost motor? You could charge the bottle like nitrous and when you need that extra hp, have a switch or button for that and there you go? Again, not quite what I'm thinking. All along this was supposed to utilize the Axiro50 based motor or the Moller engine. Both at some point seemed viable as a 40-50hp single with the ability to expand the motor with a second rotor like a stackable unit making 80-100hp, in the same light hull, adding just a few pounds, retaining/improving most of the OEM handling characteristics but having near backflip able power. This air engine here could work the same way but the range I fear would be extremely limited to create that type of power.

 

[Melmack]

This engine sounds amazing. However, how would it handle taking a sip of water?

Well, compression ration on rotaries make it suitable for draining just like we do 2 strokes. There is no oil bath to deal with and if possible, we would orientate exhaust on one side and plugs on the other. That way, when you need to drain it, you take the plugs out and turn it on its side(No longer needing to flip it all the way upside down) and you should be able to drain it even more easily than what we deal with now.