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| Hovercraft skirt |
| Bag skirt |
| Finger skirt |
| Bag and finger skirt |
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The integrated bag and finger skirt compromises between the flexibility
of the finger skirt and the economy of the bag skirt. It is the most complex
and sophisticated Hovercraft skirt - a combination of a pressurized bag
skirt and finger skirt. This combination uses the positive aspects
of both skirt designs while only implementing marginal disadvantages of
the finger and bag skirt. You will see this skirt design in nearly all
commercial craft and some noncommercial.
![]() Detail of commercial Bag and finger skirt as used on the
Hover ferry.
The advantages are a relative smooth ride over most uneven surfaces with
the finger section quickly adjusting to the surface contours. Low friction
from the small cross section of the finger compared to the wide and relatively
inflexible bag skirt. As shown in several tests it is seldom that you damage
several finger at the same time and it is easier to repair in the field
once damage occurs than a bag skirt. Even with the partial loss of up to
3 finger your craft will fly safely. Most of the time you can get your
craft at a save location if not even back to your home base or trailer.
It is easier and more inexpensive to replace some finger than a whole bag
skirt of a craft. All patches and repair on a bag skirt will only be quickly
chaffed off if they are close to the "ground contact" line. While a replaced
finger has the same ground contact shape as all the other finger and will
not be worn off quicker than the surrounding finger.
Reduce "plow in" compared to a racing finger skirt provided by the upper bag section of this skirt. The bag section is not only a flexible attachment for the finger but as well a pressurized flexible cushion to the craft. The bag section provides higher stability to the craft while absorbing great forces to the bow and side section just before "plow in" would occur. In the integrated bag and finger skirt ( short B/F-skirt ) the bag section can be easily drained once water found its way in. Several small drain holes in the bags aft section will allow the water to drain out of your skirt and hold craft weight low. Where there is a lot of sunshine is always some shadow - the biggest
disadvantages of the B/F-skirt are the high weight, big amounts of material
and much labor to build. Because of these downsides this skirt design is
not at all useful for a racing craft. A craft mostly used over ice or smooth
water would as well not benefit from the B/F-skirt. For all cruising craft
with a mixed use of land, water, ice and uneven terrain the skirt would
provide the biggest benefit. If you use your craft over not totally frozen
bodies of water you could reduce damage from floating ice.
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| Building sequence:
You can break down the building sequence into five major steps
:
Sequence 1.) Before you can get your bag and finger cross section you have to determine
your actual hover height which should be about 10% of your craft width.
![]() Bag section molds
Sequence 2.)
Take the dimension (length ) from the lower skirt attachment line
and top skirt attachment line of your craft.
Sequence 3.) Lay the bag skirt sections (sides of craft) on a flat surface and make sure that there are no wrinkles in the fabric. Glue every second finger ( reference point A ) to your bag skirt section. Allow enough time for the glue to set before bending them over and glue one side section ( reference point B ) to the bag section. Do not attempt to glue both at the same time since this would loosen the wet glue joint. After the glue has adequate set apply the last finger section ( reference C) to your bag section. ![]() Top= Finger / X-X-X- Line = folding line top = a, left
= B , right = C
Once you are done with the first set apply the remaining finger (
every second one) on glue joint (reference A) to the bag section. Allow
at least 24 hours for your glue to set before applying the side sections
of these finger in the same building sequence as described above for the
first set.
Bottom template for finger Before gluing the finger to the front and aft sections of your skirt verify your CoG on the craft and be sure that the fingers ground contact line will have an equal distance ( CoG to front ground contact line as well as CoG to aft ground contact line.) to the CoG. Only if this is the case start gluing the finger in the same sequence as on the side panels of the skirt.
side front and aft finger attached - ready for corner
layout
Once all finger are attached to your bag skirt section decide on
a nice and clean layout for the corner finger. This is best done when you
glue the corners of the bag skirt along the lower corner together while
the fabric is still laying flat on a surface. Even if it is very
time consuming to apply the corner finger - if you rush now you will increase
friction of the craft.
Once you have all finger in place you can turn your skirt around and it should stand on all the finger 45 degree pointing upwards. Apply the bounce web to the inner side of the skirt and if you are 100% confident that the dimensions are correct - glue as well to the top craft attachment line (not recommended). Now is the best time to glue all corner joints on your bag section. More or less done deal. Sequence 4.) Once your skirt is all glued and well dried - you can start to attach
it to your craft - start with the aft lower craft attachment line and work
yourself forward. Once the skirt is attached to the lower hull set your
craft on a leveled surface.
Sequence 5.)
Final adjustment. Try to support your craft on a leveled surface to actual hover height. The easiest way is to let the lift unit lift your craft and slide precut temporary feet under the craft. Once you have supported your craft even - reduce lift pressure to just over idle. This should provide enough pressure to hold the bag section inflated and apply a small amount of pressure to the finger. Mark all finger along the ground contact line and shut lift unit down. Once the pressure escaped from your skirt it is relatively easy to cut your finger in shape. Just for safety reasons leave at least ½“ (1.2 cm ) from your marked ground contact line to the actual cut. ![]() |