U of Sherbrooke & U of Montreal
Triton

The Triton project is a joint venture between the school of industrial design at the l'Université de Montréal and engineering school at l’université de Sherbrooke. They even enlisted students from various other departments to obtain sponsorship. The best way to describe it would be to draw an analogy to the motor industry and their concept cars. This would be a concept hovercraft.

The skirt is fully segmented and uses a unique heavy duty velcro attachment to the hull with a standard cable tie attachment below.  The 22-hp Hirth 2-stroke lift engine is located underneath the front cowling. It belt drives the horizontally mounted 24” lift fan. The 28” thrust fans are driven by a 64-hp 2-stroke Rotax via toothed belt. These rotate in opposite direction using a custom built gear box. 

The rudders are mounted at an angle to provide a banking moment when in operation. Steering is very smooth and is done via cables.  One of the most deceiving parts of Triton is the hull itself. The outer perimeter appears to be an inflatable structure but is, rather, a fibreglass tube used for the air distribution to the skirt system. The inner floor is a multi-celled air filled raft which provides for buoyancy and a very comfortable floor! Triton's hull measures in at 12’ x 7’ and is designed to carry 2-3 people tandem style.

Particulars:

Length: 13' 6"    Width: 7' 6"    Height: 5'    Empty Weight: 897 lbs    Max Speed 55 mph

The Triton  was designed and constructed by