For my next take on snow skimmers, I wanted to try something more in the Pod Racer style as in the snow skimmer challenge. Coming off the Flying Fish, I wanted it to be durable, maneuverable, and stable.  It took a few tries to get it right, but I got there in the end!

The Build: I used layers of 1" thick insulation foam, covered in 6oz fiberglass and 8mm carbon fiber spars.  Electronics include dual x2206 1620kv motors, 5x5x3.8 props, and a 3c 2200mAh battery. I originally planned to steer using differential thrust from the motors, but that was not enough - I definitely needed a large rudder as well.  The total width is 19" (based on cutting a 1m shaft in half).  The original central hull length of 17" made it way too squirrelly, while a longer length of 26" (or 31" to back of rudder) worked much better.  Like the Flying Fish, having the length almost double the width seems to work best overall.

For best tracking, I placed the battery was in the back section and angled the motors upward ~10-15°.  (This worked well with my setup, but may result in too much lift if using higher kv or larger props.) I had added in motor pitch control to dial in settings for different snow conditions, but found that the same upward motor angle worked best in both soft and hard pack snow.

The wide spacing of the pontoons in the initial design made for great stability (it never tipped over) but would not track straight. After adding 9'' to the length and adding a rudder, tracking was vastly improved and stability was maintained.  Another benefit was jumping - would intially just cartwheel off a jump and now can take small jumps just fine.  The 6oz fiberglass hull covering has proven to be very durable after many jumps and high speed drift turns over hard snow / ice without any needed repair. (Most wear is at the edges in the very back - 2 layers of fiberglass was used.) 

If there is interest, let me know and I'll add more detailed plans at RCSean.com.