APBA'S Tri Hull Class's Secrets...

[Ron Hill]

Truth is, there is really two thoughts about OPCand maybe the Divisison should be split...The two Divisions are:

!. We're PROFESSIONAL

2. We're GRASSROOTS having fun

I REALLY won't take sides....but I'd like to see Tri Hull become a NATIONAL CLASS for 2007.......

Here are TRI HULLS SECRETS REVEALED TO ME...as I plan to have a Tri Hull or Tri next year..

Hey Ron,
thanks,,,,,,

A lot of builders copied the v166 glastron
delmajic and galaxie didnt even change the sides to get rid of the classic glastron indented v look where they did the 2 color line

main things on motors are:

1. To have the 3 ram mid section,,,faster working and dont bleed down from the pressure
2. the newer ignition system
3. 115 blocks have the 140 portwork,,,just need carbs and 140 ex tuner

1978 135 has the best ports and carbs,,but need to change ignition,,and have to make some brackets to hold the new style stuff ,,, and put on the 3 ram mid section,,,have to modify shifting to work on the 135 block

all 140s work as is,,,,,,,,

if want 135=140 to run better,,,plastic reeds,,,,notch piston skirts on intake side to match intake slot,clean intake side of block castings,round and smooth,D port the intake and exhaust ports(dont raise) weisco pistons,cut heads,drill some holes in the mid for ex relief,,,cut thermostats and run water lines like a merc
plug up upper holes of water pickup and grind water pathway down towards bullet to raise motor a bit more,,,install pointed nosecone
(no low water pickup allowed)

with these minor modifications
the motor will tun 6,500-7,000
have all the power needed,,,,and stay running to finish
guys here run the same motor all year
I havent seen 1 blow in a long time

Tony Terry's son had his throttle stick wide open when he got hit on his motor,,,,and would not shut off,,,,,it ran in neutral for minimum 5 minutes wide open till got cowling off and shoved his shirt over the carbs,,,,,,,fixed throttle and wiring,,,raced next heat,,,not bad,,,,

John

Hull:

Hey Ron,

The old 100s were way back,
the carbs, ports are ok, but not able to put the 140 ex stuffers in cavity, unless do a lot of machine work to be able to use the bubble tuner and the mid has the old external trim,that don't hold well.

Most 115s have the machined surface in the ex cavity to install the stuffers to convert to 140

But for starting and not spending much on the motor
cannot go wrong to have fun.

A guy here is running a 115 and not much off the top guys pace
the 140 just gives motor more breathing for down the straights.

The best hull is the V166 the 15' ers have blunt nose and have tendacy to follow waves in the corners and roll on side. 17'ers work good but extra boat slows down too much in corners and takes longer to get back going.

I can fill you in on the motor part combinations that work the best
and things to do to make them scream.

But a stock 140, works well as is when you get the right prop....as you know with any boat
and stock will run and run and run.


Thanks John for the "SECRETS"...

[john miffco]

hey ron,,,
not really secrets,,,,
just some fine tuning,,,,,
some have built up hard running motors,,,but dont finish,,,

the motors that are just cleaned up to smoothly flow air/fuel stay running
and have the low end power to pull through the corners and out

just like any class,,,,,the motor is only 1 part of the equasion
we have 13-15 boats on the average in a heat,,,after 2 laps the water is so
rough that high rpm dont matter,,cannot use it all,, balanced right , prop and guts gets you around the course

its a blast,,,pure fun racing,,,,with hard core competition
john

[Ron Hill]

"SECRETS"... Bobby Unser...Al Stoker......Roger Penske..."The Harder I work, the luckier I get..." Roger Jenkins, Texas Oilman, once said, "I', a geologist...and I get lucky. The more I figure out where to drill the lickier I get."

Truth is when I say "SECRETS" I know there are no "SECRETS" As Rod Zapf and I used to say, "There is BUENO!" When Red Mountain Wine was 99 cents agallon, there was A "WAYNE O"....(Bueno)...

SeeJimbo and I are about the same age, he was born in Auguest 1944, I was born in April...So, I am older...but when we raced, we raced 24-7. We may have had a LIFE, but boat racing was what we DID...

Few people that race boats ever really understand DEDICATION...There is a lot of PASSION.....

To me, making a winning boat is much like making Chocolate Chip Cookies...You do everything by the recipe or your cookies look like and taste like crap!!!!

My dad built hundreds of motors, the worst runing motors were always the one that were illegal...

John, what you said about building motors makes perfect sense to me...Built a 140, basically like OMC would have you do it and get a good prop, don't drive like a LOON...and you'll pick up a win here and there...DUH!!! (BIG SECRET!!!).

I think the Schubert's Tri Hull Class is ready for NATIOANL STATUS!!!!

[john miffco]

the way we have it ruled is to keep the class,,,,
simple,,,,,competitive,,,affordable entry level fun

i think of it as IROC boat racing
fine tuning,prop,driving,,,,plays the largest role

boat
we have a list of boats that are legal,,
they are based on the glastron tri hull platform
with the 15-17 models of glastron and the splash copys of other builders
v-166 works the best

motor
the motor is 100ci max,,,cross flow,,,merc,force,omc,,
powerhead modifications allowed within the oem design and parts,,,
pump gas,no low pick up,
boat and driver weigh 1550lbs

with this platform it is simplifed,,,no internal motor inspections needed,
just weigh boat as come out of water,ck fuel,visual motor inspection,,thats it

these boats were made for about 35 mph,,,we are running them up to 70
they get airborn down the straights off of waves,,,slide and grip through the corners
so spectators stand and scream ,,,love to watch,,, have as much fun as the driver

the boat in the picture is more of a tunnel,,and other brands are more v bottom,,,,this would give the boat an edge to another
and in turns they would turn differently,,,causing more accidents
and how would you regulate what you call a tri hull,,,to much controversy,,,not simple
if use loop charged motors,,,lot more expensive,,,make boat too fast
and then have to have engine rules and major inspections,,,,
waste time ,,cause cotroversy,more expense,less fun

set up as an IROC type platform,,,the competition is very hard core
there is 5 heat races through the day
every reverse order start,,,there is a window open for a 1st to everybody

i would love for other regions to start the class
it brings out a lot of racers back to have fun again
this is back to the mod vp racing days,,,,just slowed down for safety,,,more affordable,,,and boats and motors are laying around everywhere
john

[john miffco]

this is the hull that is used in the class
here is a photo of the new 1s that are being built for the class
dont need a new 1 to be able to race
they are thicker to be able to handle the abuse they go through
framed stronger and closed the top deck and gave it an more racy look

12422

[mercmack]

SO WHAT IS THE METAL CAGE FOR?? SO YOU GET STUCK AND DROWN"":mad:
I RACED A 16FT DEEPV HAUL..ALL OF 1969..EVEN HAD ANOTHER BOAT HIT THE SIDE AND TOOK HALF OF IT OUT..WE JUST HAD HELMENTS AND JACKETS. IT EVEN SPLITE THE BUCKET SEAT I WAS SETTING IN..WE KEEP GOING AND EVEN WON THE RACE.. :) :)

[john miffco]

it is a titanium roll cage with seat mounted into it
tied in with a cross bar going from gunnel to gunnel
with a 5 point harness and you wear a capsule suit
the sides of the hull are foam filled for side impact
the bottom is foam filled
you must be capsule trained
the boat wont sink and another boat wont bust out the side of the boat
and this is the safest design that can be done for this type of racing
these boats get hit in the corners a lot,,and some have barrel rolled
have had boats hit the cage before,,,,,

this is a fun class
but safety is 1st and will always be,,,,,,

after 7 yrs of this class racing here
and all the bumps , bangs and rolls,,,
we have been fortunate to have no bad injuries,no 1 drown
and if that roll cage wasnt there ,,,,there would have been injuries

some people dont like to be in a restraint system,,and that is fine
that is why there is different classes with different safety rules

this is the safest that can be done for this style of racing
john

[capnzee]

Is there a class that could qualify for the Parker 300? We donot allow capsules or restraint systems. The boats run over a 5 mile course (60 laps). It sounds like your rules would qualify for Division I which is boats over 15 feet long and engines of less than 175 hp. This year we had only 3 Division I boats and we may drop these boats if we can't get more interest in this Division. We are meeting on Dec. 3rd to decide on the rules for the Parker 300 2007 which will be run in October. If you are interested, please reply prior to that. You may want to check the rules under the Parker 300 thread.
Rod Zapf (further note: I have a son in the Navy near Kingsville who has raced APBA prior to entering the service. Is there any racing in the Corpus Christi area?)

[john miffco]

we are the sport series of region 15
our opc classes are the 120s,45s,tri hulls
most of our races are from the houston centerpoint
highlands,port,neches,orange,livingston,bryan,summ erville,dallas,lubbock
sorry we dont make it down that far,,