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Thread: It seems to me that...Races Are Too Long

  1. #81
    David Weaver David Weaver's Avatar
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    Default Injuries and Racing

    Maybe if that guy in the 45 did not have a capsule, he would drive better and not have flipped 10 times!! There are no reprucutions of a bad decision, so he will continue making them.

    I have only seen one driver killed at boat race in my life. It was in a slow OPC class with large boats. I remember the drivers joking about running and bumping. I was on a turn boat and warned them after the first heat about the danger of their driving. They basically told me that was part of it and they were safe in their capsules. And the setting was set for a tragic loss of life in a 65mph class with 600 - 800 pound boats. Capsules cannot overcome shear stupidity everytime it is displayed.

    I know a number of people who have raced cars and said that took more chances because they felt "secure". Do not under estimate the danger of a false sense of security in a racing vehicle. It is not full proof.

    Ron you speak often of your son playing water polo. A fine sport that I played in college. It is also a violent sport and people get hurt playing it (worse I am aware of is a ruptured spleen). I got hurt more times in water polo and more seriously than in 30 years of boat racing. But I loved the sport and continued playing it until my grades suffered. I am sure that you and your son are aware of the risks of being struck in the head by a hard ball travelling at a 60mph or more after being thrown at point-blank by a boy-man that weighs 210 pounds with 1% body fat. The speedo and little cloth cap do not provide much protection. However, it is a great sport and it is your collective decision to take the risks involved with it.

    I cannot argue that the capsules have not prevented injuries in PRO racing. But I can argue that capsules have led to a dramatic decrease in the number of entries in the large PRO classes. As I do not run these classes, I will let the participants decide whether it was worth going from 35 or more 500 hydro's at the nationals to 8 -10 today with 4 finishing in the final heat.

    I can understand a person making the decision that open cockpit racing is not for them or their children. Just do not feel that you are in a position to make that decision for everyone else in the sport.

    Just my opinion and I welcome yours.

  2. #82
    FFX-61
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    Default

    page Sr-1, 1. "Racing is inherently Dangerous"..." the risk ( of getin dead) can not be eliminated and, in fact will allways be present."
    seems to make it what it is, the last true contest.

  3. #83
    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Default Did You See Robbie Gordon ???

    Our family are big Robbie Gordon fans, for many reason, did you see him hit the wall Saturday night at Fontana??? Without those NEW SAFER BARRIERS, Robbie could have been a statistic like Adam Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Et Al.

    My point of this THREAD was to look at ways to make BOAT RACING safer....As long as there is a frigging prop turning on the motor, there will be danger...

    I just don't see WHY and for what reason the SIDE DIMENSION taken out of the Rule Book on on outboard runabouts?? AND I see no reason to have a DAGGER hanging out the side being called a fin....

    I'll bet over the last 40 years of racing, the average racing life (The time a person stays in the sport) has been double for runabout drivers....as runabout have aways had a better safety record.

    I mean, making a "BREAK AWAY" nose piece for a runabout would be a "PIECE OF CAKE".....Some of those new runabout have a nose as pointed as a broom handle...Why don't we have a safety rule for nose pieces?

    Walking ain't dangerous, unless it is on the freeway. The old marathons sometimes had 356 starters (Winnebagoland 1954)...No one was injured...skinned knees...D Runabouts were 14 feet long...Many AU's were 11 feet long...

    My AU Record was 48.352, in 1957 (24' bottom).....A Runabouts are running what 55 now (36 inch bottoms)..., my boat had 12 sides to protect me, and they did protect me....new A Runabouts don't have side, you get hit in the body in an accident. What Brain Surgeon figured out these rules???

    Dave Weaver:

    8 spilling a 45 in 10 years, ain't bad, considering:

    A. 45 SS is a Stock Class. SO, on a two day weekend, you run four five to seven lap heats in 45 SS
    B. On any race weekend, SST 45 runs two, ten lap qualifiers and a 25 lap final (each day)..
    C. The Formula Lights average 15 boats per race and they all run together on an approx. 35 second course for SST 45...

    Chad got 57 laps in, at Bakersfield, this spring with one boat and one engine...Take that by ten races a year for ten years....Hell, I turned over 10 times in one year (1967...but I raced every class at every race)...And sometimes, the driver I was talking about ran more the 15 races trying for High Point. The person I said had been upside down 8 times, is the current 45 SS National Champion.

    57 laps time ten races 570 laps, times ten years, 5700 laps and only 8 crashes?????

    That's probably more laps than all the Stock Racers (West of the Mississippi) in kneel downers have run in the last ten years...Well, I might be off on that one!
    Last edited by Ron Hill; 09-09-2005 at 09:13 PM.

  4. #84
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    Default Dangerous Sport

    Yes, boat racing is dangerous, and those who race know this. As some one who recently broke his leg in an OSY accident I sure do. The best that can be done is minimize the danger, but it cannot ever be eliminated. Not all speed releated, since my accident was in the starting shute going about 35 mph. the front of my boat has since been painted "Safety Red". I am sure I will stand out in the future.

    As for the shrinking ranks, I think it has more to do with jet skis and wave runners. A person interested in kneel downs has a choice. Plus jet skis can be turned over. They flip back up and come back.

    A bigger reason for shrinking ranks is probably the fact that most people can walk into a motor cycle dealership and buy a jet ski by financing the $5,000 to $8,000. In our sport, I had to plunk down over $5,000 in cash to get on the water. Hopefully the new Hot Rods will be able to be purchased on a finance plan. I think that would help a lot. Most Americans live on credit these days, our economy is designed for us to do so. Boat racing manufactures should look into doing so.
    Doug McAlarney
    50-F
    Tec-Craft. Race One or Chase One!

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