What The (boat-racing) World Needs Now...

[Danny McManus]

Hi All,
First let me thank my friends Ron and Ted for creating this forum. I hope everyone had enough to eat for Thanksgiving, I KNOW I did!!! I've noticed over the few years since the creation of the internet, that info is plentiful.
When I read the numerous posts from our 'tribal elders" it is plain to see that there have been times in our liftimes when boat racing was much more popular than it is currently.When I proudly accepted the assignment to develope the new OPC Super-Sport class, the outpouring of support and encouragment was unprecedented. If only 1/2 of the men that enthusiastically
requested info. in the 2000 season had "signed-up", there would be over 100
liscenced drivers with equipment. As it stands now, I get the feeling of an "open-wheel racers vs. nascar racers " behavior, that is to respectfully say that since the Super-Sport boats are a back to basics format, that the racers in other classes do not appreciate the new drivers in Super-Sport as they simply show up and race without spending most of there time at the race site working on their engines...These new drivers come from a variety of backgrounds, some used to race stock outboards, some ran older OPC classes (sport-G, Mod VP, J-production,etc.), some were outboard drag racers, and some never raced any boats at all. All these new recruits share the desire to get out on the racecourse and be part of the action, some are fiercly competitive and some are content to run wide, stay out of trouble, but happy to be able to keep up with the pack and stay on the lead lap. All I ask is that some of the influential men in other regions of the country recognise this and keep in mind that from these new recruits, some of the faster, more "pure-race-bred" classes will have new participants from which to harvest new drivers from. Also please keep in mind that (with regard to the open-wheel vs./nascar mindset) , if all out performance and speed on the racecourse was the most popular way to go, Television production of IRL and CART races would not have to pan past relatively empty grandstands durring their events...and that the OPC MOD-U class would be our largest class for participants....Could it be that we need to pool our collective intellectual resources and figure out a way to admit that it is allright to pointout that the
glory days of OPC racing took place at a time when top speeds were lower and the boats were more evenly matched, and more manageable or "raceable"Thanks for your time, I appreciate your replies.
Respectfully,
Danny
Super-Sport #8

[Danny McManus]

..it was the APBA convention in Bilouxi, Missisippi. We had arranged to bring
four turnkey Super-Sport boats for display, and we did!! they were ready and gassed up, available for demo rides, but the weather did not cooperate. We made up the free time by hangin' out in the hospitality rooms and havin' fun . To this day Ron has not gotten to take a single lap in a Super-Sport boat. Maybe with Mr. March's help, together we can get him in one durring the 2005 season, plenty of time ahead for that!!! These boats are faster than most would believe, and have very good acceleration too!!! Most men I've tlaked with agree that , in many of our current OPC classes, the high performance levels of todays equipment exceeds the ability of some of the participants, that is, the boat can go faster than the driver is willing to push it. In a well set-up Super-Sport boat, most drivers can push the boat to its performance limit without getting to far "over their head" at least not so far that they get wet...

[Ron Hill]

I think you should allow 200 HP/225 HP 2006 motors in Super Sport and have a Division II using the powerhead rules of Formula 150. If the speeds in Divison II get too fast, require a transom height... I just think the lack of speed in Super Sport has hurt it. Essentially, I'm suggesting combining 2006 engines with a watered down Mod VP... Run them together, score them as two classes....

I might also suggest that the class adopt a GENTLEMEN'S approach to the Over lap rule. Maybe, adopt UIM's where you maintain your lane in the corners...

Run the 150's as Division III...

When MOD VP went 90 we had 40 plus entries at Havasu. At a hundred to a hundred and five, we hurt and killed people...

1980, I ran a 21 foot Eliminator, 235 Evinrude, 35 entries, four hour race, I finished 4th, and I could only see 78 on my Keller. My 11'6" D Stock Hydro, BeZoats would run 76 MPH on the same Keller... Within three years, everyone ran over the 100 MPH mark!!!

[Danny McManus]

...Super-Sport boats are fast enough , the only guys who say we should runbigger engines are ones that have yet to compete in one with the current 150 H.P. engines. Every guy that says they would like to race at higher speeds can run SST120, Formula 150, Champ, or Mod-U. This year there weren't enough Mod-U boats to make a full field at the Nationals, a man with a formula 150 boat stepped up to fill the class but crashed in an early heat race...

[Ron Hill]

All the tunnel classes are too fast and too expensive to the average dude...

I have two or three V-6 Mercury motors that would be legal Formula 150 powerheads, but to run the class you need a $4,500 gearcase and special mid sections...

Open Super Sport up to more power and more noise! What can it hurt?

[march3stv]

- 200 HP 2006 Stock motors
- Exhaust Relief allowed
- Nose cones allowed
- Maybe, low water p/u?????? I could go either way on this one...

Danny -
- What is the current SS weight rule?
- What top end mph range are you guys seeing today with the 150's?
- What seems to be the prop pitch of choice by the top contenders?

Thanks

[Danny McManus]

Hello Scott,

1600 pounds weight, 80 mph plus or minus depending on course, and the new four blade overhub with the yamaha style blades in the 25" to 28" pitch area..

[Bruce Washburn]

I would agree with Ron on the motors. A little more speed and noise would not hurt things at all. The format Ron is talking about may also reduce the cost of racing the class. Super sport got off to a good but there seems to be declining interest and boat counts at the races. In the first couple years the MFG's supported the class with engines to a degree and you could take an old Mod VP. STV, Vision, Allison, Mirage and run with the leaders. Like anything else the boats continued to develop. It is also my understanding that the engine support has also gone away for the most part. The cost of a green motor is not cheap. I would guess that a competitive new rig is $25 K+.
You could buy a very competitive 120 boat for the same amount.

I would also suggest looking at dropping the weight, using cable steering and solid mounts to improve handling. Limit the engine height should also be considered. The class also needs to get control of the bumper car mentality. Some the changes may help but I do not think will make a big difference one way or the other.

Some of the classes that were popular in the "glory days" were boats that you could also use on the lake. Family J, etc.
Sport J was also a big class. The boats were not that expensive and a 150XS was 3,000. The sensation of speed was also much higher than a Super Sport We now have SST60 which is Affordable to race and nearly as fast as some of the old SJ boats but we still can not get boats. The 60's are big enough to handle, and fast enough to be alot of fun. You could probably find a real competitive one for 10,000 to 12,000.
The times have changed and maybe our lifestyles have as well. I can remember the first race that I ever ran was in a GN inboard at the Mike Gordon race in Miami. We had qualifying and started 33 boats in the final.
It would be hard to find 4 GN's in existance in the state of Florida that could run today. There is probably still a bunch of equipment in Garages for this class around but not on the race course.
The biggest growing categories in Hot Boating are the Poker Run guys.Some with mega $ rigs in offshore. The other group are the go fast MOD VP pleasure boats that race each other at their local river or lake. Both groups run some really fast speeds but neither really wants to race laps.Both groups also spend a large amount of $'s on their boats.

I wish I had the answer of what would be to best starter class. I think it really boils down to what we enjoy doing in our spare time which for many is also shrinking. How much fun can we have for the $ in the time allowed. I enjoy racing because I like going fast in boats and working on making them as fast as possible. I also like it because of the people involved. The last reason may be what really keeps me involved in the sport.

[Mike Fjeld]

The SS class is just fine where it is. Bruce, can you imagine our bumper boat class going another 20 mph. It would not be pretty.
Untill I met Danny, the only boats I had been around had Kieth Black blocks. Mostly Ski Racing. I grew up around Gary Steel , John " Pete " Peters, Vic Edelbrock ect. My step-father is Tom Siewers and he held the speed ski record from 1969 to 1983. I was looking for a class that I would NOT have to work on engines. I have many other things in my life and spending all of my free time in the garage is not one of them. I was simply looking for a class that I could be compeditive with-out spending all of my $$$$$. After I put my Vison Craft together the only $$ I spent was on how my boat looked and Jeff Titus who builds my props. Jeff has been extreamly helpful with my set-up.
What will happen to boat racing when some of the lakes or rivers have noise restrictions. It will not apply to SS.
I must say that after a bad day in traffic it is very relaxing to drop the boat in the lake and just air it out and not have to worry about rebuilds. I finished US 2 for 01 - 02 - 03 with a engine that had over 600 hrs. All of my testing, playing and racing is about 35 hrs per year. That equals to about 20 years of racing before a rebuild.
To all of the people that think we need bigger engines------ Please take a ride in my Vison---- I think you might change your thoughts. Bill asked me if I would bring my boat to St Louis early for the Grand Prix and teach the local media how to drive and let them make a few laps. I had alot of fun.
SuperSport is designed to be a simple class that will be very compeditive. There are very many people sitting on the fence before they comit because no-one wants to see rule changes ( rule changes KILLED Mod-VP )

Please try to support what Danny has worked so hard at

Mike Fjeld

[Mike Fjeld]

Why 150 H.P. Low Emission Engines?
In the first official letter to the then OPC Chairman (Ron Hill),
my thoughts were to use 150 H.P. as a baseline engine, going back to the early B.A.S.S. tournament days from 1983, that is to say the XR2 Merc, GT/XP 150 Johnson,Evinrudes, Pro-V150 Yamaha, Super-Six Suzuki era...Ron agreed but had been encouraged by the members of the New Class Commitee to
research a way to include the then new "low-emission" engines being offered. Upon a fun comparison of new product brochures
obtained from local dealers my brother (Bill) and I discovered that the manufacturers spec pages were all similar at the low (2 h.p.)
end of the scale and noticably different at the top (225+ h.p.) end.
We were like kids looking at the old Sears&Roebuck Christmas cataloge with these brochures spread out on the parts counter at the marina when we found that in the mid-range (150 h.p.) product comparison the engines were within 11 cubic inches and
18 pounds of each other. With that information in hand I reported back to Ron and the New class commitee that when considering the project goal of "readily avaible equiptment" and "as-shipped"
that with the 150h.p. engines would not require any alteration
for our competition application. On the other hand if we went with
higher horsepower engines the current generation of modified tunnel-V and V-bottom hulls, when combined with current propeller technology would exceed production gearcase capabilties,thus requiring alteration and susequently exceeding the 80 M.P.H. target speed.
(note that the 80 M.P.H. speed cap. was based on many of the consultants reflecting on some of their fondest collective memories
from the glory days of outboard racing in classes where 80M.P.H.
speeds were considered very fast. Add that OPC already had a rule book where many equipment combinations provide participants with higher speed capabilities...)
An additional factor was that all outboard manufacturers offer
Demonstrator Programs to qualified Dealers, and that these eligible Dealers can be assured under this application that they get their "Demo-Unit" back in un-altered condition...