Parker or Bust!

[Bunker Hill]

Just how many ponies is your "JohnRude" pulling??
How hwavy is your SST?
How long is your SST?
I believe that the 300 or so lbs saved with a good Merc. Pulling close to 275 hp. will be far more reliable than the OMC V-8 If those motors were ever any good, Bombardier would still be making them!

Add--- What makes the sport of boatracing is guys such as yourself! throughout this thread you have been talking of all of the fun you are having and how you and your dad are "Looking foreward" to the race!!
That's what this whole crazy sport is all about!
Congrats on your finish and your fun, We'll see you next year!!
Bunker

[fyremanbill]

Hey guys, from what I saw your boat was running a bit flat. Perhaps a bit more up trim, or a prop with more bow lift. You said something about a hook in the bottom...that has to go before you can do anything. Both of my Stokers developed the hook after the first couple years. Fix it, that will make a difference.

[647and918]

Just how many ponies is your "JohnRude" pulling??
How hwavy is your SST?
How long is your SST?
I believe that the 300 or so lbs saved with a good Merc. Pulling close to 275 hp. will be far more reliable than the OMC V-8 If those motors were ever any good, Bombardier would still be making them!

Add--- What makes the sport of boatracing is guys such as yourself! throughout this thread you have been talking of all of the fun you are having and how you and your dad are "Looking foreward" to the race!!
That's what this whole crazy sport is all about!
Congrats on your finish and your fun, We'll see you next year!!
Bunker

Hey guys, from what I saw your boat was running a bit flat. Perhaps a bit more up trim, or a prop with more bow lift. You said something about a hook in the bottom...that has to go before you can do anything. Both of my Stokers developed the hook after the first couple years. Fix it, that will make a difference.

Hmmm... Ya know, I tend to forget that this ends up being out there for everyone to read and laugh at... I treat it as a conversation with the old man sometimes... Make no mistake, we had a damn good time...

First... I can virtually guarantee that we will be back running next year... I may be whining and complaining from time to time, but we will have this boat actually running like it should next year... I keep forgetting that I didn't have any time to do really anything to this 20 year old family ski boat because I didn't get it back on the water until two days before the race...

Bunker... To answer some of your questions...
(1) This motor should be capable of putting out 350+ HP without being all that well built... I believe the pieces are there and it would probably be close to that... When I pulled the plugs and saw how burned they were, I was pretty sure it wasn't running like it should... We ran avgas this year, and I think it ran too hot...
(2) The boat is 20'6"... I don't know exactly what it weighs, but we were at 1600 lbs (I believe) and not off of the trailer yet... I'll get it weighed in the near future, if only because I'm curious...
(3) The motor is heavy, but I think I need the torque/power of the V8 to really get this boat moving... They're better than you think...

fyremanbill... You're right, and there are a few reasons for it we are already "working on"...
(1) I'm sure that there is hook... I'm also sure it will be gone for next year...
(2) My jackplate was too low even at max height... This thing should be running with a blade out of the water, and I couldn't even get to max legal height... We'll be there next year...
(3) I definitely need to do something about the prop... I was going to run one of Ron's, but he didn't have a hub kit at the time... Bunker brought one up when he came up, but we didn't want an unknown on the morning of the race...
(4) Getting the nose of the boat up isn't my problem, it's all the weight in the butt end (I have the same problem myself...) that is keeping too much of the back of the boat in the water... I'm dragging way too much of my arse to get moving... We're already looking for ways to improve this...

Bottom line for those of you actually reading my rambling... We'll be back, the boat will be faster, and my old man still won't be able to turn the same lap time numbers... Apparently they're shriveling in his old age...

[steve sr.]

Bet me sucker, I was 4 to 6 seconds faster then you in practice.. Give me as much time behind the wheel as you've had, and tell me what Bowden told Stoker and you'll see faster lap times...

Remember that after the race you still had a family ski boat and no major repair bills... Thats a hell of alot more then I can say for alot of those boats that were there.

And your right we'll be back next year, and we'll be faster, and we won't make the (stupid) mistakes that cost us 10 or so laps..

A new bottom, a new prop, a little tune up and a little engine lift and watch us fly. A little change in starting time might help to. I sure hope your going to the rules meeting when it comes up. Even if we can't get a step down in class I think we have a chance for a top ten finish.

And yes we had a blast. It wasen't just my oldest son and I. It was my two sons, my grandson my dauther-in-law and some real good friends who came togeather to help us. Yes we will all be back next year and if we don't win will still have a great time.

You know Steve we still have the secret weapon we haven't used yet.

[mercguy]

Just how many ponies is your "JohnRude" pulling??
How hwavy is your SST?
How long is your SST?
I believe that the 300 or so lbs saved with a good Merc. Pulling close to 275 hp. will be far more reliable than the OMC V-8 If those motors were ever any good, Bombardier would still be making them!

Add--- What makes the sport of boatracing is guys such as yourself! throughout this thread you have been talking of all of the fun you are having and how you and your dad are "Looking foreward" to the race!!
That's what this whole crazy sport is all about!
Congrats on your finish and your fun, We'll see you next year!!
Bunker

"I believe that the 300 or so lbs saved with a good Merc. Pulling close to 275 hp. will be far more reliable than the OMC V-8 If those motors were ever any good, Bombardier would still be making them"

my thoughts exactly. But, that big old OMC V8 does look cool and mean! It is just too darn big though! Find a good old ***-kickin' 2.5EFI Merc (260 stock horsepower) and that boat would fly! You could use that V8 for stump pulling!

[Bunker Hill]

The above quote is from ROn Hill Quoting Jimbo McConnel while discussing mod 50 class tunnels. Supposing that this is true and you are 300 lbs heavier than need be. You are losing At least 600 feet per lap, a mile every 6 laps or 2 complete laps over the 300 mile race
Pretty staggering statistics!! That beig said and all else equal, you are giving up at least another 10 minute starting time handicap!
Food for thought!!

[steve sr.]

This is getting way to techie for us old guys..Our idea of fun is putting your foot in it and going as fast as you can for as long as you can...Then at the end of the day you see who's on trailer and who is still running. I thought this race was called an enduro which to me would mean you need to be in the water running when it ended.

How many enduros would Dick Sherrer have won if he could have done it from the trailer. I remember a year when he broke on the last lap and that was a Big Fat DNF... You know he had to have enough laps to be the leader.

We'll be back next year, We'll be faster, We won't make as many mistakes and we'll have a blast. There will be all the things that make Parker what it is. Good friends, Good bar-b-que, and good fun. To me its like a high school reunion. You go there to see old friends, and at my age to see who is still alive...I've already told my kids I want my ashes to go out the back of a boat at 90mph on the Parker Strip...So if any of you guys are following a blue and white Stoker and see a black cloud come out of it you'll know its me.

Oh by the way, if my son and I would loose a combined 150lbs we could make up some of that hadicap.....

[647and918]

Bet me sucker, I was 4 to 6 seconds faster then you in practice.. Give me as much time behind the wheel as you've had, and tell me what Bowden told Stoker and you'll see faster lap times...

Remember that after the race you still had a family ski boat and no major repair bills... Thats a hell of alot more then I can say for alot of those boats that were there.

And your right we'll be back next year, and we'll be faster, and we won't make the (stupid) mistakes that cost us 10 or so laps..

A new bottom, a new prop, a little tune up and a little engine lift and watch us fly. A little change in starting time might help to. I sure hope your going to the rules meeting when it comes up. Even if we can't get a step down in class I think we have a chance for a top ten finish.

And yes we had a blast. It wasen't just my oldest son and I. It was my two sons, my grandson my dauther-in-law and some real good friends who came togeather to help us. Yes we will all be back next year and if we don't win will still have a great time.

You know Steve we still have the secret weapon we haven't used yet.

You were only 4-6 seconds faster in practice because there weren't any turn markers and you were turning earlier... When you actually had to follow the course, you were 15-20 seconds down... To be honest, I'd be embarressed if I were you...

I'm thinking that I'm gonna run the V8 until I kill it, unless someone is willing to make a trade... I didn't want it originally (it was already on the boat), but I have to admit that it is a head turner...

Just out of curiosity, how many people are actually reading my nonsense? Does anyone else have any good advice? I'm open to almost anything that I can convince my wife makes good sound financial sense...

I'm off to Pleasant... I'll let you know how it runs with a decent set of plugs in a few hours...

Steve...

[647and918]

Ok, this thread is going to take new direction... Starting today, I'm going to track everything that we do and what kind of improvement we see as a result... I would very much appreciate everyone's suggestions and input as we move forward... I will be open to pretty much anything (well, anything that's financially reasonable anyway), and we'll see how much improvement we can get... I'm lucky enough to be 10 minutes from the lake with spare time during the week when it's calm, so I should be able to get fairly rapid feedback... Let's build a boat!!!

The current setup:
1986 Stoker, weight relatively unknown (at least 1600 lbs with motor)... I'll find out for sure later...
1987 3.6L V8 Johnson, likely fairly stock (Second Effort motor & lower unit, so it should have a decent amount of power)...
Full interior less the back seat (the back end of the boat is too heavy, so I'm leaving it out for this, even at the start)...
Three gas tanks; Two side tanks @ ~18 gallons each and one bow tank @ ~18-20 gallons or slightly more... They will all be full for each of the tests so we don't pick up any cheap speed... I'll drain them all (or run them out) at some point to get exact capacities...
Jackplate - max height is about 2-2.5" below the planing surface (I'll also measure this later to be exact)... It also appears to be "dropping" slightly over time, so it probably needs some work (it isn't happening fast enough to have an effect during the race, but it's annoying)...
Prop - Mazco RE3, 30p

The judge:
My GPS... I doesn't seem to lie like my speedo... It's depressing, but it doesn't lie...

The baseline:
75.1 MPH at Lake Pleasant this morning... We were several MPH faster on the GPS at Havasu before the race with the interior out and less fuel, but this seems like a good starting point...

The suggestions so far:
(1) Fix the stinking upper motor mounts... This will need to be done before I do anything else and is not optional... I can't have this thing falling off while I'm testing... Hmmm... If it does, will my insurance cover it?
(2) Move the jackplate up to a position that will allow the boat to run as designed... I want to have to go DOWN to be at 1" below the planing surface for the race... I don't see this as optional...
(3) Tie the motor down properly and bungee the one side only... This is not optional...
(4) Blueprint the bottom of the boat... Not only is it not flat, it's fairly chewed up... There is a quarter sized spot that is just missing, and a fair number of grooves... This is also not optional...
(5) Prop, prop, prop... Not optional... The 30p is nice, but I'm sure I should be running something slightly smaller... 28p perhaps?
(6) Have one of the V8 guru's work with it to make sure it is running like it should... This is not necessarily optional, but may be cost prohibitive...
(7) Move the side tanks as far forward as possible, possibly increasing the size and eliminating the bow tank... I'll have to look into this, but I like the fact that it shifts weight forward... Borderline optional, but definitely on the wish list...
(8) Replace the V8 with something else... I'm guessing this is just not going to happen based on what I can spend right now... I think I can probably get more bang for my buck by doing #6 above... These things are monsters when they are running like they should...

What other suggestions are out there?

Thanks!

Steve...

[steve sr.]

As I recall I was also getting 2 to 3 mph more speed out of the boat by the GPS. But then I'm not going to quibble about a few mph. I think you have the right idea with your latest thread. We need all the cheap help we can get..

Talk at you later