Originally Posted by
Bill Van Steenwyk
After having read some of your previous posts, the best advice I could give you (after a 40 year stint in race boats, both Hydro and limited in Runabouts) would be to calm down some. Lots of the things you are asking about can only be determined by testing, and testing some more, due to the both large and minute differences in race boats that have been mostly designed, especially for the last 30 years or so, by competitiors who race themselves. Consequently, due to their hard work in trial and error testing, they can be somewhat reticent to share with others what they have found out and made them successful.
The reason there are very few books or information of the type you are asking for is this is a minor sport, but one whose really serious participants
have learned what they know to be successful through much hard work, time and money spent, and are somewhat frugal in their desire to just give away what has taken them sometimes many years to learn. Also you do not have a large cadre of racing boat mfgrs who are building boats for sale and have financial reasons for their boats, (which might or might not be similar to yours), to be successful in competition and therefore have blueprints for modifications to achieve that success.
The several folks who are in this situation really do not frequent this site near as much as they are on Hydroracer. Not for any reason that HR is better than BRF, but BRF has found a home with many whose racing career is over and more past history is discussed than present build information.
All that being said, I can give you the following information regards a DeSilva type runabout that was built by Krier Boats of Ollie, Ia. I campaigned this boat in the RB class that probably ran at the time, 5-10 MPH faster than what you will achieve if you use the motor/motors you are speaking of. That boat and motor combo would run right at 70MPH and I won a National APBA Championship with it in 1986. I did use a small transom mounted fin ON the boat that was originally a sponson fin from one of my Hydro's. It did accomplish what I was looking for which was to cut down on the tendency of the boat to slide sideways so much in the corner, but it also cut my speed by a mile an hour or so. Almost everything you do when you put more things in the water causes drag, which will slow you down.
My advice, which I am sure would be seconded by most experienced boat racers, is before you get excited about what might happen when you have no prior knowledge of how the boat is going to perform in various water conditions is DO SOME TESTING. Try to attend some races in your local and talk to the racers, examine their equipment, and if they have time before or after the race, strike up a conversation with them and tell them what you are doing and what do they think about how it might work and what to stay away from. Since you are being somewhat mysterious about the design of you boat and no photos are being shown, it is very difficult to help you.
Again the best advice I could give you is relax, slow down, and test, for all the reasons I have described and more besides. Take some photos and post them of the boat running on the water and hopefully you will get some help you are asking for, and also try HR. I think for all the reasons previously mentioned you might get more help from present builders and racers there.
AND AGAIN, RELAX. Testing to first determine whether you have problems that need to be solved, is much easier on the disposition than wasting time and energy trying to figure out the worst that might happen, that is only in your mind and imagination. If you have a problem found thru testing, then you can spend the time asking for help solving it, or working it out for yourself. Then YOU are the one they will come to for the assistance based on the knowledge you have gained thru this build.
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