"Wing" is probably the wrong word
Delta runabout, not to be confused with the Delta tunnel hull. I think these were allowed in runabout classes in Europe longer than the US ... until runabout racing disappeared in Europe
If you could get us a picture of the bottom from underneath sometime, that would be very educational.
It was legal and then it wasn't
Like the politician who is saying a lot these days, "first I voted for it and then I voted against it", that is what happened to the Delta runabout.
The following is how it happened, with possibly a few minor differences, but the general outline is as follows:
DeSilva's approached the commission about a new type runabout they had in mind, but wanted approval of it first before spending the time and money involved to bring it to market. Commisssion studied the proposal and decided it "met the spirit of the runabout rules" in effect at the time and legalized it. DeSilvas's built and sold several (not sure exactly how many, Todd Brinkman still has a 20 year old new one in the rafters). Certain individuals became upset the boat was legalized and raised hell and a petition to ban it. This was done over the winter after the boat was approved. Politics won out and the boat was banned after several were sold and run for a while. DeSilva's and the buyers lost their investments, and as previously mentioned the experience soured them on further development of runabouts for the ALKY classes except for the Antique division.
As previously mentioned in another post, the PRO category is supposed to be "run what you brung". The boat was developed to answer a problem that existed at the time, namely the large runabout classes (500 and 700) were losing competitors as speeds and blow overs went up and numbers participating went down. I have talked to Todd several times over the years about the performance of the boat, and he always said it was NO faster, all factors the same, i.e., same setup, prop, etc. Where it excelled was it was a much safer boat around the course, straightaway and turning. As to him blowing it over once, I don't remember that either personally or him mentioning it. Could be, I just don't know. I will ask him next time we talk.
Also as mentioned earlier, that experience soured the DeSilva's on PRO boat building. Can't say as I blame them, the way it was handled.
"I voted for it, and then I voted against it" Sounds real familiar these days.
1 Attachment(s)
What is Jim Kirts' runabout
Is the runabout that Jim Kirts has a desilva and if so how is it different from the deltawing? Here a picture from this years Pro Nationals.