An Amazing Story

[Doug Hall Y51]

Well I guess I will give my two cents worth since I race a Pro Capsule Boat. I remember when they first mandated us to get into the Capsule I was definatly against it. I felt I had no other choice since I felt I was too big to be competitive in the smaller classes. I hated the fact that I had to give up my perfectly good and fairly new laydown boat for a boat that nobody in the Pro division had even tryed. Not to mention the money that it would take to get it. I bought Kay Harrisons Pugh Capsule and had to get a loan from the bank to do it. All they knew was that it was for a boat. The new Capsule I am driving now is two years old and was purchased for around 6,800.00. The only reason I have it is because my old one was getting very heavy AND because my dad paid for it. If it was not for my dad I would not be able to afford any type of racing. I am working as a Fireman and work a second job so that my Wife can stay home with our 4 kids. I think that there are alot of people that look at the cost of not only the Capsule boat but the cost of a 500 or 700 and realize you are going to be well over the 12,000 dollar mark and will race for next to nothing in prize money. Also you will only race about 5-6 times a year. Or they could go down to their local dealer and buy a Jet Ski and be able to run it 5-6 times a week with little maintenance and only have to travel a few miles. If you look at the Capsule class I believe you will find that the majority of racers are those who grew up around the sport and love the sport. I just dont think that the average Joe wants to spend that much money, do that much upkeep, travel that far and race for next to nothing. We had 12 Capsules at the Nationals which was a great number but I dont think you will see many more than that unless something is changed to make it more appealing for the average person. Now that I have driven for a few years in a capsule and feel comfortable in it I can say that it is safer than my laydown. I too have been upside down a couple of times and escaped with no injuries.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

God bless you Doug for the thought, ability and perserverance to allow your wife to nuture ya'lls kids (can't get rid of the southern talk )

Thanks for the input. Wow! Twelve at the Nationals. I want to see the next one. There is a lot of money out there in racing. Unfortunately it goes the wrong way. But what can a whole summer of driving a jet ski do to your soul than a couple of heats in a 500 or 700 hydro? I know you got the bug. Congrats & tell Rex & Barb hi for me.

[Doug Hall Y51]

Wayne, I totally agree that there is nothing like the rush in this racing. But it still comes down to the fact that we are not getting new blood into the Capsule class. I just think there is not enough reward to draw people into our sport. I hope I am wrong but that is how I see it. And yes you are right, 12 was a good number for the Capsules. Almost makes me wish I was on the bank watching. It is supposed to be on some satalite channel this fall. Will let you know when we find out when. I will tell mom and dad you said hi. Look forward to seeing you next year at Depue. Hopefully we will have another full field of Capsules.

[G Spec Racing]

Hey Doug,
I think it is great that your Dad and yourself and the other teams in the USTS are running so well in the capsules these days!!! I would say that heat of 500 hydro in the later evening at the nationals was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen! We currently have a brand new capsule boat being built and we hope to have it running by some point next year. Make no mistake it is due to the show you an the other capsule drivers / teams put on that we are getting into the capsule classes. Sure they are not cheap but as a totally new guy to boat racing and a new team they are certainly "more bang for your buck" than a race car, motorcycle etc. in my opinion. Anyway just wanted to drop a line and say thanks for all the hard running you guys do and that I can't wait for our team to get involved in it. Good Job, to all of the capsule drivers/teams!!!

-Blake Johnson-

p.s. We have "the other kind of motor" but at least it should make for a great head to head match in 700 and 1100 in the coming years

[Miss BK]

I just got word from the OPC chairman at the OPC nationals this weekend that they have the largest SST 120 and SST 60 field ever. These are both capsule classes that have gone up and down in membership over the years.

SST 60 class uses ONLY the special OMC sst-60 motor - which hasn't been produced for many years. So it's really amazing that they have 15 entries at the Nationals!

The boats in these classes cost way more than a jet ski, and some of the drivers who run the Superleague circuit in SST 60 are brand new to the sport - including two girls - one from Canada. Some of the names I've never seen before - so they must be new as well. If I was going to start racing again -- this is probably the class I'd join. Safety is a big thing with me, especially having two boys. And I feel it's a big factor on whether new people will decide to start racing - lesser chance of dying is always more attractive than the opposite.

The races are being held this weekend in Kankakee IL.

Keep in mind that every tunnel boat class at the Nationals has a capsule except for the Sport C, which have mandatory reinforced cockpit walls, and still, the entries are high. Many of the Sport C and SST 45 boats are coming all the way from Calif. I haven't heard numbers of entries.

SST 45 also uses a specific OMC motor that stopped being produced long ago -- availability of new equipment is a major hurdle to get people to invest in racing! To get a new person to invest in a class where you will never have access to new motors -- not much incentive there.

But I wish I was in Kankakee right now.

Keep watching the APBA site News page - Mike Wienandt, OPC Chair, contacted me and is going to be sending me updates every night and I'll post them as quick as I can.

Val

[Skoontz]

"I wanted to tell a little health insurance story I heard the other day...

My friend just got a $9,000 bill from the hospital. And that was just for all the diagnostic tests to look for kidney stones.

But it's okay - because she has great insurance from her work - one of those fabulous 80/20 PPO plans with $1,000 deductible.

So that means she only has to pay $2,600.00 out of her own pocket !


So people have to remember that health insurance doesn't mean you're not going to have any bills to pay!

Unless you are playing school sports like water polo or live in Europe Then they cover it all for you.

Val"



As an employer, let me add a different perspective. Health care insurance is not an entitlement, yet, since WW ll, it has evolved into one. I feel for those who have 80/20 or other plans, and have not allowed themselves the discipline to budget for major illnesses. In comparison, we pay $78,000 a year for our health plan through Kaiser Permenente. We and our employees still get doinked paying a $15.00 co-pay every time we go in for whatever, and, $100.00 for emergency room charges. I have the worlds worst nose, and waited 5 months for scheduled surgery a year ago, and if that is an example of what universal health care would bring to the US table, I say no thank you. This program is all our company can possibly budget for, it costs the least, and give adequate care. It is by no means an entitlement and no one should take it for granted.

And, the illegal alien, who breaks into our country, drops a kid here to anchor themselves on a fast track to residency, signs in to the ER, has the kid, and pays nothing. As a result, 113 emergency rooms in Southern California have filed chapter 9, or 11 over a 10 year period. Those costs, get passed right along to those of us who use any health care system. The ratio of legal babies to illegal alien babies down here is 3 out of every 10 are legal, 7 are illegal. Do the math. Since those which are born here are citizens, when they turn 18, they will be given voting rights, and guess what then? We won't have enough votes to defeat their agenda because the average illegal alien squirts out 6 kids in the time they can carry kids.

Regarding safety and costs, I saw this as a major hurdle years ago and it is the main reason our family did not enter boat racing programs. We did the mechanical side of the sport, and, entered car/mini bike stuff, which costs thousands less and has a more substantial payback. Example, dwarf and legends cars. You can build a competitive dwarf dirt car for under $7,000.00. A legends car dances around the $20,000 mark. The paybacks, range from $1,000.00-$50,000 per race. You strap youself in and can run 100 plus MPH, with far less danger than an non capsule boat.

So, the question is posed, with safety in full regard, what can be done to significantly reduce the costs of capsule and reinfoced cockpit boats? As I see it, unless our business doubles i size, we could not develop a budget with deep enough reach to support a capsuled race boat and that's a big problem.....

[Miss BK]

Boy, do I agree with you on the 'employer provided' health insurance fiasco. I think it's terrible that US companies (and *ONLY* US companies) are forced to be strapped with this extra expense. That is one thing that should have never become a necessity.

Would ever we expect employers to provide our auto insurance? Or home insurance? So how did we get to the point where they are responsible for whether we can go see a doctor or not?

But the long wait to see a doc isn't just a Kaiser issue. When my son was dx'd with an autoimmune disease, we were given a 3 month waiting list before we could see a pediatric endo for a second opinion -- and that was for the entire state. My son was very sick so we ended up having to drive out of state to see an endo earlier. We now have our own endo and it still can be months before we are squeezed in for an appt.

Neither one of our employers offers health insurance. We are forced to buy our own insurance -- 80/20 with a $500 per person deductible. We pay $25 for doc visits, and have a strict limit on therapy visits. $300 copay on Emergency room visits. It's a private plan that costs our family $720.00 per month. This premium increases by about $75 every few years.

The sad part is that since my son has been dx'd with a "disease", he will not be able to purchase a health insurance plan for himself after age 18. And we can't drop our currrent plan either --- we've tried, and discovered that nobody will approve him now. So our only choice is to keep this policy forever - regardless of how high our premiums rise.

I've had Kaiser insurance before (1st Interstate Bank in Redwood City, CA) --- but it's only available in the west, I think. I thought it was so great to be able to go to the Emergency room and pay something like $10.00 (1985). I had a ptyrgium in my eye - nothing serious - but that meant I had to wait 6 months to see a doc about it. Anyone who had worse issues went ahead of me. I moved to AZ before I ever got to see a doc.

Another wake up call happened when I joined a support group for autoimmune disease 3 years ago and met people from all over the world. I learned the US members are the ONLY members who have to deal with trying to find and keep health insurance.

The others are from Canada/UK/Australia/Egypt/Thailand/New Zealand/Singapore/Philipines and a few other countries. And by FAR, the people who have the biggest problem with getting good health care are the Americans. These people are SHOCKED when they hear that people in America can lose everything they own just because of medical bills. And I was shocked to learn America is the only country where this happens!

Some of them do have to wait awhile to see certain specialists - but on average, not any more than we do. And we also found the insurance companies in the US actually inhibiting the hospitals from doing proper testing. In most other countries, people with Graves disease are tested every 2 months and are treated with drugs to help their thyroid and try for remission. But in the US, 90% of the time they kill the thyroid using radiation - this is the cheapest way - insurance companies won't have to spend so much money on tests.

Think about this - in the US - Every government employee is offered Government-Paid insurance. This includes the President and all the Senators and Congressmen. There's never any mention about how "bad" this "universal" insurance is (except that even Mr. and Mrs GHW Bush had their thyroid's destroyed too).

But why couldn't regular citizens be OFFERED a chance to buy ("purchase", not "free") into whatever plan we are paying to give these Govm't employees? This is not the same as asking taxpayers give everyone a "free" plan -- but just a chance for all Americans to BUY into a lower cost plan that is, apparently, good enough for Senators and their families? A plan that anyone can buy, even those who have a 'disease'. Then our businesses won't have to deal with it anymore.

By making employers pay for this insurance we are basically making them pay a health care "Tax", and that cost rises every year. Eventually, they will be forced to drop this benefit - and more people will become uninsured, causing an even greater burden on taxpayers. It's time that the US removes this burden from our small businesses and figures out a better way to help people get proper medical care.

And this will help boat racing in the long run too --- medical bills won't be something they will have to constantly worry about.

What do you all think?

Val

[Skoontz]

I have yet another scenario Val. We offer health care, subsidized health care, or more money on the check. Want to bet what over 50% of our employees choose having no regard for what may happen should they become ill?

At $720 a month, you are still a few hundred less than ours in the land of fruits and nuts. Our family part is $980 per month.

Then there is an area little discuss. When the insurance lobby pointed fingers at the evil doctors who overcharge ( about 2% of them) and the frivelous lawsuites (lawyers, only have 2 moving parts, a rear end and a mouth, both those interchange) They (the insurance companies) did not look in the mirror. Those who live in glass houses should not cast stones. Since 1936, the insurance industry has had the highest paid group of employees, presidents and officers in the world. Surpassed only once by the investment industry in 1999-2000.

I'm all for making a decent living, that's why we began our company, however, when non college educated agents get $150K per year, and they continually tell me that costs have risen, all the while successfully blaming lawyers and doctors without looking at themselves, something is wrong.

[Miss BK]

My husband's best friend is an Internal Medicine doc (specialist). They were at lunch one day, and the doc was screaming about his malpractice insurance premiums.

Finally, my husband asked him just how high this premium was....and he said, "$500.00 per month!!!" Brad thought he must mean per week.....but no, it was per month.

This doc drives a Hummer, has three racing bikes, own his own practice, and just bought 12 acres out in the country just to create his own private motocross course! And he's screaming that his malpractice premium is $500.00 a month. That's 1/3 less than our health insurance.

And we're still young. The amount they charge goes up each year. I don't want to think what it our premium will be when we are 50!

And another thing that really makes me mad is that statistically, malpractice law suits and settlements have dropped steadily over the past 10 years. I nearly died taking Bextra (when it was still being sold) and ended up in ER in excruciating pain. I had open sores all over my mouth/thoat/nostrils and other places.... When I later discovered that Bextra was pulled off the market and was known to cause this, I tried to find a lawyer who'd take the case - they all told me "No"! If I wasn't in a coma or dead, then they were just not interested.

I found that lawyers will not take the case unless there is MAJOR damage done. And everyone I spoke to about it had the same experience that I did. I don't consider those "frivolous".

So it's all hooey about this "frivilous medical lawsuit" stuff too. It all just another plot to charge the public more money. And we are all just naive enough to fall for it without even asking questions.

With all the global competition we face, we need to bring and end to employer-paid health insurance if we care at all about our US companies. It's going to end eventually anyway, as more and more employers are dropping it. It will be horrific if we wait too long for a solution.

And true - some people will avoid buying their own insurance. But with so many companies dropping their benefits now, that's going to happen either way.

[hydroc888]

I have never responded to your post yet I love to read them . Look at the older boatracers[ me included ] that have decided where to cut expenses. I make $1100. a month on retirement My check to me is $ 606 after medical. I know that there are plenty out there that would like to be getting that much, but it doesnt leave anything for what I love to do best, go fast in a little boat.
I have a buddy that lives here in Taft that is a Canadian . He goes home when he has medical problems , all paid for by the governmant out of tax money . Our politicions take money from the doctor org. and drug org. to make sure that everyone makes tons of money but the little working man [ or lady ] goes broke , then the doctors say Oh well .
Give me a medical plan like they have and I can put $600 a month into the thing I love, boat racing. Not much , but I never wanted to finish 1st.
A lover of BOAT RACING till the day I die.
Hydro C888 { Jack }