Mod Hull Modifications

[Jack Stotts]

Well, I've completed the rounding of the pickle forks on my C Mod (500cc) Giles boat and inscribed the manufacturing date on the inside of the transom. I guess I'm ready to go racing for 2008. The pickle fork job was quite easy. I drew the arc and cut the line using a hand coping saw. It took less than a minute to cut each one. Then I used foam insulation to form a dam inside the cavity which was subsequently filled with West System with a lot of powdered glass to make it thick. Came out pretty good. The whole operation took about an hour not including drying (resin hardening) time.

[DrRick34-0]

Jack- by when do these modifications need to be done.

Rick Miller
34-0

[Jack Stotts]

Rick, they are not required to be done on boats built before 1 Nov 07 (grandfathered) but since the new boats will have less pointed sponsons, I decided to bring mine up to the standard. The manufacture date does have to be permanently affixed to the inside of the transom and I did that by burning in the month and year and then varnished over that. The date of manufacture is required for all mods for 2008. I simply put the month and two digit entry for the year (01/96). Jack

[Bill Huson]

Next up - HIN numbers!

that would be Hull Identification Numbers similar to a vehicle VIN. All boat builders should get busy now and register their manufacturer code with the US Coast Guard!

[Fast Jack]

Drying time

Hi Jack , I guess some one of your age should be worried about slow drying epoxy.... a lot can happen in a couple of hours!!!!

[Hunter]

hull ID numbers

Bah-humbug to that idea. I have lived with the Coast Guard on our St Lawrence River forever.We do not need ,or want them getting involved with racing at our level.You'll also be inviting state registrationwhich is yet another burocratic boondoggle. All of which doesn't have anything to do with the ends of pickle forks. Mine were rounded voluntarily with no obvious effect. but, I often wonder if the safety factor will change. I have seen several collisions where the sharp end of a boat stuck at the point of impact which might be preferable to a more blunt end which might deflect and put the front of a boat up into your body instead of being impaled in the side of your boat. As to hitting a driver already in the water...sadly,I don't think you'll care one way or the other if the pickle fork is round or not. I think the interest of safety would be better served with mandating good helmets,neck protection and certainly impact shields in the life vest. All of which has more or less kept me in one piece thru my various debacles. Hunter,8-N

[Jack Stotts]

Shawn, you sure got that right. At this point I no longer buy unripe bananas. Don't know if I'll make it to ripe time. Just for your info it was 55 degrees here and looking at 75 on Sunday. Eat your heart out! Jack

[crankbearing]

HIN Plates

Yes! you want to be careful with HIN plates. In Canada a hull like ours with an HIN plate issued by the GOV rates our boats with a motor of about 10HP. Get caught on the lake testing with the power we run and a plate that states 10hp say by-by to your rig and this is a D size boat rating.

Regards,

[pops67g]

Governments have the experts right?

Good point Dave, it's really great how governments have this need to protect us from ourselves. I not saying people haven't earned this to some extent, but so many regulations like this are made by totally clueless pencil-pushers.

[Bill Huson]

I wuz joking about HIN #s . . .

True, we don't want to fall under the oversight of Feds. Under USCG rules, any boat under 20' long has a horsepower and capacity rating and must have flotation that will keep it upright in a swamped condition. Doing the simple math for HP ratings would render most of our vessals illegal. When I was racing our life vests were illegal for use since the manufacturors hadn't bothered to get them certified. I can recall a scramble in Loch Haven when the water police threatened fines for our turn boat folks who had brought their racing vests onboard turn boats. Somebody had to make a trip to K-Mart to get a half dozen $5 life jackets.

Of course in a recreational boating environment, the rules are good. Well, good unless you're a believer in Darwin and hope for a cleansing of the gene pool