to wax or not to wax

[thetrailergod]

I have heard pros and cons about waxing the bottoms of your hydro, just thought Id get all your imput before I go to flippin and a whole lot of elbow work, I do know that waxing my legs didnt gain me anything except whistles

[David_L6]

Don't wax.

[FER-R-10]

wax

400 grit sand paper, no wax.

[sam]

400 grit sand paper, no wax.

Yeah, what he said

[Islandmon]

I have heard pros and cons about waxing the bottoms of your hydro, just thought Id get all your imput before I go to flippin and a whole lot of elbow work, I do know that waxing my legs didnt gain me anything except whistles

Your killing me , please tell me that they whistles were from women. I vote for no wax. I've tried a few different concoctions on a some high speed glass boats with no real improvements.

[bob G]

I have heard pros and cons about waxing the bottoms of your hydro, just thought Id get all your imput before I go to flippin and a whole lot of elbow work, I do know that waxing my legs didnt gain me anything except whistles

Jeff,

Back In My Rookie Year !

I Did wax the boat, I'm Here to say I Would NOT Do It Again. It taken ALL Year to wear Off,
Not to say Trying to KEEP It On The Cart, WOW !!
Also, Trying To Keep it In line On The race Crouse,

and Now Ten Year's Later I Keep Getting Reminded About It,

I'm Sure that Mr, Mason Will Chine In On This matter !

[Hydroglobe17J]

I thought this was a bikini question! Putting wax on a Stock Outboard boat's bottom just makes it fall off the cart quicker! Oh Yea!

[Dave M]

No Wax

I can attest, Bob is still harassed to this day about what he claimed was his wife and nieces wax job on his CMH. Kind of funny watching it take 7 guys to cart a CMH to the water at Depue........

Even funnier hearing Dad complain about it after it started raining while we were at drivers meeting...... he tried to move all the boats under the trailer awnings and could not move Bob's under... it kept trying to fall off, so hear is a rain coat over Bob's engine.... only boat left in the rain and with Dad's look when we came walking back, he was not impressed with the wax job.

[Ron Hill]

My Dad...Water Skiied A Lot..

My dad had a cabin at Lake Elsinore and he made his own skis. My mom would drive the boat, my dad would carry my brother on his shoulders...My dad's skis were about 1 X 12 X 10..He had never seen a ski and when he had aquaplaned, the aquaplane turned over and dove to the lake bottom pulling the transom out....So, he made skis that you could hold the handles...

He tried many bottom finishes, from adding saw dust to the varnish to making small saw cuts....He told me, he found varnish with wet or dry SAND paper was the best....(He did his testing before I was born.)..

In the spring of 1963 my CU and DU were running good. I already had the DU kilo record but Modesto was coming and I wanted to up my D record and break the C record...On Friday we tested, my DU was running right at 65 on my Keller and my CU was running 61 to 62. The CU record was 60.4 or about there held by Joe Schulte...

After testing, I decided to wax the bottoms...I waxed the CU and I got the bottom slicker than "snot on a broom handle" and that is pretty slick...But it was getting toward evening, maybe dark thirty, and no wanted to help me turn my big DU over....

Next morning we flop the CU over and get it ready...I draw like number 3 and 5 for the runs... I decide, because the weather is the pits, sometimes at Modesto, to run the CU first...I make a two way pass at like 59, and the boat is sticking to the water...I hear the speed and say, "****, water and weather aren't as good as yesterday...I jump in my DU, expecting to waste my entry fee money, and I come in with a new record of 66.....

In 1964 when I upped the DU to 70 and the CU to 64.661.....neither bottom had wax, and I've never had wax on a race boat bottom since...I did use speedcoat on my tunnel's bottoms, side sponsons and tunnel top...but on a kneeler...I used wet or dry....sanded...

[bill boyes]

I have applied Tree Wax then put powered Graphite into the wax before it drys.
Have no idea if it did any good.

[STEVE FRENCH]

Have ya noticed the bottoms of some of Hemp's B+H rigs????
I have owned several include'n John Palmquist's multi NATIONAL win'n, Formula-A rig that Wallie Schlipp now has and Mark Miskerik's/Shawn Kiddy's former NATIONAL champ BSH/AMH rig.......there is a reason Sam puts 2-3 steps, grinds knotches, and other prototype gashes/knotches in the bottom of his rigs.........I think I got/understand it...anyone else??...care to elaborate Sam H.?....or leave it self explanatory?.........

[Bill Huson]

Wax?

no - no wax. 80 grit, time to quit!

[crfabbro2F]

All the top outboard drag guys sand to 1000 grit and apply Rain x.
They re-apply the Rain X after every run and without it they loose 3-4mph
on top-end. This info is from a national champ that lives in my town that
runs an Allison V bottom well over a 100mph.

[ZUL8TR]

bottom sanding + rain x

All the top outboard drag guys sand to 1000 grit and apply Rain x.
They re-apply the Rain X after every run and without it they loose 3-4mph
on top-end. This info is from a national champ that lives in my town that
runs an Allison V bottom well over a 100mph.

Since drag boats run straight (or try to) do you suppose there might be an issue with the the recommendation for circuit boats?

[sam]

Pick: local drag guy or super multiple record holder Wartinger


Let's see ... I pick ...