Stock chairman for 2010?

[Hutch06]

Merc A

I know of at least 2 potential racers who would have possibly purchased the Merc 15 had it not been taken out of the A class. Yes, they knew it would have not been a "national competitor", but it would have gotten them valuable boat time in 2 classes.

[reed28n]

Mecury 15 is in AXS and J

We currently have two classes that the Mecury motor competes in. I believe that we have enough places to run the motor. Why isn't anyone asking to change the rules in the AXS class to accomodate larger or older drivers?

Adam is correct no one participated in the A Class at the Nationals in runabout or hydro with the Mercury.

I would rather see more heats of AXS if there is so much interest in the Mercury, that is with in the rules.

I would not change my vote based on the members that I have spoken too. There are a great number of APBA members that refuse to participate in this forum that have supported the decicion.

We can agree to disagree. I am sure everyone here has the greater good of APBA at the root of their position in this debate.

[mike ross]

We might want to change our ad in propeller. This is what we are advertizing to the public and potential new racers. Mikey

[ian]

I want to run my 302 in A also, and maybe D. Lets restrict the current D's so I can compete, eh? That way, I can run 1 motor in all classes.(Sorry, had to do it.)

[Kev43V]

We might want to change our ad in propeller. This is what we are advertizing to the public and potential new racers. Mikey

I have had to spend a considerable amount of time making sure people understand that when they are asking questions at the booth

[Haüenstein]

We currently have two classes that the Mecury motor competes in. I believe that we have enough places to run the motor. Why isn't anyone asking to change the rules in the AXS class to accomodate larger or older drivers?

The last time I checked, AXS was in the J category. Bringing it into Stock Outboard might be the quickest way to accommodate those older drivers.

[Kev43V]

The J division seems to be doing just fine. Lets not try to "fix" it
Since a 99 year old driver can run ASX, why do we need to move it to stock?
besides since Stock did not approve the after market rings, why would we want to move ASX to stock? So we can get rid of the merc from ASX too?

[dholt]

Couple points.

1. Since there are a relative finite number of Merc 15's, shouldn't they be conserved for the classes for which they were intended (J and AXS)? If you keep them in 'A' Stock, that takes them out of the pool for potential 'J' and AX drivers. 'J' is where they are needed most.

2. The only SO Commission appointee last year was a major force in removing the Merc 15 from the 'A' Stock classes. So...adding more appointees to the Commission is no guaranatee of shifting policy or ideas.

3. Anyone notice the price? All the controversy over the $4500 price tag of a Sidewinder. The Merc is just $900 less...and THEN you have pay for a blueprint job.


Dana

[steve smith 150m]

Peter Lauer had a smoking fast AXS motor at Big Rapids this past weekend. He won every heat by at least 1/2 a lap, hydro and runabout. He is easily running A speeds. We all know that with a little silicone or gasket work, these motors will fly. Lets keep them legal in A for a while longer and allow it's full potential to be developed. By the way, Peters new runabout GPS'd at 53+,and is something to see the way it runs on the water, and the way he drove it, congrats Peter.

[Hutch06]

Merc Availability

Dana/all,

I was under the impression that the Merc 15 is a current factory-produced motor, is this correct? I understand there are many modifications to be done from the factory state to the racing form, but from what I gathered is that it is a motor currently in production from Mercury.

I also understand that APBA has limited resources, but why is there such a limited pool of Merc 15 motors?

The big thing that I don't understand is why the SO would "force" a motor out of competition, rather than through attrition... maybe here we could get some real reasons behind why the Merc 15 is removed from competition in the A class, not just comments about how we don't see any Mercury's at Nationals anyway, or that we should be able to restrict current classes so we can all just run one motor.

If at the very least I would have thought the Merc would have been left in the A class until the Sidewinder moved from probationary status to legal status in the class.

[steve smith 150m]

Dana, I just sold a fresh, competitive Merc for $2200 with gear case, prop and restrictor plate. I may have sold it to cheap but it will allow a new racer from a racing family to enter the sport at a reasonable price, and would allow them to run it in three classes. There are many Mercs out there and from what we see in this area no shortage a J racers.

[bill boyes]

The last time I checked, AXS was in the J category. Bringing it into Stock Outboard might be the quickest way to accommodate those older drivers.

Question. How did the "J' Committee end up the the AX class?
Answer. Because the SORC at the time did not want the AX class and asked the "J" Committee to assume responsibility.
Seems to me that the Merc 15 is now the motor of choice in the J and AX classes. Why would the SORC delete the motor in the "A" class. What is the reasoning behind this.

[csh2z]

Here is the deal with the Mercury "A" in Stock Outboard. These decisions are not made in a vacuum, that is why it sometimes appears as though some things don't make sense. There are a number of issues that led to that decision and we maintain that it was the right decision for Stock Outboard. I will elaborate when I have more time.

[Fast Jack]

Merc A

I have about 12000.00 $$ in my sons J hydro and runabout equipment, that includes 2 Merc Motors and 2 boats with hardware, Safety gear , boat carts , props,spare parts. I would like him to be able to run in as many classes as possible. He will be able to run AXS next season. I would like to see him able to run A when he is of age. The financial health of SSOA ( South Shore Outboard) is in direct relation to the # of entrys at each race. We have 3 mercs in our J membership and these are all possible future entries into the A class. We as a club can not afford to loose potential entries .The arguement that the Merc running in A will depleat the supply of J motors is not valid . If the was a shortage of J mercs it might fly ,but APBA has motors for sale and I know of 2 Mercs for sale by private sellers. I think I have about 12000 reasons to see the Merc stay in A.. Shawn

[MGallagher]

Don't forget the Sidewinder "A" that will be competing at next years Nationals in California. Run AX and A together at your local races until all this gets sorted out. I tell you one thing, my kids are not going to be running for points until they are in charge of buying there own(I still don't have my own) equipment. Until that day, they are racing for fun that weekend. Personally, I think the point system is a joke for a majority of classes, not enough boats anymore. I won a high point championship 4 years ago and loved every minute of it! But looking back, I raced against 4-5 boats every weekend. However, I can't seem to make it happen at the Closed Course Nationals though, so that might lead to some of my frustration with the current point system. If I won high points and than won a Nationals, I might not be so concerned with it.

Just telling it like it is/was for me, that does not reflect what it means and what it takes for other racers to do it.