35th wedding aniversary gift from my Wife

[blueskyracer]

The wife has watched me work had to run in the back of the pack and so she bought me this beast for my aniversary present..Is she great or what..And yes I bought her a horse a month ago for her aniversary present.. Next year I should be all set with two motors since another 44 is in the works..Thank you Jon and Barb again..

This one was road tested at Trout Creek and it hauls the mail. The sneekey wife had Jon and Barb show up at Cabelas to suprise me and they did that.. I had no clue so it was a great day.

So how many racers get this from their wives?

[Sonny]

WOW!! Very nice. On my last anniversary I got a cold pork chop on a paper plate. Congrads on the new motor. That's a nice thing she did.

[Guest]

New Engine

Very nice Mike! It looks like it started life as a 44XS or has a lot of parts from one.. Should give you a great ride. Last week on my 46th aniversery I did get a hot meal but had to pay for it a a very fine place. Good luck with the new toy.
If anyone wants to sell a 44XS flywheel let me know in that I need one to finish an engine.

Alan

[blueskyracer]

WOW!! Very nice. On my last anniversary I got a cold pork chop on a paper plate. Congrads on the new motor. That's a nice thing she did.

Sonny were you in the dog house at the time?

[blueskyracer]

Very nice Mike! It looks like it started life as a 44XS or has a lot of parts from one.. Should give you a great ride. Last week on my 46th aniversery I did get a hot meal but had to pay for it a a very fine place. Good luck with the new toy.
If anyone wants to sell a 44XS flywheel let me know in that I need one to finish an engine.

Alan

Alan I got to test drive it last weekend and she really moved but I was snake bit all weekend. 1st I did not get the vent tube tied up so the sucker fell into the bottom of the boat and filled the tank and carbs with water.. I made it one lap. Then I broke a shear pin in the next heat. Then Sunday I spun out after hitting big boat wakes. Each time before disaster hit I was smoking right along. I have now shortened the vent tube to 6 inches. I guess after every heat I will replace the shear pin and plan to stay away from cruiser wakes.

[Guest]

New engine

Hi Mike,
Looking closely at the engine I would like to offer a word of caution. It appears that the rope pull on the flywheel is from a standard recoil configuration. To my knowledge APBA banned them because they can fail at the higher RPM the MODS run. Best choice is to get a machined item and replace it ASAP!
Alan

[Aussie Steve]

What a woman ....!!!!

Great prezzie mate

[sam]

APBA banned them

I do not recall seeing this in the rules. If someone could point it out, I would be obliged

[Dave M]

Speechless

If you were not already married I would tell you to marry that gal !!!!!

It take s aspecial person to be married to a boat racer. And one whom would do this for you... priceless.

Simply Awesome.

Congrats. We know why it has lasted 35 years. No doubt about it.

[Mr_dirt]

Congratulations to you both on 35 years of marriage!

[Team B&H]

Hi Mike,
Looking closely at the engine I would like to offer a word of caution. It appears that the rope pull on the flywheel is from a standard recoil configuration. To my knowledge APBA banned them because they can fail at the higher RPM the MODS run. Best choice is to get a machined item and replace it ASAP!
Alan

There are quite a few guys running 44XS derived motors complete with recoil starters in APBA DMH and DMR classes. I believe recoil equipped motors (Wheeler and Hauenstein) won both those classes at the recent Nationals at Wakefield. You ought to check the rules before making baseless charges.

[Guest]

Rope Pull

In reviewing the photos I was expressing my engineering opinion about the structural integrity of pressed steel parts. The rope pull on Mikes engine appeared to be of that design. From what I can tell it is not the standard Mercury part but appears a bit stronger then the item Mercury used. Remember that the inertia forces generated by a component rotaing increases with the square of the RPM. In a stock configured 44XS, of which I have 3, the recoil housing offers some protection if a rope pull were to shead some of its mass. I dont beleive Mike is going to run with recoil and cowls.
In the MOD engines we are currently running we machine the stock flywheel down and recess it into a close fitting pocket that is machined into the rope pull. By doing this the fasteners holding the two items together are only required to handle a tension force. Any out of ballance or other forces generated by pictching of the boat are taken by the flywheel/rope pull machined interface. Our current Mercury 30, 40 and 44 MOD's run close to 9,000 RPM with the 44 exceeding that at times. Below is what is found in the parts cataloge for the 44XS although their might be other configurations.
Added a photo of our flywheel configuration on the Merc 60 cubic inch engine we run. This is one option that provides a structuraly sound installation and I'm sure there are others.

Alan

[blueskyracer]

Alan, all the pictures you post of your engines are fantastic and look to nice to run..

[mdaspit]

You ought to check the rules before making baseless charges.

I realize that I am more than likely committing hydro suicide with the who's who of the boat racing fraternity right now... so be it.

Is it really necessary to be so harsh to the guy? I mean really, "Baseless charges"?

It's obvious that what he was saying was well intentioned, after all, he was congratulating a racer on a new motor. He meant no ill, and if he was incorrect, then a correction is in order, but it seems your goal is meant more to embarrass than to inform.

Here is a guy who came back to boat racing a couple of years ago after many years away, getting his son driving, buying new boats, props, restoring old racing motors, saving the history... And from what I see, a family that is having the time of their lives doing it. That's doing a whole lot more than most at trying to keep the spirit alive.

People like you ought to be the first ones to recognize that folks like Alan and his son are a rare part of a solution that boat racing is looking for. And if you can't be a little more generous to a man like that, then it really is no wonder why it isn't what it used to be.

[blueskyracer]

I realize that I am more than likely committing hydro suicide with the who's who of the boat racing fraternity right now... so be it.

Is it really necessary to be so harsh to the guy? I mean really, "Baseless charges"?

It's obvious that what he was saying was well intentioned, after all, he was congratulating a racer on a new motor. He meant no ill, and if he was incorrect, then a correction is in order, but it seems your goal is meant more to embarrass than to inform.

Here is a guy who came back to boat racing a couple of years ago after many years away, getting his son driving, buying new boats, props, restoring old racing motors, saving the history... And from what I see, a family that is having the time of their lives doing it. That's doing a whole lot more than most at trying to keep the spirit alive.

People like you ought to be the first ones to recognize that folks like Alan and his son are a rare part of a solution that boat racing is looking for. And if you can't be a little more generous to a man like that, then it really is no wonder why it isn't what it used to be.

Alan has been so helpful to me and has purchased a new boat from us and had it shipped all the way from Montana to Louisana..He is helping me with my motor issues and has sent me parts at no cost.. His knowledge of the Mod motors is simply amazing so I am sure he was just concerned for a fellow boat racers well being..Maybe folks should use a little more diplomacy on our web site like Mark said.. And folks wonder why so many people are leaving the sport. Really

Thank again for the help..Folks like you and Jon are what we need in this sport. I really thought this post was to show how our family has gotten involved in the sport totally but should of know that somehow it could get turned around to a negative like so many posts here..