An Andy Rooney Boat Racing Question

[sponsonhead]

Did you ever wonder why......

The APBA BOD mandates a set up change in a 55-60 mph stock class as a "Safety Rule", because someone MIGHT get hurt........

....but doesn't mandate Capsules as a "Safety Rule" in the Inboard Category for flatbottoms--where there has been at least one fatality a YEAR for the past several years?

Just curious.......

R-19

[ryan_4z]

Maybe no one in that category asked them to.

[sponsonhead]

Maybe no one in that category asked them to.

I think that Mike Weber and Dave Villwock would beg to differ with you on that...

R-19

[ryan_4z]

I certainly wasn't stating that as fact, just tossing it out there as a possibility.

[dholt]

What a good question

Pat Gleason...you get the rest of the day off for the best question posted here in ages.

I can't count how many drivers I've read about who were killed in the flatbottom inboards recently...far too many. The most recent was over Thanksgiving....correct?

Yet where is the BOD Safety Committee on this issue? No one, but no one on the BOD could be in the dark about the deaths in flatbottoms over the past couple years. It seems like such a no-brainer.

Pat, you're out that way. Isn't there some resistance from those running the class about madating capsules? I seem to recall reading that before.

But if driver resistance was the issue, the ASH tuck rule would never have passed an ASH driver vote.

And wasn't the PRO capsule rule for 500, 700 and 1100 passed by the BOD...or was it the PRO Commission?


Shoot, you see Wartinger during the year. What's his take on the flatbottom capsule deal?


Dana

[Dr. Thunder]

... overlap rule

Can anybody explain the difference in the overlap rule for Stock, Mod and Pro classes?

[dholt]

Overlap

Stock/Mod= overlap is established if less than 1 boat length of open water between the leading boat and trailing (inside) boat.

Pro=boats must be cockpit to cockpit to establish overlap. Pro guys...this sound right?

[D_Allen_III]

I believe the BOD gave the inboards a window on how many years it takes them to put in the capsules. I think they had to have a certain percentage put them in every year, and after 5 or so years every driver had to have one. Putting in a capsule takes a little more time, work and money than changing a setup. If they could fix their saftey by changing the setup or the tuck rule I'm sure they would. I think they are pretty close to the deadline that makes them mandatory, but I could be wrong. An inboard driver would know better then I would.

[Dave_E71]

Stock/Mod= overlap is established if less than 1 boat length of open water between the leading boat and trailing (inside) boat.

Pro=boats must be cockpit to cockpit to establish overlap. Pro guys...this sound right?

That's correct

Dave

[bill van steenwyk]

APBA BOD/Safety Rules

One of the reasons I was given last spring when I and others raised such a fuss about the passage of the PRO "radio rule" and the seeming no interest by the APBA BOD, Legal Counsel, and other bodies within APBA when the case was made that equipment deemed mandatory in some catagoreys was banned being banned in PRO, was that APBA management? deems the catagorey to be the expert on it's own affairs and safety issues and does not want to interfere or "micromanage" the catagorey affairs unless an overiding issue would be brought up. This was also legal counsel and APBA President opinion I saw in written form. Evidently since then there has been somewhat a change of opinion at least by the BOD as now rules passed as so called "safety rules" must now be approved by I believe the safety committee and the BOD.

[sponsonhead]

Oh, please.....

Why is that I get the feeling from some folks that the PRO Radio Rule and the PRO Commission are also intricately looped into a Mass Conspiracy with UFO's, the Loch Ness Monster, the Ark of The Covenant, The Lincoln AND the Kennedy Assassinations, the Princess Di Car Wreck, the Hanging Chads in Florida and every other thing that is possibly wrong on this planet????

Give the radio thing a rest, will ya? You got what you wanted, didn't you?

Talk about a sore winner.....

Dana, you're right---I'm taking the rest of the evening off...................

R-19

[14-H]

What great insight...

Patrick: It was during the Thursday evening BOD meeting in Atlanta where the BOD was grilling the Inboard Chairman about this very matter that I had a personal "revelation." As I listened to the BOD inquiry as to what Inboard was doing about its problem and that Chairman's response while the discussion of multiple deaths every year in that category was transpiring, I decided that I would not sit quietly on the A Hydro Tuck issue (the SORC had taken the matter up during the day on Thursday and no motion was brought to the floor after much discussion). I had no intention of raising this issue with the BOD until I heard this discussion taking place about the Inboard Category. Knowing from all of my personal experience that this set up is dangerous and has caused crashes (thankfully no injuries, yet) but without any irrefutable "proof" that this is so (which wouldn't be accepted anyway even if I had it by those who oppose this issue), I decided that I would not sit by and do nothing and allow the issue to go unaddressed at this annual meeting. That is why I asked that the BOD require that the SO category address and adopt a rule to prevent this set up. I did this knowing full well that I would receive criticsm from people like Mr. Shaw who think I did it out of some personal agenda that I might have to advance my interests in a class (that I don't even run) and that it very well may cost me some personal friendships with people who do participate in that class (as it has indeed done, and which continues to be very upsetting to me personally). But I knew that this was a safety issue that needed to be addressed and I did not want to have an injury or, God forbid, a death and know that I did nothing. Moreover, I knew that the longer this issue remained unaddressed, the harder it would be to address in the future as more people would build boats and set-ups which could not be used with any other kick-out.

I guess the difference between what happened in the manner that the BOD dealt with Inboard versus Stock Outboard was a difference in what was being requested by the Category Chairman. What is very interesting is that the BOD unanimously adopted its resolution on Thursday night demanding that the SORC (as well as MOD-FA and PRO-K-Pro) make a change to prevent this "extreme tuck". On Saturday, after the SORC did what was asked of it, some BOD members opposed immediate implementation of the rule. Thank-fully, a majority of them supported it and the new rule went into effect immediately. Did you ever wonder how that might happen.. ...??? (BTW: I never really liked Andy Rooney ). Ed.

[hagerl8m]

Crazy

I though that the A classes in every category were beginner classes, but I know I might be corrected here, but I’m question was why didn't the J committee have to deal with this, don't they run classes that run close to A speeds? I think the intent of the rule is being missed. I don’t know of any racer that wants to go out and get hurt, I sure don’t want to. Maybe people should think about the rule as protecting themselves.

Chris Hagerl

[mercguy]

Pat Gleason...you get the rest of the day off for the best question posted here in ages.

I can't count how many drivers I've read about who were killed in the flatbottom inboards recently...far too many. The most recent was over Thanksgiving....correct?

Yet where is the BOD Safety Committee on this issue? No one, but no one on the BOD could be in the dark about the deaths in flatbottoms over the past couple years. It seems like such a no-brainer.

Pat, you're out that way. Isn't there some resistance from those running the class about madating capsules? I seem to recall reading that before.

But if driver resistance was the issue, the ASH tuck rule would never have passed an ASH driver vote.

And wasn't the PRO capsule rule for 500, 700 and 1100 passed by the BOD...or was it the PRO Commission?


Shoot, you see Wartinger during the year. What's his take on the flatbottom capsule deal?


Dana

Dana, you are correct, the last inboard tragedy was last Thanksgiving. It was not a sight to see!! Several others have also died out here in the last few years. I just keep watching these guys/gals race, sitting upright in the middle of the boat, with the motor behind them, going to close to 100MPH and no kind of body protection for the driver whatsoever. I do know that this last tragedy has made alot of other inboard racers think more about the capsule idea, as many of their fellow friends and racers have died from accidents on the course in the last 5yrs.

[mercguy]

oh no you don't Pat!!!!

Why is that I get the feeling from some folks that the PRO Radio Rule and the PRO Commission are also intricately looped into a Mass Conspiracy with UFO's, the Loch Ness Monster, the Ark of The Covenant, The Lincoln AND the Kennedy Assassinations, the Princess Di Car Wreck, the Hanging Chads in Florida and every other thing that is possibly wrong on this planet????

Give the radio thing a rest, will ya? You got what you wanted, didn't you?

Talk about a sore winner.....

Dana, you're right---I'm taking the rest of the evening off...................

R-19

you need to get back to work and make some more $$$$, so Kyle can race another class next weekend......