Soap Lake Roll Call:

[Black Sheep]

Seattle Outboard Association has the Del Red Pub Soap Lake Regatta scheduled for September 13th & 14th. However there have been some discussions of several racers planning NOT to participate for various reasons.
Soooooo….. If we go through all the efforts of organizing the race, will we have enough participation? The race committee has made a few adjustments based on our experience last year. For example; we will be in slightly smaller pit area but with a MUCH easier launching grade. The race course will be perpendicular to last year’s course (Parallel to the highway). Also, there will be additional boat washing stations so racers can properly rinse their equipment and hopefully tanks to run engines as well.
I will be going to City Hall tomorrow to get the necessary event permits and potentially meeting with the mayor as well. The City of Soap Lake and local businesses are so excited to have us there I hope we can have enough interest to be there.
If we can develop some “Pros & Cons” on this thread to assist the race committee with putting on a successful race, your help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
J-Dub

[seanp3]

If the launching is much would consider going. Did anyone else have any corrosion issues? Most everything cleaned up pretty well for me. But I did have to replace a few bolts/nuts that I didn't get cleaned well enough. Nothing serious.

[Black Sheep]

Or people can email me.... I just need to put a plan together....
JDub47R@Yahoo.com

[blueskyracer]

J Dub I asked a few folks about Soap Lake back in December and was told the following and I am just saying what I was told.. They said that not being a spring chicken that if I want to drag my boat thru the water for a 1/4 mile to get to water deep enough to launch go for it.. Also a lot of folks had kill switch issues.. It sounds like you are trying to address these issues

[ricochet112]

From what I've heard, I wouldn't put my race motors in that water.

[Black Sheep]

Montana Mike, Thank you for sharing your information. I did meet with the Mayor yesterday (Tuesday) and we did a "Go Ahead" to launch from a different location with a much more desirable launching angle. As for the kill switches, Matt Yarno, Jim Nilsen, and myself have learned how to prevent these challenges while we were racing with the racers in Qatar. The water there has about twice the salt content as the Pacific Ocean. By keeping the electrical connections clean and dry by using an electrical cleaning spray and electrical tape, the problem was resolved.

Ricochet Mike, I know very few of us run our outboard race engines in salt water, as you know with a good rinsing, and a little preventative maintenance, there really should be no problem. At this different pit location, we will have more water available for racers to rinse their equipment. Myself and others ran their PRO engines with no water related issues that I am aware of.

Thank you for your comments! Keep'm coming!

[Daveracer]

As co-race director with Jw, I also want to thank people for giving us ideas on how to make the race better. I know there were some issues last year, and we will put on a better event this year. This race is important to a number of groups and people, including Jw and myself. There is a lot of work that goes into putting on a regatta...for those of you that have never been involved you would be suprised! But both JW and I enjoy it. It is also important to the city of Soap Lake and to it's people. The mayor came up to me at the end of racing last year and was so impressed with how we got the local youth involved that he could not wait to have us back this year. I understand how there were issues....every race site we race at has them, I could go on and on. But I sure hope people that are on the fence about going will help support this event. And again, put your ideas on here, e mail JW, or come to an SOA meeting and give us your feedback....Dave

[mercguy]

of course I will be there.......WD40 on the powerheads goes a long ways!!!!! When you are done racing, rinse the motors off and you are good to go......

PS: kill switch problems are the result of POOR wiring and improper electrical connections made.....

[Daveracer]

Thanx Darren.

[blueskyracer]

Well we just found out our last race will not be the same weekend as Soap lake so we may be able to come if we have a motor that works.. My questions is what are the camping arrangements for a large motor home?

[mercguy]

huge parking lot for plenty of motorhomes.........RV's as large as 45' have no issues...

[seanp3]

As far as salt water goes....... my brother lives on one of the inlets of the Puget Sound. I test right out in front of his house. It has caused no concerns to my race equipment with a good clean up afterwards

[Black Sheep]

Montana Mike, If you make the trip with or without your D Mod, I will help ya out... I got a couple of'm....

[blueskyracer]

Thank Daren and J dub we have it on the calender.

[afterplane]

~~Raced there 1975 Labor Day weekend at the “Suds n Sun” Regatta. Steve Vincent was the race chairman. One of the last times I ran my 20-H and the most fun I ever had in a hydro. The lake suds and the beer suds were no problem.

[PRO-MOTIONRACING]

Soap Lake was Hot. Corrosion was not a problem on aluminum and stainless although zinc plating like on prop nuts took a bit of a beating. On the flip side any dark wood was bleached clean and ready for new varnish. As to the electrical issues, on my mod motor I run the secondary wires (spark plug wires) under the pipes and the water running on them did give me some trouble, so this year I will be running them over the top and this should cure this. The real problem was with the primary wires, the exposed kill switch post on the outside of the Mag, when driving through roost it was like pulling the kill switch, some silicone sealer should cure this. I would think that the kill switch plugs on all motors could also get wet and cause a problem, this must be the place for the electrical tape JW spoke of.
Soap lake was great. the stores and restaurants were one block from the race. This was my first attempt at being more supportive of the host community by taking nothing with me and buying all my supplies locally. worked out OK but the grocery store closes early. The milk shakes at the drive in right next to the pits were fantastic.
I will definitely be returning to Soap Lake, The warmest race I have ever been to.