J drivers and parents SAY NO TO REV STICKS

[modsquad]

After observing the last few heats of “J” boats going out and trying to get on plane and not getting on plane while the driver has three quarters of his or her body outside the cockpit, maybe it’s time for a change in rules!
Lower the motors and let the kids have a safe boat ride, it’s getting little ridiculous that it takes hours to get thru two heats of “J” racing because of one or more not getting on plane and then restarting the race, as a spectator this is pretty boring to watch.
Parents want their kids to be winners but maybe we should step back and let these drivers have some fun while letting them hone their skills on starts.
“SAY NO TO REV STICKS”

[adamallen]

There are a number of ways to address the issue with planing off of in J. The committee took the right step in implementing a set back rule this year. I believe it was set at 1" aft of bottom to the front of torpedo. This dimension should really be at 3" to have real value to the class IMHO.

[hshawwpba]

This can be fixed if the J committee will simply pass a rule that states "the driver can not have any part of the body outside the cockpit forward of the steering wheel while getting on plane". This should be a no brainer just like running with a locked throttle!
Pass this rule and the boat issue will be fixed, shim sticks will not be a factor!

[susqueduck]

Educate me..... Would the removal of the prop draw in J's help as well? Drivers would show up knowing they could get on plane.

Was the J prop draw intended to keep racing costs down for J drivers in regards to spending $$$$ on finding fast props for their rigs?

[bmitch1]

The prop draw is a good thing....in addition to supporting parity, it keeps expenses for j parents down so they don't have to have a box full of course and condition-specific propellers.

The best thing a J parent can do is test the setup before race weekend. if the kid can reliably plane the boat with a restrictor and a real test J wheel (not a weak AX wheel or some hammered alternate), it will minimize problems on race day. We helped a couple new families this year and those kids were planing their boats reliably during testing within 30' of launching and haven't missed a green flag due to boat planing issues.

[Brian10s]

The only difference between today and 35 yrs ago is the props. 35 yrs ago with the 60J, the only thing in the boat was your toe. Parents had stickers on the decks so that drivers could duplicate where to put their bodies to get on plane. I remember one JR that had 2 throttles, one in the cockpit and another up on the deck so that the kid could stretch farther. Biggest difference was back then, if you didn't get on plane, you watched the race for the infield.

So really the only difference is the prop draw and the issue there is some props plane off better than others. So a Race Committee has 2 choices: 1 - send them all out and see if they all get on plane and if not, bring them back or 2 - have a dedicated J get on plane testing prior to each heat. Either way takes time but there really isn't any better method.

And thinking that the fast guys with the hot set up are the ones that can't get on plane isn't correct. Most of the time the fast guys get right on, its some of the new guys who have yet to duplicate their position that have issues. And also, when the motor gets hot, it is more difficult to plane off.

[susqueduck]

I just always see races where there are J drivers milling waiting for other drivers who are trying to get on plane. Looks like a safety issue to me with drivers circling while possibly not paying full attention.

Then a prop is redrawn and the boat planes out. This shows that there is no parity in the props and also possibly creates a safety issue.

"Let em run what they brung" and make it easier on the kids. Restrict speeds with weight and motor height.

[bmitch1]

Having raced JH/JR with two kids the last 3 years I'll have to disagree with you on parity. Each region is free to police their J prop box for questionable props that can be returned and reworked. The props are all very close but they are both a product of human hands and human use.... just like the boats and motors.

[susqueduck]

Like I said.....educate me. Lol

[PittmanRacing]

My son has gotten on plane at every race all season except one and he has to be the biggest J driver in the country at 6' tall. The one time we couldn't get on plane was in the second heat of JH during the NA Championships. We used the "championship" props and evidently the rule is, once you are given a prop for the heat, that's it....no exchanging. We quickly dropped a 1/8" and he got on plane. The setback rule is a big help with the problem and definitely some props don't get on plane as well, but still may be really close once on plane.

[pav225]

Where were you seeing kids not get on plane? They all got on plane quickly at our races, so maybe they are having other issues??

[Harold8]

From what I can remember there was some problems with a few getting on plane at Franklin.

[modsquad]

Where were you seeing kids not get on plane? They all got on plane quickly at our races, so maybe they are having other issues??

You must not have been at Constantine a few weeks ago, it took forever to get thru the J boat heats!

[modsquad]

It’s not the J boat drivers who are at fault here, it’s you parents who have to make sure your son or daughter are “champions”, the same way you are on the little league baseball fields and soccer fields!
“J” is to teach and get acquainted with the sport of boat racing for our up in coming drivers, but it seems like we are trying to make them national champions right off the bat. Let them go out and have fun and you parents need to back off little and not worry about your son or daughter coming in last place, it’s all part of the real world!

[pav225]

Unfortunately we weren't able to make Constantine. I am surprised that kids are struggling with getting on plane at 1 3/4" and the motor set back an inch. Did anyone take the time to ask the kids or parents if they had issues getting on plane when testing back at home? It would be good to see if there was a difference between testing and at the race.
I don't have a kid racing J, but everyone needs to understand that as you add more rules and restrictions to set ups, the costs increase. When you set limits on everything, to help with parity or for "safety" you take away kids creativity and the ability to test different set ups to find more speed. Lock in set back and tuck rule, and what do kids have to test?? All you have left to test is motors....and then that gets VERY expensive. You also rob kids of the opportunity to work for more speed and see actual results of testing lap after lap. You also get the bonus of kids getting lots of boat time. Nothing beats time in the boat.
As far as your "real world" comment, I view it a different way. Kids need to learn that Effort = Results. Teach them to work hard to get the results they want on the race course. If you limit everything on set up, then there is no reason to test and parents spend more money on motors.
If safety is the concern, limit it to 1 hand on the deck...or everything must stay in the boat while getting on plane.
If you want to help kids get on plane, let them tuck more. Not one kid crashed because of tuck. Let kids tuck more and they'll get on plane quicker.
Happy racing!

[Jack Stotts]

I watched one J driver spend a lot of time attempting to get on plane but always going into the wind. I felt that if he would have turned downwind that he would have been succesful. There was a pretty strong wind out of the Southwest.

[Jack Stotts]

Adding more info. I spent about 2.5 hours during the testing sessions and got to witness a lot of the testing from the 1st turn area