National Meeting Updates?

[nightmoves]

Collapsible Boat Fronts- Mandate by January 2007 all Hydroplanes and Runabouts have a 4 inch long removable /collapsible sponson tip/nose with a perpendicular bulkhead or a 3 inch round sponson tip/nose Reason Prevent injury from sharp objects.
Whats next - rubber props.....

[Brian10s]

Collapsible Boat Fronts- Mandate by January 2007 all Hydroplanes and Runabouts have a 4 inch long removable /collapsible sponson tip/nose with a perpendicular bulkhead or a 3 inch round sponson tip/nose Reason Prevent injury from sharp objects.
Whats next - rubber props.....

You are right (and funny - rubber props, that's a good one). Maybe I should go the other way and Mad Max my boat and make it indestructable. Then we can all play bumper boats milling and see how happy everyone is. What do I care as long as I am safe, right nightmoves?

And can you tell me the advantage to having a pickle come to a sharp point? I would like an answer from you, nightmoves. You seem to have all the answers, what are they good for besides looking sexy?

Why do we have Kevlar, kill switches, full butterflies, height restrictions and tuck rules? I guess those are smart, practical and for the best of all involcved where as getting rid of a pointed spear traveling at 60 mph is for wimps and sissies.

I guess the real question is who does this have to happen to next for something to happen. Who really has to be the one to get hurt or maimed before this become a "cool" project? Who is the Dale Earnhart that has to get killed before softwalls, the hans devise and other safety improvements are put in place?

Brian

[hagerl8m]

wondering

The OPC rule reads like this
All race boats of the catamaran type that are designed to have, or that have been modified to include, a spherical bulkhead at the termination of the bow end of the sponson, do not require deformable pickle-fork tips. Boats designed and constructed to include optional pickle-fork tips must conform to the following:
1. The termination of the main body of the forward end of the sponson must end in a minimum of 100 cm2 (16in2). The forward bulkhead shall be composed of a minimum of 3/4 in. thick plywood or equivalent material. This bulkhead must be an integral part of the main structure of the sponson. The bulkhead must also have an additional rounded area or cap (spherical radius of at least 2.5 inches for Sport C, SST 45 and SST 60. All larger boats require a spherical radius of 4.0 inches).
2. Optional Pickle-fork tip may slide over the sponson.
3. Pickle-fork tip shall have a front-end minimum horizontal radius of 1-3/8 inches.
4. Pickle-fork tip shall have a front-end minimum spherical radius of 1.00 inches.
5. A maximum of 3 in3 of flotation foam is allowable in the tip of the optional picklefork. Compliance to the above rules shall be demonstrated by the use of a 1-inch hole to allow inspection of the spherical bulkhead and the interior of the pickle-fork tip or by the removal of the pickle-fork tip.

-Suggested lay-up schedule of the optional pickle-fork tip:
1. Gelcoat mold
2. Apply 3/4 oz. Mat and 7 to 10 oz. glass cloth. Let harden.
3. Pull and trim to fit.
4. Average lay-up thickness shall not exceed 3/32 inches.

-Suggested construction of the spherical forward bulkhead:
1. The spherical radius can be generated from foam material (maximum of 5 to 6 lbs. density)
2. Shape foam to the approximate dimensions.
3. Apply 3/4 oz. Mat and 7 to 10 oz. glass cloth overlapped onto the sponson or flat bulkhead.
4. Spherical shape or cap may be built in place or produced separately and bonded to the forward bulkhead.

The intent of the rule is to prevent boats from penetrating other boats, since the drivers are strapped in with either a four or five point harness. I agree that the SORC should have some kind of rule asking for more safety.

Here is my question, I race are with a BSR with a vary small point, if or when I cut it off to make it breakaway how does that change my lift? Question two, isn’t it easier for me to miss anther driver with a 1/4-inch point or a 4-inch flat surface? My boat can turn both left and right very quickly and I’ve avoided hitting competitors a number of times. Question three; maybe the rule should apply to larger classes or boats a certain length or that goes over a certain speed. Just some things to think about, hopefully this helps out a little.

[nightmoves]

Sorry to have upset you Brian, But do you think this is completely safe or ever will be? We all know that things can happen and we all take the risk when we get in and leave the beach. If you are looking for a guarantee maybe you should look elsewhere.

[Hydroglobe17J]

The runabout noses don't have to be sharp enough to pick your teeth with.I just got a boat end of last season, "A-B" runabout and the nose is very sharp, to sharp for anyones good, my dad( he's 83 yrs. old, did race) saw it the first time and he wanted to cut it off,the wisdom of an older person. Perhaps we could go to rubber noses or something soft. Just thinking of everyone else, I don't care, when your numbers up,it's up!

[aojesus]

sponsons

It is funny that this topic came up. I was looking at one of my hydros last night and thinking about how sharp the points are. I have a hydro in storage that was built by Rick Fralick. Rick has a sponson design that is very pleasing to the eye and functional. Rick puts a nice curve at the sponson tip. Then again, Rick Fralick has always designed fast boats that are beautiful to look at too.
Check out the sponsons next time you see a Fralick boat, they are very nice.

RussW

[jsilvestri]

Chris,

Thank you for posting the requirements for pickles from other categories. I think we can learn from other categories and other associations. Something to look at.

In regards to your runabout, all runabouts must meet a certain length when measured straight from the back edge of the bottom to the tip of the nose. So, if someone were to take an existing pointing runabout and cut the nose off, that person would more than likely have to build the fiberglass false nose and attach it to the boat so the boat makes the minimum length. This, in my opinion, would work fine. Now, if someone built a new runabout, they could build the nose any way they wanted, besides pointy, and meet the minimum lenght requirement. As far as lift, the nose would be slightly wider but in my opinion, I don't think this would make much of a difference unless the nose were really wide. This would trap more air and require a little less lift.

As far as the nose being wider and possibly clipping another boat, I wouldn't think anyone would build a nose that wide. Plus, you would adjust your position on the race course to offset the design of your boat. And, most everyone would do this naturally, without thinking about it. Good questions.

Nightmoves, I agree that every time we step into the cockpit we are taking a risk, but I do think its a good idea for all of us to continue to brainstorm plasable solutions to making our sport safer. As Brian mentioned, cut-suits, kill-switches, etc... have all come from this type of thinking and have made our sport safer. Kudos to those who have the mind to come up with alternative ideas to make our sport safer.

[Brian10s]

Sorry to have upset you Brian, But do you think this is completely safe or ever will be? We all know that things can happen and we all take the risk when we get in and leave the beach. If you are looking for a guarantee maybe you should look elsewhere.

Upset, no not even close.

Based on your arguement, then because racing will never be safe, we should quit improving and just live in the status quo? And you still have not answered my original questions: What is the reason that pickles need to be to a needle point? And who is the next Dale Earnhart?

Based on your arguement, we should get rid of all safety devises in the last 40 yeats and go back to t-shirts and shorts, old gen-tex lifejackets and sunglasses with open face helmets and no height rules . Because since we can not guarantee 100% safety, we should not try at all.

My next question is are you more protected now than 30 years ago? Have any of the improved "safety" devises that we now all wear and use, save 1 person from injury? If they have saved 1, then they are worth it. And shortsighted, quit being a sissy, boat racing is always dangerous so take the heat or sit on the beach thinking will not get us anywhere. It will just get one of my friends hurt and that is NOT going to happen. I would hope you feel the same way about your friends. Isn't that who you race against?
It's who I race against.

[wetrider]

You have friends? Besides Amanda Kissenhug?

[Brian10s]

You have friends? Besides Amanda Kissenhug?

Ok, so I have no friends (obviously). But if I did, I would want them to be safe (except wetrider who just made the naughty list)

[ryan_4z]

Frankly, I prefer for my boats to look sexy. There's that aerodynamic thing too I guess. I don't mean to minimalize what happened to you Brian, but, sh*t happens. As far as I know, this was a one time incident. Should we limit the amount of lift a boat has because a couple of them blow over? We all know that racing is an inherently dangerous sport. I think we have to keep that in consideration, and use our own discretion when making safety rules. This is an instance that I don't feel a rule is necessary.

[sam]

Ryan, go back and read every word in the proposal .... sexy looking sharp aerodynamic points would still be allowed .... the the change just requires them to not be part of the rigid structure of the boat

I would much rather be hit with the blunt side of a 10 pound hammer than the point of a 5 pound pick ... that is the ratio change we are talking about

As a side note; at the speeds we race total frontal area has a much greater affect then sharpness of the front point.

[Brian10s]

Frankly, I prefer for my boats to look sexy. There's that aerodynamic thing too I guess. I don't mean to minimalize what happened to you Brian, but, sh*t happens. As far as I know, this was a one time incident. Should we limit the amount of lift a boat has because a couple of them blow over? We all know that racing is an inherently dangerous sport. I think we have to keep that in consideration, and use our own discretion when making safety rules. This is an instance that I don't feel a rule is necessary.

Hey Ryan,
Sorry you set your ASH up with too much tuck and it ran over you but S**T happens too, suck it up. I guess your campaigning for the tuck rule has less to do with safety than it has to to with catching the "Jones" (or in this case the Palmquist's or Hauenstein's). Limit lift - well you are limiting tuck because of a couple of incodents? Use our own discretion on making safety rules - sounds like we sould only be using YOUR discretion because only what comes out of your mouth seems to count in your opinion.

As for sexy - standing around in your orange kevlar jumpsuit will not land you on the pages of GQ either.
And as for aerodynamics - open your eyes. Almost every front peice of any plane is round. Why is that? Look at a submarine or the nose of a Navy ship, all round. Why is that? Is it that the Airline Industry and the US Govt that spends Trillions on this stuff doesn't know what you have found out? You need to get a defense contract - you could be richer than Bill Gates.

Now why don't you go back and bring to the table 1 shread of evidence that proves pickles MUST be sharp and pointy. Just one reason. Beyond looks because that is just a sad excuse.

[Dave M]

Great Times

I love this time of year. Keeps me entertained. It amazes me how quickly some foreget how small our sport really is. (kneeldown outboards).

BW - Ask the builders to volunteer to make them round. You stand a better chance at this it appears than to make it a rule, 3 years failed at meeting. Most already do this for current boats. I have done it on all my hydros since your accident. I would not have, but your constant hounding me in emails made me pick the lesser of two evils. (in reality I simply could not stand to to look at how ugly you really were, specially when giving me an ear full on how pointed my pickle is........ ) All kidding aside, I think most builders will be happy to accomodate. I don't like the idea of break away, so round it is.

I know the real designers and builders will be happy to help, MJR, Atralight, Giles, Fralick, most likely Sorenson.

BW, moving forward, when you gonna talk Ma into letting you run a FEH ?

[csh2z]

I think Brian has made a strong case for this issue. The tip of a sponson is almost unbreakable at a 90 degree impact. We should revisit this issue and at least get the ball rolling. I'm sure there are many different ways to address this if we put some thought into it. John 2-Z