Population Much Larger

[sponsonhead]

No. The gent that drove the boat wore kevlar. The young ladd in the vest is my son.And no he was told after this picture was snaped that he was not running in a t-shirt. Picture is a little deceiving. You make a good point and thanks for bringing it up.

Thanks for clarifying....perhaps a "don't try this at home" disclaimer was in order ,but I get you.

R-19

[kws]

Welcome to the boat racing family Jerry and TJ

[M721son]

Thank You

Welcome to the boat racing family Jerry and TJ

I appreciate the Welcome. Its just another persons opinion but I have been involved in Stockcar, Motorcycle and Drag racing. The thing that Boat racing has over the other sports is its people. I found in Boat racing that the biggest rivals on the course will be the first to help a flipped competitor get things back in order. The way is clear to help the sport make yourself approachable, and available. Show what you do to others, share with other groups. Example: Cub scouts, VFW (constatine Mi has been going allot of years because of this, I personally plan to honor disabled American Vets there will allways be a reminder on My boat of there sacrafices. I guess what I am saying is get out there and mingle create a little publicity.
Jerry

[sws115]

just my opinion

i cant tell what age group is in what boat

sorry but all the little boats that are affordable look like kids boats (no offence)
and i was also told they are for the kids only in the beginning
maybe a little more patience with people would help

for me its not the boat or class just which motor i can afford thats not got so many mods on it that you cant even tell what it is by looking

then you have a problem there to because one person might know more about getting power out of the thing
nothing wrong with that but its not going to bring in a green horn to your sport
if there was a sealed crate motor like some of the stock car classes
it might bring more people in to the sport

most people don't know how to work on outboards
and they all have a horror story about a mechanic or marina they went to that emptied there wallet

just trying to help with a fresh look

[raceright]

my opinion

Nice to see most drivers feel the need to help someone enter our sport I believe you as a driver will be doing the best thing and individule can do when you accomplish this. Verry Very important because we lack what I believe is the main reason why we do not have the membership luck of other racing.. The [SIZE="5"]LACK of home courts if you will. We have to beg borrow and kiss alot of a-------s to use someone elses water and usually its run by some half a----s govermental agency.. the idea of having hundreds of private race courses throughout the country is a unatainable dream..Just about every response to my questions hedged around this major problem .
So if we had private race sites like your local nascar track,expenses and volunteerism would change,local engine dealers would figure out how to enter there wares into our sport(not just motors many other items)local youngsters would have exposure to our sport. So our efforts to help another person I believe is about the only thing we can do!!!!
Could talk on this for hours but getting tired of typing

Pat
TOP HYDRO because in the end there can only be one

[T Chance]

I live in Saint Louis but I grew up in Minnesota and I saw my first race in the early 1950’s when I was eleven years old. Back then if you wanted to go fast you put a 2-cylinder Mercury, Chris Craft, Champion, Scott Atwater, whatever, on a little boat and went fast. If you wanted to go faster, you burned alcohol and actually raced it. Today anybody can go to any marina and buy a bass boat that will outrun by 250ccR. Back then a lot of guys raced barefoot, wearing a pair of swimming trunks, a football helmet with a kapok lifejacket that they bought at Sears. Today the cost of safety equipment, while I wouldn’t get in a boat without it, is frightening to an outsider.

Although I have run Stock, Mod, and OPC, I will only comment on Pro (or Alky) racing in the Midwest because that is what I am most familiar with. When I started racing in 1956, Midwest Power Boat Association had 200-300 members. So did the Outboard Club of Chicago, Kansas City Speedboat, and Saint Louis Outboard Drivers Association. There were also Central States, Mid-States, Superior Outboard, and I’m sure there were others in the area as well. That means there were 1,000 or more race drivers just in the North Central part of the country. It was not uncommon for Midwest to have 6 or 7 elimination heats in B-Hydro alone, and that is when NOA ran up to 16 boats in a heat.

I came in at the end of the “Old Iron” era, so I can’t comment much about the replacement of the KR, SR, PR, etc. I raced against some of them and some of the drivers went to new motors, some quit. It was still easy, you could take a 20H or a Hot Rod, put a set of stacks on it, burn alcohol and be competitive. But, when the Konig and Anzani became dominate, I watched the decline. I bought a Konig, a lot of guys quit. I bought a Quincy Flathead, a lot of guys quit. I bought a 4-cylinder Konig, a lot of guys quit.

As the speeds increased, the motors became more complex, and prices went up; a lot of guys quit. Boat racing is an insiders niche sport and there just isn’t a big pool of replacement drivers. Even my own kids, it took too much time and too much money for them. In the past I have done boat shows, hustled race sites and sponsors, its hard. Kay Harrison and I saw where Pro racing was going in the early 80’s, the fact that Pro racers were few and far between, and we realized we need a National series with fewer classes in order to have a place to race. That is when we started the U.S. Title Series. We had a lot of opposition that it would kill local racing, well, local racing was already dead.

Are we a mainstream sport? Will we ever be a mainstream sport? No and no. There are thousands of people who golf, play tennis, race cars, play softball, it’s a long list. But how many Pros? Not many. Take car racing in general, the Indy Racing League Pro circuit to be specific. At a typical race: 18 drivers.

As speeds continue to increase we will continue to see a decrease in participation in the larger classes. You can see it, there is no 700 Runabout, but 125 Runabout is very popular. 500 Runabout goes too fast for me, I’ve driven them in the past, but I sure wouldn’t get in one now. If a capsule is mandated for 500 Runabout, I don’t know how many drivers would go that route or if 350 Runabout would be the biggest class. 1100 Runabout might need some changes too as speeds increase. As far as capsule hydros are concerned, and even though I have personally raced a tunnel with a capsule well over 100 mph, I don’t know enough about them to have much of an opinion. But it does seem that it would make more sense to do as the European’s do and race them on full tunnels.

If I look into a crystal ball what do I see for the future:

Six Pro classes. A 1 cylinder 87.5 cc class. A 2 cylinder 175 cc class. And a 4 cylinder 350 cc class. Each on a runabout and/or hydro. Same Pro motor rules as today with any manufacturer or home built except for a common spec piston.

[PopPop]

The past

Boat racing is a wonderful sport. Particularly Stock Outboard. It will never again be what it once was. We are the remnant of what started in the forties and fifties. Most of the prominent families involved today had their start with someone who picked up a motor from a local dealer or second hand when they (and parts) were still available. The speeds were sensible and most people could run and be competitive, at a local, non-APBA, race somewhere almost every weekend. There were thousands of people, all over the country, who got a taste of racing, this way and many were infected and fell in love, for life. That’s who we are!!!
We have an occasional “newbe” who gets started with a lot of help from close friends but by and large most of us can draw a connection back to the forties and fifties through our grandfather or through the grandfather of a friend. Rare is the bird, nowadays, that sees their first race and, on their own finds their way in to this great family of boat racers.
It much too easy to down to the corner store and buy a Sea-Doo, etc. and "Go Racin".

[raceright]

ouch

POP POP and Tim hope your off the mark (would appreciate more positive responses,if ya don't see the negativity in your response need to have a couple of beer with you to explain)

Pat

Top Hydro in the end there can only be one

[Cameraboy]

I don't see negativity in what Phil and Tim have to say, they are just being realistic. We need to be realistic if we are going to try to fix things - assuming we can agree on what needs fixing.

[Andrew 4CE]

I think PopPop is dead on.

[HRTV]

I don't see negativity in what Phil and Tim have to say, they are just being realistic. We need to be realistic if we are going to try to fix things - assuming we can agree on what needs fixing.

I agree with Pop & Mike its just the truth and the way it is, the drivers and families of this sport love it! and will continue to participate as long as possible I see no point in beating this topic to death. Will this sport last forever, probably not but for now lets just support the folks who love it and help them succeed

[Big Don]

This was taken from a thread in 2003 from the view of a new guy wanting to race. Background on him… he has wanted to race since the 80’s, followed racing but never pulled the trigger. Went kart racing and still had the itch for boats. We (Stock Outboard) couldn’t land him for all the reason we are aware of and this is a guy that wanted to race and followed us. Luckily APBA didn’t loose him and he’s racing in another division. It’s only one persons view but I thought it was worth bringing it up again.



“I thought I would share with all of you the opinion of a new guy that is interested in coming into our sport. I asked him to give me his opinion pro & con of our sport so I could post it.

We are at time our own worse enemy. He said he had so many personal e-mails when he was looking telling him not to buy so and so’s stuff it’s no good or don’t buy from him the boat is junk, be careful of that rig we don’t know if the engine is going to be legal, be careful you don’t buy a 202 it’s hard to tell the difference between that and a 102, I sold him that boat 5 years ago and only charged him 800.00 and now he wants 1300.00 don’t pay it...


My opinions are probably what you have heard before. Feel free to break it down in different terms on Hydroracer or any other forum.... as I am sure you won't change the message.


From a Karter looking into Boat Racing
Pros.
1) Family sport, great family thing to do. Seems like a nicer day than at the kart track. (which could be a parking lot at some events)
2) Competitive.. Important to most people who race (sounds silly but...)
3) Seems cheaper, after your initial outflow....(No need for new tires after a weekend at $220 a set)

Cons
Motors
Biggest sticking point. Why can't I get into the classes I want to race without the opportunity to purchase my engine brand new and be competitive. If it is a stock class, everyone should run the same motor and you should be able to purchase it brand new. I guess I understand the Yamato is the best, but if you can't go to a manufacturer or a shop and purchase one brand new, or parts, why run it? It is very intimidating for a newbie to drop $1200 - $1500 for a motor that "has a hole in it, but that has been welded and Zed said that's ok, they all have holes in them." Especially someone coming from karts who can purchase a brand new, basically bullet proof blueprinted Briggs or Yamaha and have another on the trailer. After three seasons in karting I had three nice engines.. (only recommend two but three looked cool!)

Boats
Not as big a deal as the motor issues because I realize they are hand made and not mass produced but again, it is very intimidating buying a used boat. Karts are mass produced so the Coyote or Margay chassis that I am driving is the same as yours. (then practice, experience, set up will make me faster than you) I have heard to many stories of people driving great distances to buy a boat that just didn't work out. Not that the person shafted the buyer... it just didn't handle as well as, lets say their existing boat.

Classes
After equipment would be classes, and boat racing has nothing on karting when it comes to this problem. However, it does lend to the confusion factor. If there are so many classes that go, lets say within three MPH of each other, why so many classes. I attended two races to get a good understanding of what boat racing is all about. And it surprised me to see so many heats of 3-4 boats, racing similar speeds and similar types of drivers. Less classes, bigger class size, and better chance of someone, after driving 7 hours to get to a race, to have a competitive heat. Sure would be awesome to see 10 racers racing 3-4 laps.”

[jeff55v]

Why are we here?

We are all here because, in one way or another, we love this sport. I'm an ordinary guy...job, family, mortgage, etc. In my mind, this sport, this hobby, sets me apart. Boat racing is my identity. Boat racing is not a cookie cutter sport. Nobody can go out to a sporting goods store, or a boat dealership, slap their credit card down and buy everything he or she needs to be a competitor in this sport. This sport requires effort, it creates individuality in the person and his or her equipment. I embrace these facts, I don't regret the effort and trouble I have to go to in order to be a boat racer. I EMBRACE IT! I don't care at all for football, baseball or basketball. ( I do love a good hockey game though) I don't go for the cookie cutter, everybody does it sports. Boat racing sets me apart.

I have to think there are lots of other people out there like myself. There ARE a lot of others out there who would love boat racing if they were just exposed to it. How many current or past racers out there live nearby a current or past race site? Could it be that "ordinary" folks like myself were influenced by seeing a boat race? Boat racers are out there! They just don't know it yet.

Have you ever watched a really great movie? (stay with me here) If you're like me, the first thing you want to do is go tell everyone at work about it. How many of you have rented or bought a great DVD. Then after you watched it, loaned it unsolicited for someone else to see? THAT'S the excitement we should feel toward boat racing! I always carry a couple pages of photos to work in my lunchbox. Everyone I know at work knows all about my magnificent adventure to the Top O' race. And also the fun I had getting my hydro going again.

My point is, we need to embrace the things that boat racing IS. Not what it is not. For all the trouble we go through in order make this hobby work year after year, there's got to be a really good reason. We love this sport! We need to spread the word. There ARE others out there like ourselves, they just don't know it yet.

IMHO.

[M721son]

Here is a stray thought but I think when I get up and running I will fly a flag off my trailer that says "ASK ME" so that people will no thay have an open invitation.

[BP125V]

perfect

Here is a stray thought but I think when I get up and running I will fly a flag off my trailer that says "ASK ME" so that people will no thay have an open invitation.

that is a great way to handle it. just try to have a brochure/flyer from your local club to hand to them. we have club cards with a tear off section for the potential new member to fill out their contact info. Make sure you get their info so you can follow up, don't just give them your name and number - they might loose it.

Bill