Ernie Dawe PLEASE WAKE UP???

[sax555]

hearn

Ignorance is bliss, isn't it, Sax?

Sorry can't be as perfect as you!!

[Brian10s]

I haven't been a J kid in many years (although my wife still think that is where my maturity stopped) but I remember back in the stone ages when all J Stock kids were running the 60J and then the 7.5 merc was intorduced. In about 2 races only the very best 60J's could compete and after a season ot 2 even the best were getting smoked. While it stunk bigtime not having a shot at the win, it did make you drive harder, especially when you a) jumped the gun or b) caught the 7.5's sleeping at the start. You drove your butt off to keep them behind you.

My point here is that we have let the new engine dominate the old in the past and we should try and learn from it. Yes, the top guns will still be the top gun no matter which motor they choose but we shouldn't loose sight of the poor kid in last place. He could be your next Greg Lyons, Matt Gallagher, James Luce or Dylan Runne and we all would hate for him to lose that fire and leave the sport.

If you think all the OMC's have a disavantage, start collecting summary sheets from all the races and keep track of lap times for all motors. Take the drivers for each motor and average out the times over the course of the year. The Junior Committee will need data in order to make not only a decission but a fair one to both camps.

Just an idea.

[14-H]

888So how long do we have to wait for this? I am being serious and not being smart.
I have a kid in J getting his butt kicked by the Mercs. Doesnt matter how good a start he gets, he knows he is a sitting duck. ****the bit!

Jeff: Borrow an OMC motor from Justice; the Merc's will tremble in fear, I guarantee it. This thread is nonsense.

[werners racing]

jsh

Hey guys its not that bad i sold the boat to another j racer to make him better. iam 16 now and it is time to move on i had 5 years of fun and won many j hydro and j runabout races. What stinks is you can buy the best CSH for the price of a jsh. saxs driver 41ce

[les]

Mike's got it nailed!

What stinks is you can buy the best CSH for the price of a jsh. saxs driver 41ce

Well said, Mike. It's not entry level at the top.

Larry Spencer

[Jerry Davids]

In hopes that I don't get my hair pulled, skirt ripped or purse stolen, I want to just say as a father and as a coach we as parents put too much emphasis on winning. The 'J' class to me is a training ground for our young drivers. At 10 years old if they don't hit the patrol boat, fall out of the boat, or run over their pit crew, they had a great day. They are our future. We need to encourage them to do as good as they can. Winning comes with time. They don't need to go to the 'Hall' the first year. Just my thoughts.

Jerry

[MARATHONMAN]

JERRY , I AGREE . MY KID IS JUST GETTING THE NERVE TO GO OUT IN THE BOAT. HE HAS HAD IT FOR TWO YEARS AND JUST WASN,T OR ISN,T READY. BUT I,LL TELL YOU THIS IF YOU NEED HELP IN THE PITS ; JUDGES STAND OR JUST WANT A SANDWICH HE'S YOUR MAN. WITH GOOD TRAINING THEY WILL LEARN HAVE FUN AND THERE IS PLENTY OF TIME IN THE FUTURE TOP GO FAST!

[Lights]

Well said Jerry.

[Dr. Thunder]

Ignorance is bliss, isn't it, Sax?

Gives new meaning to "... no child left behind"

[kws]

To Mike. I think the biggest problem would be getting everyone to agree on What boat and powerplant. I agree to the concept completely. I think they would learn how to Drive a little extra into the boats. lol then they can come teach me

[Skoontz]

1.8 cubic inches

OMC should be allowed to match displacement, because size matters....And said that, there was not an OMC motor made that can't eat Mercs for lunch let allowed to change what need be.

For example, why not use 45 OMC's in D class rather than 40 year old Mercs????? you're only talking about 1 cubic inch.....

My feeling is this.....Restrictor plates suck. Earnhart said it best, build the tracks safer and let us worry about driving the cars.... I have performed a ton of research on J motors since my daughters boat did not plane at Oroville. Bluntly put, the best way to restrict is through exhaust and/or propellers, or even use water friction devices just like air flaps slowing race cars. Don't screw with torque curves by using gag collars. I know this will never fly, but in an ideal world, this is what should be.....

Secondly, get rid of the expensive hotrod gear foot, use an FNR gearfoot with a 12-14" stainless prop and no gag collar behind the carb. Open engines.....You'll hit J speeds at a fraction of the money and you'll plane off every time.......

Personally, I would love to see Ebay motors, restricted by cubic inch only, run J classes. Any motor under 15 cubic inch should be legal as long as it is stock.

[Skoontz]

You got it backwards...Old school mentality is to stick a choke hole under a ?Venturi intended to be 1" in diameter... New school is use technology available to slow the boats, not rely on outdated plates that cause engines to run outside their intedned torque curve.

Fact is, is was the easiest thing to check and do...That's why gaging devices are used. There are far better ways, and I've do***tmented them. sad part is, those ways will never be allowed because it's easier to use staus quo.

If you buy an Ebay motor, for $600.00, add a prop, tyou can run 42+ on a hydro set correctly. That's the J intent. Slow the boats, get newcommers used to the drill. Now with the current system, you got $3,000 minimum on an motor with agearfoot, then $350 per prop. Use a club foot FNR, run 42, props cost $150.00 in stainless all day.

Just a though that will never happen, but it's the way my mind keeps working. Without new ideas, good bad or otherwise, we get stuck in the rut....And, I'm sure many have better ideas than what I presented, than the current system. Nothing particularly wrong with the current system, but I believe there is always room for improvement, and ways to make things more afffordable.

[modhydro]

Another bunch of thoughts on J racing

We run the OMC because that is what we found for a good price. Will we ever truly compete with the "big dogs?" Probably not. What we do though is try to improve our performance every race and every heat. I guess that I'm lucky that Kyle is driven by the good race and boat ride rather than a win. Just like any competitive motorsport, you are never going to beat cubic dollars. If you expect to win at the national level, expect to pay accordingly. It is up to each individual to set their priorities and make their own decisions.

J is a learning class. How many of us have seen a kid run pretty well the first heat only to not plane on the second? Does anyone ever question the dad who adjusted the engine trim for "just a little more?" Instead you will hear people complain about the props, the restrictors, which engine, etc. What is more important to you as a J dad; your kid getting in all the heats and learning or risking the case where being greedy left your kid on the beach watching their friends having a blast (even the ones running for 7th and 8th!)

Another topic that seems to be often overlooked is the amount of test time that people put in. Do you think that the families with "magic engines" just show up at a race and clamp it on at some arbitrary setting and see what it will do? I've seen the same complaints applied to several classes beyond J. It is nearly impossible to beat somebody that has put thorough preparation into their stuff. Let's not try to legislate equality through some arbitrary rules. Instead lets remind everyone that there is a reward for hard work and doing your homework. Get out and test. Get your kids all the boat time you can outside of races. Teach them the value of pursuing a goal and doing the work required to acheive it!

Try to remember that these kids all come in pumped and excited and ready for more. Do what you can to get them running better, but just be sure that they are running all heats and learning. That is what it is all about, at least to us. Even with just helping his brother Kyle with an average running rig, our younger son is ready to try it out this fall testing. He sees what fun even running behind the top guys can be.

I sure hope that everyone can keep this fun and grow the sport from the true grass roots. There will always be a full spectrum of performance in any class. Lets not fool ourselves into thinking that we can change that and loose track of the ultimate goal of getting kids into boats to learn the fun of our hobby.

Steve Roskowski

[Team B&H]

The Mercury restrictor was engineered so the motor could be competitive with the BEST OMC motors of the day. The Merc prototype motor was assembled by Lynn Williams and it was tried in A and found slow. It bounced around for some time and ended up with Steve Hearn to try as a J. It first ran as a J at Lock Haven in 1999. With a mid-pack start, it was out in front at the first turn with a driver in only his second J race but with a very good boat. The next heat he was told to start in the back which he did and it took to the second turn to get out in front. Obviously that restrictor was too large.

Its next race was at Grass Lake against a very good field of Michigan Js. Merc sent two smaller plates and with the smaller of those, the driver took second both heats and won on time. Both the OMCs that won the heats were faster but the Merc was close and the driver was consistent. In that race, props were collected and redistributed between heats. (ah, the good old two-blade days when planing off was not an issue)

In the first few years, racing was very close. Hagerl, Justice and D'Agostino all have had excellent chances to win the Nationals with OMCs. I think Justice won the first heat at Wakefield and then had his motor stop before the start of the second heat. Amanda Hagerl was fastest at Whitney Point but had her boat bobble over some waves on the back stretch and the Merc passed her there. Valerie was super fast at Dayton but jumped when the course was moved and no one had starting runs for the finals. All those racers had excellent OMCs and were as fast or faster than the Mercs.

So why are things perceived differently now by some myopic individuals? Because most of the OMC motors now in circulation aren't comparable to those run in the past. How many motors did Hagerl go thru to find the one that ran best in J? In 2001, there was one record set with the Merc but Hannon - who also owned a Merc- used an OMC to set 4 or 5 records. Why did he use his OMC rather than a Merc? How much testing and sorting out did D'Agostino do with his own stuff and Gary Pond's stuff to get one OMC motor that was gold rated?

So now we have some new guys who buy some 4th or 5th hand OMC stuff and probably a brand X boat and are suprised that they can't run with the hot dogs? Lets slow the Mercs down so they don't have to do all the work that the best OMC guys had to do in the past. Get real.

I know, we ran the first Merc stuff.

[csh2z]

Well said, Steve.