Some of you know that I race model boats...when I aint shooting
Well ever so often during a year, and only at certain places across the country, where the course has been surveyed and is "officially recorded" we will have what is called a "record trials. This is where we try to break current records that exist in the various classes that we race in.We have the old nitro classes, and a lot of gasoline classes, and also now quite a lot of electric classes. I have gotten into electrics lately because I got started making the fiberglass boat hulls for a certain class that we run.A fellow club member gave me the mold because he heard that I was interested in learning how to make them. I then made a new mold for a hull that I designed because the first boat I was making did some screwy stuff in the turns. I really wanted to find out if I actually understood what was wrong with the first boat, and if I knew how to correct it. I made it a little smaller to save time and cost, and it actually works out well in a lesser class that the first boat. In this class they limit the motor and speed controller so t is a much slower class, slow enough that I can keep up with the boat! But I have to say that the hull handles very well going around the turns like it's on rails.
So with the hull doing so well a couple of us thought that we should try it in that bigger class with a record breaking setup. With this type setup you can make use of a smaller hull than during racing, because you are on the water all alone and do not have to worry about other boats and their wakes. Also you can wait for "ideal" water conditions before making a run. With the electrics, you can make a couple of laps (the record is for 2 timed laps around a 1/3 rd or 1/4 mile course) then sit still and let the wakes settle, and make a couple more. That's about all the batteries will handle though before you start to see a loss of power. We have them set up so that they use that much power that quick, if not, your not making enough power and your just wasting time!
My buddy who started all this by using my hull, and is the area electric guru, likes to go for 1/16th straight away records. And he was the first to say that he thought the hull had "record potential" and asked for a hull. I built and gave him a couple to try out, and asked if I could go with him and help with hull setups. SURE he said.
So I also put together a "record" boat, but I just did it so that I would have something to do while I was at the trials for two-three days with nothing much to do. It usually does not take a lot of hull tuning as most of the time is spent on props and batteries. So for MY boat, I put the biggest motor I had in it and fitted an odd prop to the shaft and during testing at our local race pond the GURU sez "what are you doing"? Within a couple of runs and prop changes, my son and I noticed that the damn thing was flying across the pond! I brought it in and made another prop change and topped off the batteries, then when it was time to run again I told my son to drive and go around the course. Ho Lee SHIP! We were on to something! He stopped to let the wakes settle and I got out the stop watch, we were going to find out if it was as quick as it looked. I was timing and he was making lap after lap, and the guru came down to find out what was going on. WTH he said, "what kind of times are you getting?" Well he just made three 12.4 second laps in a row so I think were close enough to a record time that it would be worth trying for. He looked at me and said that the two lap record is 27.7XX seconds
.... and we just did a 24.8!So last August a trials finally came up in Huntsville Alabama, But as luck would have it my son could not go to the record run. So I had to try to get someone else to drive it for me. I tried but I just can not handle them that well anymore. Vision and nerves and reactions are not like they use to be, but at least I know and understand that. Guru guy did not have time to fool with my toy boat cause he has his own stuff to work with, and it was giving him all kinds of problems. But luckily there was another fellow Atlanta Model Boater there trying to lower a couple of his own old records. And one of them is the record that I was going after! I laid back and waited until he had finished with his stuff, then when it looked like he had a little free time I coaxed him into driving my boat.
He was shocked at the power of my boat and did not understand how it could accelerate like it was doing. I explained that I did not listen to common knowledge when setting it up, and built it with a different approach. Instead of high revs and little props, I opted for a bigger slower revving motor and a bigger prop. I didn't tell him that was all that I had, I figured I'd let that slide and he would think that I actually KNEW what I was doing. After a few laps getting use to how it handled differently from his setups, he came in for fresh batteries. We had to wait for the rotation to get back around to our turn and off he went. Two laps later we had the new record! Two more laps and he lowered it a couple of tenths more. He was satisfied, I suggested that he keep going to try and lower it as much as he could. I told him he left a lot of time out there around the turns cause he would not get tight on the buoys. I suggested that when my son ever gets to go to a record run, that with the way he drives, this record would fall easily if he did not lower it as much as he could. He would not budge though so the record stood at 26.887 seconds.
My son did get to attend the next trials but the weather did not cooperate with us for running a small boat going 50+mph, so we had to wait for next time. Then son could not make it the next time. Then another one was scheduled for last weekend Feb 6 and 7. I was free and so was he so off we went to Valdosta Ga., 13 miles from the Florida line. Friday practice day, was rough as the wind was blowing pretty good. But then Saturday morning the water was like a sheet of glass. That's good for the hydro guys but a mono (V hull) like mine, needs a tiny bit of chop to loosen up the hull and to get some air around the prop to let the motor rev up. Finally around 1:30 the wind picked up to around 2-3 mph which put that tiny ripple on the water. "Two more mph of wind" I said, and we can rock and roll. Sure nuff by 2:pm the wind was dead on and the water looked perfect. The batteries were hot and waiting, the propeller shaft was greased, the hull bottom had been treated with a new coat of rain X and we were waiting our turn.
We hit the water and it took him a few laps to get used to the way the electric accelerates compared to his big gas boats do. The electric is like a 454 cassull when you punch the throttle from sitting still, so you have to learn to ease into it or it will just wheelie and flip over backwards. Back in to recharge the batteries and hoping that the wind does not get to high. Back out and in just a few laps, he got it! Man what a relief. Now to try to whittle it down as low as we can get it so the next guy does not even consider even trying for it. We eventually got it down to 26.0XX. Dumb azz me forgot to write it down so I'm not sure exactly what the hundredth and thousandths was, but that zero after the 26 means that we are .8 under our old record and thats good enough for me. Not only does that beat our old record but it also out does the next two BIGGER classes times............I'm working on a boat to run in those NEXT time! I can just make a battery change (voltage limits) in the same boat and should get those records no problem. But I want to really knock them down, and I don't see this little boat being able to stay upright if I make it go another 5-8 mph faster. Oh and our speed for that time figures out to 46.XX mph which doesn't sound like a lot, but remember this is an average for 2 laps. The straight away record for this class is 78 mph. But considering that the fastest MONO oval speed in the books was set by a 1.01 cubic inch 75% nitro burning monster, and it only went 56 mph! That puts my 46mph into better perspective. And the fastest ever model boat two laps was set by Martin Truex Jr. the NASCAR driver, driving a hydro at 74 mph.
Truex got there Sunday morning and was breaking in a new twin engine hydro. That's the only hydro class that he does not own the record. He can drive a model boat extremely good. Don't know how he does in the cars cause I do not watch them. He also does his own motor work and has started building his own hulls. So he is not just a driver, but actually understands what makes stuff work. I got to think that he is doing pretty good in the cars.
We got word from one of our buddies that stayed after we left that Truex DID get that twin record! We're praying that he doesn't take a liking to V hulls!!!!!
The record is not offical yet, it has to go to the records director for his approval. Then it takes him a couple of months to get it all finalized and send me my certificate. When I get it I'll post a picture and let you know the exact time. Here's a picture of me my driver/son Lamar, and the little boat that could. That's the batteries that I am holding. Got to send a picture of them to my sponsor so maybe they will give me more!
