Scream And Fly
11-20-2006, 01:22 AM
Attention All:
Howard Pipkorn requested that this be posted here - please read and discuss. Howard will also be joining us on the forums shortly to interact with those in this discussion.
Greg
Proposed Class Could Grow OPC Ranks
By Howard Pipkorn
First - Cold Hard Facts
APBA membership slipped 1% in 2006. OPC racing membership dropped 5% and participating members were no-show by 20%, for an overall decline of ---11%. What is going on?
By the time you read this we will be knee deep in the white stuff however, this is a tale of a club so far up north, all its members thought boat racing had a three month season. Really this is a story of how TCPBA stemmed the tide of waning membership and over time I hope to relate how your group may benefit from our experience.
It was July 16 when the regions first OPC event got under way. Normally we would be half way through the season, but since this is race #1 it is not looking good for the administration (that is the Sellner administration). A week later the club is split between those who can get the family to spend six hours driving to Sioux City Iowa for a two day, and those who would rather stay “Minneapolis bound” to ogle the Aquatennial Champ Boat Race. A week later we are in Crosby for a two day. Things are looking up (not so fast), we're blown out on Sunday. Ok, now two weeks later in Hill City the fifth and sixth days finally hit the record books, followed by Two days @ Moose Lake in September. Then Sellner pulls a rabbit out of the hat and schedules an unheard-of 2-day in late October. That is eleven scheduled and ten actual races starting when the summer was half over. But that is not the real story, it's about how this club found a way to grow, greatly due to the extraordinary efforts of is president. The continuing saga of how Jerry Sellner, Dean Hansen and Jerry Johnson took seven years to engineer the TCPBA phoenix (reconstruction from the ashes) is as follows.
It all started about seven years ago when Dean Hansen, northern Minnesota veteran ace driver, wanted to get his youngsters involved in the sport he so dearly loved. He spoke with then OPC head honcho, Ron Hill about resurrecting the old Mini Grand Prix. After some negotiation a new class was created, Mini GT, approximately the same as its predecessor and allowing “v” bottoms.
For the first year or so, the Hansen clan was the class. Then a strange thing happened, MGT’s started coming out of the woodwork. Soon it was the largest class in TCPBA. It was about this same time that the club functionally was at a crossroads, membership was tanking and internal problems were pulling the organization under water. Several long standing members met (unscheduled) in a south Minneapolis restaurant to decide whether to sink or swim. The only bright spot was MGT. and pretty much because of its potential, a goal line stand was ordered. Had it gone the other way, many talented drivers and expensive equipment would have had to go looking for national series as their only racing outlet.
Last year with the backing of charter member Jerry Johnson, Jerry Sellner was elected commodore, and put his back into membership, scheduling and making sure that the equipment made it to the race.
This is where I happened on the scene after a lengthy absence. The first of the year 2006, Jerry Johnson and I met for lunch and the subject of TCPBA came up, and the comment was made that the club was slowly dying (except for MGT). This stirred concern because I have paternal feelings for an association I helped found. A sport needs a steady flow of new blood to remain healthy. I racked my brain for a solution but nothing was to come out.
I showed up at my first race as a driver in at least twenty five years with (of all things) a (water-ski ready “Little Hustler”) MGT and had my ass soundly handed to me (second to last). I borrowed a friends Tiger tunnel to redeem my somewhat tarnished reputation and was getting it rigged when the Aquatennial (a Minneapolis festival with Champ Boat races on the Mississippi) came along. I took the Tiger down to the riverside with signs "COME RACE WITH US" in hopes of tempting the 1% of the audience who are susceptible and able to lay down a couple grand to see how wet they can get in the first turn. Then it dawned on me that there are too many barriers to entry for boat racing. Cost, Time, Know-how, Hassle just to name a few, are seemingly insurmountable factors to the "Greenhorn". Not only do you have to buy a single purpose craft that you use for 5-10 minutes and work on for days, weeks or months, but you have to be strapped into a capsule with a 5 pt. harness. If you think about it, this doesn't have a lot of appeal to “the man on the street”. MGT may not be attractive to adults because of tiny, weight sensitive tunnels and small fishing motors. To hook the most new comers it must be cheap, easy, competitive, safe, rewarding and above all fun! These will be here to fore the big SIX.
To meet these six requirements we dredged up an old local class (VP75) that flourished in the eighties then died because “hot shot” racers kept finding new engines that met the rules but out performed and thus made obsolete the lion’s share of the field. It would need some messaging to prevent the same thing from happening. They say that progress (outboard development) is good. But to meet the BIG SIX criteria, in this case, it is not so. We had to short circuit the “I can come up with a faster rig” syndrome. To do this we had to borrow from two other old classes, FS and EP (did I just date myself?). This is how the whole thing shakes out.
For cheap we have 3 cylinder 49 cubers (dime-a-Dozen) and old used (but heavy) fiberglass performance boats. I bought a Stinger II with a decent looking bow-rider and trailer for $300. My neighbor bought a race ready Vixen with a Stinger, trailer, battery and half a tank of gas (needing only a race number, foot throttle, kill switch and a new Ride-Guide cable) for $490. Jerry Sellner (Commodore of TCPBA) will sell a Viper and trailer to a certified potential racer for $500. Another nice feature is, these rigs do NOT depreciate.
For easy, drop an engine on the transom so that the prop shaft centerline is 5” below the pad, hook up mechanical steering, a kill switch and screw in a hot foot and you are ready to go. And if per chance, the molded depth of the “fiberglass scow” you picked is less than 20” you will need to add a ski tow looking device to keep others out of your cockpit.
For competitive these boats gross out at a minimum of 900# and will all run out at 45-50 mph. For safe, prop shafts are 5" below the pad, to maintain proper pitch and yaw control, and no power trim. If you think trim is a safety factor, then you are too far into the sport to remember how many things a barefoot, just of the beach, can handle (steering wheel and throttle). His car doesn't have anything like trim to master and doesn't bow steer and spin out, if he stays on the “down” button too long.
How about holes allowed above the cavitation plate for noise (vroooom - vrooom) and loop charged punch for rewarding and fun.
This is not a single purpose boat, with a change of propeller, it makes a nifty little water-ski tow boat that “mama and the kids” can enjoy on the weekends when there aren’t any races.
Some will get bored in time, some will quit, some will stay and some will transition to five point harnessed classes, now easier to swallow once they have a taste and close association with our sport. This is what I think OPC needs, a steady flow of new blood. At the last two races we had three entries and now there are four ready-to-go boats for the class (as we speak two more are being post season rigged) and enough bona fide interest that everyone expects 8-10 boats at the first race in May, 07.
Side note: Region 8 (basically Minnesota) is #2 in total OPC driving members to Reg. 5 (Florida). In 2006, twenty three different MGT boats were campaigned by 16 OPC drivers in region 8. If you can see your group benefiting for our experience then LET’S GO MGT & VP RACING!
(Name subject to review, Maybe something like Formula E)
VP/E CLASS (revision to VP75 Class) Revised w/Exp.
Boats must be molded “V”-bottoms (ABA 2’X4’ Rule)
13-17 feet in length.
Reason : Plenty of old cheap high perf. Boats around.
Boats with less than 20 inches of molded depth, at the drivers seat (external keel to top of cockpit combing) must have a parabolic roll bar installed, reaching six inches over the driver’s head and supported by two rear braces to the transom or floor.
Reason: Need driver protection from side impact.
Driver’s seat must not exceed 36” aft of midships (ABA Rule #__?__)
Reason: Driver’s weight could make boat out of balance.
Steering must be mechanical (push-pull through tilt tube type).
Re.: Cables and pulleys are too complicated for beginners.
Engines must be stock production and mass marketed CLASS E (49.99cu. in. total piston displacement).
Reason: There are a ton of these old but reliable egg beaters around, cheap enough that the seller might just throw in a boat and trailer.
Engines must be mounted such that when trimmed parallel to running surface, the centerline of the propeller shaft is located five inches below the running surface.
Re.: Keeps the rig in control in the straights and gives the motor enoughbow lift to keep from spinning in the turns.
Power trim is not allowed, engines w/P/T must have P/T disconnected electrically, in addition all engines must be tied down to prevent kick-up.
Reason: Too much time on the down button, by a rocky could mean a ground loop in a turn; and P/T increases the cost Approx. $500.
Thrust jacks and upper mount snubbers are allowed.
Reason: Improves stability.
Engine Modifications:
A. Tilt switches and rev limiters may be rendered inoperative.
B. Two 1”diameter holes that can be readily plugged (for testing and water skiing) may be drilled in the lower unit above the cavitation plate.
C. Cosmetic appearance may be changed.
Reason: Many motors have already been painted other colors by previous owners.
D. Hydro-electric lower units may have the oil pump removed for forward-only operation.
Reason: Oil pump steals HP.
Minimum weight of complete rig with driver is 900#. Boats powered by engines with less than 45 cubic inches are not subject to weight restrictions.
The following are estimates of how the weight limit was determined.
A. Boat 400# Reason: Old but heavy High Performance Boats
B. Motor 180#
C. Driver 200# Reason: We are not getting any lighter.
D. Roll bar 20#
E. Rigging 90#
F. Fuel 21#
Total: 911#
Drivers must be at least 16 years of age.
This class will experience zero depreciation.
Reason: Rigs will always be “worth it” for their parts. Rockies will be standing in line to buy race-ready setups.
Region* OPC Activity Chairman Howard Pipkorn
Howard Pipkorn requested that this be posted here - please read and discuss. Howard will also be joining us on the forums shortly to interact with those in this discussion.
Greg
Proposed Class Could Grow OPC Ranks
By Howard Pipkorn
First - Cold Hard Facts
APBA membership slipped 1% in 2006. OPC racing membership dropped 5% and participating members were no-show by 20%, for an overall decline of ---11%. What is going on?
By the time you read this we will be knee deep in the white stuff however, this is a tale of a club so far up north, all its members thought boat racing had a three month season. Really this is a story of how TCPBA stemmed the tide of waning membership and over time I hope to relate how your group may benefit from our experience.
It was July 16 when the regions first OPC event got under way. Normally we would be half way through the season, but since this is race #1 it is not looking good for the administration (that is the Sellner administration). A week later the club is split between those who can get the family to spend six hours driving to Sioux City Iowa for a two day, and those who would rather stay “Minneapolis bound” to ogle the Aquatennial Champ Boat Race. A week later we are in Crosby for a two day. Things are looking up (not so fast), we're blown out on Sunday. Ok, now two weeks later in Hill City the fifth and sixth days finally hit the record books, followed by Two days @ Moose Lake in September. Then Sellner pulls a rabbit out of the hat and schedules an unheard-of 2-day in late October. That is eleven scheduled and ten actual races starting when the summer was half over. But that is not the real story, it's about how this club found a way to grow, greatly due to the extraordinary efforts of is president. The continuing saga of how Jerry Sellner, Dean Hansen and Jerry Johnson took seven years to engineer the TCPBA phoenix (reconstruction from the ashes) is as follows.
It all started about seven years ago when Dean Hansen, northern Minnesota veteran ace driver, wanted to get his youngsters involved in the sport he so dearly loved. He spoke with then OPC head honcho, Ron Hill about resurrecting the old Mini Grand Prix. After some negotiation a new class was created, Mini GT, approximately the same as its predecessor and allowing “v” bottoms.
For the first year or so, the Hansen clan was the class. Then a strange thing happened, MGT’s started coming out of the woodwork. Soon it was the largest class in TCPBA. It was about this same time that the club functionally was at a crossroads, membership was tanking and internal problems were pulling the organization under water. Several long standing members met (unscheduled) in a south Minneapolis restaurant to decide whether to sink or swim. The only bright spot was MGT. and pretty much because of its potential, a goal line stand was ordered. Had it gone the other way, many talented drivers and expensive equipment would have had to go looking for national series as their only racing outlet.
Last year with the backing of charter member Jerry Johnson, Jerry Sellner was elected commodore, and put his back into membership, scheduling and making sure that the equipment made it to the race.
This is where I happened on the scene after a lengthy absence. The first of the year 2006, Jerry Johnson and I met for lunch and the subject of TCPBA came up, and the comment was made that the club was slowly dying (except for MGT). This stirred concern because I have paternal feelings for an association I helped found. A sport needs a steady flow of new blood to remain healthy. I racked my brain for a solution but nothing was to come out.
I showed up at my first race as a driver in at least twenty five years with (of all things) a (water-ski ready “Little Hustler”) MGT and had my ass soundly handed to me (second to last). I borrowed a friends Tiger tunnel to redeem my somewhat tarnished reputation and was getting it rigged when the Aquatennial (a Minneapolis festival with Champ Boat races on the Mississippi) came along. I took the Tiger down to the riverside with signs "COME RACE WITH US" in hopes of tempting the 1% of the audience who are susceptible and able to lay down a couple grand to see how wet they can get in the first turn. Then it dawned on me that there are too many barriers to entry for boat racing. Cost, Time, Know-how, Hassle just to name a few, are seemingly insurmountable factors to the "Greenhorn". Not only do you have to buy a single purpose craft that you use for 5-10 minutes and work on for days, weeks or months, but you have to be strapped into a capsule with a 5 pt. harness. If you think about it, this doesn't have a lot of appeal to “the man on the street”. MGT may not be attractive to adults because of tiny, weight sensitive tunnels and small fishing motors. To hook the most new comers it must be cheap, easy, competitive, safe, rewarding and above all fun! These will be here to fore the big SIX.
To meet these six requirements we dredged up an old local class (VP75) that flourished in the eighties then died because “hot shot” racers kept finding new engines that met the rules but out performed and thus made obsolete the lion’s share of the field. It would need some messaging to prevent the same thing from happening. They say that progress (outboard development) is good. But to meet the BIG SIX criteria, in this case, it is not so. We had to short circuit the “I can come up with a faster rig” syndrome. To do this we had to borrow from two other old classes, FS and EP (did I just date myself?). This is how the whole thing shakes out.
For cheap we have 3 cylinder 49 cubers (dime-a-Dozen) and old used (but heavy) fiberglass performance boats. I bought a Stinger II with a decent looking bow-rider and trailer for $300. My neighbor bought a race ready Vixen with a Stinger, trailer, battery and half a tank of gas (needing only a race number, foot throttle, kill switch and a new Ride-Guide cable) for $490. Jerry Sellner (Commodore of TCPBA) will sell a Viper and trailer to a certified potential racer for $500. Another nice feature is, these rigs do NOT depreciate.
For easy, drop an engine on the transom so that the prop shaft centerline is 5” below the pad, hook up mechanical steering, a kill switch and screw in a hot foot and you are ready to go. And if per chance, the molded depth of the “fiberglass scow” you picked is less than 20” you will need to add a ski tow looking device to keep others out of your cockpit.
For competitive these boats gross out at a minimum of 900# and will all run out at 45-50 mph. For safe, prop shafts are 5" below the pad, to maintain proper pitch and yaw control, and no power trim. If you think trim is a safety factor, then you are too far into the sport to remember how many things a barefoot, just of the beach, can handle (steering wheel and throttle). His car doesn't have anything like trim to master and doesn't bow steer and spin out, if he stays on the “down” button too long.
How about holes allowed above the cavitation plate for noise (vroooom - vrooom) and loop charged punch for rewarding and fun.
This is not a single purpose boat, with a change of propeller, it makes a nifty little water-ski tow boat that “mama and the kids” can enjoy on the weekends when there aren’t any races.
Some will get bored in time, some will quit, some will stay and some will transition to five point harnessed classes, now easier to swallow once they have a taste and close association with our sport. This is what I think OPC needs, a steady flow of new blood. At the last two races we had three entries and now there are four ready-to-go boats for the class (as we speak two more are being post season rigged) and enough bona fide interest that everyone expects 8-10 boats at the first race in May, 07.
Side note: Region 8 (basically Minnesota) is #2 in total OPC driving members to Reg. 5 (Florida). In 2006, twenty three different MGT boats were campaigned by 16 OPC drivers in region 8. If you can see your group benefiting for our experience then LET’S GO MGT & VP RACING!
(Name subject to review, Maybe something like Formula E)
VP/E CLASS (revision to VP75 Class) Revised w/Exp.
Boats must be molded “V”-bottoms (ABA 2’X4’ Rule)
13-17 feet in length.
Reason : Plenty of old cheap high perf. Boats around.
Boats with less than 20 inches of molded depth, at the drivers seat (external keel to top of cockpit combing) must have a parabolic roll bar installed, reaching six inches over the driver’s head and supported by two rear braces to the transom or floor.
Reason: Need driver protection from side impact.
Driver’s seat must not exceed 36” aft of midships (ABA Rule #__?__)
Reason: Driver’s weight could make boat out of balance.
Steering must be mechanical (push-pull through tilt tube type).
Re.: Cables and pulleys are too complicated for beginners.
Engines must be stock production and mass marketed CLASS E (49.99cu. in. total piston displacement).
Reason: There are a ton of these old but reliable egg beaters around, cheap enough that the seller might just throw in a boat and trailer.
Engines must be mounted such that when trimmed parallel to running surface, the centerline of the propeller shaft is located five inches below the running surface.
Re.: Keeps the rig in control in the straights and gives the motor enoughbow lift to keep from spinning in the turns.
Power trim is not allowed, engines w/P/T must have P/T disconnected electrically, in addition all engines must be tied down to prevent kick-up.
Reason: Too much time on the down button, by a rocky could mean a ground loop in a turn; and P/T increases the cost Approx. $500.
Thrust jacks and upper mount snubbers are allowed.
Reason: Improves stability.
Engine Modifications:
A. Tilt switches and rev limiters may be rendered inoperative.
B. Two 1”diameter holes that can be readily plugged (for testing and water skiing) may be drilled in the lower unit above the cavitation plate.
C. Cosmetic appearance may be changed.
Reason: Many motors have already been painted other colors by previous owners.
D. Hydro-electric lower units may have the oil pump removed for forward-only operation.
Reason: Oil pump steals HP.
Minimum weight of complete rig with driver is 900#. Boats powered by engines with less than 45 cubic inches are not subject to weight restrictions.
The following are estimates of how the weight limit was determined.
A. Boat 400# Reason: Old but heavy High Performance Boats
B. Motor 180#
C. Driver 200# Reason: We are not getting any lighter.
D. Roll bar 20#
E. Rigging 90#
F. Fuel 21#
Total: 911#
Drivers must be at least 16 years of age.
This class will experience zero depreciation.
Reason: Rigs will always be “worth it” for their parts. Rockies will be standing in line to buy race-ready setups.
Region* OPC Activity Chairman Howard Pipkorn