SUPERSPORT 45 NAMBA MOD

NAMBA rules for sport boats have bellypan depth restrictions for all the sport classes.

NAMBA sport 40 director Eric Boulet informed me of this detail this year. Boats been around since 1990 and someone finally read the rulebook :lol: Maybe that rule came along long after I started selling the SSP45, no one really knows when or why there is a rule for depths on bellypan sport boats I am told. I wasnt aware of it either.

It is no big deal to fix and the mod I have actually settles the boat down in racing conditions

You can do it yourself or get one of my mod kits which consists of a epoxyglass filler sheet for the left and right tunnel to be glued in between the belly pan and sponson. It make the tunnel angle of attack less so the hull makes less lift and meets the NAMBA 1/2 inch depth rule.

check out the pictures in this album SSP45 NAMBA MOD

https://www.intlwaters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=832

email me for more info

PHIL THOMAS

Hi Phil: Do I understand this correctly? My two Sport 40's are now illegal in NAMBA? I have a race tomorrow and from what I underatand, but actually can't believe, I must change the belly pan tonight to be legal tomorrow?

This is unbelievable! Please tell me that this is a April fools jhoke 13 days late. Perry

Perry

It is no joke. I am sure that the CD will not have a problem of you running the boat just the way you have for who know how long.. You will not be the only one with this problem. I am sure that most clubs will overlook the rule for the year so that the boats can be fixed. Here is the rule the way it is written.

11. No boat will have an after plane greater than 60% of the total length of the hull.

Length “C” will be measured from the transom to the point where the sponson is

attached to the hull (Figure 1). The belly pan (measurement “E”, Figure 2), if

applicable will be no deeper than the measurement given in Table 1. The depth of “E”

will be taken at the rear of the sponson, measured from the bottom of the hull to the

top of the air trap.

There is a very easy fix to make it legal. The measurement is taken at the rear of the sponsons. Glue a piece of 1/4 balsa across the air trap at the point where the measurement is taken. Your boat will meet the rule.

Mike

captwalter said:

Hi Phil: Do I understand this correctly? My two Sport 40's are now illegal in NAMBA? I have a race tomorrow and from what I underatand, but actually can't believe, I must change the belly pan tonight to be legal tomorrow?
This is unbelievable! Please tell me that this is a April fools jhoke 13 days late. Perry

Click to expand...

HA No joke but dont get excited, I cannot see anyone protesting in dist 3 but be ready for the NATS if you go.

PHIL

Mike Hughes said:

There is a very easy fix to make it legal. The measurement is taken at the rear of the sponsons. Glue a piece of 1/4 balsa across the air trap at the point where the measurement is taken. Your boat will meet the rule.
Mike

Click to expand...

So just a strip of 1/4 deep wood across will be ok? Is this going to be in the NAMBA newsletters? there should be an offical notice and approved fixes so everyone is on the same page.

This strip of 1/4 could act like an air dam too, adding another strip about 2 inches from the leading edge would spoil the airflow under the boat too, but the tunnel mod is better I think.

The info I got was that they didnt want someone adding a deep bellypan with a square back edge to help the boat get a good launch.

The SSP45 has no back to the belly pan to act like a lifting surface so this should not be a problem anyway.

But rules are rules HA

The latest online version of the NAMBA Propwash newsletter just went up today. You can get it at www.namba.com

Go to NEWS - PROPWASH - APRIL 2007. You can find the article on page 16.

Eric Bourlet, the NAMBA Sport Chairman wrote an excellent article not only about the belly pan but other aspects that he has encountered with sport boats as well. He covers it all and very well I might add.

Thanks,

Al Waters

Phil,

How much is the mod kit going to cost? I'm building one right now and would like to do it before paint. Do I hear "recall"...

Ron

Al Waters said:

The latest online version of the NAMBA Propwash newsletter just went up today. You can get it at www.namba.comGo to NEWS - PROPWASH - APRIL 2007. You can find the article on page 16.

Eric Bourlet, the NAMBA Sport Chairman wrote an excellent article not only about the belly pan but other aspects that he has encountered with sport boats as well. He covers it all and very well I might add.

Thanks,

Al Waters

Click to expand...

HEY THANKS AL I will go see what it says

Ron J said:

Phil,
How much is the mod kit going to cost? I'm building one right now and would like to do it before paint. Do I hear "recall"...

Ron

Click to expand...

Ron it only needed if you are racing in Namba races $20 You can do it yourself with some 1/32 ply, did you see the picture link I posted?

Its your problem if you race NAMBA no recall here

That piece of wood will meet the rule. It is very specific were the measurement is taken. Kind of a loop hole. As long as you are good at that spot, legal hull. There is no other way to read the rule.

Mike

Clipped from the NAMBA Propwash

Sport Hydro Random Ramblings

By Eric Bourlet

NAMBA Sport Hydro Chairman

Our current NAMBA Sport Hydro rules read: No boat will have an after plane

greater than 60% of the total length of the hull. Length “C” will be measured from the

transom to the point where the sponson is attached to the hull (Figure 1). The belly pan

(measurement “E”, Figure 2), if applicable will be no deeper than the measurement

given in Table 1. The depth of “E” will be taken at the rear of the sponson, measured

from the bottom of the hull to the top of the air trap.

It has come to my attention that the italicized portion of the rule excerpt above is

not being met by some production Sport 40s out there. Everyone needs to be aware

that this rule, as all rules, will be enforced at the upcoming NAMBA Nationals in

California. That being said I need your help getting the word out. I don’t want to see

someone not able to run because they purchased a hull and was not aware that it did

not meet the letter of the rules. It is the responsibility of the competitor to make sure

their entry is legal, not the manufacturer of the hull, or for that matter anyone else.

Here is my take on this specific issue, and with the blessing of your President Al

Waters, and the support of the Board of Directors this is how we plan on dealing with

this specific issue. We will enforce the letter of the rule at the Nationals. What this

means is you need to read the rule carefully. There is a specific location where the

measurement is to be made. It makes no mention of ahead or behind this point so

make sure your boat meets the required measurement at that location and you will be

good to go. I was not around when this rule was originally framed and cannot find out

why it was written, so to try to judge “intent” is not an option. With the information

we have to date we figured this is the fairest way to deal with it. If any of you out there

can give me a specific reason why the rule exists, I need your input and help to rewrite

it in a way that will give the intended results. On the other hand, if we can find no

valid reason why it exists then do we want to repeal it? Remember guys, this is a

member driven association so I need your input. It’s not my place to make changes

without your input. This brings up another point. We have had problems before

because we as boat owners and competitors don’t check our hulls against the rules. I

would like each and every one of you that read this (I hope that’s at least two people)

to download and print out the section of rules on hull specifications.

Now, no matter how many times you have raced your boat, go get a ruler and

measure your boat and take all of the measurements. Now sit down and figure

out what percentage of your hull is vented (the A+B rule). Is it over 25

percent? How wide is the transom? Do you have a scale appearing driver? (That

means a human driver as it is supposed to be “scale appearing” and I can’t recall

anything but humans driving our full size counter parts). Can we see your

tuned pipe? What percentage of your boat is after plane? Are your NAMBA

numbers on the hull? Do you have a sponsor name or logo on the boat? Keep

going, read each rule and make the measurements. I think if you do this we

all will learn at least one thing we were not aware of. Most likely you will be

legal and if you are now you know for sure. It will certainly make the technical

inspection before this year’s NAMBA Nationals racing go much smoother if

you know for sure you are golden on the rules. Heck, you may even see

something that sparks an idea for improvement in your boat or the rules

themselves.

While I have you now thinking about our rules, do we want to change the no

exposed tuned pipes rule to read “no exposed exhaust systems”? Was the

intent of the original rule to have mufflers hanging out or was it to make

the Sport hulls resemble their full size counter parts? Let me hear your

thoughts. I hope to see everyone at the Nationals in District Nine. I know that

they are working hard and pulling out all the stops to make this year’s NAMBA

Nationals the best ever. Make sure you enter early as this event promises to fill

up early.

Till next time keep the shiny side up. If you need any help on making a

specific hull meet the rule or have questions drop me an e-mail at

[email protected] .

Al Waters said:

The latest online version of the NAMBA Propwash newsletter just went up today. You can get it at www.namba.comGo to NEWS - PROPWASH - APRIL 2007. You can find the article on page 16.

Eric Bourlet, the NAMBA Sport Chairman wrote an excellent article not only about the belly pan but other aspects that he has encountered with sport boats as well. He covers it all and very well I might add.

Thanks,

Al Waters

Click to expand...

Al, Eric, for sure, wrote a good article. I commend him. It is about time somebody decided to do something with the Namba rule book besides finding it a neat place to mix epoxy glue on. Now somebody besides me get started on EVERYBODY running under the same rules and eliminate all of these damned District Rules that over rule the Namba Rule Book in different districts.

DON PINCKERT

Eric,

Not to start problems, but does the NO EXPOSED TUNED PIPE RULE include the muffler or is it OK to have a muffler exposed. I ask this question for a sport .21, as in Colorado where we run, noise has never been an issue, so we do not actively enforce the 92db limit. Though we do run mufflers or muffled pipes on anything .45 and larger. I will be running the sport .21 at the Nats this year and will be adding a muffler to the exhaust system but it would be easy to have it exposed as opposed to keeping it under the cowling. I do not want to do alot of modding on this boat for the one race.

Please help

Robert Holland

SSP45 guy's . I think if you follow Phills suggestion in filling in the bow rise you will see that it will settle the boat down. So even if you do not run NAMBA the fix will be a good one. I do not know this for sure - no first hand experience - but I think it will work for the better. RC Brians Dad, Bob.

NAMBA Thats funny Phil!Nice and easy fix or could use some two sided tape and stick some 1/32 ply on it for a pinch.

Sucks that people will have to change their boats, but it should make the boat run smoother. I would actually maintain the flatness all the way to about 3" before the point where the bottom stops. At that 3" mark, make the slope up to the deck more abrupt. An easy way to try it is to take some pink foam and put it under the decks and sand to fit. Tape it on and run it. BTW, you will love what this mod does to conventionals and other light on the water boats.

Brian

Robert

I would think as long as the tuned pipe is not exposed, you would be good. That is if it is an add on muffler. The rule states TUNED PIPE. If it was a one piece pipe and muffler I would think you would have a problem. I know the Sp40-1 guys run their side exhaust mufflers exposed and no one complains. If you really need THE RULING, I would go to Eric. He is the guy going to make the call. [email protected]

Mike

Don and others,

Thanks for the kind comments about Eric Bourlet. I must also thank Phil Thomas who really went out of his way in working with Eric Bourlet and came up with an inexpensive conversion kit to meet NAMBA rules. As a boat manufacturer, he really went out of his way. Thats the good in people like Eric and Phil I admire.

Districts sometimes do what they have to do to promote a class. They don't change the rules to be different than NAMBA rules but sometimes they interpret the rules a little more loosely than another district or don't even notice that there are differences. We all assume that we build legal boats until someone comes along and points out a difference. Its the nature of the beast.

If I was to follow the NAMBA rules to the nats behind, I would not use our NAMBA Class Chairmans decisions. Read the rule book.............because thats not what their function is. But I have a great deal of respect for people like Eric and other NAMBA Class Chairmen who although they didn't make the rules (which may have been very good ones at the time) they communicate with me and I stand behind them when they make decisions. To me, that is the utmost importance. Eric states what any member or district can do if they don't like what the current rule is. This is not a dictatorship.

We will always run into situations like this when we have subtle differences in different organizations rules and manufacturers building techniques. As more boats are built that make their way across the opposite coasts, it will be something that we will have to work with.

Like Mike was saying.............. contact Eric if anyone has any concerns. He will be at the Nats as well as many others who are in the know. We want you on the water.

Thanks,

Al Waters

Al Waters said:

Don and others,Thanks for the kind comments about Eric Bourlet. I must also thank Phil Thomas who really went out of his way in working with Eric Bourlet and came up with an inexpensive conversion kit to meet NAMBA rules. As a boat manufacturer, he really went out of his way. Thats the good in people like Eric and Phil I admire.

Districts sometimes do what they have to do to promote a class. They don't change the rules to be different than NAMBA rules but sometimes they interpret the rules a little more loosely than another district or don't even notice that there are differences. We all assume that we build legal boats until someone comes along and points out a difference. Its the nature of the beast.

If I was to follow the NAMBA rules to the nats behind, I would not use our NAMBA Class Chairmans decisions. Read the rule book.............because thats not what their function is. But I have a great deal of respect for people like Eric and other NAMBA Class Chairmen who although they didn't make the rules (which may have been very good ones at the time) they communicate with me and I stand behind them when they make decisions. To me, that is the utmost importance. Eric states what any member or district can do if they don't like what the current rule is. This is not a dictatorship.

We will always run into situations like this when we have subtle differences in different organizations rules and manufacturers building techniques. As more boats are built that make their way across the opposite coasts, it will be something that we will have to work with.

Like Mike was saying.............. contact Eric if anyone has any concerns. He will be at the Nats as well as many others who are in the know. We want you on the water.

Thanks,

Al Waters

Click to expand...

Al, Not misinterpreted, CHANGED. Added to and deleted from.

Eric is wrong on one issue. It DEFINITELY is up to the manufacturer to make sure his boat is legal. Just as it is for engines. Imagine going in a hobby shop and saying: "I want to buy that motor, but, first I have to take it apart and measure it to make sure it is legal." ---- Come on.

Al, I still have on file a letter you sent Bob Johnson, where you stated as National Scale Chairman you would never over rule a District Chairman and their rules. You went on to say because of this, at the Namba Nats NOTHING is illegal - ANYTHING runs. ---- I was talking with Bob, a few weeks ago, he couldn't believe I saved old stuff like that. ----- YES I DO. ---- Boy howdy, do I ever wish I had a computer forty some years ago. ---- There wouldn't be any: "I didn't say that", "Not Me", "You're

thinking about somebody else", etc., etc., etc. ----

Eric, did write a good article. But, all anybody has to do is read the same thing in the rule book (heaven forbid). ---- I have to be careful. The last letter I got from Eric B., he babbled on for a full page about what a "miserable excuse of a human being" I am. ---- (I have that one on file too).

See Ya' Don Pinckert (If I don't answer anybody, it is because I 'ain't' here.)

Mike Hughes said:

RobertI would think as long as the tuned pipe is not exposed, you would be good. That is if it is an add on muffler. The rule states TUNED PIPE. If it was a one piece pipe and muffler I would think you would have a problem. I know the Sp40-1 guys run their side exhaust mufflers exposed and no one complains. If you really need THE RULING, I would go to Eric. He is the guy going to make the call. [email protected]

Mike

Click to expand...

Thanks and I sent Eric an e-mail.

Robert