Mike,thanks for the info.I think you have a good point on the recovery pads.I've seen 1/8 scale pickle forks with and without,and they all seem to get on plane easily,turn well,regain speed, and fly down the straights.And speaking of flying down the straights,do the notches work better than a wiper blade?Were the afterplane sides reduced in height where they meet the corner of the sponson,or was the rear of the sponson dropped?It would appear that the new design would spill air and not give as much support to the rear of the boat,which in my case I need.It also looks like the afterplane sides are deeper in the rear where I presume you are later going to build ride pads.I have done the same thing though I've been told that the boat should be riding on the prop and not depending on the ride pad for support.
I agree with you that some of the design changes are more suited to 1/8 scale.I believe the power to weight ratio on Gas Scale is not as great as on !/8 scale.I have done a wheelie with my 1/8 scale Bud Karelsen hull on launch because I hit the gas too hard.There is no way I can make that happen on my Gas Scale.
When I get the Gas Scale back together for testing,I 'm going to put some type of water seal between the cowl and hull to prevent water entry,which washes to the rear adding to the rear end weight.
