My first boat race!!!

[rcboatlover]

Well today I went to a IMPBA boat race in Oshkosh WI. I brought my boat along in the van so I could stop at my local pond on the way home. After I arrived I was told that there wouldn't be a gas boat class because there was only one boat there. Dumb me I opened my mouth and told the guys about my boat, so they sent me up to get registered! Now I never saw a boat race before and only drove next to another one a few times in the past! Wow what did I get myself into! The guy I had to race against had a boat in almost every class, and had a Quickdraw engine mounted in his mono.

As you know they run gas boats last so I had plenty of time to figure out how the race was run. When it was my turn to go I got my boat into the pit area and waited for the clock to start. My palms were so sweaty, every one was watching. The clock started and I had two minutes to get the engine running. It started on the first pull and I gave my brother the signal to throw it in. Dam there I was with almost two minutes to kill before the race started, I was worried about having enough gas! I tried to run it around for a few practice laps but found it very hard to see the markers on the end of the pond. I thought the other drivers sucked untill I gave it a shot. Man I must have looked dumb, I missed the first one and had a hard time recovering from it. I got around the pond afew more times but hit one of the markers right as the clock reached zero! The boat almost flipped and I was able to recover, but it lost all power when it came around by the pit area. The flex hex must have got loose in the hit and I lost everything! Flex shaft, prop shaft, prop, etc. The worst part is that the other guy couldn't get his engine running and I would have won if I had just compleated my laps! It cost me $10 to race and I lost $45.00 in parts just to run three practice laps!

Oh well it was still a very exciting day!

 

[Altimat]

Well at least you made it in the water! I was there for my first race too, but couldn't keep the carbs secure on my engines and my boat never even got wet. Of course I could run them at my pits just fine. The carbs didn't come loose until I was on the clock. Maybe if I had finished the boat before 3AM the previous night, or had even test fired them once first I could have found the problem but oh well. > I had a great time anyway. I'm investing in some RED loctite before the next race! ;D

 

[_laxmasta2039]

thanks man, you just made me feel better.....i thought i was the only one who really screwed thier first race but still loved it!! i was running an OB rigger that couldnt even get a lap in without flipping because of the wind when we were practicing before....first heat i forgot that there wasnt a glowplug in, so we scrabbled around for spare for 2 minutes, didnt get it running in time- DNS #1

next heat we got it started and launched, halfway through the second lap of mill it just blew over on the far straight- DNS #2. i just pulled the boat out and left it on it's stand between 2nd and 3rd heats, thinking it didnt have any water in the engine from the 2nd heat flip, wrong- 3rd DNS. final score for the day.........drumroll.....0 points!! and i still loved it!!

Joe

 

[Ron Olson]

Hey, ya gotta start sometime then it gets into your blood! I'll bet that everyone in here could give you quite a story of their first time racing. The first is a learning experience, you find out what you need to bring and how everything works at a race.

 

[rcboatlover]

Altimat, when you say I was there for my first race, do you mean there in Oshkosh? Or "there" meaning the same situation as me?

If you were at the race this weekend, I was wondering if you lived in the same area as me? I'm from Appleton WI.

At least you don't have to wait a week for parts before running you boat again! I wish the LHS would stock boat parts! Can't buy what you don't have.

 

[Altimat]

Right there in Oshkosh! I lived in Appleton back in my high school days for a few years, but I'm in Lake Mills now. Its 1/3 the way from Madison to Milwaukee. And yes I need parts too. My engines consumed more carb gaskets and Carb O-Rings than they did fuel, but I may try to find some thin gasket materially locally to cut my own first. And some red loctite!

 

[snowdog-2112]

Rcboatlover,

For future endevours, I would recommend that you practice as though you were racing. That is, have your pit partner put you "on the clock" on call out time for you. As you know, when you build a routine, these things sometimes become a groove, or is that a rut? Anyway, my suggestion is to have your partner call out time for you and practice as if you would race.

Just my $.02

Bryan

 

[GTR]

Hi Guy's

I'm with SnowDog - practice like you're going to race. Driving round and round achieves nothing but working out how much fuel your carrying. It can be very nerve racking running laps during mill time and you've got to have confidence that your boat will keep running. Might sound dumb but drive the mill laps aggressively enough to keep your concentration up - otherwise you do dumb thumbs and hit a bouy or cross a wake and flip - guess how I know. If you're really confident don't fire up your boat until there is a minute of mill time left, this takes a real understanding between you and your pit guy, oh yeah and b##ls the size of grapefruits - but it does work. You really need to know how fast your boat laps at full noise and how fast at say 1/2 or 3/4 throttle. When you build up some knowledge like this you can get your pit man to tell you the time left on the clock and when to hit full noise to arrive at the start bouy a second or two after the buzzer. Trying to arrive right on the bell is fraught with danger if you get around just a bit faster then usual - an extra lap just what you don't want.

Bottom line work on super reliable equipment, know your boat, and practice your start timing. Oh and most of all have fun. Welcome to the addicted.

GT ;D

 

[[email protected]]

Cool! Well you had the balls to try it so good for you man. Welcome to the wide world of racing. One thing I love is that trembling feeling your experiencing right before the mill clock goes off. What a rush.

As for losing the parts it would have happened if you were running for free w/your friends so don't think of it as a total loss.

 

[rcboatlover]

Altimate, it's a shame you don't live in Appleton any more! It would have been nice to know another local boater. So did you see my crappy run? I had a real hard time seeing the markers on the end of the pond, and I can't steer to the left due to really bad prop walk. Guess I have some work to do before I try again.

Running on the clock will be easy to work on, the hard part is practicing around bouys. The pond only has them set up for races. I will have to find away to put my own in.

 

[paul heuston]

jey rcboatlover

you only lost a few bits of running gear. but managed to keep your boat.

good effort.

on my first race day it all went to plan till i got to the pond.

the guys helped me set up and throw in for a practice .......than the bugger stalled..........

as it happened a local was running his twin hydro ..........and kapowwwww. straight through the side of my boat and he kept on going...

always remember to yell "dead boat " or your call for dead boats in your area.

i manged to salvage the motor but the hull is hanging from the roof in the garage as a reminder of what can happen.

that was 3 years ago and now my fleet has 4 boats and i still cann't drive to save my life but it's fun...

paul

destroyer racing

aka picco destroyer.

 

[Altimat]

I didn't see very much of the racing because I was too busy scratching my head and wrenching, and of course there are no local boaters that I know of here either. You going to any other races this year? I hope running the buoys won't be a problem after racing 1:8 off-road for 3 years but we'll have to see!

 

[Don Templeton]

I don't know why but milling before the start has always been the hardest part for me. I always start and launch the boat at the last possible moment and am relieved when I can put the hammer down. ;D

 

[rcboatlover]

Altimate, I have alot of work to do on the boat and my driving skills, so I won't be at any other races this year.

Sorry to hear that you diden't have a good race. Hopefully we will meet next year!

One question though, is there a web site that lists the results for the race? I wanted to see how everyone did.

Paul, your right, it could have been worse! I only agreed to race since there was only going to be one other boat. I diden't want to scratch the new paint!