SOWEGA is doing outboards right.

[Carl Van Houten]

The SOWEGA club is the premier racing site for outboards. Other clubs should take notice. This club draws the serious outboard tunnel racers.

They offer Super Stock 7.5cc O/B class. How long has it been since you have seen the muffled 7.5cc tunnels run? This is a class where you can run any power head and lower unit you want to but you have to use a muffler as expansion type pipes of any design are NOT ALLOWED. Actually a lot of people run the 7.5cc Muffled can and some run the old Nelson can. This class is fun to watch and is growing every year because it levels the performance field and you see some really tight racing just like it was years ago.

IMPBA clubs are hung up on the "Stock Outboard" rule (not rules) because the only thing in the IMPBA rule book that governs a "stock" class is for 3.5cc only. In other words the 3.5cc is the only outboard that can compete for records. ( I won't open that box of worms here ) Clubs need to realize that they can offer what they want to for their outboard classes as long as it is spelled out on the entry form. This super stock class is the only thing that has saved the 7.5cc "stock or muffled" class because there is nobody manufacturing an out of the box muffled 7.5cc outboard at this time.

Actually if O/S were to decide to stop manufacturing their 3.5cc outboard today there would be no new outboards available of any class other than K&B's new one inch. Then, clubs would have no choice but to adopt this same Super Stock outboard class in order to continue running muffled 3.5cc class because as time passed people would be forced to maintain an antique outboard engine just to qualify for the class.

Not that Super Stock is a bad thing at all because it is working GREAT in SOWEGA and that is my point. I think that all muffled classes B,D,E and F should ALL be considered Super Stock classes at club races. This would bring even more engines out to events and you would probably start seeing some 11cc Super Sport tunnels show up too.

-Carl

 

[Grimracer]

The SOWEGA club does seem to have it all together.


I wound like to comment however to those reading in that are not all that familiar with the IMPBA rule book or want to join in. The IMPBA does not run or promote "STOCK OUTBOARD".. the IMPBA promotes SPORT OUTBOARD TUNNEL and its written that way in IMPBA, its understood as such in IMPBA and we as responsible racers do our part to communicate it that way... just to help promote and minimize confusion.

Please see section H, H-10 in the IMPBA Rule book for clarity.

The reason I feel this is important is so that boaters that might be thinking about racing outboards have a chance of understanding the class before they spend there money.


Back to Carl, The Super Stock class as its called is a really fun class. The boats are fast and easy to tune and setup. Very fun to drive.




Grim

 

[bob miller]

could someone post a picture of a nelson can muffler , would like to see one , .....thanks ....bob

 

[Grimracer]

The ones I saw had K+B cans on them.

Grim

 

[Carl Van Houten]

Just to make sure I have wrote this to be clear to the NAMBA racers...
This is just the jest of the IMPBA"rules". This is not word for word. You can go read the rules and get the exact wording.

IMPBA: You can butcher the inside of the engine completely up, cut extra ports, carve crankshafts, whittle or sand anything inside the engine as long as you don't alter the bore and stroke or if you do change the bore and stroke, it needs to fall within the class as far as displacement goes. But the outside of the engine needs to look like it did when you bought it...LOL

NAMBA: You can't change anything. You even have to run the plastic prop that came with the engine! WAIT.. I just threw that in there for Mike Z.

All kidding aside, I am not sure what it is going to do to the NAMBA rules if anything but if O/S were to stop building engines, it would not affect anything under Super Stock rules. On our side of the ball (IMPBA outboard tunnel guys) most of us want things to be simple. Like muffled engines or piped engines. I think I speak for the majority of IMPBA racers that I have raced with by saying that and I think it is in our IMPBA Tunnel Racing future. Super Sport class for B,D,E and F outboards.
It just makes sense not to require that some engine tech guru be present for checking series specific engines to make sure that everybody is running an out of the box engine. Hey now that is all fine for you NAMBA guys if that is how you want to roll but let me tell you CD's go nuts when confronted with an issue deriving from a contestant that is trying to get a competitor disqualified over a nut or bolt that didn't come with an engine. I have seen this happen numerous times.

It's working for us. It's simple Super Stock. It's the way to go!!! GREAT RACING FOR EVERYBODY TOO!

 

[Zach Davis]

So are people running the K&B canister muffler on the Novarossi .46's? I would like to see this setup. How are the old Redheads doing compared?

 

[Carl Van Houten]

So are people running the K&B canister muffler on the Novarossi .46's? I would like to see this setup. How are the old Redheads doing compared?

Zach,

When in the right hands, the K&B RedHead is a very fast engine.

 

[topfuel443]

Zach, yes. several folks are running the NR.46 with various can mufflers and they work very well.

So are people running the K&B canister muffler on the Novarossi .46's? I would like to see this setup. How are the old Redheads doing compared?

 

[Carl Van Houten]

I think someone in Mic's group had the Nelson mufflers.

 

[Greg Rowe]

Carl I agree, as a member of the Brandon club we do not promote the ss class and a lot of us have 7.5SS tunnels
Greg Rowe

 

[Carl Van Houten]

We loved to race the out of the box outboard engines back in the day when you actually had some choices. With nothing left but the O/S 3.5cc O/B on the market and the newly released K&B one inch, something had to be changed to keep the very popular 7.5cc class alive. Racing Super Stock is just as much fun as you could ever have with the out of the box engines because after all the point of it all is to force the competitor to work on his setup and driving skills by requiring that they use an old style K&B lower unit or a muffler.

Super Stock is going to bring these classes back and outboard racers are excited about it too. I will so glad when we see a close Super Stock 11cc battle again.

-Carl

 

[Mark Poole ModVP]

I agree the Sowega race as well as the GP series is doing it right for the outboards. I like the 'Open' class myself. I have seen a Mod 20 out run a Mod 40 in Open. Only thing I don't like about Open is letting the gas boats in it. They are a class now. Why put them on the course with a 20 boat?

With that said, look out when suggesting that all outboard engine classes be offered in SS class, even at club races. Get ready to hear 'no new classes'...'there are already too many'. Hey, I think it is a great idea since the factory outboard offerings are so little.

A lot will disagree with this but the outboards are only going so far if there is never going to be anything but tunnel hulls. If there is no boat design diversity then it is a limited market that will not attract engine makers. There are lots of mono racers and hydro racers who have no interest in tunnel boats. It is not fair that gas classes keep being invented and added. But because they are that means more types of boats to put more gas engines in. And...consider that the only out of the box 20 outboard right now cost more than an out of the box gasser.

 

[RonShaw]

Mark,
I have to respectfully disagree. There is more diversity today than there has ever being in tunnels. Between Vans racing, Leecraft, Proglass, Hellion, Dragon, ML Boatworks, etc, there are many choices to choose from. It has been a long time since someone was able to stock ready to rig fiberglass Tunnel hulls at all times. I have between 6-8 Lynx’s, Taboos, and LeeCrafts in stock at all times. Talk about open tunnel, there was a lot of diversity at SOWEGA and it was awesome. 20 size all the way up to gas tunnels ran flawlessly with no issues whatsoever. JJ was able to finish in the top 50%, even with all the larger boats, all while running a 20 size HTB 360. You talk about engines. Nova has engines for every outboard class now. They were more 67’s running at this race than have been running at one single race in probably the last 10 years. Tunnels are back and growing steadily year over year. How fortunate are we???..

 

[Mark Poole ModVP]

My friend you missed the point so I will make one more post to explain better.
When K&B was building and selling four sizes of outboard engines, you could walk into a RC hobby shop and buy at least four different types of OB hulls. Tunnels (several choices), monos, outriggers and canards.
Prather, Dumas, Aeromarine, AC, Amps, Sundowner, Hi Point, MRP, plus some more. Seaducer built tunnels at one time. Lee and Aerotechs were the racers choice back then. I am not disputing the racing tunnels that can be bought at the present time. But, those boats are known about and bought by racers. And they are all tunnels. Gone are the days when stock outboards and several boat choices were available at hobby stores nationwide. This is one of the reasons K&B/Meccoa are reluctant to mass produce product. I am still trying to figure out why Meccoa (I heard) is building the 1.0 OB again. Seems misguided to me when the 3.5 SS and SX were great engines for the money. Bottom line is, just how many people, not just racers, looking for a hobby are going to put $1500.00 plus into a fuel boat? For only the serious racers, yes times are pretty good right now.

 

[Greg Rowe]

Mark I understand what you are saying that you cannot walk into a hobby store and purchase a competitive tunnel boat.
But with the few hobby stores left you can purchase the beginner electric boat.
The worst way to drive a negative strike into the average person would be to sell them a Lynx boat with an OS outboard,
Its that same when hobby shops sell rc airplanes to the average guy
It just winds up in a broken airplane.
That is way we are are club members, and our mission to help people interested in rc boating before they become frustrated trying to tune or setup a nitro boat.
Carl started this thread to bring awareness that there is plenty of boat choices and the same with engines, and there is an opportunity to run outboard classes with any engine with any lower unit and run a can style muffler, and Sowega showed that, with many different class of boats.
At least you could have an engine choice, not just the OS 3.5 and there is nothing above that. So I say more classes with the can muffler rule call that 7.5 stock and 67 stock.
Just my humble opinion
Greg

 

[RonShaw]

So are people running the K&B canister muffler on the Novarossi .46's? I would like to see this setup. How are the old Redheads doing compared?

Zach,
Here is a pic of my orange Vansracing Warhead with a 46 Novarossi and K&B can muffler. It has now won the D Super Stock class two years in a row at the Tunnel Championships in SOWEGA.

 

[HTV Boats]

Anyone have the race results?

 

[Carl Van Houten]

There were some fast boats there but don't recall how many classes our team won but we did well over there overall. Maybe Julie has that info somewhere. I'm not sure if they even keep up with that stuff after the races are over. ??? I know that Ryan had a 11cc on a Pro-Glass that was FREAKING SMOKING! Probably one of if not the fastest 11cc tunnels I have ever seen. The Nova Rossi 11 has some serious power through the turns and ole Ryan was driving the paint off that boat. The Bermuda Boys all had fast boats as did others. You missed a good race.

 

[Rokieboater]

We run a Super Stock class here in NAMBA D-20. We developed the class before the OS 21 outboard came on the scene. Same basic rules as above. Any power head, any lower unit but had to have a can muffler. It was the only thin that saved tunnels in our district ten years ago. We still run it today.

Glad to see it coming along in the bigger motors. Makes for some competitive racing.

 

[LarryConrad]

The SOWEGA race site looks great! Do they allow camping on site, or is there a campground or motels near by?