Your First 50 mph/or Faster Patch

[David Bryant]

Well, since racing our model boats has been temporarily put on hold for many of us, I thought some reminiscing about a past model boating accomplishment might be appropriate. One of the things I still remember fondly was getting my 50 mph patch back in around 1974/75. The boat was a Dumas DragN' Fli 40 that I pickle forked slightly and made a cabover cowling from balsa wood. Maybe it was a "premi-Sport 40." The engine was a K&B 40 side exhaust, open exhaust stack. Jeez, those open exhaust stack engines were noisy. The radio was a Kraft 3-channel. I was running an Octura prop, but don't remember which one and probably 50% fuel mixed by one of the local model boaters. The location was at Green Lake in Seattle and the timing equipment was scanners

50mph was pretty fast using a K&B 40 side exhaust (loop scavenged) engine

 

[MikeMischnick]

Thanks for sharing that certificate, Mike. Even I was young in 1961.
JD

Jerry I was (3)!!

 

[Danny King]

Having been in model boats for a longtime I had never ran at record trials or even the time trials at a internats.
But since returning to boats about 8 yrs ago I have been keeping track of my speed and improvement A benefit of technology is built in gps on radios.
I have been fortunate to recently attend some trials with Jerry Crowther and share some records and learn a whole bunch.
And being friends with Andy Brown since 1988 has been highly influential and educational and still is. No doubt.
My first solo SAW event was 2019 Valdosta with a twin nitro. My main goal was to break 100mph officially. Having run over that at my lake is common even with a turnfin. And even though it is not a big lake. I don’t really have a lake to test SAW at. So I figured it would be easy to do at the bigger lake. Lol. Humble pie was waiting for me. And I ate it all. Had some bugs to work through and got the 100 mark then the 108 and then 112.5 and none of them were good runs. But it accomplished what I wanted but it took days not runs.
My second SAW attempt was 11/2019 Huntsville and it went much better. Got the bugs out. First day i only ran once with the turn fin and ran just under 100.
the second day it ran like 112 then 118. And that’s when I got my first patch. Next run ran 122 and then 124.?? And then a front blew in and that ended the day earlier then we wanted.
And that’s where I’m at now.
Luckily having waited so long to go to event made it easier to get a high first patch.

 

[Danny King]

I have spoke with the record director for IMPBA.
So IMPBA sent the patches to some clubs or all clubs and it is up to the clubs to issue the patches. I have not received word back on what happens when a club putting on a event doesn’t have any or nvr received any?
But at this time the only patch I have is a 115.
I’m not sure why IMPBA this isn’t handling the patches anymore.
I am posting this here because i said I would update in a earlier post.

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

With the "Stay Home Stay Healthy/Go Crazy" directive out here in the "Everwet State," I have been cleansing 50 years of accumulated model boating treasurers from my shop. During my endeavors, I came across a stash of early NAMBA patches. I don't remember why I ended up with the patches. I found the speed ranges on the speed chevrons interesting. Even 40 years ago, I don't think there was a big demand for a 20 mph X(.90) Class chevron. I sent the patches/chevrons to Al Waters, NAMBA Executive Secretary for possible distribution/disposal.
JD

 

[GRAHAME HAINES]

With our whole country in lock down at present and time on our hands here is New Zealand's story.

by Grahame Haines President of the NZ Model Powerboat Assn

We went metric in the 60's so we talk KPH but for some of us older generation still relate to MPH which you guys still do. 50 MPH is 80.5 KPH.
Many of us out here remember JD from his articles in the Flying Models Magazine from way back and we all would eagerly await each months edition to see what all you guys were doing over there.

Our national organisation was formed in 1970 and held their first Nationals in 1975 at Hamilton in our North Island.
I joined in 1975 at a tender age of 21!
My first Nationals was here in my now adopted home town of Blenheim in 1977 and it was at those we saw our first 50mph record when local man Ron Loader ran a 2 way pass at 81.81kph. I can still vividly remember that pass and a bunch of us young impressionable's just stared in amazement and comments like how the hell are we ever going to beat that!
Rons set up was a Hughey shovel hydro running a K&B 6.5 and swinging a JG 3 I 22 prop. more impressive was the fact he only had about 30m (100 feet) of wind up at each end of the pond!
roll on 3 years and my first 50mph run was when I actually took Ron's record at Wellington April 1980 on the Hutt River with a 2 way pass at 85.11kph. My set up then was an O/D rigger using an OS40SR engine ED pipe Alky fuel but my age has prevented my memory bank divulging what prop I was running . that record lasted 4 months before Peter Collier took it off me.
Our next goal is 100kph (62.1mph). Peter again was the first to crack that with a run of 102.42kph at Lake Rotongaio in Taupo March 1981.
the SAW trials were timed to coincide with a visit from Dave Richardson (of RPM rods fame which many of you older boaters will have used his rods back in the day). we had been running in the 90's for a while but that 100 was elusive so we were all flat out sucking Daves brains for the speed secrets of you guys and generally it was the props so Dave was flat out bending and shaping all sorts of props with a hammer on the tow ball of Peters car. it worked. He helped my get my first 80k record in A hydro and Peter over that elusive 100 and after his visit many started to crack the 100k barrier.
for me it was a frustrating time having many passes in the upper 90's and as close as 99.7 but that 100 was still missing.
It was not till 1991 that I finally did it on my local SAW track here in Blenheim on what is now our only purpose set up laser timed SAW track in the country. On a cold frosty winters morning ran I 104.7 kph in A hydro.
My set up was a NZ designed rigger called a DAG Stick running an air cooled Picco 4 port buggy engine on a reduction gearbox swinging an Octura 1955 clipped to 47mm and cupped a little at the tips and on Alky fuel!
Next Goal 100mph. (62.1kph)
First Man to claim that was local man Ant Schroder with a pass at 163.636kph just on dark early June 2009. We were still using stop watches so he needed a back up run within 2.5% to claim the record but unfortunately was un able to do it, having holed his piston thru detonation on that first run it was later discovered.
Our first 100mph record was claimed by Brendon Kirk at our SAW track June 2016 when he did a backed up run at 163.451kph (101.5mph) with an inline twin cylinder petrol Ricco Rigger swinging the biggest prop that ABC make!!!
Carl Hansen from Whangarei in the far north came down to Blenheim to claim the first nitro 100mph record in February 2017 and currently holds that at 163.771. He runs an SG Eagle SAW rigger CMB 90 and ABC 2821 prop plus 50% nitro.
Ant was again the first to set a record over 100mph in Electric in January this year at 186.051kph in 6S hydro with an O/D hull ABC H7 prop cupped.
So Where am I at? Currently again agonizingly close to 100mph in 12S tunnel sitting at 160.086kph with a TFL Zonda twin swinging 2 octura V955/3 props. have a couple of Octura 2352's sitting on the back now just waiting for our lock down to end so I can do some testing at the river. I have had runs in the upper 160's on GPS but as we all know when it come to SAW racing it all comes down to the weather and water conditions on the day so heres hoping.

 

[BobLondress]

I got a 60 mph mono patch back around 1986 in Memphis. It was a record at the time 64+. Just short of getting the 65 mono patch. I remember Gene Taylor saying, 65 mono patches are very rare. It was a 39” Youngblood with a 65 rossi

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

With our whole country in lock down at present and time on our hands here is New Zealand's story.

by Grahame Haines President of the NZ Model Powerboat Assn

We went metric in the 60's so we talk KPH but for some of us older generation still relate to MPH which you guys still do. 50 MPH is 80.5 KPH.
Many of us out here remember JD from his articles in the Flying Models Magazine from way back and we all would eagerly await each months edition to see what all you guys were doing over there.

Our national organisation was formed in 1970 and held their first Nationals in 1975 at Hamilton in our North Island.
I joined in 1975 at a tender age of 21!
My first Nationals was here in my now adopted home town of Blenheim in 1977 and it was at those we saw our first 50mph record when local man Ron Loader ran a 2 way pass at 81.81kph. I can still vividly remember that pass and a bunch of us young impressionable's just stared in amazement and comments like how the hell are we ever going to beat that!
Rons set up was a Hughey shovel hydro running a K&B 6.5 and swinging a JG 3 I 22 prop. more impressive was the fact he only had about 30m (100 feet) of wind up at each end of the pond!
roll on 3 years and my first 50mph run was when I actually took Ron's record at Wellington April 1980 on the Hutt River with a 2 way pass at 85.11kph. My set up then was an O/D rigger using an OS40SR engine ED pipe Alky fuel but my age has prevented my memory bank divulging what prop I was running . that record lasted 4 months before Peter Collier took it off me.
Our next goal is 100kph (62.1mph). Peter again was the first to crack that with a run of 102.42kph at Lake Rotongaio in Taupo March 1981.
the SAW trials were timed to coincide with a visit from Dave Richardson (of RPM rods fame which many of you older boaters will have used his rods back in the day). we had been running in the 90's for a while but that 100 was elusive so we were all flat out sucking Daves brains for the speed secrets of you guys and generally it was the props so Dave was flat out bending and shaping all sorts of props with a hammer on the tow ball of Peters car. it worked. He helped my get my first 80k record in A hydro and Peter over that elusive 100 and after his visit many started to crack the 100k barrier.
for me it was a frustrating time having many passes in the upper 90's and as close as 99.7 but that 100 was still missing.
It was not till 1991 that I finally did it on my local SAW track here in Blenheim on what is now our only purpose set up laser timed SAW track in the country. On a cold frosty winters morning ran I 104.7 kph in A hydro.
My set up was a NZ designed rigger called a DAG Stick running an air cooled Picco 4 port buggy engine on a reduction gearbox swinging an Octura 1955 clipped to 47mm and cupped a little at the tips and on Alky fuel!
Next Goal 100mph. (62.1kph)
First Man to claim that was local man Ant Schroder with a pass at 163.636kph just on dark early June 2009. We were still using stop watches so he needed a back up run within 2.5% to claim the record but unfortunately was un able to do it, having holed his piston thru detonation on that first run it was later discovered.
Our first 100mph record was claimed by Brendon Kirk at our SAW track June 2016 when he did a backed up run at 163.451kph (101.5mph) with an inline twin cylinder petrol Ricco Rigger swinging the biggest prop that ABC make!!!
Carl Hansen from Whangarei in the far north came down to Blenheim to claim the first nitro 100mph record in February 2017 and currently holds that at 163.771. He runs an SG Eagle SAW rigger CMB 90 and ABC 2821 prop plus 50% nitro.
Ant was again the first to set a record over 100mph in Electric in January this year at 186.051kph in 6S hydro with an O/D hull ABC H7 prop cupped.
So Where am I at? Currently again agonizingly close to 100mph in 12S tunnel sitting at 160.086kph with a TFL Zonda twin swinging 2 octura V955/3 props. have a couple of Octura 2352's sitting on the back now just waiting for our lock down to end so I can do some testing at the river. I have had runs in the upper 160's on GPS but as we all know when it come to SAW racing it all comes down to the weather and water conditions on the day so heres hoping.

Great information regarding speeds in New Zealand. Thanks for sharing.
JD

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

I got a 60 mph mono patch back around 1986 in Memphis. It was a record at the time 64+. Just short of getting the 65 mono patch. I remember Gene Taylor saying, 65 mono patches are very rare. It was a 39” Youngblood with a 65 rossi

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

60 mph with a Mono hull is an accomplishment.
JD

 

[BobLondress]

Not anymore Jerry !

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Frog, do you know when the next SAW session will be? I'd love to see what my boat(s) is(are) capable of

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

Frog, do you know when the next SAW session will be? I'd love to see what my boat(s) is(are) capable of

Check the District 8 Website for a record trials.
JD

 

[TomGracey]

Well, since racing our model boats has been temporarily put on hold for many of us, I thought some reminiscing about a past model boating accomplishment might be appropriate. One of the things I still remember fondly was getting my 50 mph patch back in around 1974/75. The boat was a Dumas DragN' Fli 40 that I pickle forked slightly and made a cabover cowling from balsa wood. Maybe it was a "premi-Sport 40." The engine was a K&B 40 side exhaust, open exhaust stack. Jeez, those open exhaust stack engines were noisy. The radio was a Kraft 3-channel. I was running an Octura prop, but don't remember which one and probably 50% fuel mixed by one of the local model boaters. The location was at Green Lake in Seattle and the timing equipment was scanners.

I would imagine many IW members got their first speed patch at speeds greater than 50 mph. Hopefully, others will share their speed patch experiences.

JD

My 50+ club was in 1966 with S.M.Y.C. Hull was a Dumas Dragn Fli 60 and a Ron Ericson built OPS 60 side exhaust throttle on 60% and a Ronny Racer Prop

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Talking about having an "ace in the hole". If anyone knew how to make a boat go fast back then, it was Ron Erickson. He had 82,540 career points, took the high points trophy in 1974 and 1977 while winning 14 races during his time with R/C Unlimiteds.
I knew Ron and found him to be a wealth of knowledge and a bit "unconventional". I asked him to look at my first attempt at a scale boat, only to have him say "It won't work". When I asked him why, he took the partially completed hull and gave it a slight twist, shattering the framing. Needless to say, it was a lesson learned. I had been working with mahogany door skin, similar to what Dumas used their kits, thinking it was good enough. Needless to say, it wasn't and I've only worked with aircraft grade birch and spruce since.

 

[TomGracey]

When I was finished with all the bottom skins just getting ready to start on the decks Ron stop by my place to pickup some some Con. Rods I machined out of 7075 T-6 (the stock OPS rods were cast Aul. and broke easily) I digress he pick the hull off the jig and said if U want this to ride right U need to change the sponsons there to deep. So out came the dremal tool and and hour later he reduced the depth by 1/4 inch increased the angle of attack and non-trips angles by 3 deg. He was like a made scientist at work.

I use to drag Ron to a lot of out of state races. If he had to drive for more then 30 min he'd fall asleep. He was a really great builder.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

When I was finished with all the bottom skins just getting ready to start on the decks Ron stop by my place to pickup some some Con. Rods I machined out of 7075 T-6 (the stock OPS rods were cast Aul. and broke easily) I digress he pick the hull off the jig and said if U want this to ride right U need to change the sponsons there to deep. So out came the dremal tool and and hour later he reduced the depth by 1/4 inch increased the angle of attack and non-trips angles by 3 deg. He was like a made scientist at work.

I use to drag Ron to a lot of out of state races. If he had to drive for more then 30 min he'd fall asleep. He was a really great builder.

Sounds like Ron, a mad scientist, but he got results

 

[Jerry Dunlap]

When I was finished with all the bottom skins just getting ready to start on the decks Ron stop by my place to pickup some some Con. Rods I machined out of 7075 T-6 (the stock OPS rods were cast Aul. and broke easily) I digress he pick the hull off the jig and said if U want this to ride right U need to change the sponsons there to deep. So out came the dremal tool and and hour later he reduced the depth by 1/4 inch increased the angle of attack and non-trips angles by 3 deg. He was like a made scientist at work.

I use to drag Ron to a lot of out of state races. If he had to drive for more then 30 min he'd fall asleep. He was a really great builder.

Ron started falling asleep while driving on I-5 just south of Bakersfield during a nonstop trip he, Ed Fisher, and I made back in 1971 to the first NAMBA race conducted at Legg Lake. We definitely didn't sleep when Ron was driving. At the Awards Banquet the following year at the Legg Lake NAMBA Nats, Ron told the person serving prime rib he didn't want it. I immediately said, "Yeah, actually he does." Nothing better than a couple of pieces of prime rib at a Nats Award Banquet.
JD

 

[Mark Anderson]

Mark, If you want to do SAW, You will be traveling. We don't have a pond that works any more. We do some 2 lap though.

 

[Tommy Lee]

Well, since racing our model boats has been temporarily put on hold for many of us, I thought some reminiscing about a past model boating accomplishment might be appropriate. Many IW members got their first speed patch at speeds greater than 50 mph. Hopefully, others will share their speed patch experiences.

JD

Hi Jerry-when I saw this thread I had to get in my "way back machine" and see if I could recall some of this but I realized I had all my certificates arranged neatly in a folder and all I had to do was look at that. I haven't saw much on here about O.B.'s but I am glad to say I got all my speed patches and certificates using O.B. Tunnel boats and all but-1-were K&B engines. I guess the first one means the most to me and that was an official average of 50.1mph with a K&B 3.5 engine in 1989. The next one after many many runs in the high 50" I got an average of 64.2mph with a nova rossi 3.5 engine in 1995. Numerous runs were made in the following years at 60-69mph and finally got the 70mph patch in 1997 and the 75mph patch also in 1997. Both of these were with K&B engines. I cannot locate the 50mph patch but I am sure it is here somewhere. I do have the 70 & 75mph patches along with roughly 70-80 record certificate that have happened over many years. I would hate to know how many hours I spent at the Hntsvl. pond running for records but I loved every minute of it.