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back to current newsAug 30, 2008
I've done a fair amount of work on the Pro Vee this month, and only the next race (Little Falls, Sept. 20-21) will tell me if my efforts were worth it. Here's what I've done.
First, I refinished the bottom. This gained me a mere one mph (to 44 mph). Considering how rough the varnish on the pad had become (from sitting on wet carpet all the time), I thought I'd gain more.
Next, I moved the battery and the ballast from the bow to the stern, where it seems it should be, just to re-establish that that just wouldn't work. As expected, the Pro Vee porpoised wildly and then started chinewalking, threatening disaster.
So, I removed the jackplate and mounted the motor right on the motorboard to see if less setback would help my cause. The results were encouraging -- still porpoised, but no chinewalk. And an additional one mph (45 mph), although the boat was about 30 lbs. light due to removal of the trim pump and cylinder (and jackplate).
To make the setback reduction permanent, I sawed off the motorboard and re-installed it right at the transom. A setback reduction of about seven inches. All put back together again, I'm at full weight, with the battery and 20 lbs. of ballast back behind the seat and ten lbs. in the bow. If I trim high enough I can still get 45 mph, but with a lot of porpoising. I can trim down to dampen the porpoise, but I lose speed as well. The question is, will a rough racecourse tame the porpoise?
Finally, I installed two small trim tabs to the transom. These held the porpoising to a minimum, but robbed me of two mph and diverted some water away from the prop which increased my rpm to 7000, and did a number on my holeshot. A little chinewalk crept back in as well.
So that's where I am. Do I abandon the trim tabs and live with the porpoise? Do I lower the motor to see if my prop can get a better bight? Or cut the tabs narrower? I'll let you know how it goes.
Aug 27, 2008
The transition is almost complete. The Pro Vee now has a shorter transom -- that is, about 7 inches less setback. The motor is back on and almost all hooked up. I hope to test today, but it's a little rainy right now.
Aug 22, 2008 (entry #2)
Just got the word: The Little Falls race is ON for September 20-21. Hope to see you there.
Aug 22, 2008
Recent testing with the Pro Vee indicated a hard truth: I designed in too much setback. Porpoising and chinewalking were the result, which lead me to shift a lot of weight forward. It never seemed right, however. Racing boats are just not balanced this way, are they?
A couple of weeks ago I removed the jackplate and mounted the motor right on the motorboard, eliminating six inches of setback. Performance improved. So I had to think about making it permanent.
Yesterday I took the motor off. For a few minutes I stood there, saw in hand, and finally just did it. Sawed the motor board right off. I will re-install as close to the transom as possible, reducing setback by about seven inches. I should be back on the water in a week or two.
Aug 21, 2008
I was away for a week, visiting family in New England. I spent a few days at the old Dillon family cottage in Maine, built by my grandfather 48 years ago.
Back in the 1960s the really cool boats on the lake were the hydroplanes, though not all of them actually met the definition. These craft were generally powered with anything from 5 to 20 horsepower, and they were all homebuilt, some well-made and some pretty rough. Oh, how I envied those guys -- and finally joined them. (See About Me.)
Didn't see a single hydroplane on Vacation2008. A lot of PWCs, but they just aren't the same thing -- mass produced speedsters that even your grandma might take for a spin. I very much wished I had the Pro Vee along. I'd go out there and show 'em how it's done. Used to be done, anyway.
Speaking of the Pro Vee, I was working on performance improvements just before vacation, and got to working on setback changes. Now it's decision time. There may be some transom surgery coming up. More later.
Aug 11, 2008
Well, yesterday's update is already old news. I ripped a couple more clips, and then replaced the single YouTube player with a larger one that features all my videos. Scroll down the home page to the "Media Center." More clips to come. All the original footage is courtesy of SST 60 racer Jeff Talcott.
Aug 10, 2008
This morning I downloaded a program that rips segments from DVDs. After much experimentation and frustration, I created a clip from a 2007 GT Pro race, then uploaded it to YouTube. You will find it below in the "Media Center" along with my general YouTube collection.
Now that I've got it more-or-less figured out, I should be able to come up with several more clips -- I've got quite a bit of footage to work with. Stay tuned.
Aug 8, 2008
This morning I added a Boats For Sale page to the site. These are not my boats, and this is not exactly a classified ad page. But these are boats I know to be available. Two of them are from the Twin City Powerboat Assoc. website. Another is a manufacturer of new boats. Contact the individual sellers for pricing and availablility.
Aug 6, 2008
I got the word this morning that the Club is now looking at September 20-21 for the Little Falls race. Should know in a few days if it's a go.
I've tabulated the GT Pro racing results for this summer and added it to the race reports page. A couple of interesting, and gratifying, observations: Of the nine racers who participated this summer, six found there way into the top three at least once; four of those have won races. That's a pretty even level of performance.
But, I'm still anxious to boost performance for GT Pro. The trick will be to bring everyone else along.
Aug 3, 2008
Over the last couple of years I have listed my plans on Ebay for the occasional week, with limited success. A few weeks ago it dawned on me to list them, and keep re-listing them -- a continuous Ebay presence.
So for those who might feel a little more comfortable making a purchase through this well-established business, there is the Ebay option. Just go to my page on Ebay.
Aug 1, 2008
I took the Sport C out again, with Ross' propeller. My GPS worked properly this time; new batteries will do that.
Well, it turns out the increased RPM I get with this prop does not include any improvement in speed. In fact I lost some, getting no better than 45-46 mph. So, not sure where to go next.