UIM Canopy rules for Offshore Class

Start on page 55

http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vf...-0-file,00.pdf



Here is a small portion of those rules:

8. A continuous fitted structural framework inside the cockpit must be installed reducing the unsupported panel area sizes of the cockpit cell lining. The framework will incorporate roll bars fore and aft of the hatch with extensions to support the screen aperture divisions, the rear bulkhead directly behind each seat and the top escape hatch flange.
The flange is to be a minimum of 25mm width (New build boats must have a minimum of 50mm) measured across the flange recess, with the hatch opening measuring 0.55m by
0.825m at the widest points. The canopy apertures should be cut with all corners having a radius of minimum 25mm. The radius should be constant and have a smooth finish to
relieve stress. The canopy aperture must have a 20 mm wide (minimum) fluorescent orange band around the opening. All boats are recommended to use the double flange method of installation as per the graphic below. All new build boats 2010 onwards must use the double flange installation.
9. There must be a minimum of 1 compression strut installed to support the canopy.
10.The main hatch being directly above the crew’s helmets and its supporting flange must have further reinforcement to maintain its shape under stress and be able to withstand
the impact of the water and retain its ability to function. The hatch thickness must be maintained throughout and not reduced at the flange where possible. The hatch should
be protected by water deflectors incorporating internal and external method of prizing open the hatch caused by water pressure or binding to assist in emergency underwater
rescue and escape.

Windscreens
1. Polycarbonate (Acrylic will not be accepted) areas are strongly recommended to be as small as possible, while still maintaining that the pilot and co-pilot have clear, safe and
undisturbed visibility ahead at sea level whilst racing. it is strongly recommended that these polycarbonate areas are built using 12 mm thickness, or more.
2. The combined visibility the pilot and co-pilot must be through a horizontal arc of 225 degrees (112.5 degrees either side of the centre line of the boat).
3. These polycarbonate panels are to be recessed into the composite structure and should be bonded using a suitable bonding agent, and/or “bobbins” (Bonding the Windscreen is the recommended method of fitment. Boats built after January 2010 must use bonding only, to fit the windscreen no bobbins will be allowed)
4. It is highly recommended that there is also a through bolted outer flange for the fitting of the polycarbonate panels.
5. Screen flanges should be a minimum of 50 mm, if bobbins are to be used they should be fastened every 100 mm it is recommended to use metal bobbins” with heads, as opposed to the recessed plastic type.
6. The outer polycarbonate area of the flange fitting must not be painted, so that the measurer / scrutineer may monitor any discrepancies.

Just food for thought. I'll start by saying that I've never run a cat, nor even ridden one, but I keep thinking about this thread, and wonder.... I know a tunnel tab in cats is used to promote lift, or packing of air into the tunnel. If one of these was able to be actuated very quickly, and upon sensing an unfavorable attitude of the boat, buried itself in a "down" position; would that aid in bringing the bow down? I liken it to the elevator on a plane at this point. I'm just not sure if it would immediately lift the stern, and bury the bow, which would almost be desirable in this situation... or if blocking the tunnel off would suddenly promote increased lift and "kite" the entire boat, not just the bow?

Just thinking out loud.

RHR swinging your dick around here on this thread is not likely to impress many of us so you might want to save that for your next trip to Hooters.

The primary difference with this sport vs top fuel or unlimited hydro's , both of which have made huge advances in driver protection, is the potential to take a recreational vehicle and go "racing". (We don't see any T/F or H1 hydros running around the lake on weekends.) Mandating proper capsules would undoubtedly save lives, but the sport is no where near the level of being able to do that yet. I hope builders and racers will use the tragedies to re-access the cost vs safety ratio. I also agree completely with the observation that passengers in boats capable of the speeds we are seeing now are at some serious risk. (The men that passed away were well aware of them). I pray that we don't have a repeat of these kinds of headlines in a recreational setting. My deepest sympathy to all the families and friends of the men lost this week.

This is very well stated...

+1

A little food for thought. The technology certainly does exist to actively control a wing, and to predict its motion based on how fast the boat is changing directions. When the boat is running at the proper angle and suddenly begins to rise quickly the computer would quickly move the wing to compensate, and if the angle of the boat moves slowly towards critical the computer would move the wing more slowly to pull the boat back. These are the same PID control functions we use in our traction control routines. Now we had our Rolex GT car in the wind tunnel yesterday and we tested new rear wings and here is the kicker, the rear wing which is approx. 10 to 11 inches front to back and maybe 5ft wide remember I said approx. so don't beat me up, this wing made a total of 280 lbs of downforce which on a 12thousand lb boat would be pretty minimal when asked to completely change the direction of the boat. Now are there way bigger better wings yes but just thought the numbers were interesting. Also in F-1 the rear wing is now active, and instantly moves with the blink of an eye.

i think my idea is best why dont you have a hydrofoil kinda wit a flap that rides in the water or it can ride in the water and when the boat lifts to much it can extend deeper and flap up tocreate drag:evilb:

I've done some research
 

According to what I've been able to find, there is hardware in the marketplace right now that would allow the development of a electronically controlled "flap" that would mount in the tunnel and control lift through a series of sensors. The flap itself would be flush mounted in the tunnel and driven by a series of high-speed/high-strength servos and linkages.

The sensors would measure speed (forward motion) wind pressure (wind gusts) and bow angle. The perameters of the bow angle would be adjustable to allow discretion as to how close to the point of no return the operator wants to chance. It would also be monitored by an LED display mounted on the dash and all of the movements of the flap would be recorded for later review.

The idea is to provide a device that would automatically measure and adjust for bow lift. As the bow lifted, the flap would deploy only as much as needed to move the bow angle back into set perameters. Once the bow is settled into a reasonable position, everything would be safe and in control resulting in a potential blow-over that would be averted long before disaster. Simple.................

The Copeland Phenomenon boat has this.

This was on an Austrailian boat....does it work?

I thought that the Phenomenon had a wing between the sponsons. This would be on the underside of the tunnel. It would also have the ability to be retrofitted on to existing boats.