Daze hit the nail on the head,Auggy and Bernie are both a couple of turds.

I agree no rules were broken.....

Only ethical standards

Yes, they were the fastest boat, but it has certainly changed the dynamics of the Shootout. Now, what we are going to get is more rules! :mad:

Makes me PROUD to be a Coors Light drinker!!!

I agree the Bud run was chicken ****. I think all turbine boats should be banned or put in a seperate class. It is bs to run a turbine boat against piston power, so I don't feel sorry for callan.

I have met Auggie the III and his kid Auggie the IV, and have known Bernie Little for 30 years. You guys are all wrong.....they are *******s!!

Rule #1 in racing

Take Maximum advantage of the rules to win......

Rule #2

If you can't out spend.......out smart.

I think Bud did the right thing......Why? Once you throw money away on some guy's vision of the "World's fastest pleasure boat", you have every right to protect your sponsorship investment.

Bacardi is probably worth a cool $750,000 has the "World's best throttleman", a professional crew, and a ludicrously large budget.
Do I feel sorry for them?..........No.....Why should I?

Callan brought two (count 'em) ultra mega dollar turbine boats...one to dominate the monohulls...another to dominate the cats.........Do I feel sorry for them?.......hardly.

Both Teams were beaten by a much more efficient and stable design for maximum speed....... any competitive Unlimited could have done this and most are worth less than either the Callan or the Bacardi boats.

Actually a good Grand Prix (single automobile engine) hydro could have done the same thing for a fraction of the cost.......and let's not even mention the hurt that a simple drag boat would have put on the whole overpriced fleet.

Come to think of it, the whole idea is pretty damn silly...... "My wallet is faster than your wallet." isn't pretty no matter where you find it. Where is it written that only an expensive exotic catamaran can win this.........."shoot out"?

A shoot out is a gunfight after all........

T2x

As ALWAYS...VERY WELL PUT T2x! Very well put!:)

All the boats involved in this controversy have similar hp to weight ratios.

Why not run turbines and piston boats together?

The hydros do it - Mitch Evans runs U-3 against the the turbine powered fleet and is competitive. The Cooper's (owner of U-3) from Evansville have an allision engine program that is second to none. They are currently building a lighter hull and should run up front consistently.

The same argument could be made about "blown" and unblown" piston engines. Bacardi's PSI blower begins to make power where 1471's trail off. The PSI blower is inefficient at low rpm but makes awesome power up top. The blower is capable of making 40-50 lbs. of boost!

Remember, the Callan cat and Miss Bud are effectively burning diesel fuel...

I recently saw a piston engine making big power without a cam, valves or springs. They were replaced by electromechanical actuators (on each cylinder), sensors and software. The age of the digital reciprocating engine is close. Will people argue this is unfair as well?

Certainly, there are different ways to make hp. As long as the hp to weight ratios aren't way out of whack who cares! Let the best technology win...

T2x,

Very true indeed and right on target. It is after all what competition is all about. The only thing I really don't like is the fact that the enrty was a complete blindside surprise. Like you said, there are a whole multitude of boats that would put those boats to shame in 1/4, 1/2, 1-mile courses. But knowing who and what you're competing against is a plus. :)

I think the bud boat entering was BS.:mad: I agree that they did follow the rules though, so - another lesson learned.

I like the idea of an anything goes shootout, but they should change the rules for next year to exclude any professional racing boats.

Just my .02