It's a SPEED CONTEST.

It's not a SAFETY CONTEST.

Has anybody in this post argued that one of the competitors is SAFER than the other?

I'm confident that most of the guys in this thread have enough sense to know that regardless of which boat is ahead, that it is not feasible to imagine that they should attempt to duplicate this feat regularly, were they actually able to somehow purchase one of these specific speed beasts. I cringe at the thought of a Fountain or OL full of lifevest-less drunk thong chicks and 2000 watts of Pearl Jam ripping across the end of Party Cove at 156.9 mph. Hopefully this thought is equally absurd to everybody here.

With that out of the way, people have perished throughout history while attempting to set an ultimate record. This is true for the absolute speed records, as well as the lowly "divisional" speed records (I seem to recall that some guy had a fatal run in a Mitsubishi Eclipse at under 160mph at some sanctioned event in the past few years).

Even more odd, are the guys who try to dive to 500 feet with no air tanks. All for the record. How bout the joker who froze himself into a block of ice and hung it from a crane for a month or something. All for a record. If it didn't involve risk, everybody with the ability to purchase and or learn the details could do it, too. Then it wouldn't be special anymore. Risk is substantial in a speed contest. Whether it is for a record or for a race trophy. Nobody likes that part of it, but it is the way it is.

Ohio Steel ran over 120 mph a handfull of years ago and that seemed like it could never be outdone.

Now we're knocking on 160.

Breedlove ran over 400 in the 60's (in a car of course). We just went over 650 a couple years ago.

Is there EVER an ULTIMATE limit? I think not. Granted, there is considerable time and technology lapses between major steps, but it appears that we have just witnessed a pretty good jump in the "monohull" wars.

Does it ever make SENSE?

Does it MATTER if it makes sense?
I thought speed records always fell into that realm of "no particularly noteworty reason" in the general context of reasons.

I'm a sucker for them. When I was in 5th grade, I knew every speed record set for the X1A thru X-15 rocketplane program. To me that was the ULTIMATE speed. Spaceships going faster didn't count cause they weren't in atmosphere. The air presented a completely different set of rules than space did. In space, you could go as fast as you had motors to push you. No theoretical limit assuming you could carry an infinite fuel supply. Speed thru air involved serious stuff.

Well, it's the same analogy for boat, even more so. We've proven that cars are "easy". We've gotten one (sort of gotten two if you include the telemetry estimates from Breedlove's tight-sphincter ride where he was airborne for a half mile and had to back out of it) past the sound barrier. It's now all academic.

So,

Let's focus on boats now. They have REALLY tough factors working against them.

Strap enough motor on a bathtub? EXACTLY.
If the bathtub record is 100, then somebody is gonna want to bump it to 110. If the bathtub sets a speed faster than Bacardi Silver, then it doesn't make cats any slower. Doesn't make them a foolish choice for a speedboat.

Speed contests are all mixed up with misplaced guts and irresponsible resolve. The guy (Greene, was it?) that piloted the sound barrier car thrashed the barrier, but he's not the "right" kind of speed hero. They made changes, determined what it should do, went out and ran that next speed level, and returned with new data.

Breedlove (a "proper" speed hero, not at all unlike the cowboy image of Chuck Yeager) got his design figured out, built it, wind tunnelled it, made a few test runs, and slammed the metal to it. It was obviously the irresponsible and dangerous way to do it, but that is what we (all us speed freak fans) like about him.

The Darwin guy that strapped a JATO on the roof of his Impala? He'd make a dam# good speed hero if he wasn't spread across several miles of desert.

Reggie?
Fiore?

We all know that both of these guys have got some serious grudge-match candles to light off.

Honestly, I pray that nobody gets claimed in this spectacle. But assuming that nobody DOES get hurt, I'm watching it and enjoying it completely.

m

The players in this contest are MUCH more experienced, but this almost reminds me of the HTM crash.

The day before the crash the boat had run near 150 mph, and everybody (including one of the persons killed) was talking about it on the internet. The passenger that was killed posted that they were going for more speed the following day with different props. That was the last post he ever made.:(


I hop everybody involved the best, and hope that nobody dies pursuing this goal to be the fastest.

Since the "Prop Guys" (Hering)..... have created blades for cats, hydros, vees etc for years.....and played in this speed range for a LONG time....the prop technology is certainly as or more mature than the rest of the program. There is no doubt that any hull needs custom "tweaking"....and perhaps a few more MPH can be found through props/gearing/height etc..... but that is true of just about any hull. There is no technological "catch up" required.

As to the "chop vs flat" prop choice......... at these speeds you better run on a very limited water surface variable....or call it off for the day.

T2x

there certainly is good debate here...and some good info...but the original post in the thread is a moot point now!

Unless there really is..."more to be had"
better find it fast to beat Miami

Some good points......some not. Based on the above we should be lining up to see how fast a rollerblader can go while skating down the outer wall of the Empire State Building.

Alas this "contest" will continue........ let's hope that something comes out of it that will keep the cousins of these stepped rockets from barrel rolling in pleasure boat situations....and not just feed some egos.

T2x

No Pearl Jam in my record boat. Just Tony Bennett singing "I left my heart (and spleen, lung and left arm) in San Francisco.

When one finds oneself in an "awkward situation" while attempting to raise a speed record.....one may find some comfort in the knowledge that he is wearing a carbon fibre reinforced Crotch Protection Device....or CDC as it is called.

I suggest that the current effort should create a market for 250 mph rated CDC's.

Howdy Brownie........

T2x:D

SO REGGIE NEVER HAD THE REGINED RECORED FASTEST SPEED SINCE OUTERLIMITS DID THE LAST KILO RUN IT SEEMS OL HAD DONE THE SAME TYPE OF RUN FOUNTAIN PULLED OFF IN THIS THRED IT WAS AFTER THE DATE OL DID THE RUN IN RHODE ISLAND SORRY REGGIE:( :( :( :( :(

It wasn`t a KILO run that OL ran.

Its a shame that a boat company like OL will stoop so low .



:mad:

LMAO!