Rob M

Scott,

Good point. That happened at least a couple times in 2000. But unless an organization has lots of inspectors, or very few challenges, they might not be in favor of such a rule.

Al,

Just giving you a hard time. We were barely within sight of you after a couple laps running in third, that is why I remember. In reality, the referee had the opportunity to bump you up to P4 before the race, and elected not to despite being petitioned in a polite manner by some of the other teams.

ScottB

Rob, what boat did you run in 2000? The only time it seems to be an issue is in P5 or P4 where the bulk of the P boats are so I think it can be done

Ron P

Sandbagging refers to adding weight to a boat in order to slow it down to fit into a given class. I don't see the problem here. If you boat runs 92, what's wrong with adding some weight to keep it under 89? The throttles are still to the stops during the race. It's just a stategy to help win races.

Somehow Sandbagging has be come term that means the throttleman is holding back. I don't believe that's true.

audacity

rob m, sandbagging is not cheating...the rules (just one) are the rules so play by them...if you want more stringent rules, run a premier class.

and the prop thing??...you going to start factoring in slips and x-dimensions too?? i think not...right now it's as simple as it gets for a reason. i know if i waz to build a p-class boat...it would have some VERY trick props that would accelerate and handle like no one's biz!

Rob M

Joe,

Some teams do not have the resources to compete in "premier" classes. That doesn't necessarily mean that they shouldn't be afforded the opportunity to compete in as fair a manner as possible.

Sandbagging not being considered cheating....maybe that is the problem. There may be enough people out there that don't think sandbagging is against the rules or maybe don't even think it is dishonest.

APBA's rulebook, as an example, states, "A boat that competes in Performance Classes will be assigned a class by APBA Offshore based on the top speed of that boat in perfect water conditions." It goes on to state "Performance Class racing is to race and get the most out of you and your boat. Performance Class is not bracket racing."
So how do you get the most out of your boat at 3/4 throttle? The rules implicitly express that sandbagging isn't allowed; maybe the rulebooks need to make it more explicit?

Ron,

Sandbagging in sports has for a long time referred to misrepresenting one's ability in order obtain an advantage. I don't know how it gets translated from piling up bags of sand to minimize flood damage. Adding weight to a boat would be handicapping not sandbagging. Many other sports including golf, bowling, billiards, and yes even motorsports have rules that strive to reduce sandbagging. In the game of poker sandbagging is actually a legal strategy employed by playing slowly to suggest you have a weak hand when in fact you have a strong hand. Maybe that's why some think it should be OK in offshore racing... they play too much poker.

Peconic

Black Nutz is 400 lbs under weight, and we did serious sandbagging for a few races to be legal. Randy & Glenn drove around with 50 lbs sandbags all over the boat, even in front of the seat. Now this has changed to an elaborate system for barbells. We don't sandbag anymore. We're barbelling.

ScottB

Elitist

Rob M

Peconic,

That would only be in violation of the rules if you forget to remove the two dumbbells from the cockpit at the crane.

(OSS, rule number 5, applicable to all classes specifies that "the weight does not include crew...")

Peconic

Definitely. These are upscale "big boy" barbells, and the custom barbell attachment device has been welded by Randy Schleuss himself.

Rob: Removing the dumbells before the weighing would be a serious violation that would be dealt with severely.

Peconic

Now on the Internet: Misrepresent your capabilities and stroke you ego at the same time! New product:

Sand Bags that Self Inflate in Minutes!!!


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