Can anyone explain about what happened to freakish accident in 1981??? I didnt know that until I got involved with offshore in 2004.

Thanks,
Chris

Great memory. They also tagged (at idle speed) a sea wall and damaged the tip of a sponson. And you were pretty close on the speed, too, as according to the throttleman it was "185" mph before they had the engine problem.

I am sure there are people who can explain this better, but basically, the boats were at the start of a race. They are supposed to be moving in a certain direction waiting to get on-plane to to wait for the green flag )go), and Al Copeland driving Popeyes started to get on plane (bow was high and visibility is gone for a few seconds) and Joel Halpern in Beep-Beep was in his path (i don't know if he pulled in front of Popeyes or Popeyes headed toward him) and the Popeyes boat hit Beep Beep on the drivers side, injuring Joel Halpern - which he later died from the injuries. It was an Accident.

Was a hypothetical speed ever disclosed?? T55's same motors as Qatar went 244 with just 2? but bigger boat, guessing somewhere between 275 and 300?

I never understood the canopy on it, the whole back half opens with seating for 6~8 What was the reason for that?

Yes, i remember the damage on the wall of the boat....wondering if they repair the damage?

Chris

It had 8 Outboard powerheads! Don't think it ran that well though,

It broke a class record Kilo at Sarasota. I think Jerry Gilberth actually built it with Bill Sirois.

The boat has four turbines

Qatar has newer engines rated at 4-4500hp each.

I dont remember the specific number, but I remember Haggin posting a long time ago what the T55 fuel consumption per minute was...it was a jaw dropper, 4 of them must need a pretty big gas tank....