The Unlimiteds heeded the call decades ago....will Offshore ever get it right?
08-16-2012, 08:12 AM
#22
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Thanks Steve........
I have a tape of the APBA awards banquet that Steve and I co-hosted back in the late 90's. I bring it out every now and then. We could have had a great career as a comedy team........ but this stuff is deadly serious with no room for compromise, politics, bravado, or being "cost conscious" ( a ludicrous concept on a 7 figure boat).
I have a tape of the APBA awards banquet that Steve and I co-hosted back in the late 90's. I bring it out every now and then. We could have had a great career as a comedy team........ but this stuff is deadly serious with no room for compromise, politics, bravado, or being "cost conscious" ( a ludicrous concept on a 7 figure boat).
08-16-2012, 08:22 AM
#23
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Rich,
Great job as always. I have a question for both you and Steve.
It seems that modern "Offshore" racing has become nothing more than an unsafe version of Unlimited Hydroplane racing. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, wouldn't they just be better off taking their safety and boat designs directly from the Unlimited guys? After all they are racing on courses more suited to Unlimited boats.
When you use a tool for something it was not designed for you are destined for failure and injury (or death).
Steve,
Would you ever consider running an Unlimited in a true offshore race? Of course you wouldn't. You would change the design and safety protocols to more closely resemble an offshore boat.
This begs the question, is it safe to run "Offshore" type raceboats on courses that were designed for hydroplanes?
Great job as always. I have a question for both you and Steve.
It seems that modern "Offshore" racing has become nothing more than an unsafe version of Unlimited Hydroplane racing. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, wouldn't they just be better off taking their safety and boat designs directly from the Unlimited guys? After all they are racing on courses more suited to Unlimited boats.
When you use a tool for something it was not designed for you are destined for failure and injury (or death).
Steve,
Would you ever consider running an Unlimited in a true offshore race? Of course you wouldn't. You would change the design and safety protocols to more closely resemble an offshore boat.
This begs the question, is it safe to run "Offshore" type raceboats on courses that were designed for hydroplanes?
08-16-2012, 09:36 AM
#24
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Let us not forget Chris Hodges, who really invented/perfected the breakaway capsule. He dropped himself from a crane 50 or 70 feet in the air UPSIDE DOWN in a capsule to prove. He has saved an army of lives. Before the capsule, F1 (boats) used to snuff 2-3 guys a year.
08-16-2012, 10:34 AM
#26
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As usual T2x brings up some great facts. And as somebody as wise as T2X once said, “Those that refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” But fast forward to the issues that have caused all of this (sometimes lucid) discussion in various threads here. Much can be learned from other forms of racing to make offshore racing – and even poker runs – significantly safer. But only those who are willing to invest in new and safer construction methods will benefit. And all of this will only benefit the people in that safer boat. The problem of what to do when something goes wrong on a 200 MPH boat and it heads off course or when somebody wanders in front of one remains. I’ll say it again. Poker Runs are no place for 150-200 MPH boats – no matter how safe they are for their occupants.
08-16-2012, 03:17 PM
#27
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Watched a GP run solo on GWL last year; must be a thrill. Reading up a bit, maybe 20 +/- years ago a few teams experimented with (very impressive) power assist aero control surfaces, fly by wire, safe_mode, etc. Are the surfaces manually controlled today? Thanks very much.
08-18-2012, 03:13 PM
#28
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We lost George Stratton in 2000 at the San Diego event in the U-10, with an F-16 canopy. Since his death, additional improvements have been made in our canopies and structural cage internal to the canopy, as well as HANS devices becoming mandatory. Many of us now wear rib protectors from Seattles' Design 500 (A result of the U-1/U-96 crash in 2011 at Madison), the back end of our canopies are now rounded instead of blunt to deflect impact in the event of a backward upside down entry, (A result of the Bud blowever in 1997 in TriCities). Besides full time air with a minimum app. 12 feet of hose, we carry buddy breathers (spare air) in case our masks are ripped off on impact (A result of the U-37 blowover in Madison 2009), We've also had over 40 blowovers in excess of 170 MPH since 2000 (3 alone in Detroit 2012) and every driver survived. Some were hurt, backs damaged, loss of fingers, broken ribs, etc. but we all made it. Instead of lawsuits, or covering the boats in tarps, our officials and crew chiefs climbed all over the equipment, asked questions, and worked cooperatively to improve our safety. There are no secrets, our shop and others are open to anyone that wants. Yet people will continue to die in boat racing as long as ignorance or arrogance stoke the fire.
No disrespect intended by stating this but offshore boats are a decade behind in safety enhancements. Most of the canopy designs are a joke. They provide nothing more then water protection from crossing under a roostertail. Offshore powerboat builders need to a serious look at the advancements from both the unlimiteds and drag boat scenes. The strydes they have made have improved safety 10 fold. 180 mph pleasure boats are a entirely different story.
08-18-2012, 10:42 PM
#29
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Watched a GP run solo on GWL last year; must be a thrill. Reading up a bit, maybe 20 +/- years ago a few teams experimented with (very impressive) power assist aero control surfaces, fly by wire, safe_mode, etc. Are the surfaces manually controlled today? Thanks very much.
Capsules are the anwer . But they are far from perfected !!!
08-19-2012, 11:50 AM
#30
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The front canards are manually operated via foot pedal. Rear wings on the unlimiteds are fixed.
