Nascar had a similar issue and they implemented controls to make things safer,keep speeds in check & substantially enhancing safety design. Is anything like that applicable and/or does it tend to defeat the purpose of events? Sadly/sickly - upon this followed the demise of nascar popularity, stands are barren.

Speaking as a totally uninformed enthusiast.

Needs a wing on front and maybe a pressure relief hatch that opens when bow reaches certain angle. Also put electronic throttle bodies on them and have the computer cut the throttles. A Motec like we run on our cars can do it so fast that the driver wouldn't even know it happened and it wouldn't slow the pass down...it would speed it up. Basic programming for a Motec engineer.

Also I can guarantee there are neck injuries in some of these cases. HANS should me mandatory. They are $550...however you have to be harnessed in for most neck restraints

[QUOTE=scottgjerdingen;4492232]Nascar had a similar issue and they implemented controls to make things safer,keep speeds in check & substantially enhancing safety design. Is anything like that applicable and/or does it tend to defeat the purpose of events? Sadly/sickly

Nascar also realized they were going too fast & now have restrictor plates.

Nascat how fast do think todays cars could go with out the restrictor plates on the big tracks?

F1 car racing use the DRS (downforce reduction system) to open and close a flap on the rear spoiler. I don't think the driver has any input, it happens automatically as the car enters the 'drs zone'. It's almost instantaneous. The reduction in downforce is enough to pick up 10 mph so the amount of drag created by a small flap at high speed is huge.

I know F1 teams have almost unlimited budgets but there might still be something that can be learnt and used in a boating application.

RR

a motec , brilliant. Like the traction control we run on the road race bikes. But what if that fails would be my only concern.

I quit racing Ama superbike because my friend was the second person to die at auto club speedway . 10 min after i talked to him. He had 2 kids and i put myself in his shoes for a second . The first to die at auto club was the indy car racer Gregg Moore.


Ron, you made a wonderful decision. And maybe your loto mechanical happened for a reason. We've been to the edge a few times so at least we know where it is

Thanks Ron for your decision! Like to keep you around for a long time. That way all of us can enjoy the many boats you build and runs you attend. See you in KW.

Redundant computers are commonly implemented by Motec. Probably not needed, but it could be done. It would be a simple setup. when I'm at PRI this December I'll take a video of how fast a wing and hatch can react and I'm sure it could be easily added to existing cat hulls

I really don't want to get too in depth here b/c #1 it's not my place and I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough.
There's been an unfortunate incident that took 2 of our fellow boaters lives but I don't think for 1 second that I have the solution nor anything NASCAR mandates would be a suitable or direct fix.

Roof Flaps that one of you have eluded to, help keep the cars from getting airborne when they get sideways or spin around backwards. They are effective in most cases but not 100%. A race car is also only 17' long, doesn't have a smooth underside and pales in comparison to 35'-50' of tunnel and the lift it can produce. We also don't have waves or boat wakes, just a stationary track w/ some minor imperfections.

I really have no idea how fast a stock car could go w/ the banking of Talladega unrestricted. They enter turn 1 at Michigan at 209-210mph unrestricted on a 2mi track, Talladega is 2.66mi. NASCAR's fear is cars flying into the stands or out of the track completely.

A former racer, very experienced and knowledgeable fellow boating friend of mine suggested building a Canard wing that would go between the sponson tips, work off of some sort of smart level & gyroscope to counter bow lift over a certain degree. The canard wing existed in some sort of racing previously. May have been Unlimited Hydro's but I'm not positive nor do I know whether it was successful or not. To be honest I wasn't really interested in cutting up my Skater for an experiment.

I found this http://www.h1unlimited.com/hydros-101/ Click on the Canard Tab under the word HydroPlane.

As for the empty grandstands I don't believe it's about roof flaps. What I will say is the various rules and car configurations that include wings and splitters have certainly contributed to a loss of interest and viewership. IMO it's the tight cookie cutter box that NASCAR has put the teams in that doesn't allow for good competitive passing and racing. It's definitely aero related but mostly based on the fact all the cars are the same shape sans the manufacturer specific nose design. The cars are definitely safer.

Totally off topic, so no more NASCAR talk in this thread.

On the opposite end could a bladelike device on the back be stabbed down at an angle to create drag and lift at the rear, this could be near instantaneous and self retacting, or not.