Top Banana

Matt, thanks for the kind words, but as time goes on I can see it is going to be a long slog uphill, all the way to first educate people about what "Offshore" really means, then to actually get some egos to realize that slower is safer and even more challenging.

Most of my compatriots have taken the attitude of "We were so lucky to have lived and raced in that era, but those days are gone forever."

Well, that other thread is up and I guess is anyone is interested there are a few of us to help them to organize it and show them the in's and outs. If not, time marches on and the sport will survive in some sort of form or other.

We can all sit back and enjoy that new boat racing circuit that is coming out next year. They are calling it Unlimited Hydroplane Racing.

Yup, they have some old 3 point hydro's that are 16 feet long with 100HP outboards on them. The organizers are laying out courses on lakes and rivers that will be 1/2 mile long and a full heat will be 2 laps. All the new racing numbers for the class start with the letter U, so they must be just like the old Unlimiteds from the past and run the same kind of races. Hey you know..... they might be able to combine weekends with the Offshore guys and share the same courses, unless there are waves!!

Thanks again Matt, appreciate all you do for the sport and high perfomance boating in general.

SkaterMike82

It is what it i. This topic has been talked about for more than 10 yrs and doesn't ever get anywhere. As i have mentioned before the poker run circuit has taken over this type of boating although it's not exactly the same but has similar characteristics. It is what it is.

Top Banana

LOL, well said Mike ......and I love the picture, that really sums it up once and for all.

FREEDOM US1

Bimini and back is a great race!! Worst case you're only 27 miles from shore if you break down in the middle.. 53 miles if you want get towed from Bimini and get back to America. Not bad.

outonsafari

iTrader: (4)

what would be the newest model year boat for classes 1 thru 4 ?

are class 5 and class 5 historic the same ?

what would be the newest model year allowed in class 5 historic ?
or would that depend on the bottom design ? (some pantera's out there from the 90's and 00's as 1 example )

what would be the oldest model year for class 6 ?

for fun a google search led me to a small number of 233 type formulas, 70's wellcraft nova, 60's 20 bertram,
some 25 bertram bahia mar's, and a chris craft that looked like a 233, a lot of other hulls out there i know i missed.

every so often oso members find old boats seemingly just laying around, another member just picked up a 21 donzi,
a few months ago a member asked about a hunt 21, and some one claimed to have 2 laying around
how opa class 7 came about i don't know, but poof people found the boats and the class looks strong

your class 1 and 2 looks like it could be affordable if a person with the desire recognized imron paint
polished stainless, billet aluminum, multi stepped hulls, and rearview cameras don't make a race boat.

no offense !

class6

Yea. Its 25' max with SB motor. Nothing like that at my house. I'd love to run 100+ miles.

bwd

iTrader: (1)

I have many points and thoughts I would like to share , being a modern racer. But I'll skip the diatribe and go right to what most of us believe. The drives just don't last. I have a friend , who's dad bought a new boat in Miami with a trs back in the day. He and a buddy jumped in it and drove it back to New Jersey, no prob. I would be sweating bullits around Jax with a bravo and would have two strapped down in the back seat. A 200 or even a 120 mile race would chew up usable hours in a bravo real quick. Blame mother Mercury, She builds stuff now banking on the repair or replace profit formula. imo

outonsafari

iTrader: (4)

bwd,
i could not agree more with you about the drive issue.
if it was me it would be the 233 or nova with a shaft strut and rudder
any endurance at all, that would be my first choice.
id bet a drive line transmission, shaft, strut and rudder could be sourced for less than a complete b1
for kicks i'll search it

class6

I trust my bravo drive. <500 hp. Run it 120 miles a few times a year to the wood. Just put them together right

Matt Trulio

True story: I grew up in Malibu—we lived on a hillside with a panoramic view of Santa Monica Bay. Once a summer when I was a kid, I would hear distant thunder from the ocean. I would scan the horizon and eventually the find the roostertails from the offshore raceboats way out there. (Sound carries so well over water.) Once a year, Pacific Offshore had a race. I don't recall the course and I don't know what the race was called, but my little brother and I would run upstairs and onto the balcony, and watch the raceboats disappear into the distance. I was captivated. It became something we looked forward to every summer.

I never forgot that summer ritual—and how fascinating it was. No doubt, there is some kind of magic and romance in true offshore racing. In some ways, it is like the Baja 1,000. It will never be a mainstream sport. Most people will never get it. But for those of us who do, it's wonderful.

A lucky series of twists and turns led me to Powerboat magazine when I was 34 years old. And one of my strongest childhood memories had come full circle.