CigDaze

Thanks Jim. Point taken.

Ron P

Randy from Typhoon claims to have earned about 25K last year running and winning in APBA, OPA and SBI - He might be including some prize money that he didn't recieve from SBI.

Peconic

Update: After taking everything apart, a kink in one of the cooling hoses was found.

Adivanman

One possibility would be mid production quality control.

My understanding is that there was a supply issue with a component that delayed the production of the engine packages in the spring. That being the case, if there was an engineering review required (ala ISO 9000) for any part of the package, the only way that Mercury could obtain samples to review (problem or not) would be to ask that any engines still in the crate be returned for analysis.

There does not have to be a problem.

Thank you for the update.

Peconic

After hearing the low pressure report, we did some asking around. We received further reports, "low pressure" sure doesn't seem to be a freak issue. It's not always the sock (or the sock made from rubber) blocking the intake.

Note: All of this is strictly anecdotal.

We heard of several people who had low water press issues with the Sportsmaster drive. We had reports of 3 lbs press when trimmed out, going to zero lbs press at the touch of the trim switch.

We also heard that MRD, the speed gods on Long Island, started to machine long channels into the intake on the drive. This solved the problem.

I pay the boat bills with work in the automotive industry. I am a consultant for a very large European manufacturer. I do a lot of work in quality assurance, recalls, warranty issues etc. I learned not to jump to any conclusions. We also see that with increasing complexity, problems are often caused by odd combinations which are not seen in testing. It sometimes can drive you to drink.

We also learned that in a situation like this, you really have to listen to the customer. Sometimes, we lock customers and engineers into one room and don't let them out before the problem is solved.


That cooling problem could be such a case of a compound problem. Note that I said "could."

Theory:

Coolant overheat condition. Computer switches into safe mode.

Scan shows low water press.

Possible cause:

Sportsmaster drive has openings which are "just right." A slight change can upset it. The Sportsmaster like to be mounted a bit higher. The Sportsmaster likes to be trimmed a bit higher.

Peconic

Adivan: From our unscientific sample of two, we see that there indeed might be a rubber problem. On Randy's engine, the hose leaving the port side of the heat exchanger had a small slit or crack in it that caused it to leak. We swapped hoses from my engine to Randy's.

Then Randy finds a kink in another hose.

To make matters worse, we are having a hell of a time obtaining a replacement hose, because our distributors look at a blank screen when they punch in HP525 ...

Gordo

Fred,
First, I apologize for being away for a while. I've been having a hard time trying to catch up since Savannah. In fact, it seems like I'm losing ground, and I still have to figure out how to get the race boat from Tampa to Kansas City or Milwaukee.
As for your question, Sure there's money to be made in offshore racing. Maybe not money that goes directly to the race team, but money is being made.
Such as, look at the advertising value of a National Championship, or World Championship to a boat manufacturer. Formula powerboats probably enjoyed some sales increases thanks to their Factory 2 efforts.
Look at what Factory class racing has done for Warlock powerboats on the West coast.
Look at the sales Mercury has enjoyed thanks to Factory class racing. It would be interesting to see the number of HP500's sold before 1998 and the number sold after that.
I'm sure Aftermarket equipment sales enjoy some profit from offshore racing. If it works good on a race boat, it's gonna work great on a Poker run boat.
Now, I realize your real question was whether or not a racer or race team can make money. Of course, I don't have the financials on all the teams, but I'm sure that Randy and Glenn should be coming close to breaking even. The Super V lite EXTREME Vortec has been paid over $3000 on the spot after winning each of the last 2 races. Then include the prize money from APBA on top of that. Plus, they have other sponsors such as JAVA Brewing who support the team financially and actually being at the race sites helping with anything that needs to be done. (Some mornings, a great 1st cup of coffee can seem priceless). Most of the money this team has made this year has been from actual winnings. Something else that has greatly improved over the last few years in offshore racing. Hopefully, with mre new series sponsors coming on board, this will continue to get better and better.
More and more teams are finding high profile sponsors that are realizing the advantages of advertising in this market. These teams are already owned by some very successful businessmen and women. I have no doubt that teams such as the Drambuie on Ice team, the Bacardi team of David Scott, The Tommy Bahama team of Mark & Paul Nemschoff just to name a few, may not come out ahead at the end of the year, but I'm sure they cover a large amount of expenses, and their respective sponsors enjoy some great product recognition in return.