Offshoreonly.com - Outerlimits to try and Break the Speed Record !!!!

Somerset Commonwealth-Journal, Feb. 11 '05...

By Bill Mardis

Plans to set a new powerboat speed record on Lake Cumberland last Saturday have been temporarily postponed.
Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats of Bristol, RI, was planning to send a new 47-foot V-bottom GTX to Lake Cumberland in southwestern Pulaski County to try to break the existing speed record of 171.883 mph.

“We postponed for several reasons,” said Paul Fiore,
father of Mike Fiore, president of Outerlimits. "Some of the easons (for postponement) were technical and others vere concern about debris in he lake," he said.

Paul Fiore reiterated that it vas a postponement not a cancellation of the speed event on sake Cumberland.
"I believe a new date will be set. The course is laid out sown there. Everthing is eady," he said.

Fiore was correct about lebris on the lake. Walter Jaulton, chief of the Nancy Volunteer Fire Department and a Commonwealth Journal reporter were at the site Wednesday and the five-mile stretch of water on which the speed record attempt would be made was covered with floating logs and other debris.

Outerlimits wants to break the current record set last year by Reggie Fountain of Fountain Powerboats of Washington, NC. Reportedly, the speed mark was accomplished on a body of water near the Fountain Powerboats plant.

The course marked for the. speed record attempt is on the main body of Lake Cumberland just west of the confluence of Fishing Creek, according to Bill Tucker, a salesperson for Lake Cumberland Marine, local retail outlet for high-performance boats at 125 Clifty Road.

The 47 GTX is described as an advanced high-tech, off-shore attention getter and the ultimate in fast V-bottoms. Its quarter canopy is designed with a sleek, low profile, providing a low center of gravity and less wind resistance. The recently introduced 47 GTX is constructed of epoxy resin so that it will ride smoother at higher speeds.

Mike Fiore has already piloted a GTX to a speed of 161.88 mph. The 47 GTX reportedly cost $1 million and is powered by two, 2,000 horsepower, alcohol-burning engines.

Bob Russell was scheduled to steer the 47 GTX during the now-postponed attempt at breaking the speed record on Lake Cumberland and Scott Conrad would have operated the throttle.

The distance over which the speed would have been registered is a kilometer, or 0.62 of a mile. The kilometer area is in the center of a five-mile straight stretch of water along the Pulaski-Wayne county line. The scheduled event was sanctioned by Offshore Super Series Powerboat Racing Association (OSS).

The powerboat apparently would have picked up speed along the five-mile, straight stretch of lake, passed the kilometer area at full throttle and then turned around and returned at high speed. An average of speeds on two trips along the marked kilometer course would have determined if a new record were established.

Tim Tarter, owner of Nancy Guide Service, said this section of the lake was probably chosen for the speedboat record attempt because it probably is the straightest stretch of water on the lake.

Randy Hartmann, owner and president of Laki Cumberland Marine, agreed He said the area chosen was a "protected, predictable area."

When and if the event is rescheduled at the same place on Lake Cumberland, onlookers can see the speeding boat from a small boat ramp near the end of Keeney Road in southwestern Pulaski County.

Linus Keeney, a longtime resident of the area, said the boat ramp can be reached by taking KY 235 off KY 80 at Nancy; go about six miles and turn left onto Pole Bridge Road at Oak Grove Cemetery; proceed about a quarter of a mile and turn right onto Keeney Road (first road on the right); travel about a mile anc turn left onto Ramp Road that leads over the hill to the boat ramp.

Safety is a prime concern for a powerboat traveling in excess of 170 mph. For the now-postponed event, two helicopters were scheduled to be in the area as well as units from Somerset Fire/EMS and divers. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were also cooperating, according to Hartmann.

LINK: Somerset Commonwealth-Journal