OffshoreOnly

Did everyone read the warning thread. I believe that we have reverted back to the old ways. I smell poo***e, please don't make us do it.

gmhdfan

I see this scenario everyday and have yet to see a small compact car win. I would NEVER put a loved one in a light compact. Now back to the regular scheduled broadcast.

shifter

Here is a racing situation.

Kidstuf ,in 02, barrel rolled in Pittsburg at over 130. Both were fine.
Colby had done that before in Dana point in 95. Colby and Craig hurt very bad.
Colby analized the set-up and rebuilt the boat and canopy system with full rollcages sprintcar style. It was very well done.
Colby showed that system to everyone. He still has the molds.

I feel that he and another Craig survived in Pittsburg because of the changes he made to the existing boat. He made those changes on his own.

Canopy systems can be upgraded. Just because there are guidelines it does not mean that improvements cannot be made.

There are rules in place that do not allow for other improvements to the boat to be made to make them safer. Will that change now?

pat W

THEJOKER

Ryan:

Let's don't forget Clark Donley! He was a great person and a great racer! RIP Clark! BH

RMS Super V #2

Pat W. is exactly correct.

I am intimately familiar with the Kidsuff Canopy Mod's, very well thought out, Coby did his homework after the 1st accident.

Limited window area
Fully Bushed connection points - Ploycarb to fiberglass
Much stonger materials that are flexible, not rigid
Ploycarbonite windows, NOT F-16 "plastic" canopies
No paint on the polycoab surface (causes the plastic to "craze" and weaken)
Much wider bonding area
A lid that flips "forward" not sideways (like a drage boat canopy, sort of
A very wide flange under the lid, so the lid won't "pop in" and trap you or hit you in the head and give you Brain Damage (Brian Darling, Stock boat, 28' Skater", racing in Pacific Offshore late 1990's)
Big well thought out rollcage

Even with all that, I think that Center Pod Canopies are safer, I've raced in both. I never felt safe in the side by side F-16 type, in the evevnt of a straight on Stuff, it probably would offer some protection. Anything else has proven to be a disaster.

P.S. Coby has turned his boat into a pleasureboat and has the canopy section for sale and rollbar for sale (at least as of a few months ago).

P.S. Jeff Christiansen did not survive and accident in an open cockpit 32 ft Advantage F-2 boat (I was racing at that event) , I'm not sure what listing him in a prior post in this thread has to do with the subject of this thread.

Clark Donley did not survive an accident an open 34 Eliminator Factory 2, I was also at that race.

Both very good Guys and hard racers, RIP

Gregg Reichman

Ryan Beckley

Their names were listed because they gave their lives racing OFFSHORE and hopefully there were advancements in saftey made because of their loss. I know there are probably a few more names I can't remember and I apoligize for that. But hopefully everyone make our racing safer.

RMS Super V #2

Yes, of course. Thank you Ryan for the clarification.

Gregg Reichman

RMS Super V #2

There are also small nuances that make a big difference in canopy effetiveness, and, unfortunately, this is sometimes not learned until something fails.

For intance, the Ettore Extreme 39' V Bottom Canopy (the 2nd boat now being raced in SBI as Gentry/Munier), had a big stuff in key West a couple of years ago, thak God, Scott Conrad survived with only facial lacerations. I looked very carefully at the boat right after the accident, and at first glance it looked like the windshield just miserably failed.

This was really shocking to me (and a lot of others at the time) becuase I think it was widely accepted at the time that it (the 39 Extreme) was one of the, if not the safest boat in the sport at the time.

I talked to Mark Spates (the builder) after that failure, and he said it really was a lot less about the windshield failing, and a lot more about the location of the center bracing under the dashboard which supported the stress load on the windshield, which (given what happened) should have been located further back into the cockpit, and it was his opinion that if it had been pushed back, the windshield would not have failed.

I think its very difficult to anticipate every detail and all accidents end up having thier own unique personality.

We have come a long way though, I feel a lot safer now than ever.

Gregg Reichman

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

Ron P - where can i get a copy of Linders book on canopy construction. thanks


being new to racing(one design) and a glassman myself i am very interested to see what info this thread brings up. great idea for a thread Kent. thanks.


RMS Super V - well said.

Kent Perroux

Thanks glassdave. There are a lot of very experienced people on this board, and I appreciate the sharing of information. I had previously thought these canopies to be almost indestructable in boats unless you hit a solid object at speed.


I have a copy of Linders book somewhere in the packed boxes. It is surprising to me that most consider the highest risk of damage to be from improper installation.

Pat, Greg, et al, thanks for the insight! Although this thread may not directly enhance safety, it does help us look at aspects we may not have considered before. We may never share performance and handling secrets, but it never hurts to share safety enhancements between competitors.

Kent