Trent,
Good to hear from you, and you know there is no intention from me on running in the OSS. Just some items I have observed in the past that make you go hhmmmm.
Koho,
Weight is still weight, the scale doesn't show where it is at to the other teams or balance, ( unless someone is there calculating strap attchment points, and tilt angle, and strap length etc. ) and i doubt anyone is figuring that in the short time from a trailer to the water. So it still shouldn't be a mystery. I guess my point is unless a competitor can confirm it's legal, then who really can say its legal.
"Hull drain plugs must be removed, Ballast tanks must be empty. The weight does not include crew, lifejackets, crash helmets and bilge water." from oss rule book.
Does this mean everyones bilge plugs?
oh well i could be beating a dead horse, and Trent i agree with your post. Hope to see you some time.

Jason......as an OSS racer I've never hears another OSS racer question the official readings. Also OSS HAS disqualified racer for being under weight. The crane officials do a great job at the races and are not questioned by the racers. If there is an issue it is always handled among the racers and officials. If you want to buy a spec class boat and come race it with OSS / OPA / or SBI you'll be able to see how it works with each group running there programs a little different from the next. Are you racing in Simmons or Team Kansas this year? I don't think either of those boats has a spec weight? Do they?

Wonder why OSS is gone ? You are so nice to others when asked a simple question .
Next year will be fun without the rude ,condescending comments from the likes of you .

Ryan,

I refuse to put words in Jason's mouth, but even though I really had no choice but to move into the Production class I have kept my old spec habits in tack. With my philosophy of refusing to sandbag I have always set up my boat to be the proper weight to get max performance. SVL's havent really posed a problem for me with my sealed 500, but I still want to get that F2. No there isnt a spec weight persay, weight is still vital in how I race. I just know my boat runs better @ 4650 than at 4500 for example. Personally, being a former spec racer, I never had a problem with anyone knowing my weight, it never gave me or my competition a competitive advantage one way or the other. I always had an open door policy with my setup, if anyone cared to know, if it helped them be better racers then great(or if they could learn from my mistakes), its not like I am a professional racer that gets paid a mil a year.

As I said in my other post, it is what it is. We only wish you and the new management success with OSS's future endeavors.

Trent

No the boats I have raced in did not have spec weights, And i have sat out this whole season, unable to commit to the schedule being raced with the Simmons boat. I do miss it. The officials need to be questioned by racers, and Currently I do not want ( nor could afford ) to buy a spec class boat.

The reason why I mentioned weight is critical in rough water race is that we do use extra weights and I do not want every other team to know how much we had ... as it makes easier to maintain higher average speed and suffer little from top speed, if you get my point

I'm right with ya bud, funny thing is I have learned more on the outside than I ever thought I knew on the inside

Ken

Sorry you feel I am so bad for the sport and don't like what it is I have to say. I guess I can't please everyone, I'll try to work on that. Jason if you are at the LOTO race please stop by and say hello. I think we met in KW a couple of years ago.

If there was ever a Ambassador to Racing, Ryan Beckley would be a top pick, he eats, sleeps and breathes racing, he has raced across the globe and has had a passion for it. If OSS is no longer around in 2010 it will have nothing to do with Ryan. But certainly in the end he will continue to race and support Offshore racing.

But lets say Ryan does throw in the towel, let me make sure I understand
"less teams racing is more fun to you" Correct??

justed wanted to clear up the scale issue.

sun or sunlight does NOT affect the accuracy of the scale. the digital screen will get affected by the direct light, same as if you put a calculator out in the sun. the screen sometimes blacks out because of the liquid crystal display. this does not affect computer part and crane scales are designed to work in tough work environments.