Who's Racing the Rocket?
 

Does anybody know who the guys are that's racing the 1989 Rocket? I know it is powered by an HP500 and I think they may be racing in the Silver Cup Series. I would like to contact them. They may even be members of OSO.

If it's the orange closed canopy boat, Wayne knows them and can get you their information. Give Wayne a call at 810-794-4888


DaveSunsation

Whiteknuckle,

My father and I race an '89 Rocket, mostly on the east coast. We ran a few GLSCS races in '00 and '01. It was originally an A class boat, but has since been repowered. I don't know if it's the one you're referring to, but it's the only original '89 Rocket that has been raced almost every year since it was built.

Rob

Rob,
You are the guys I was refering to. I just didn't have all my information straight. I to have a 89 Rocket that I play around with, and thought you may have some good information on trim tabs and props. You must have tried everything if you have been racing the boat that long. Is the x-dimension stock or as it been raised?

Whiteknuckle,

We bought the boat back in '99 and to be honest we haven't spent great amounts of time dialing it in. Since we're racing in the P5 class where the boat's top speed in "ideal" conditions isn't supposed to be able to exceed 70 mph according to the rules, we haven't needed to look for more speed. Unfortunately, many teams stretch the rules quite a bit and we end up racing bigger boats, with lots more power capable of well over 70. They just have a better "set up" in that they run 69.9 in "any" conditions with their drives tucked in, a full tank of gas, a 3 foot chop, without losing any speed in a turn:)

We have the shorter 280S K-planes mounted parallel to the hull, and slightly above the edge of the transom. The boat was most likely set up like that from the factory. They work well. I was once told, but I forgot by whom, that this particular hull did not respond well to the longer 380S K-planes. I'd imagine some other Rockets are using the longer tabs, but we've never tried them. With the narrow beam, the boat tends to list a little to the port side so just a little more left tab is needed which hurts the top end somewhat.

The X-dimension looks to be stock. It's quite a bit below the pad. I'd have to get back to you with a measurement though.

We haven't experimented with any additional props other than the 3 that came with the boat: a Mirage 23", Mirage 25", and a Hydromotive Quad IV 23". None of them are lab finished. The Mirage 25" is the best of the three for our setup. It will run 70 and provide a stable ride in a light chop. The Hydromotive accelerates quicker and runs about the same top end, but the boat chine walks unless the tabs are down a bit due to the stern lift. The 23" Mirage accelerates quickly but only gets us to around 68 mph.

There's quite a few things we could do to make this boat significantly faster with the current power - blueprint the bottom (and remove the slight hook), get a new lab finished prop (Mirage +?), get a newer outdrive, play with the carb and intake, add a little ballast to the starboard side, etc. But if we were forced to move up in class it would be an even greater disadvantage. Our rocket is the smallest (length and weight) that I've seen race this year.

Have you talked with Dave or anyone else at the factory? I'm sure they can tell you exactly which prop works best for your boat.

Rob

Somebody buy the 25 in the boats for sale section.
It is a nice clean boat with a 454 Magnum with less than 10 hours on rebuild. Bravo 1 drive. Interior redone less than 1 rear ago. No dings stress cracks or anything wrong with the hull. Great stereo porta pottie, nice cabin etc.
This boat is a 1993 and my buddy who owns it moved to Seattle. I am stuck with it until it sells and I don't have the room. Make a reasonable offer with or without power. Personally I think 14k with power and 11k without will buy it and that is a steal

Rob M,
Thanks for the reply!
My Rocket is purely a pleasure boat and I do not intend on racing. I just fool around a little bit when I get the time. I'm really not looking for a race setup, just a few things that would make the boat a touch more comfortable at higher speeds. My tabs are different that on any other Rocket I have seen. They are SS construction that are longer and narrower that the Bennett type and are more like a performace tab. They too are parrallel with the boat bottom. I guess my question on the tab to you was to see if they assisted in eliminating chine walk without dropping them way down and scrubbing speed.

I usually run a Mirage 25". I like the way the bow rides and cruising. I take my time getting on plane as it does not pop out as good as with my Mirage 23". However I don't like the cruise with the 23. At 3000 RPM we are doing 36MPH with the 23" opposed the almost 41 MPH with the 25". These are GPS speeds. the 25 inch is lab finished, and I really like the way it performs. I did try a 26 labbed Bravo that Lee had but it gave to much stern lift and made the boat feel goofy. Lee, who has much experience with these Rockets, likes the Hydro-Motive, 3-blade Turbo. I would like to try one if I had the oppertunity.

With the 25 inch Mirage the boat also wants to list from the propeller torque. The starboard side of the bow comes up, calling for me to drop the port tab a little.

I was just looking for any tips you may have experienced to settle in down some at WOT. Overall, a fun, inexpensive boat to play with.

Good Luck with your racing endevor!