December 2006
Transcription
December 2006
NAMBA INTERNATIONAL PROPWASH EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Cathie Galbraith 1815 Halley Street San Diego, CA 92154 (619) 424-6380 Fax (619) 424-8845 e-mail: [email protected] PRESIDENT Al Waters 162 Avenida Chapala San Marcos, CA 92069 (760) 746-2408 e-mail: [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT Tony Rhodes 21931 Embassy Avenue Long Beach, CA. 90810 (310) 549-6810 e-mail: [email protected] Web Page: www.namba.com VOLUME 36, NUMBER 3 DECEMBER 2006 President’s Message INSIDE THIS ISSUE VP Talk ………………………….. 2 NAMBA Nationals History ……... 3 Safety Corner ……………………. 3 A Return to Model Boating ……... 4 News From Nine ………………... 4 Crazy Al’s Invitational ………….. 5 Tribute To Long Lived Legacy …. 6 2006 Florida Gas Racing Series …. 7 District Eight Director’s Report …. 8 Gold Rush Int. Championships ….. 9 Chairman Changes ………………. 10 The New Kids on the Block ……... 10 Scale in Review 2006 ……………. 10 Greetings From District Seven …... 12 NAMBA BOD Take A Vote …….. 13 Don’t EVER Count Him Out! …… 13 Tuned Pipes: Part Two …………... 14 2007 Orlando Winter Nationals …. 16 Storing Your Boat In The Off Season 16 Gas World Championships ……… 17 District One News………………... 18 2007 NAMBA FE Nationals …….. 19 News From District Sixteen ……... 23 Classic Thunderboats in 19 ……… 23 NW Scale Championships ………. 24 Legg Lake Record Trials ………... 25 By Al Waters NAMBA President I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable 2006 racing season, or if you are the weekend type boater, just as much fun enjoying your model boat with your family. Intense racing can be just as much fun as kicking back and watching your boat cruise the pond on a sunny weekend day. This is my first year of a two-year term as your President and I hope that we have done right by you. There have been a few bumps and there are people who would like things done yesterday, but hopefully we have taken care of business for you. Unless I am at a race or on vacation, which is probably at a race, I think that I have replied by e-mail or returned calls towards everyone’s concerns. If you feel differently, please let me know. 2006 was a very busy year for me as I tried to get around to many of the events held this year. Along with the NAMBA Nitro/Gas Nationals held in Florida, I was also able to make the FE NAMBA Nats in New Jersey. I made it to Northern California, Washington a couple of times, Michigan, and Nevada. If I could find more time off from work, I would like to make an Unlimiteds Northwest Race, the WinterNats in Florida, the NAMBA Time Trials, the CAFE Cup, and Crazy Al’s race in Montana. The ultimate would be a race in every district as I have many friends in all of them. Maybe one day I can pull it off. In the process of doing all of this, I was able to not only race nitro, which is how I started, but I was also able to race gas and fast electric. And even though it was a very busy year, it was also a very fun year. Duplicating it in 2007 will be a major task. In all honesty, I need to save some 2007 vacation time for the beginning of 2008. We all know about the Aussies who have been coming over here for many years racing at our Nationals. I would like to reciprocate their visits and go to Australia and race with them. At this time, they plan on hosting the 2008 World Championships. There was a lot of talk going around some of the district races this year and it looks like we could have a nice contingent going to Australia. If you are at all interested, please get in touch with me. I would like to congratulate the entire NAMBA membership at this time. I checked with Cathie Galbraith, our Executive Secretary, and she informs me that we did not have one medical nor did we have one liability claim in 2006. We all know what has happened to the insurance industry with double digit increases in premiums the last few years. However, with the clean record we have had we can continue to keep Continued on page 2 PROPWASH President’s Message (Continued from page 1) membership rates where they are. You have all done an excellent job. Hopefully, all of those articles NAMBA Safety Chairman Lohring Miller has been writing, and those middle of the night phone calls I have been making have been a part of the success. Again, thank you and keep up the good safety work. You may have noticed that there were no elections last month for District Directors of the even districts. I checked with the current District Directors and they have all agreed to take on another term. Please thank District Two Director Kelly Brooks, District Four Director Doug Robichaud, District Eight Director Lohring Miller, District 16 Director Keith Warham, and District 20 Director Kelly Stout. I have always said that the District Directors have the toughest job in NAMBA, and being a two time District Director myself, I still stand by that statement. If you think that things could be a little better in your district, that is the time to take that step and run for the office or at a minimum, get involved in your district activities. It’s much easier for everyone and more rewarding when everyone shares the work rather than leaving it all for one person. Speaking of sharing the work, let’s talk about the NAMBA newsletter, the Propwash! Cathie Galbraith has always sent out the notice to District Directors and NAMBA Chairmen for articles, including the deadline for submitting those articles. For this Propwash, I decided to help Cathie out and I sent out that notice and added some people’s names that have hosted special events throughout the country. Take a look as we have a few new writers who have stepped up. Then, take a look at the same names that appear issue after issue. They like to write, but what if one day if they decide not to write or don’t make that special event. How then will the membership ever learn of your event? More and more we are seeing boaters who like to race at other events, and if they can’t read about them, how can you expect them to know to come. I think that’s what makes races like the 2 Orlando Winternats, the MMEU Cup, the Grand Prix Classic, the Gold Rush Championships, and Gas World Cup so successful. All of these events can be read about in the Propwash and they all attract boaters from far away. It’s something to think about. Now that 2006 is over, there are district meetings and awards banquets being held throughout NAMBA. With that being said, 2007 race schedules are being put together also. Along with special event races that appear throughout the year, there are also NAMBA’s two most important events, the 2007 NAMBA Nitro/Gas Nationals and the 2007 NAMBA FE Nationals. The Nitro/Gas Nationals will be hosted by District Nine at Raging Waters Theme Park in San Jose, California. Mike McKnight and Roger Hooks Jr. will be the Contest Directors. The date of the Nationals will be July 7-14, 2007. The NAMBA FE Nationals will be hosted in District Eight. Dates and contact information will be announced as it becomes available. The FE contingent have done a very good job of rotating their Nationals locations year to year, so since it works, it doesn’t need me to fix it. The NAMBA Nitro/Gas Nationals, however, is my responsibility to work with the District Director and determine locations. When I became President that was the first task that I took on. I was happy to announce that the next five years had locations pending approval of the NAMBA Board of Directors. As you already know, we will be going to District Nine in 2007. If you are the kind of person who makes plans way in advance, we will go to District 20 in 2008. Speaking of the NAMBA Board of Directors, I would very much like to thank them for their help in 2006. I have kept them pretty busy. As much as I am responsible for decisions that come from the NAMBA office, the BOD votes on a lot on issues I have sent to them on behalf of the membership. They have been very helpful. And last but not least, I would like to thank NAMBA Executive Secretary Cathie Galbraith. This year has been a real learning curve for me, and she has been very helpful. We are not perfect but give us the chance, we will take care of business. We work as a team just like the driver and pit person. Your NAMBA officers and chairmen wish you a very happy holiday season and a great New Year of racing! VP Talk By Tony Rhodes NAMBA Vice President Well here I am, finally writing an article. I apologize for not sending in anything on time in the previous issues of the Propwash. I do not have as much to do now that I am not the Director in District Nineteen. Our President, Al Waters has done an excellent job of keeping everything running smoothly. When I am needed I will be well rested and ready to go. It has been nice to just concentrate on racing. It is not like I am not following the e-mails and Internet threads. I try to stay informed on the issues so when I am asked I can respond with an intelligent answer. I do have one or two pet peeves that I would like to touch on. I have been asked often “what is happening to model boating?” The following is my opinion of a couple things that need our attention. I have always been and always will be against hosting a race to make a profit. I feel that the contest directors should make an attempt to give back as much as possible to the boaters. I would much rather receive an award I can display with pride rather than something I do not even want. Remember ten dollars does not go very far. After you pay your District race fee you might have seven dollars from each entry to put towards awards. If you use the one award per five entries you should have at least thirty dollars for the first award. I seldom see an award worth that. Some races do have very nice awards that I proudly display so I know it can be done. Let’s remember that this is a hobby and not a business. It will take a long time to get rich seven dollars at a time. I say, “Give it back”. December 2006 PROPWASH I have been to some races this year and in the past where months of planning and promotion were done. At these races when you checked in you received a package of items worth more than your entry fee. Maybe we need to think about fewer races, better promotion, therefore resulting in better attendance and awards. What people are telling me is that they pay a premium for travel and accommodations to attend an event only to receive an award that is far from their expectations. On the flip side of that is that at special events the awards are far above their expectations. So I say. “Give it back”. It looks like the Gas group’s attendance is up slightly and holding steady in our District. I think that is due in part to the fact that the parts needed are easier to come by than some of the nitro parts. I wish we could go to the lawnmower shop and buy Picco or Mac parts. I feel that this may be part of the reason the Nitro classes are declining while the Gas participation is going up. I did not want to write an article to harp on things but we need to figure out how to grow our attendance and increase membership. I think we need to work on these issues to make this happen. There are companies out there making reasonably priced ready to run boats but we need classes for them where the new boater is not intimidated by the seasoned veteran racers. Let’s try to find a spot for everyone to compete or play. Give the best possible awards and incentives for everyone, and most of all make it fun. This is just my opinion and not necessarily the opinion of anyone else. If you have ideas on how to help change things for the better I would like to hear from you. Send your comments to me via e-mail at [email protected]. Congratulations to all this year’s winners and participants. During the off season get everything ready to go again. See you next season at the lake… December 2006 NAMBA Nationals History By Dave Rychalsky NAMBA Nationals Chairman My search for pins and programs from the NAMBA Nationals is ongoing. I still need pins and programs, so please try to dig around your tool boxes and file cabinets for some of the missing ones I have listed below. Once I get a full collection of pins and programs, we will always have a benchmark to gaze back and recall some of the finest moments of racing and have a method to collect items from future nationals. Once again, I need your help in locating these items to add to NAMBA’s collection. I’m not sure if every NAMBA Nationals offered pins, but I’m very sure that each had a program. I would like to have a reasonable collection by the time we go to the 2007 NAMBA Nationals, with only two or three missing. I store the programs in its own plastic filing case and the pins are in a wooden picture frame. Please take 10 minutes of your time to search for these items and donate them to NAMBA. For the pins, I am missing the following years: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, and 2001. For the programs, I am missing the following years: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1988. For those that would like to donate their pin or program to the NAMBA Nationals Historical Collection, please send to: Dave Rychalsky 10 Timber Road East Brunswick, NJ 08816 Thank you in advance for your help. Safety Corner By Lohring Miller NAMBA Safety Chairman After driver error, the biggest cause of accidents with radio-controlled models is the radio system. The oldest problem is interference from another transmitter. Today’s radio systems are remarkably resistant to transmitters on nearby frequencies. However, a transmitter on the same frequency will cause problems. The frequency pin system was invented to solve this problem and it works when used properly. It won’t help with momentary lapses or deliberate attempts to cause interference. Recently, spread spectrum radio systems have become available to address the radio interference problem. They are widely used in computers and cordless phones to allow many users to transmit and receive simultaneously. The first model examples found wide use in cars, but have had shorter range than 75 MHz systems in boats. This is not always a problem and the new system from Futaba looks very promising. For stick radio users, the Spectrum aircraft stick system packages two receivers together for redundancy. The second problem in radio systems involves failure of one of the components. If the transmitter, receiver, or servos lose power or signal, control will be lost. The first attempt to solve this was the PCM code system. With this system, the servos go to a preset position when the signal from the transmitter is lost. This is helpful if the model gets out of range or there is some failure in the transmitter. Both of these problems are rare compared to failures in the boat’s radio box. Though fail-safe devices can be made to address this, the wet, high vibration environment of the radio box is hard to protect. As a first step, try to build a radio box that leaks very slowly. You notice I didn’t mention watertight. I have never seen a radio box that was dry after a day or more at the bottom of the pond. If you do a good job, the radio box will remain dry after onehalf hour upside down. Placing the receiver in balloons will also slow down the rate water gets into it. A foam sponge will absorb a little moisture and dampen vibrations. The servos, switch, and battery are a little more resistant to water, but if there is any Continued on page 4 3 PROPWASH Safety Corner (Continued from page 3) sign of water in the radio box you should open it up, unwrap everything, and dry it out before the next heat. Always take the receiver and battery out of the radio box at the end of the day and let everything air out to prevent corrosion. Products like Corrosion X can be used to help protect everything. A higher level of radio system safety can be achieved with redundant systems in the boat. Manufacturers have already started to do this as I mentioned above. Several builders of fast boats install two sets of batteries, switches and receivers on the same frequency so each controls one servo. That way, if there is a failure of one of the two receiver systems, you will still have control of either the throttle or steering. The standard fail-safe will work as described above if the transmitter signal is lost. I have tested this with both 75 MHz and Spectrum receivers. It is also possible to use a Y connector to hook each servo to both receivers. That way a failure in one will not cause any loss of control. You need to turn off one receiver at a time during your radio check to be sure both are working. Again, I have tested this system with both standard and Spectrum radios. This may seem a little extreme, but it is good insurance for large, expensive, and/or fast boats. However, there is no substitute for good judgment. Until next time, be careful out there. A Return to Model Boating By Joe Scarpino District 20 I am on my second go round with R/C boating. I first raced in Florida as a member of the Broward Model Boat Club in IMPBA, before Florida changed to NAMBA. This was between 1984 and 1989 and this is the time period that the hobby really made an impression on me. I had to move from the area in 1989 for work relocation and lost contact with the hobby and a place to join a club. So the hobby got put on the back burner for the next 16 years. Fast forward 16 years. I walked A beautiful back drop of snow capped mountains into the hobby shop in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, to buy some R/C car parts and overheard a District 20 Member who was also there, talking about R/C boats. That's all it took! Now I knew that there was indeed R/C nitro boat racing going on in Colorado. I had no clue in the few years that I have lived here. I joined for the very next 2006 race season with my son Mitchell (13) and we are now hooked for good. The race events are so friendly and family oriented. There are great people to race with too. My wife Kate also loves the hobby and likes to attend all the races with us, as do all of the wives and children of the club members. We took the time to get up to Kalispell, Montana to Crazy Al’s Classic this past September. That was just absolutely awesome. I got to meet the guys from District Eight from the Northwest and from District 16 in Canada. These are some really good people and we can’t wait to race with them again in July 2007 in San Jose. I love this hobby and we are heart broken that we can't race here for the next four to five months! I've met some really nice people through this hobby, and it enriches our lives knowing them. We look forward to being together again next season with everyone. R/C boating is the best! 4 News From Nine By Mike McKnight District Nine Director OK, since I only have one Propwash report so far this year I’m going to try to make up for it in this one. As I sit down to write this, the Gold Rush Gas Championships are underway and District Nine is getting ready to cap off the season the following weekend with our Awards Banquet. I would like first to congratulate all of our District Champions. I will start first with a man who has won his first championship in thirtysome years of racing, Tony Ojeda is the new Sport 21 Champion in District Nine! Good things definitely come to those who wait! He held off a few speedsters and was the model of consistency, and even showed a little speed when he needed to, just to keep everyone honest. Congratulations Tony! We also have several multiple championship winners this year: Jim Wilson in A Mono and C Mono, and Alfred Lanza and Jeff Wells have the Hat-Trick with three championships each. Alfred won in G1 Cracker Box, Sport 40-II, and G1 Catamaran. Jeff was victorious in G1 Mono, B Mod Tunnel, and G1 Hydro. Way to go guys! We’ve also had a changing of the guard with some new winners in some classes: Dave Osman in B Mono, Lorenzo Martinez in B Hydro, Bob Rendon in B OPC Tunnel, Dylan Frentzel in Juniors, and Gary Lesher in C Hydro. We also have a few returning to the Winner’s Circle. Tod Osman won in December 2006 PROPWASH 2004 and returns as the top dog in Scale Unlimited for 2006. Jeff Brown is back in A Mod Tunnel. Roger Hooks, Sr. is back on top in A Hydro, and Mike McKnight is the X Hydro Champion for the second year in a row. 2006 was exciting and congratulations to all that are bringing home some hardware! Anyone that has ever been in a leadership position soon comes to realize that even though they have a large responsibility there are always others that are behind the scenes helping that do not always get the recognition that they deserve. During the course of the last year there is a person that has been steady and stalwart in support of the district in a number of ways. Not only did she assist me at the judges’ stand at the Model Mariners race, but she helps run it at her own club’s race and is usually there in some capacity at most other races as well…and that person is Cassandra Tuttle. She’s always ready to help when asked. She also demonstrates the ability to jump in and help at a moment’s notice when there is a need without needing to be asked. She, as well as the rest of the ladies in this district, deserves our admiration and our sincerest gratitude for all that they do. Not only do they support the boys but most come racin’ with the boys too! On a personal note, 2006 was an interesting year for me as I ventured outside of the district a couple of times for some Scale Unlimited racing. San Diego for the Muncey is usually a good time even when my boat isn’t cooperating. It’s great to see and hang out with District 19 racers that I know and others that I’ve gotten to know better after this last trip. Then I took a trip to the Northwest to race and met a lot of great people and racers at the Northwest Scale Hydroplane Championship race. Thank you to Marty Shallenberger for the invite and Roger Newton for his hospitality. It is definitely a different experience that I encourage anyone to try at least once. The racing was fast and the camaraderie was excellent. Everyone from RCU and UNW, as well as NAMBA District Eight was willing to help me as well as Mike Allen who came out all the way from NAMBA District Three in Florida with anything we needed. It was good to put a face to some of names and voices of those I’ve spoken with or traded emails with. I am planning not only to make this race again next year but hopefully a couple of others there as well. Some have also started making plans to head here next July for the Nationals as well. You are welcome and we would love to see you. Well, as I realize that my first year as a District Director is coming to an end and we prepare to close out the 2006 racing season I am amazed at how quickly the year has passed. Even though this job can be a little stressful at times there are a number of people that were always there to lend support or ideas. One of those was immediate past District Director Gary Crawford. Gary was always willing to be a sounding board and had advice whenever I called. Jim Wilson was also there with information anytime he was asked. Alfred Lanza and Jeff Wells never hesitated to call me and make sure I was on track as well. Thanks to all of you We have another big year ahead of us with the 2007 NAMBA Nationals in San Jose, California at Lake Cunningham/Raging Waters. Roger Hooks, Jr. and I are the Co-CDs of the event. At the time I am writing this our first full blown Nationals Committee meeting is due to be held the day after tomorrow where all of the various committees will be together at once. We will finalize the schedule of racing events and the entry form should be completed and the website will soon follow. The web address will be 2007nambanationals.com. We are anticipating a good number of boats so get your entry in early as the deadline will be June 1, 2007. Come race the fast water in Northern California. Well, it is time to go and fire up the garage heater and get back to winter building….see you in 2007! December 2006 Crazy Al’s Invitational By Lohring Miller District Eight Director Though Al Hobbs race has a long history as an annual, two-day race, it wasn’t run last year. Al resurrected it as a less frequent, but longer, event to bring together model boat racers from the Northwestern United States and Southwestern Canada. This year the three-day race accomplished that with some new faces and many familiar ones attending. There are several unique characteristics of the race; the most important is the judging system. Everyone is sworn in as judges and has the duty to report their own penalties. The CD (Al) fines anyone who swears, frowns, or isn’t having a good time. The fines go to a charity at the end of the races. As an additional incentive to meet other racers, everyone is a member of a two and four man team. The winning teams also get trophies. Al always provides a lunch, and this year there was a bring your own meat barbeque Saturday night at the North Forty, the host motel. The weather for the weekend was almost perfect with only a tiny rain shower on Saturday. Friday started the racing with A Mono, A Hydro, Sport 20, and Open Outboard. A Mono was a popular class and Dave Solway led Bruce Mooring on points up to the trophy dash. However Mike Hughes finally kept his boat bottom side down to take the final. The Canadians dominated A Hydro with Doug Sick winning and Rob Duckering third. Robert Holland from the Colorado Holland clan was second. Sport 20 saw the popular Bruce Mooring designed Snake hull dominate with Jerry Dunlap winning and Bruce second both with Snake boats. Cody Holland was third. Open outboard brought everything from A Stock Tunnels, to very fast B Modified Tunnels. Dave Soleway’s Nelson powered Leecraft was clearly the fastest, winning over Keith Warham’s beautiful Stock Tunnel and Eric Bourlet’s Van Hooten Tunnel. Saturday’s racing started with A Stock Tunnel. The competition was tough, but Dave Solway drove his Lynx Continued on page 6 5 PROPWASH Crazy Al’s Invitational (Continued from page 5) to first place followed by Rob Duckering in second and Lohring Miller in third. B Mono was very close with the top three separated by less than 100 points. However, Allen Yuen managed to beat Robert Holland (second) and David Holland (third) for the trophy. B Hydro was Bruce Mooring’s race all the way as he was first on points and in the trophy dash with his Mutt II Sport 40. Jim Sugdon was second and Kevin Traboulay was third. Open Three Point saw Rob Duckering take the win with his Scale Now those are some real hot pits Hydro followed by Shawn Warren and Keith Warham. In Open Mono Eric Bourlet’s Gas Mono won over the nitro boats as Joe Scarpino was second and Bruce Blackett was third. Sunday was more relaxed with only four of the smaller classes running. Bruce Blackett won C Mono with Joe Scarpino second and Bob Howard third. C Hydro was won by Doug Sick with Allen Yuen second and Joe Scarpino third. Rob Duckering’s fast 1/8 scale boat won the Scale Hydro race followed by Leslie The spectators get the best view Warren and Kevin Traboulay in a near duplicate of the Open Three Point race. Open Hydro was big enough for a trophy dash, which was won by Doug Sick. Mike Hughes was first on points going into the final with Doug second and Rob Duckering third. Mike unfortunately hit the bank at full speed, breaking his Eagle for the second time. Despite racing frustrations, everyone had a good time. It was the perfect, relaxed race to end the 2006 season. A Tribute To A Long Lived Legacy By Roger Hooks District Nine As NAMBA continues to press forward toward the future, it is easy to lose site of some of its history. New boaters come and go. New boats come and go and the names of the modelers, designers, and boat builders that created them sometimes fade far more quickly than even the boats themselves. In my history in NAMBA I can recall the domination of the Prather Deep Vee and the Wing Ding outrigger. Then those faded to give way to the Cal Craft Deep Vee and Coyote outriggers. And now... today we are witnessing the almost complete domination of Seaducer mono hulls with Eagle SG outrigger hulls. But somewhere along this abbreviated history another strong runner was born. It hit the water with a vengeance and left a sea of championships, records, and other top honors in it's wake. This new breed was the LeeCraft XT 460 and as soon as it hit the scene it demanded greatness. I first recall seeing the LeeCraft at the 85 Reno Nationals. I was 15 years old and didn't think much of outboards at that time. But then I witnessed a LeeCraft hull screaming down the back straight-away for the first time. I could not believe my 6 eyes. It was an outboard with an 11cc K&B hanging off the back and it seemed just as fast as any C Hydro at that time. To say the least I didn't miss a single heat of that event. Anyone who knows tunnel hulls knows the name of Tommy Lee and LeeCraft Tunnels. Tommy established the ultimate speed record of his day with a 75 mph outboard-powered tunnel boat powered by a modified K&B 7.5. He also held the record for top speed in the 3.5 Tunnel class. Tommy Lee was not only a master of creating warp speed tunnel hulls but he was a successful driver winning many regional and national championships. In 1985, when Tommy was looking for a new 7.5 tunnel design to manufacture, he started the LeeCraft business. Rod Geraghty of Geraghty Performance fame had developed a 32inch wooden tunnel hull that ran very well. He gave Tommy a set of line drawings for the boat, and Tommy built a wooden plug for the design so molds could be made for a fiberglass version. Tommy began manufacturing the new polyester resin and fiberglass XT460 in 1986. The LeeCraft XT460 immediately dominated the 7.5cc and 11cc tunnelhull classes in regional and national events. In straightaway speed events, the XT460 has laid claim to IMPBA records in the 7.5cc (75.201 mph), 11cc (70.159mph) and 13cc (73.916mph) modified-engine classes. It's also put hands on the 1/3mile oval (2-lap) competition records for the same three engine classes along with the 1/4-mile (2-lap) records in 7.5 and 11cc. The XT460 has held top honors as a NAMBA straightaway record holder in 7.5cc modified (61.22mph), 11cc stock (50.90mph) and 11cc modified (57.39mph) classes. In NAMBA one mile heat racing, the XT460 held records in 7.5 class. Besides holding most of the records for speed in 7.5 and 11cc tunnel classes, the LeeCraft XT460 has successfully unified the belt title by securing simultaneous championship in all three radio controlled boating associations. Many more have enjoyed the top ranking December 2006 PROPWASH performance of LeeCraft as well. Since 1999 LeeCraft has captured 50 win, place, or show finishes. This is over one-third of the 144 possible. In 1997, Bill Berdzar and Lohring Miller of Eugene, Oregon, better known as B&M Manufacturing, bought the plug and molds for the XT460. Under their command the LeeCraft continued to dominate with names like Tony Rhodes, Frank Crockett, and Alfred Lanza. For as many things that have changed at least one thing has managed to stay the same. Since its inception many more have benefited from the long time success of the LeeCraft hull. It has continued to provide those who use it, strong reliable performance for just over 20 years now. That in itself is tribute to Tommy Lee and his supporters in bringing us what could be considered an icon in the history of our organization. The torch of this fine breed of racing machines has been passed on once again. Lohring Miller and B&M Manufacturing has sold LeeCraft to Alfred Lanza in an attempt to keep the legacy alive. Lohring Miller states "Alfred has been involved in model boating for a long time and has consistently promoted model boating in the Northern California area. His LeeCraft tunnels won four of the six tunnel classes at the 2003 NAMBA Nationals. He also has promoted the LeeCraft tunnels in his area. LeeCraft will die without that kind of promotion and support." Alfred will continue to offer the XT460 and the XTR-21 under the LeeCraft brand. He will also expand the line with several new hull classifications. The XS21 will be the first new hull launched under the LeeCraft brand. The boat is Sport 21 hull that will provide a competitive readily available Sport 21 that is light weight and durable. So we can continue to look forward to a legacy that has been long standing. A legacy hat started with one man's desire and pursuit of excellence will continue on for longer than he could have imagined. December 2006 2006 Florida Gas Racing Series By Ellie Watts Orlando Culvert Dodgers The Orlando Culvert Dodgers, a registered club in District Three, started a new racing series in 2006 called the Florida Gas Racing Series (“FGRS”). This series consisted of six one-day sanctioned races held April 2, June 25, July 30, August 27, September 24, and November 19 at our club facility located at Lake Richard in Orlando, Florida. The following gas classes were offered: GX-1 Mono, GX1- Hydro (Rigger), GX-1 Cat, GX-1 Sport Hydro, Gas Offshore, Gas Crackerbox, Jersey Skiff, and Factory Stock. The purpose of this racing series was to provide opportunities for new R/C boaters and sport boaters to get a taste of the excitement of racing, provide opportunities to improve driving skills, and learn NAMBA rules before advancing to the District High Points Series races. It was also designed to provide experienced boaters with opportunities to hone their driving skills and give back to the hobby by working with the new boaters. In addition, this series provided our new club members with training opportunities for race-related tasks in a fun, laid-back environment prior to the Orlando Winter Nationals held annually in January. Another benefit achieved by the FGRS was the development of the Jersey Skiff class in District Three. One day our club member, Lance Metcalfe, talked about the possibility of running the Jersey Skiff class on a popular internet R/C boat forum. Shortly thereafter, Lance Metcalfe, Ross Medina, Brian Watts, Wayne Farrow, John Taggart, and Michael Hilldale had theirs done. Other individuals in District Three were building hulls, too; and the Jersey Skiff fever started. We added the class to the June 25th race of the FGRS series, which was the first organized race of the Jersey Skiff class in the country, and the rest is history. Jersey Skiff is the exciting new class in District Three! The results of the series’ first year exceeded our expectations. The following R/C boaters began racing in the FGRS and advanced to the District Three High Points Series races: George Santiago has been a member of our club for a couple of years, but had never raced before. He started racing in the FGRS and is the current leader in the Gas Offshore class. It has been a great pleasure to watch his driving skills develop and see his confidence grow every time he races. As a result, he raced in his first District Three High Points Series race in September 2006 hosted by the Brandon Model Boaters and plans to enter more races. Dr. John Taggart has also been a member of our club for a couple of years. John started out as a sport boater and now races in the FGRS. As a physician, John has found the one-day series works better with his busy schedule. He is getting better and better every time he drives his boats, and has the heart of a racer. John Taggart is currently in fourth place overall in both the Jersey Skiff and GX1 Mono classes with the strong possibility of advancing his position at the last race of the year in November. In April 2006, he raced in the District Three High Points Series race hosted by the Orlando Culvert Dodgers, and plans to race in the November 2006 District Three High Points Series race hosted by the Space Coast Rudder Busters. Tammy Farrow, who has been a member of our club for one year, is a new boater and is developing into a great racer. She started racing in the FGRS in July 2006 and runs in GX-1 Cat. She has learned very quickly and has a competitive spirit. As a result, she raced in her first District Three High Points Series race in September 2006 hosted by the Brandon Model Boaters and also raced in the October 2006 race hosted by the Homestead Model Boaters. GX-1 Cat is an extremely competitive class in Continued on page 8 7 PROPWASH 2006 Florida Gas Racing Series (Continued from page 7) District Three, and it has been exciting to watch Tammy out there mixing it up in very tough eight-boat heats! Robert Smith was a spectator at the 2006 Orlando Winter Nationals, joined the club in July, and raced in his first FGRS race in September. That’s the kind of participation that helps the club and this series grow. Experienced R/C boaters in the FGRS such as Joe Rivard, Greg Johnson, Jeff Crouse, David Yancey, Lance Metcalfe, Alton Buie, Scott Anderson, Ross Medina, Keven Whittington, Brian Watts, and Wayne Farrow teach the “new kids on the block” every time they race. Our club Vice President, Gary Weinman, leads by example. Although he doesn’t run any gas boats, he and his son, Joey, are at every race helping in the pit area, CD tower or working the retrieve boat. We are planning to continue the Florida Gas Racing Series in 2007, and look forward to sharing this great sport with many more people. Details are posted on our club website, www.orlandoculvertdodgers.com. Overall results for first through third in the 2006 FGRS series through the September 24th race are listed below. Crackerbox 1st Place – Lance Metcalfe 2nd Place – Joe Rivard 3rd Place – David Groah GX-1 Mono 1st Place – Wayne Farrow 2nd Place – Brian Watts 3rd Place – Lance Metcalfe Jersey Skiff 1st Place – Brian Watts 2nd Place – Wayne Farrow 3rd Place – Ross Medina GX-1 Sport Hydro 1st Place – Wayne Farrow 2nd Place – Scott Anderson 3rd Place – Keven Whittington GX-1 Cat 1st Place – Wayne Farrow 2nd Place – Brian Watts 3rd Place – Jeff Crouse Open Offshore 1st Place – George Santiago 2nd Place – Wayne Farrow 3rd Place – Greg Johnson The Puget Sound Fast Electric Model Boat club had a very successful race season. Not only do they hold an electric race series, they also held the Second Annual Granger Invitational race, where nitro and electric boats can compete equally. This year they had 30 drivers total with 71 boats in 11 classes. They raced Limited Sport Hydro and Nitro .15 Pro Sport Hydros together as well as P Hydro Electric Riggers with 3.5 Mod Nitro Riggers. The event has been growing rapidly and offers a way for boaters with diverse interests to get together. GX-1 Rigger 1st Place – David Yancey 2nd Place – Wayne Farrow 3rd Place – Ross Medina District Eight Director’s Report Lohring Miller District Eight Director District Eight nitro boaters wrapped up a short, five-race season with the final race at Twin Lakes. The big winner again this year was Eric Bourlet. Eric won A Stock Tunnel, B Stock Tunnel, B Modified Tunnel, A Outboard Hydro, season high points, and three boat high points. His three boats that counted toward these points averaged nearly 1200 points per race. Three other racers won two classes. Greg Roth won Sport 60 and A Modified Tunnel. Greg was also second to Eric for both the season high points and three boat high points. Ken Mallit won Sport 40 and B hydro, and Mike Hughes won both Open Hydro and Gas Mono. Leslie Warren won A Mono, Shawn Warren won Sport 20, Ron Beck won B Mono, and newcomer Charlie Howarth won A Hydro. District Eight racers were well represented at Crazy Al’s Invitational, and took home quite a few of the trophies. Mike Bontoft and Lohring Miller are also preparing for their annual trip to the Legg Lake record trials in November. There they hope to maintain their success in gas boat racing as the only gas boaters in the world to hold a record above 100 mph. 8 Ron Beck assists boater Taylor Davis Larry Kirby was electric racing’s high points winner with firsts in O Sport Hydro, N2 Sport Hydro, and Limited Sport Hydro. Byron Pimms won N2 Open, as well as the Rookie of the Year, the Most Improved, and the Sportsmanship trophies. Scott Bickford won N1 Mono, Darin Jordan won O Mono, Steve Conradi won P Mono, and Greg Schweers won P Sport Hydro. The District Eight fast electric modelers have also been testing lithium polymer (lipo) batteries, and they performed very well. The new lipo charging bag was used during charging with no incidents. They used both 4s 4350 mah and 4s2P 4350 mah cells and December 2006 PROPWASH the cells performed as anticipated. This, like anything new, will impact our hobby since new chargers will be needed as well as an inline balancer between the charger and the cells. Also needed is a fire containment system like the lipo bag. The District Eight electric boaters are working on common-sense rules that can be proposed to the NAMBA membership. The Unlimiteds Northwest 1/8 Scale group also had a successful season. Rod Britten was the winner of the 12-race season with victories in the Atomic Cup and the Gold Cup. John Stubbers was close behind in second with wins in the Apple Cup and the Emerald Cup. Lee Britten, who won the Silver Cup, held third place. Gene Gager was fourth overall. Individual race winners were Ron Davis, the Diamond Cup; Paul Jackson, the Sahara Cup; Kirk Maupin, the Thunder on the Pond and Seafair races; Dale Strothers, the Molson Thunderfest; Kerry Case, the Glen Ono Memorial; and Jeff Heimkes, the Crystal Cup. The summer’s big scale event in the Northwest is the Northwest Scale Hydroplane Championship. With UNW, RCU, and scale racers from other districts competing, it took NAMBA President, Al Waters, to maintain order as the event’s “CD extraordinaire.” The results of the final were: first, John Stubbers; second, Dave Marcoll; third, Lee Robertson; fourth, Adam Putich; fifth, Mike Cathey; sixth, David Newton; and seventh, Doug Kirk. Lee Robertson moved up by winning the first consolation, and Jim Putich won the second consolation. Bob Hulliger won the Concourse with his 2000 Miss Elam Plus. The Show and Go award goes to the boater with a combination of both racing and appearance points. Doug Kirk won it this year. Overall, model boating is alive and well in District Eight. Declines in some nitro classes are more than made up by gains in electric racing. Ready to run classes are starting to show up, and the Northwest Scale Hydroplane Championship stands as one of the premier scale events in the country. Gold Rush International Gas Championship Race By Beverly Bestpitch R/C Modeleers Unlike spring, this time of year our weather in northern California is normally good, but it was absolutely outstanding this weekend! The weather couldn’t have been any better if we would’ve put in a special order. Just like any other race I’ve ever attended, including nationals and district races, a few contestants dropped out for one reason or another after entering. However, in having said that, the final turnout was excellent for our first International Gold Rush Gas Championship! The contestants were laid back and had a great time racing in a relaxed atmosphere. Racing started at 10:30 on Friday and Saturday, and 9:30 on Sunday. Most of the out of town racers opted to stay lake-side in cabins and garden rooms rather than in the local hotel, which lead to an alleged late-night “high stakes” Texas Hold-Em card game. I have no idea who participated… But it’s rumored that Alfred Lanza bought a lot of raffle tickets the next day, and Troy Davis went home early. Each morning the racers were treated to a continental breakfast-bakery style muffins and fresh coffee, (brewed on-site!). Lunch was hamburgers and hotdogs, grilled to perfection, with salad, chips, and sodas. If you have ever had Deep Fried Turkey you know you missed a great dinner Friday night. First time I’ve ever tasted deep fried turkey–wow–it was great! Steve Johnson sure knows how to cook your goose, oops, I mean, fry turkey! I was concerned it would seem greasy– but was pleasantly surprised how delicious it was. District Nine members provided the rest of the delicious menu. Cranberry sauce, macaroni salad, tossed salad, rolls, and pumpkin pie rounded out the dinner for the December 2006 dinner was catered, featuring an authentic Filipino evening. Saturday night’s wedding banquet menu, complete with a whole roasted pig, lumpia, and other delicacies I can’t even begin to pronounce! Several racers went to one of the local casinos Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately we don’t have any exciting news to report; most everyone broke even, or donated to the cause. Our sponsors were very generous, digging deep into their pockets and providing the contestants with lots of valuable prizes! We wouldn’t have had such a successful event without the support of our sponsors, and their continued support to our sport is deeply appreciated. Mark Grim did a wonderful job as our contest director and announcer. Several nitro racers from District Nine came out to support the gas race, judging, scoring and helping where they could. The local “rumor mill” has it that some of the staunch nitro die-hards in District Nine had so much fun, they may even become gas converts (or at least will try a gas class.) Even though the contestants were relaxed, the racing was fast and furious. Alan Terry broke a record! Not to be outdone, Scott Schneider almost broke a record as well. However, let’s just say that a lack of “pre-race maintenance” got the best of his boat “someone” forgot to tighten the shaft collet on his engine. Not being just about racing, our club supports a charity; “Coats for Kids” provided coats for under-privileged children through our local TV station (news10.net). The kick-off for this year was this race event, and we had barrels on hand to collect coats. Even the awards ceremony was full of thrills and spills-everyone watched Dave Bestpitch land flat-out on his back. Hopefully someone has a tape of that for home’s funniest videos! Scott Schneider was master of ceremonies and Mark Grim announced the individual winners. Scott honored Chris Brown for her hard work at the race. Everyone said they were already marking next year’s calendars, planning a return trip and inviting others. This was such a fun event; we’re all looking forward to 2007. 9 PROPWASH Chairman Changes Al Waters NAMBA President I would like to announce a change in NAMBA Chairmen positions. Recently, I went to the NAMBA Time Trials at Legg Lake as I have never attended this type of event before. I was impressed with how District 19 Director Mark Grim handled the event. Mark has hosted many Straight Line and Oval Time Trials for FE, Nitro, and Gas over the years. He has the timing equipment, been involved in the surveying of courses, is familiar with engine teardowns, and has the all around expertise that would make himself a real asset to the membership for those who have questions regarding these types of events, the organizing of these events, as well as heat racing events with regards to records. The position of Records/Awards Chairman will now be split into two positions. Mark Grim will be the NAMBA Records Chairman and Dave Bestpitch will continue to be the NAMBA Awards Chairman. I feel that we will have the best of both worlds, as they both are very good at what they do, and have done for NAMBA. The other NAMBA Chairman position change is Scale Unlimited Hydro. About a half dozen people showed interest after reading my last article in the Propwash looking for a replacement chairman. I was looking for someone who I felt would write articles pertaining to Unlimiteds for the Propwash, has traveled to scale events outside their own district, and has a passion for the Unlimiteds. This person accomplished what I was looking for and went one step further by pointing out to me the recent wording change we accomplished for the NAMBA Master Hull Roster. I would like to thank District Nine Director Mike McKnight who will now be our NAMBA Unlimited Hydro Chairman. Mike's credentials are 100 times better than I ever had if you needed help with knowledge of the Unlimiteds. I knew who to go to. He is the go to guy. I would like to thank Dave, Mark, and Mike for volunteering to be our NAMBA Chairmen. The New Kids on the Block By G.B. Robbins Wave Blasters of Florida The Wave Blasters of Florida was started in the latter part of 2005 by G. B. Robbins, Ron Desmond, and Jim Coker. Since we cannot run nitro or gas boats in St. Lucie County, it was obvious that electric was the only way to go. Permission to use a great lake was received from the St. Lucie County Parks and Recreation Department. We have a pavilion and have set up a regulation NAMBA oval course. In 2006 the club joined NAMBA, and Boaters have a nice covered cold pit area we are beginning to establish classes and conduct races. At this time we have established the Aqua Craft RTR27 as a class with seven boats. We also run P-Mono with Titan 29's and others. We have members who run hydros and riggers. Some of our members come from as far away as Fort Lauderdale and Vero Beach to run their boats. In addition, we have a good number of scale boaters that have put on some very fine displays of craftsmanship, with large tugs, PT boats, sport fishing boats, etc. We meet every Sunday from 10:00 until we are done. Scale boaters run from 10:00 10 until 11:00. FE races are conducted from 11:00 till all races are finished. We have a lot to learn regarding conducting races and hope in the future that we will be able to host some FE races with other clubs. At this time it appears that we are the only FE Club in Florida NAMBA District Three. We hope this will change in the future. We are sure that some of the Wave Blasters members will be setting some records but we have a long way to go. The pond has a beautiful back drop We look forward to working with Fred Robson, Director of District Three NAMBA to further establish more FE boat clubs. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you would like to join us for some racing. Scale in Review 2006 By Al Waters NAMBA President This was an interesting year for me in Scale Unlimited. I built three 1977 Oh Boy! Oberto boats, one of which is still running. That’s two more than the last boat that gave me over eleven years of hard racing. I had good days and not so good days on race day but hey, I wasn’t at work and I was doing what I enjoy most: model boating with my friends. Along with my local district racing in Scale Unlimited in 2006, I started the year attending the Grand Prix Classic in District Nine in February. Special event scale races took a break until June at the Mid Michigan Cup in Dearborn, Michigan where Fast Electric Scale Unlimited ran for its first time as a recognized class. I then attended the NAMBA Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where Scale Unlimited was one of the largest classes at the Nationals. December 2006 PROPWASH Jack St. Clair impressed us all with his ply over foam boats. His driving was pretty good too as he showed us all how to have a perfect day. After returning home for a week I was off to Tri-Cities, Washington for the big boat races and racing with Radio Control Unlimiteds in their points series. This year, I dragged local boaters Henry Velasco and Russell Stark along. I think it is good for those who race scale to get a taste of how these races are run in other parts of the country. There are many different mill patterns, clock time patterns, racing rules, and scoring differences between organizations as well as within our own districts in NAMBA. Needless to say, we had a great time; however two firsts, a second, and a third in qualifying didn’t get us close to making the “Winner Take All” final. We were definitely humbled. But, we will be back to give it another shot in 2007. After the Labor Day holiday, it was off to Morristown, New Jersey where I was asked to CD the 2006 FE NAMBA Nationals. This was the third time in two years I was able to watch the Electric Scale Unlimiteds race. At the rate they are figuring out the setup of the battery power and trim for these boats, all I can say is look out nitro. This is going to create some competitive fun in the future. Ken Joye, who runs the 1978 U-64 The Squire Shop set a new NAMBA record in Scale Unlimited at the FE Nationals with a 1:10.62 beating the old record by more than eight seconds. Ken runs a Henry Velasco hull, the same hull as the nitro racers with just a little lighter glass lay up. Ken Joye and his record setting scale unlimited U-64 The Squire Shop December 2006 It was then back home where the following weekend the Oh Boy! Oberto Presents the Bill Muncey Memorial for Scale Unlimited and Unlimited Lights is run in San Diego, California. Glenn Burkard and District Nine Director Mike McKnight came down from Northern California. From even further away, the father and son team of Roger and David Newton from Seattle, Washington, took a momentary break from crewing on the big Unlimiteds to race with us. They faired much better than Henry, Russ, and I did on our trip to Washington as they walked away with the Concourse trophy with their 2006 U-5 Formulaboats.com and two Finals trophies of which David Newton was the overall winner. We obviously have work to do. October came around and it was time to head up to the Northwest Scale Hydroplane Championships at Twin Lakes Park in Arlington, Washington. This year, the race was moved closer to Seattle, which proved to be a great thing on Contest Director Marty Shallenberger’s part. Not only did boaters participate from Radio Control Unlimiteds and Unlimiteds Northwest, but District Eight boaters like Kelly Groul also jumped into the fray. Mike McKnight made his way up to this race from District Nine and Mike Allen came all the way over from about as far away as you can get, Southern Florida. District Eight boaters Jerry Dunlap and Shawn Warren stopped by to watch the racing and NAMBA Sport Chairman Eric Bourlet was on hand for the weekend taking photos. Needless to say, it was a busy year in Scale Unlimited for me but it doesn’t stop here. The 2007 NAMBA Master Hull Roster will be available soon on the NAMBA web site. Please check the Contact Page. I continue to get e-mail inquiries from people on how to get photos of real boats, plans, graphics, drivers and dummy motors. It’s all right there for you. This year I have added another contact for drivers. If you need anything from the smallest scale driver for that little FE sport boat all the way up to a full sized 1/8th Unlimited, Electric or Nitro, Eddie Hanson can help you out along with the other listed sources. Over in District 19, Gas has been working with Scale Unlimited appearing boats. There are two schools of thought at the moment and a lot of R and D is going on at this time. Dennis Hoover and John Delong are building glass round nosed vintage boats that can be made into favorites such as the Notre Dame, Miss Bardahl (checkerboard and Green Dragon), Miss U.S., and Miss Burien. Greg Reed has taken long time scale builder Ira Cotton plans and have scaled them up to make wood kit drop sponson boats. They would like to allow the imagination to get creative and they have painted up boats like Tide Racing, Miss Subway, Miss Budweiser, and Miss Madison. These are paint schemes that really did not run in the unlimited world but then again, would the spectators know the difference? That is their calling. Both boat styles ran together at the World Cup Gas Championships in October at Las Vegas as Classic Thunderboats. I will admit that they were pretty exciting to watch. District 19 will decide on a rule package at their annual district meeting in December. Although I have not been able to make a scale unlimited race in District Three or Unlimiteds Northwest in District Eight, they are very active in Scale Unlimited racing. Please check out their web sites at http://www.namba3.net and http://www.unlimitedsnw.org to keep up to date with them. Which leads me to our NAMBA web site. Scale has its own section linked right from the main page. Three special Scale Unlimited events are listed. If you have an annual event similar to one of these, please get in touch with me so that I can get it listed. You never know, the Glenn Burkard’s, Mike McKinght’s, and Mike Allen’s of the world might show up at your doorstep. That’s all for now. I hope that you had a good year of racing. See you in 2007. 11 PROPWASH Greetings From District Seven By Scott Grissman District Seven Director The racing season is over and we had a fun year in District Seven. So let’s get right to it, and see who gets to claim the bragging rights for the season. Scott Grissman- A-OPC Scott Grissman- A-Mod Tunnel Scott Grissman- B-OPC Scott Grissman- B-Mod Tunnel Bryan Yancey- Crackerbox Dale Roberts- A Mono Kim Jakubik- B Hydro Buford Tanniehill- G-1 Mono Scott Grissman- G-1 Cat Jerry Wright- GX-1 Cat Scott Grissman- G-1 Sport Hydro Dale Roberts- Nitro Cat We had seven district races for the 2006 season with six planned for 2007. We had some faces from years past show up to get back into racing. At our Andrews, Texas race we had a very interesting group show up from Amarillo, Texas. They consisted of Grandpa, Dad, Brother and Son. They ran stock 1/8 scale pro boats against each other. It was a lot of fun to watch and witness. They claim they are building 1/8 scale boats for the 2007 season to get the unlimited class back going to District Seven. We hope this happens. They are the Baker family. We also had Pat Williams of Amarillo, Texas make a few races, and he is building some new boats for the 2007 season. Our newest NAMBA club from the San Antonio area is hosting our first race on the Llano River in February. This is a good location that should draw racers from all areas of the state. So come on Houston, Dallas, Austin and all others. Let’s help their first race to be a big event. You can get info and an entry form on the District Seven web site. At our final race in Carlsbad, New Mexico in October we had two new faces. David Robinson raced A-OPC and beat us veteran racers to take 1st place, and Gilbert Breza ran B-Hydro and did well for a new boater running a tough hydro class. On Saturday night we had our final meeting at the Carlsbad Elks lodge to discuss old and new business and pass out the awards. All in all things went very well district wide. Our racer and boat count was up nicely at the end of 2005 and was looking good at the start of 2006 with about 20 drivers and upwards of 70 boats. Then it dropped off at the second race. I don’t know if it was the cost of gas and travel, or peoples busy life’s these days. Whatever it was I hope everyone can get out and race this upcoming year. R/C boat racing is not just about Saturday and Sunday at the lake. It is about hanging out with friends that have a common interest. It is helping each other to run faster, so the way we win is by out driving the other. Winning is the smallest part of racing to me. Meeting for dinner Saturday night and drinking a few beers at the hotel to recap the day is the best part. We are a close group that does more than race in District Seven. We are friend and invite anyone to come out and join us for a little friendship and racing. We in District Seven wish everyone a Happy Holidays, and safe New Year. We look forward to the 2007 race season. On a final note, try and bring a child or friend to the races to show them how fun this can be and promote our hobby. Scott Grissman with his winning tunnel 12 Dale Roberts holding his X Mono Bryan Yancey and his Crackerbox Buford Tanniehill and his G-1 Mono Jerry Wright with his GX Catarmaran Kim Jakubik with his winning B Hydro December 2006 PROPWASH NAMBA Board of Directors Take A Vote By Al Waters NAMBA President First I would like to remind you who is on the NAMBA Board of Directors. It consists of the President, Vice President, Executive Secretary, immediate Past President (Alan Hobbs), and all of the District Directors. There will be times during the year, other than at the Nationals meeting, where the Board of Directors will vote on general NAMBA business and rules not related to general racing. This is allowable as per the NAMBA rulebook in Section 4.D.3.a which relates to the Board of Directors meetings. I would like to inform the membership that the BOD has at this time passed a rule proposal which we feel will definitely protect the membership. The purpose of this rule is to allow the BOD to review NAMBA rule proposals that are submitted by the districts for wording, clarity, and any conflicts with other existing rules not being changed by the proposal. In real simple terms, it would be to avoid instances where a district director has to withdraw a NAMBA proposal that his district passed but which was subsequently decided to be worded wrong. This can put a lot of people in awkward positions, and the BOD would like to see that this avoided in the future. We feel that we can do this by the BOD reviewing proposals submitted by the districts before going out to the membership. Please understand that it is not our place to agree or disagree with a proposal, merely to make sure they are worded correctly. The membership decides whether the final rule passes or fails through the democratic voting process. Don’t Ever Count Him Out! By Dave Rychalsky District One Director Since my first day in NAMBA in September of 1984, I have had the opportunity to compete and CD hundreds of races. Many races were quite memorable, whereas others I wish I could forget! This article is about one of my first races as CD in August 1989. I’ve told this story to many friends, so I’d like to share this experience with you. This District One heat race featured racers from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The hosting club was the Weequahic Model Boat Club racing in Weequahic Park, New Jersey, the site of the 1984 NAMBA Nationals. This district race was a one day event with A-BC-X Deep Vee, A-B-C-X Offshore, A-B-C Stock OPC, B Mod Tunnel, Sport 40 and Scale. It was a long and hectic day with 14 classes, including five minute heats for Deep Vee and Offshore! The one class that stood out was the Scale class. This was the first time I met the guys from the Sky Hydro Unlimited Boat Club. Johnny Hightower, William Overton, and Bill Ruffin all attended and all three came with their scratch built scale boats. Johnny ran the Miss Budweiser, William ran the Miller American, and Bill ran the 7-Eleven hydroplane. All three boats were unparalleled in detail and accuracy. Bill actually included a 7-Eleven coffee stain on the life vest of the scale driver inside the cockpit! I didn’t think these guys were really Bill Ruffin when there is no 7-Eleven to hold December 2006 planning on tossing them in the water, with another 14 Scale boats to compete with that day. During the first heat, there was an accident coming out of the left turn and two of the boats were badly damaged. As the retrieve boat returned with the pieces, I curiously walked over to see the carnage. Bill’s 7-Eleven was totaled. The tail was in four pieces, the cowl cut in two, and the pipe was gone! I mentioned to Bill that I would scratch him for the day, and he barked at me. “Don’t scratch me yet, I’ve got time to repair this!” I looked at Bill, the boat and back at Bill, and figured he must have drove here with his window open and inhaled exhaust fumes on the Belt Parkway! Not a chance! Prior to the start of Scale in the second round, Bill came over with his repaired boat and demonstrated that the radio was still good, and his boat was ready! I literally could not figure out how he did that. So, the second round had Bill coming around the right turn in lane five for the start and another boat way outside at full speed, trying to hit the clock at 0.1 seconds. Bill got tagged again. This time, the turbine, tail fin, and most of the deck was torn off the boat! I looked at Bill, waiting for him to say he was scratching for the day, but he blurted “A little zap and I’m back!” What! I rolled my eyes and mumbled “It will be a cold day in hell before that boat returns.” Here we go again; the start of round three had Bill demonstrating his 7 -Eleven was ready to race! We all shook our heads in disbelief. I pondered that perhaps Bill built three 7-Eleven boats and he had to be pulling his backup boats out every heat! Anyway, round three resulted in yet another accident with Bill. (By the way, all three accidents resulted in DSQ for the other driver, not Bill). This was the worst of the three. Both retrieve boats were sent out to pick up the pieces. The right sponsor was ripped from the boat, the cowl was cut again in two pieces, and the motor/mount were torn from the tub. The support ribs were visible along the entire right side. Bill’s wife, Joyce had to help bring all of the pieces back to his tent. I was afraid to ask, so I glanced over at Bill, and he just smiled! He said Continued on page 14 13 PROPWASH Don’t Ever Count Him Out! (Continued from page 13) “Wood is naturally buoyant. I’ve got everything.” Without exaggeration, I counted more than 14 hull pieces on the table and ground. Here we go to round four and I knew he would be back here. He’s like Jason in Halloween–he just never dies! The racing scars were obvious, but it was once again–a running scale boat. Bill ran the boat and finished in 2nd place for the heat! I walked over to congratulate him–not for finally finishing a race without an accident, but for me to shake the hands of a true craftsman. I can not express in words the damage that occurred that day, nor can you fathom the effort put forth to return again and again. One of NAMBA’s best and innovative modelers is Bill Ruffin. If you want to know how to build, shape, cut, design or create anything for a scale boat, Bill is the true architect. The 7-Eleven is retired nowadays, but it resides in Bill’s attic, safely away from the other scale drivers. Tuned Pipes: Part Two By Lohring Miller District Eight Director First a quick review of tuned pipe theory. The pipe produces two pressure waves at the exhaust port. The first, a low-pressure wave, is created by the diffuser section of the pipe when the exhaust port opens. It reaches its lowest pressure when the piston is at bottom dead center and helps draw fuel up through the transfers. The second wave is a high-pressure pulse created by the baffle cone that arrives just before the exhaust port closes and supercharges the cylinder. The picture below shows the timing of the pulses created by a multi cone diffuser and the baffle cone relative to the port open time. The baffle cone produces Positive Sonic Wave 1 and each section of the diffuser produces Negative Sonic Waves 1 through 3. There are several types of diffuser in use. The simplest is a single cone that tapers up from the header diameter to the maximum pipe diameter. This has evolved into multi cone diffusers that look like a roughly shaped horn. These two styles are shown in the following photo. The top two pipes have multi cone diffusers on the left side of the maximum diameter section, while the bottom pipe has a straight cone diffuser. The top pipe’s diffuser has a higher horn coefficient than the second pipe. That is, it expands more suddenly then the diffuser section of the second pipe. All these pipes have the same maximum diameter, the same baffle cone and the same tuned length. 14 The tuned length of these pipes was designed to produce best power around 22,000 to 24,000 rpm, with the top pipe producing the lowest power and the bottom pipe producing the highest. The top pipe should have the broadest power band while the bottom pipe should have the narrowest. Figure 1 on page 15 shows the actual test results on a modified CMB 35. Nearly all the lines represent the average of two or more runs. Where there is scatter from a single run, an average line is drawn through the points. The problem with the actual pipes on a real engine is that they produce two power peaks and the second peak is probably higher than 24,000 rpm. All the pipes turned out to be too short. This happened because I used the wrong average temperature in the pipe design program. The power band on the pipe with the straight cone diffuser is so narrow and the trough is so deep that the engine won’t rev much beyond the first peak. The pipe with the 1.2 horn coefficient diffuser looks like it has a narrower power band at the high rpm peak, but it’s hard to tell since the peak wasn’t reached. The pipe with the 1.4 horn coefficient might work as a high rpm pipe. It is interesting to see how water injection into the header of the 1.4 horn coefficient pipe affects the power. This cools the exhaust and is the same as making the pipe longer. Two more pipes were made to a longer tuned length with the same diffuser section. The first was lengthened by lengthening the maximum diameter band section, and the second was lengthened by lengthening the baffle cone. The length to the stinger was kept the same on both pipes. A comparison of these pipes is shown in Figure 2 on page 15. December 2006 PROPWASH Figure 1 — Test results on a modified CMB 35 Figure 2 — Longer tuned length with the same diffuser sec- Figure 3 — Wide band version of the longer pipes Figure 4 — RPM versus time As you can see, there is very little difference even though the tests were run with both .600 and .625 diameter stingers. The darker line is a test on the shorter pipe tested before but with a larger stinger. It has lower power than the longer pipes except above 23,000 rpm. We have also reduced the trough in the power curve by adjusting the carburetor fuel delivery with the high and low range needles. Further testing on the wide band version of the longer pipes is shown in Figure 3. Again it is interesting to see that an inverted stinger doesn’t significantly reduce power and that water injection really helps at lower rpm. Actual testing of the long cone pipe in a boat produced equally interesting results. One graph of rpm versus time is shown in Figure 4. December 2006 The first plateau is reached at 20,000 rpm with the water injection on. Turning the water injection off allows the engine to rev to 23,000 rpm. These rpm readings agree well with the points where the long cone pipe begins to lose power. The space between each vertical line represents one second and the boat is going around 50 mph at 12,000 rpm in this test. It takes much less than ½ second to accelerate to over 80 mph with the water injection on. The rpm remains flat indicating that the boat is not gaining speed after reaching 23,000 rpm. In this case the pipe is governing the maximum rpm and the prop pitch limits the maximum speed. If the second plateau had been sloping up the boat would be still accelerating. It took around four seconds to travel the length of our test pond. Tuned pipe development can be done with much simpler tools than we used. Data loggers and dynos just make it easier to see things. Given correct inputs, there are several good computer programs that will produce good pipes. Simple speed tests can separate the good from the bad pipes. Remember, props are an important part of the combination. In the example above, the prop didn’t have enough pitch to use all the available power. Engine port timing also interacts with pipe design. A 35cc engine with 150 degree exhaust duration will never rev to 24,000 rpm, no matter what pipe is used 15 PROPWASH 2007 Orlando Winter Nationals By Ellie Watts Orlando Culvert Dodgers The Orlando Culvert Dodgers cordially invite everyone to attend the 26Th Annual Orlando Winter Nationals scheduled for January 25–28, 2007 at Lake Richard in Orlando, Florida. This event is one of the largest three-day boat races in the country, and draws 400 plus boats and drivers from all over the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Europe, and Japan. The race flyer can be downloaded from our club website at www.orlandoculvertdodgers.com by selecting the link called Winter Nats Flyer, or you can contact Brian Watts directly at (407) 913-0590 or [email protected] for more information. The entry deadline is December 22, 2006. The schedule will be as follows: Monday, January 22, 2007 Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Open Water Open Water Open Water Thursday, January 25, 2007 Specialty classes consisting of Sport 21, G1 Mono, G1 Catamaran, G1 Sport Hydro, G1 Outrigger, Jersey Skiff, and Multi-Engine Rigger will run four rounds of racing on this day. (See flyer for details) Friday, January 25 thru Sunday, January 28, 2007 District 3 High Points classes consisting of A Mod Tunnel, A Mono, A Hydro, B Mod Tunnel, B Mono, B Hydro, Sport 40 II, C Mono, C Hydro, 1/8 Scale, X Mono, X Rigger, Open Nitro Offshore, GX1 Mono, GX1 Catamaran, GX1 Sport Hydro, GX1 Rigger, Crackerbox, and Open Gas Offshore will run four rounds of racing over the course of these three days. (See flyer for details) The entry fee is $25.00 for the first boat and $15.00 for each additional boat. In addition, Winter Nationals T-Shirts are available for sale at $15.00 each. The Space Coast Rudder Busters will be hosting the District 3 Annual Banquet on the evening of Saturday, January 28, 2007. All are welcome to attend this evening of great food and camaraderie as we honor our 2006 District 3 Champions. For information, please contact Ray Kindred directly at 321-639-4326 or [email protected]. Storing Your Boat In The Off Season By Dave Rychalsky District One Director The model boating season starts and ends at different times depending on the part of the country where you live in. If you live in Southern California, you can probably enjoy nine to ten months of model boat racing. If you live way up in the northern states, or in Canada, you’ll be lucky to see five months. Here in the Northeast, our season starts in mid April and ends in mid October. So for the Northeast coast, we have six good months of boating and six months of building and repairing. Whether you race for four months or 10 months, preparing for the off-season is a must for everyone. 16 Throughout the racing season, we repeatedly check the screws, bolts, gas tank, shaft, part, the boats go on a NiCad cycler, and they collect dust. Perhaps we spend a few rods, radio, etc. However, after the last race of the year, what do you do? For the most night fixing some of the dings and cuts, but I think the mentality is “If it ain’t broke– don’t fix it.” Prior to the dust-collection phase of the off-season, you need to prep the boat for next year. Here are a few tips that I suggest you do prior to putting your boat away: First thing is the fuel lines. I suggest that the fuel line going to the carb should be removed. With the nitro and oil impregnating into the line, it begins to stretch around the carb fuel nipple. After a while, it weakens, and the “grip” diminishes, so there’s a good chance it could pop off during a race next year. The second thing is the radio box plug. I’ve seen mildew in a few radio boxes when guys come to the first race. As much as we try to seal up our radio boxes, there are quite a few that have water bouncing around throughout the racing year. Water causes rust on metal and mildew everywhere else. It then starts to deteriorate any unprotected electronics inside. So, if you’re not going to remove the radio box lid, the least you can do is pull the plug and let air in. The third thing is the drive shaft. Loosen the engine collet, pull it out, and clean it. I use Gumout Carb Cleaner, and then wipe it down with paper towels. A little bit of oil and it’s good to go. Old grease and water can stay trapped inside the tube with the shaft and cause it to rust and corrode. The fourth thing is the engine and tuned pipe. I’m sure we all have our method of cleaning the engine after every race, but what about the residue in the pipe. A lot of the exhaust fuel and oils are still sitting in the pipe. You need to store the engine with the pipe pointing down (exhaust tip down). This way, whatever is in your tuned pipe, gravity will send it out the end. (It’s a good idea to place a wide mouth cup under it, to avoid staining the floor. The last thing to do is remove the oil, fuel and water from your hull. The grease, oil, fuel, and water sitting idle December 2006 PROPWASH in the hull will weaken the wood and can start to break down some epoxy throughout the hull. I spray some of the Gumout Carb Cleaner in the areas that show evidence of grease/oil, and then allow it to drain out. A few paper towels to clean and dry the hull and you’re ready for the winter! I’m sure many of us perform year-end service on our boats, but countless do not. Whatever method you choose, I only suggest that you do something. Your boat, engine, and radio can and should last for years with some regular main-tenance that only takes a few minutes. Good luck! Winterizing your boats in 2006 gives you a better chance to be a happy boater in 2007 Gas World Championships By Al Waters NAMBA President This year I was asked to CD the three day World Cup Gas Championships in Las Vegas October 20-22. At the time asked, I was not involved in Gas racing, but having announced many events this year, and the race being located in Las Vegas, I couldn’t say no. By the time the 2006 NAMBA Nationals had come and gone, I was a full-fledged Gas boater. Russ Stark and Jim Feener, who were the Contest Directors of this event, said that they would cover for me so that I could race. It was nice of them to make the offer, however I am one of those who believes in following through with my original promise. I also feel that the consistency of one CD is important to the boaters no matter how good or bad I may be viewed as a CD. I must not be all that bad as I am here to tell my story. Since I had made a commitment to CD the race, I just couldn’t let my Gas Cat sit on the bench at home so who better to take my place than our own Vice President Tony Rhodes. The host hotel was the Silverton Hotel and Casino located just before arriving in Las Vegas. Back surgeries and all, the woman who allows me to go to all of these races finally made a model boating trip with me this year. Of course we had to take our daughter and the first words said when we arrived was “gimme some money.” Hey, it’s Las Vegas. Truthfully, the whole weekend was a lot of family fun for us. When I walked inside the hotel, I stared at this humongous fish tank. I thought that I was at Sea World back home. All of a sudden I get this slap upside the head and there stands Eric Bourlet ready to start jawing with me. Next to District One Director Dave Rychalsky, nobody can go toe to toe with me over the NAMBA rulebook like Eric. But that is where we have our fun. Heather, KC, and I checked in and I headed downstairs to the fish tank to find my “discussion buddies.” On the way, I ran into Andy and Kathy Scarbrough from Lake Havasu, Arizona, and Mom Stark (I have many mom’s in model boating I guess) and Kelly Groul and his wife Jackie. Then there was Team Double Trouble (Ken and Dave Burt) from Scottsdale and Big “B” Robinson and Randy Rodgers and I don’t December 2006 remember whom else. Eric asked me what took so long. I told him that somebody asked me a question. Many of the NAMBA recognized gas classes ran over the three days with the addition of the popular Offshore Class run in District 19, and a new exhibition class called Scale Gas Hydro. The Offshore class is pretty cool to watch as a spectator and is safer than the traditional LeMans start. The boats ran the same milling pattern as in heat racing. Then it was off to the races. They would circle the left turn then head out to the north forty covering the left side of the backstretch. They then would come back towards the drivers and circle the start finish buoy, which was located inside the course. Then they would head out to the other south forty covering the right side of the back stretch and around the right turn completing one lap. After six laps, you had a winner. There were a lot of 360’s if you missed the turn buoys and some driving blind in roostertails but no casualties to speak of. The Gas Scale Hydro which appears will take on the name Classic Thunderboats for next year was a real crowd pleaser. These were a combination of Dennis Hoover glass hydros and Greg Reed wood kit drop sponson boats. They were not as fast as the sport hydros but ran, bounced, slid in the turns, and looked like nostalgic thunderboats. Some of the boats ran Sikk motors and some ran stock Zenoah’s with stock 257 carbs. There were paint schemes identical to the real boats that ran in the 50’s and 60’s and some with made up paint schemes that looked like they could have run back then. All of the race entrants were given nice gift bags and provided lunches Friday and Saturday by the girls. My face was “taco deep” in tortillas but I think that it was Mom Stark, Michelle and Maddie Stark, Tammie Feener, and Kathy Scarbrough who were there to keep us fed. I apologize if I missed anyone. I didn’t go away hungry so that tells you how much food was on hand. There is nothing like home cooked hot roast beef sandwiches, chicken tacos, and all the fixings during a day at the races. On Saturday after the races, we were treated to a real nice wine and Continued on page 18 17 PROPWASH Gas World Championships (Continued from page 17) cheese party at the race site. Everyone hung around and socialized into the evening. Everyone except for my “buddy” Eric Bourlet. Now he knows how to organize a race weekend trip. He became a Parrot Head for the evening and disappeared off to the Jimmy Buffet concert. He gets an “atta boy” from me. Then there was “Raffle Man,” our own Tony Rhodes. When you put Tony in charge of something, my suggestion is to stay out of the way. He knows what he is doing no matter what task he is given, and he does it well. He handled the raffle prize drawings, selling of the raffle tickets, and T-shirts. In between all of that he was racing boats. And of course every CD needs a person to keep it together and running smoothly. There was no doubt in my mind that this person was Mary Blockburger. She did an incredible job keeping all of the scores, determining the class winners, recording fast times, and scoring overall individual high points. Normally, this would not be a major task. However there were trophies presented for all of these categories in all of the classes run. She definitely had her game face on and was given one of the many beautiful wine gift baskets put together by Tammy Feener for her help. As with every race there are winners and the rest still go home happy. Below are the results. And, if you would like to see hundreds of photos from this race, and the sponsors who made this race what it was, please go to gasworldchampionships.com See you next year in Las Vegas. G-1 Crackerbox Bob VanSickle GX-1 Catamaran Lenny Blake G-1 Catamaran Randy Rogers G-1 Outrigger Gary Blockburger G-1 Mono Ron Buck GX-1 Mono Randy Rogers Open Offshore Randy Rogers G-1 Sport Hydro Ron Buck GX-1 Sport Hydro Eric Bourlet Classic Thunderboats Nick Wautlet District One News… By Dave Rychalsky District One Director It seems like yesterday that we had the first race of 2006. The Nassau County race on the 7th of May kicked off our season and the 15th of October marked the final race in District One. This year seemed to buzz right by, with gas-nitro heat racing occurring every three weeks throughout the year, and electrics running every few weeks. The host clubs had good turnouts from the members in District One. Personally, I was fortunate enough to make every race this year except for one. By the start of the October race, all but one class was locked in. It was evident that the top two competitors in each perspective class were more nervous that usual. I guess district class championships on the line makes racers shake just a bit more. For the scale class, the final heat of the day/class/year was an all or nothing via the Love Plan. Any one of four racers could have been the class champion as a result of that heat. We also had three juniors racing throughout this year and periodically they beat the big guys! Jake Sacken, Kris Willet, and Justin Lamot are the next generation here in District One. All three are really good drivers and listen to their pitmen every lap. Great job boys! 18 From day one, the most exciting classes were Scale, G1 Sport Hydro, Sport 40, Open Cat and Crackerbox. It was anybody’s guess as to who would win any given heat for any of these classes. When each class is tight with more than three racers vying for class honors, separated by less than 100 points, you can feel the anxiety every time their heat is called. If we all didn’t feel the excitement, we wouldn’t be racing. You gotta love the excitement! 2006 was a great year for the Fast Electric crew. Right here in Randolph, New Jersey was the site of the 2006 NAMBA Electric Nationals. There were racers from across the country hoping to be a National Champion. Many of the boats run extremely fast and can easily run with the nitro guys. The district races were also very competitive with Chris Costanza, Norm Barksdale, Ed Hansen, Doug Twaits, Jr. and Sr., and Tom Dale running the points up in most of the classes. The final standings are posted below. Our awards dinner was the 19th of November. Congratulations to all Class Champions and District One competitors. District 1 Final Electric Standings N-1 Mono 1. Doug Twaits, Sr. 2. Tom Dale 3. Ed Voight P Mono 1. Norm Barksdale 2. Roy Ammerman 3. Lenny N-2 Hydro 1. Doug Twaits, Jr. 2. Tom Dale 3. Chris Costanza P Hydro 1. Chris Costanza 2. Tom Dale 3. Doug Twaits, Jr. P Sport Hydro 1. Ed Hansen 2. Jim Williams 3. Andy Kunz December 2006 PROPWASH LSH Sport Hydro 1. Chris Costanza 2. Ed Hansen 3. Jim Williams RC Unlimited 1. Ed Hansen 2. Jim Williams District 1 Gas/Nitro Class Champions Sport 21 II Steve Ng Joe Caporale Jerry Muro Sport 40 II David Neelman Mark Sacken Fast Eddie Sport X II Lou Gerdik Dave Willet Charlie Ott Unlimited Dave Rychalsky John Hightower Bill Ruffin Mark Sacken Rich Barile Cracker Box Fast Eddie Charlie Ott Lou Gerdik G-1 Sport Hydro Dave Willet Lou Gerdik Dave Rychalsky Open Cat Charlie Ott Joe Lamot Paul VonSalzen A / B Mono Steve Ng Joe Caporale Nestor Anselmi C / X Mono Dave Willet Doug Reeve Jerry Muro December 2006 2007 NAMBA Fast Electric Nationals By Al Waters NAMBA President 2007 was the second consecutive year that I was asked to CD the Fast Electric NAMBA Nationals. Co-Contest Directors Doug Twaits Jr. and Chris Costanza gave me a call early in the year and asked if I would help them out. I couldn’t say no because they are a couple of really good guys, love to promote the hobby, and I also believe that those who host a Nationals should also have the opportunity to race at their own event. The event was hosted by the Morris County Electric Boat Club and was held in Randolph, New Jersey September 7-10, 2006. The race site is located in a beautiful remote rural area that is used for fishing and swimming in the summer months. Near by, the baseball fields were being used for league tournaments, and the locals were in the area walking their dogs in the park. The race entrants were situated under awnings, with tables provided by the hosting club, complete with electricity for their charging needs. If someone preferred to use their own automobile for charging, there was plenty of parking space, and with just a short walk, you were standing in the drivers stand area with monstrous trees overhead for plenty of shade. There was no wind to speak of to ripple the water. So setting records was not that easy, which led to the one thing that many always worry about at a Nationals, the weather! Well, we were there too early to see the leaves change color but the weather was absolutely perfect each day. I like going to a lot of different races, but this one really stood out as a “fun run” with some really good competition. No two people can host an event successfully without some help. Doug Twaits, Sr. (Junior’s dad), Chris Costanza’s mom, more affectionately known to all of us as “Mom”, and Junior’s girl friend Terri really made it all come together. Doug was kind enough to put me up at his place during my stay, so we had breakfast each morning at his local favorite eatery. The girls provided lunches at the race site each day. and many of us got together each evening for dinner. District One Director, Dave Rychalsky, his racing son Mathew, and Scale Unlimited guru William Overton stopped by for the racing and had dinner with a bunch of us. And if anyone knows Dave and I, nobody can solve the world’s problems like the two of us, as well as creating a few of our own. Truthfully, it was very good to see these guys at the Nats as they run both Nitro and Scale Unlimited. And, if the world has been paying attention, the FE boats are coming into their own being very competitive with Nitro boats. FE Scale Unlimited is on the rise also, after now being recognized as a NAMBA legal class. In coming away from these Nationals, I will always remember three things that happened during my stay. One was the opportunity to race in one of the mono classes. Doug Twaits Jr. set me up with one of his boats and also pitted for me. I can now add a Fast Electric Nationals title to my resume. The man can really build a top-notch boat and his ability to keep a driver driving properly on the course during a race is second to none. The other was meeting Wilmer Oxidean who traveled to New Jersey all the way from San Francisco. This man gave “comic relief” a whole new meaning. He was the “fun” in model boating. The third and undoubtedly the best was Doug Twaits Sr. introducing the first ever FE NAMBA Nationals patch. The FE NAMBA Nats will now have their own banner to display year after year. I have learned over the years in racing Nitro, Gas, and Fast Electric that five boats going into the first turn together is the greatest rush. But a race is not a real event without great people and the good times before, during, and after the racing. The Morris County Electric Boat Club did a great job on all accounts. To see some pictures of the 2006 FE NAMBA Nationals courtesy of Dave Ives and Eddie Hanson, please turn to pages 20 and 21. For the complete race results, please go to page 22. 19 PROPWASH Now this is what is called putting it on the buoys in the Offshore class Co-Contest Directors Doug Twaits Jr and Chris Costanza hard at it Eddie Hanson and his beautiful concourse wining Tahoe Miss Mr. Comedy Central himself. Wilmer Oxidean from San Francisco Lenny Theophile with his futuristic looking sport boat This gives a whole new meaning to keeping the wet side down 20 December 2006 PROPWASH Chris Costanza shows just how intense he is while driving Rum Runner Racing — Chris, Eddie, Doug Senior and Junior Terry Davis running Offshore with the Pier 57 Ken Joye, Doug Twaits, and Jim Williams with their Scale Unlimiteds NAMBA FE Chairman Terry Davis and his Camel Smokin Joe’s They say a picture is worth a thousand words December 2006 21 PROPWASH N2 OFFSHORE 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Wilmer Oxidean 3. Dave Ives S HYDRO 1. Doug Twaits Sr. 2. Chris Costanza 3. Doug Twaits Jr. Record 1:06.74 Doug Twaits Jr P SPORT 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Ed Hansen 3. Chris Costanza Record 1:18.25 Chris Costanza O MONO 1. Chris Costanza 2. Lenny Theophile 3. Dave Ives Record 1:23.95 Chris Costanza N1 HYDRO 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Wilmer Oxidean 3. Doug Twaits Sr. Record 1:37.98 Doug Twaits Jr. Q HYDRO 1. Chris Costanza 2. Doug Twaits Jr. 3. Doug Twaits Sr. Record 1:00.80 Doug Twaits Jr. N2 HYDRO 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Doug Twaits Sr. 3. Tom Dale LSH 1. Lenny Theophile 1. Chris Costanza 3. Jim Williams Record 2:24.84 Chris Costanza N2 MONO 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Chris Costanza 3. Rob Sopko Record 1:18.05 Doug Twaits Jr. N1 MONO 1. Doug Twaits Sr. 2. Wilmer Oxidean 3. Chris Costanza Record 2:18.21 Chris Costanza 22 T OFFSHORE 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Terry Davis 3. Ken Joye Record 3:14.81 Doug Twaits Jr. 10 laps P HYDRO 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Doug Twaits Sr. 3. Chris Costanza Record 1:07.91 Doug Twaits Jr. The Propwash NAMBA International 1815 Halley Street San Diego, CA 92154 (619) 424-6380 Fax - (619) 424-8845 e-mail [email protected] Editors: Cathie Galbraith and Al Waters Newsletter Contributors QS HYDRO 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Ken Joye 3. Ed Hansen Record 1:14.51 Doug Twaits Jr. P MONO 1. Al Waters 2. Steven Vaccaro 3. Rob Sopko N2 SPORT 1. Terry Davis 2. Ken Joye 3. Chris Costanza P OFFSHORE 1. Terry Davis 2. Steven Vaccaro 3. Doug Twaits Jr. Record 3:33.5 Terry Davis 10 laps O HYDRO 1. Doug Twaits Jr. 2. Chris Costanza 3. Dave Ives O SPORT HYDRO 1. Wilmer Oxidean 2. Terry Davis 3. Chris Costanza Q MONO 1. Steven Vaccaro 2. Ken Joye 3. Terry Davis Record 1:29.91 Steven Vaccaro 1/8 SCALE UNLIMITED 1. Ken Joye 2. Jim Williams 3. Doug Twaits Sr. Record 1:10.62 Ken Joye Beverly Bestpitch Dave Rychalsky Ellie Watts G.B. Robbins Joe Scarpino Keith Warham Lohring Miller Mike McKnight Roger Hooks Russell Stark Scott Grissman Tony Rhodes This newsletter is sent to all members free of charge as a part of their membership. All articles contained herein may be reproduced as long as proper credit is given as to author and publication source. Propwash Advertising Rates Classified Ad - $10.00 Business Card - $25.00 1/4 Page - $25.00 1/2 Page - $50.00 Full page - $100.00 These prices are per issue. Multi issue discounts are available. Advertising will be printed in the body of the newsletter in the same color as the text. Please call for quotes for special or two color printing. Should an advertiser choose to supply the Propwash with professionally printed or multi-colored flyers for insertion into the newsletter, the charge will be $50.00, as well as the delivery to the NAMBA office of approximately 1500 flyers. Please call the NAMBA office at (619) 424-6380 for more information or for special advertising requests. December 2006 PROPWASH News From District Sixteen By Keith Warham District Sixteen Director Hello from District 16. The races scheduled for the district were severely interrupted by mother nature. There were eight scheduled races; however we only managed to complete five of them. Calgary only managed to complete one race early in the season with only five out of 10 classes having sufficient entries for competition. The second Calgary race was cancelled due to flooding problems at their pond. Their third race was also cancelled due to weather problems. They had hoped to be able to catch up some of the cancelled classes at their final race of the year. However, only one class was completed before the winds came up, forcing the club to once again cancel the remaining classes. In Edmonton, on the other hand, they were able to complete all their scheduled races. Their races had some very good competition in several classes in mostly sunny and warm temperatures. Attendance was good there, unlike in Calgary which may be related to the weather. Most of the hydro classes were hotly contested as was Scale. One scale race ended up with four of the five boats all earning 1225 points, with first place being determined on time. All in all those who attended the races had a good time. While some of the classes were poorly attended, high points were awarded as follows: A Mono: Doug Sick B Mono: Alan Yuen A OPC: Rob Duckering B OPC: Keith Warham Sport 40: Keith Warham A Hydro: Rob Duckering B Hydro: Alan Yuen C Hydro: Doug Sick X Hydro: Rob Duckering R/C Unlimited: Martin Lovsund Congratulations to all the class winners. Hope to see you all next year with a few more competitors. Merry Christmas to all . Classic Thunderboats in Nineteen (Gas That Is …) look as real as possible. The paint job needs to be one that resembles a sponsored boat. Some boats do not have to be an exact copy of a real boat that ran in that era, but a paint scheme with a sponsor name on it is suggested. The engine that powers these boats must be a stock G-1 size engine with the pipe of your choice. At the World Cup Gasoline Championships this year, we had 17 boats show up to race. It came down to the last heat of the day, and the final results were junior NAMBA boater Nick Wautlet in first place with his Miss U.S., Gary Blockburger in second place with the Miss Budweiser, and Nick’s younger brother, Chris Wautlet, in third place with the Tahoe Miss. Chris Wautlet with his Tahoe Miss (L) and Chris Reed (R) with his Tide Racing It was a lot of fun to watch. I have already started building my boat for next year. I look forward to racing it in our district, at the nitro Oh Boy! Oberto Bill Muncey Race in San Diego with the big boat unlimited circuit in September, and again at the World Cup Gas Championships in October of 2007. By Russell Stark NAMBA Gas Chairman In District 19, there are two styles of gasoline sport boat classes that are really becoming popular. Current names for the classes are G1 Classic Hydro and Gas Scale Spec. They ran at a few of our district Gas races this year, and again at the World Cup Gasoline Championships in Las Vegas as a combined class called “Classic Thunderboats.” Although no formal rules have been voted on yet, the District 19 meeting in December should yield some for next season. Basically, the class consists of round nosed and drop sponson boats that resemble old style open cockpit rear driver hydroplanes that ran in the 50’s and 60’s. The boats range in size from 48 inches to 56 inches in length and can be made of wood or fiberglass. Attention to detail is highly recommended in the form of drivers, steering wheels, dashboards, dummy engines, and anything else you can think of to make them December 2006 Junior NAMBA boater champ Nick Wautlet with the Miss U.S. 23 PROPWASH Northwest Scale Hydroplane Championships By Al Waters NAMBA President Twin Lakes in Arlington, Washington was the site of this year’s Northwest Scale Hydroplane Championships which were held on October 7-8. The previous two years this race was held in Ellensburg, Washington to have a better chance of good racing weather. There was no problem with the weather as planned but Marty Shallenberger, the man behind this event, decided to make a change hoping for good Seattle weather, and also to try for more race participants. Marty got his wish on both counts. The weather at Twin Lakes was absolutely beautiful and the boat count went from 24 in 2005 to 36 Scale Unlimiteds this year. This event was started three years ago by Marty with the intent of bringing together for one weekend the two largest Scale Unlimited racing clubs in the United States. He has been very successful in doing that to the point where this year, District Nine District Director Mike McKnight made the trip as well as Mike Allen who came all the way from Southern Florida. Now that is drawing power. And to top it off, Kelly Gruol, long time District Eight racer joined in on the fun along with pitman, photographer extraordinaire Eric Bourlet, Jerry Dunlap, and Shawn Warren. This championship race has been touted as “racing for all the marbles” and that is exactly what the “Winner Take All” final receives for outlasting his opponents: a big jar of marbles. The winner’s name is also engraved on a perpetual trophy that is housed at the Seattle Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum. A small wooden replica of the winning boat, approximately 10 inches long will sit side by side next to the previous years’ winners at the museum. This is bragging rights that will last a lifetime for museum goers to see. The race consists of five qualifying heats over two days, with the top six in points automatically making the Final. The next five boats qualify for the First Connie and the next six boats in points are in the Second Connie. The winner of the Second Connie moved up to the First Connie and the winner of that six-boat heat was the trailer in the Final. The rules of racing for this event were a combination of both racing clubs and a few that Marty and his CD (yep, that’s me) put together. Some of the rules we used which may not be familiar to many of you who race Scale were a DNF is zero points, milling the entire course front to back only was allowed, buoy cutting at any time during the mill or race was a one lap penalty (now I bet I have you thinking), your lanes to the start at the end of mill time were designated at the exit of the right hand turn. One rule that I think is probably one of the best in any kind of racing is that if your boat is taken out by another as the result of a called DQ, you get a DNF but are rewarded four place (169) points rather than zero or the traditional 25 points as known in other circles of racing. After open water and three rounds of racing on Saturday everyone went to the local pizza hang out for pizza and frosty beverages. There were donated prizes given away to the entrants who showed up. The event of the evening was a beautiful hand made drawing in color presented to Marty Shallenberger of his 1990 Oh Boy! Oberto Scale Unlimited Hydro by fellow racer Mike Cathey. The drawing was done by Mike’s wife and was incredibly detailed. If you don’t know Marty, lets just say that he is as much an Oberto fan as Ira Cotton (Mr. Oh Boy! Oberto of model boating) or myself. It was a very nice gesture and it meant a lot to Marty. It was now Sunday with two more rounds to go of qualifying and then on to the Connie’s and “Winner Take All” final. For complete details of the race and photos of all of the boats and entrants, please go to the race web site at http://stubbersmedia. com/nwshc/index.html But for now, I will fill you in on the good stuff. Along with those who made the Final, there were two other special awards presented. “Scale Unlimited Concourse” and the “Show N Go Award”. There are concourse boats and there are race boats. When someone can build a concourse boat that can race, that is something special. That is what the “Show N Go Award” is all about. The scoring is evaluated 50/50 for 24 looks and performance in points scored racing. I would like to thank the Czar, Roger Newton for allowing me to tag along and help judge concourse. Needless to say, I learned a lot in the process. Congratulations go to Bob Hulliger with his 2000 Miss Elam Plus for winning Concourse and Doug Kirk who won the “Show N Go Award” with his 1987 Cellular One. And a big time congratulations go to John Stubbers with his 1997 Crazy Tomato who won this years 2006 Northwest Scale Hydroplane Championships. Doug Kirk - 1987 Cellular One Bob Hulliger - 2000 Miss Elam Plus John Stubbers - 1997 Crazy Tomato December 2006 PROPWASH Legg Lake Record Trials By Lohring Miller District Eight Director Once again Mark Grim and all the other Seismic Amigos put on the world’s premier speed trials. The event was expanded to a week long affair with electric straightlines the first three days; gas, nitro, and electric straightlines the next four days; and two lap ovals the last two days. The weather was nearly perfect, giving Legg Lake the glassy surface needed for high speed. Four electric racers from Germany joined a large group of racers from all over the United States for the event. The Seismic Amigos provided generators for power, Mark Grim making a record breaking a driver’s stand, a large tent, and Kim attempt with Steve O’Donnell observing Grim’s incredible barbeque lunches. The big news was the electric records. New battery technology allowed multiple passes at the highest currents the speed controllers could handle. Eleven records fell. The German JAGS team was invincible in the hydro classes, though Bryan Buaas and Tim Higdon tried hard to hold them off. Tim is now a member of the 120 mph club, joining Jorg Mrkwitschka, Andy Brown, Mark Grim, and Chris Grim. Arne Hold went 98+ mph two way, and became the first person to go over 100 mph on only 8 cells. Gunner Hold drove his six cell hydro nearly as fast with a record of 93+ mph. Of course Jorg’s 140 mph record was the most impressive. He sunk two boats full of expensive electronics and batteries in the attempt, the final crash just out of the lights after a 141 mph pass. Two years of work finally paid off. Electric monos were also fast with Wilmar Oxidean taking his six cell mono to 41+ mph with a brushed motor and 45+ with a brushless motor. Jim Vaughn came all the way from Texas to run his A size Seducer to 59+ mph on 8 cells, and Mark Ferriera drove his Microburst to 77+ mph on 32 cells. Tony Heller drove his tiny offshore cat to a new Limited Specification Offshore record of 34+ mph. The battle in nitro was between Steve O’Donnell and Mark Grim for the A Hydro record. Mark struck first with the first two way average over 100. Steve came back with 107 one way, but blew up his good engine. The next day Mark ran 108+ with a 106+ average to settle the contest. This was in contrast to Mike Bontoft’s 35cc gas hydro. With 10 times the displacement he ran 103+ with a 105 mph one way pass. The CMB 35 didn’t have a big enough prop to harness the power needed for a 15-pound boat. Chris Grim firmly established his position in the 120 mph club by raising the C Hydro record to 124+ with a 127 mph one way run. Jimmy Johnson upped his old A Mod Tunnel record to 66+ mph, and tried to get his B Mod Tunnel over 80 mph. NAMBA President, Al Waters, even got his hand in the speed business for the first time by running his heat racing cat to a new GX1 Catamaran record of 58+ mph. Mike Bontoft won the trophy for improvement, raising the record the greatest amount by upping the GX2 Hydro record 20 mph. Jorg Mrkwitschka was second; raising his old ultimate radio controlled model boat speed record 17 mph with his T Hydro. It was a great week. Jorg Mrkwitschka prepares his 140 mph record breaking rigger The electric sport hydro classes were also impressive. Dick Crowe upped two of the sport hydro records with 56+ mph on 12 cells and a brushed motor and 67+ mph on six cells and a brushless motor. Randy Naylor ran an 1/8 Scale Miss Budweiser 57.47 mph. Bryan Buaas made a one way pass on his Sport 21 size 12-cell Whiplash 21 of almost 100 mph, faster than any sport hydro I’ve ever heard of. Brian also gets the prize for the most badly burned up speed controller. December 2006 Mike Bontoft’s 35 cc CMB rigger 25 PROPWASH NAMBA OFFICIALS AND CHAIRMEN Revised December 2006 PRESIDENT: Al Waters (760) 746-2408 [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT: Tony Rhodes (310) 549-6810 [email protected] EXECUTIVE SECRETARY: Cathie Galbraith (619) 424-6380 [email protected] CHAIRMEN: DEEP VEE/OFFSHORE: Open ELECTRIC: Terry Davis (586) 749-0114 [email protected] GAS: Russell Stark (909) 613-1819 [email protected] HALL OF FAME: Doug Twaits (973) 347-5765 [email protected] MONO/HYDRO: Bill Bridge (858) 449-9344 [email protected] NATIONALS: Dave Rychalsky (973) 724-4607 [email protected] OUTBOARD: Chris Wittrig (407) 829-7916 [email protected] AWARDS: Dave Bestpitch (916) 608-1908 [email protected] RECORDS: Mark Grim (714) 890-3127 [email protected] SAFETY: Lohring Miller (541) 345-7897 [email protected] SPORT HYDRO: Eric Bourlet (253) 460-7283 [email protected] UNLIMITED HYDRO: Mike McKnight (209) 333-2306 [email protected] District 1: Dave Rychalsky (732) 254-2165 [email protected] District 2 Kelly Brooks (513) 583-5837 [email protected] District 3: Fred Robson (954) 462-2096 [email protected] District 4 Doug Robichaud (608) 767-2050 [email protected] District 7: Scott Grissman (806) 798-3484 scottgrissman.namba.com District 8: Lohring Miller (541) 345-7897 [email protected] District 9: Mike McKnight (209) 333-2306 [email protected] District 11: Richard Grenier (603) 524-2628 [email protected] District 13: Rey Medina (787) 509-5103 [email protected] District 16: Keith Warham (403) 253-9031 [email protected] District 19: Mark Grim (714) 890-3127 [email protected] District 20: Kelly Stout (970) 454-0963 [email protected] DISTRICT DIRECTORS 26 December 2006 2007 NAMBA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION THIS FORM MUST BE USED TO APPLY FOR NAMBA INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP PLEASE NOTE: Print all information clearly. In the event of an accident, this form becomes a legal form. Please do not use it for personal notations. Whe re any doubt of spelling of the name or address occurs, the form will be returned to the maker, and the membership will be held up. Please keep in mind that the member is not insured until the request and the fee for insurance have been properly filed with an authorized NAMBA official. Enclosed please find $___________to enroll me in the NAMBA Modeler’s Insurance Plan. NEW MEMBER: _______ EXISTING MEMBER: _______ CURRENT NAMBA #: _______ MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY AND FEES : Adult Member ($45) _____ 2nd Adult at Same Mailing Address ($35) _____ (Please note: this category does not receive separate mailings) Junior Under 18 ($25) _____ NAME: ________________________________________________________________________________ STREET ADDRESS:______________________________________________________________________ CITY: ________________________________________ STATE/PROVINCE: _______________________ COUNTRY: ___________________________________ ZIP/POSTAL CODE________________________ HOME PHONE NUMBER (Include Area Code): _______________________________________________ CELL PHONE NUMBER (Include Area Code): ________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS: ______________________________________________________________________ CLUB AFFILIATION (If Applicable): _______________________________________________________ SPECIFIC AREAS OF INTEREST (e.g. OUTBOARD, GAS, COMBAT, ETC): ______________________ I WOULD LIKE TO PAY BY CREDIT CARD (VISA OR MASTERCARD ONLY): NAME ON CREDIT CARD: _______________________________________________________________ CREDIT CARD NUMBER: ________________________________________________________________ EXPIRATION DATE: ____________________________________________________________________ SIGNATURE: ___________________________________________________________________________ MAIL COMPLETED APPLICATION TO: NAMBA INTERNATIONAL 1815 HALLEY STREET SAN DIEGO, CA 92154 CREDIT CARD APPLICATIONS CAN BE FAXED TO: (619) 424-8845