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Over the last few years as the T Class has grown there have been discussions about the performance plus and minus of different pad widths. Our current T boats have a pad width between 6 and 10 inches. We have talked about a revision to our current rules because of the differences in boat hulls even when the boat is the same model. The differences are greater in splashed hulls and hulls that were repaired without having the repair done in their original mold. The older the hull the more chance it was repaired.

Here is a link to a discussion on Ron's site about the new Allisons.
http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/s ... ries/page5

T guys DO NOT get carrying away with all this talk! IF you race a T850 your current set up is just fine. Our T850 boats are so over powered now that going to a different pad will make little difference on the race course.
It will make a difference in T750 especially with the heavier drivers. The T750 weight of 600 lb total for the boat, motor and driver is a challenge. Balance is very key, a wider pad will help acceleration, but top end is all about little hull touching the water and the drivers ability to let the boat fly. Remember the current world record of a T750 is over 66 mph on a boat with NO pad.
If your new to T. Learn to drive first before getting caught up in this. You don't need to spend the extra money.

The 600lb for T750 shouldn't be that bad, the GT Pro guys are running 650lbs and only running old 31.8cu-in 35hp OMC's and hitting top speeds just under 50mph. I know not a speed demon but more weight half the hp and still float pretty high up for a 13' boat.

The 600 lb weight is a challenge to get down to 600 lbs. So far every boat has been over the minimum weight. A 200 lb plus driver has no chance.

Yes getting down to weight can be a problem, guess somebody needs to buy some molds and build some nice light boats. But the bigger boys should run T850, just like in kneelers bigger boys/girls need to run the bigger/faster classes or be happy being overweight and not so competitive.

I would think though with a few different thought processes you could build some pretty light comp style hulls that would help us bigger boys make weight

Personally i think worrying about weight in the T-boats so much is overrated. Being 50lbs overweight might be 1mph on the lake top end, and it mathematically wont accelerate quite as fast, BUT you can power through the rough water! If you can stay on the gas the whole stretch without lifting, you're going to smoke the guy doing 1mph faster but is hanging on for dear life and lifting off the throttle.
Just my thoughts

And that's exactly why I keep eating that second cheeseburger....it's all part of my master plan .

I agree btw...unless you're out front weight helps...but the light boats seem to get out front lol...

I agree but if your a light boat and can truly tune where your ballast goes, you can make it handle more like a heavier boat and still have acceleration and that extra mph.