The rules for FORMULA have been the same for many years now.
As for the seating rule I have always been on the fence about this as wanting the boat to be left as it was from the factory (example: if you have a full four seat River Rocket then it should have to b left that way or the same applies for an Allison SS2000 without side slide .... you'd have to leave the full interior in the boat)
This class was NEVER intended to only be a power based class. It was and will stay and get back to being both a power AND "stock" configured hull based class.
There will be NO exception to the interior rule what so ever this coming season. A full interior will be required as the rules state.
I have never liked the fact that Greg switched his boat from side steer to centre configuration as this is NOT how HIS boat came from the factory but I was the only one to ever say anything so you racers lost that battle. Same goes for a RiverRocket that may have come with two seats or the original type love seat ..... That needs to stay that way !!
To switch a boats seating around and claim its for "Handling" or safety is in my opinion .... Complete crap. Set the boat up to be able to drive it. I've driven a side steer XR2002 at 119 with no issues. . . a Euro at 117 with no issues. . it is all in good quality though and rigging and seat time. !!
This class needs to attract the Vectors with a 200 , Sleekcraft/225 , Valero/235 , Vegas/220 , J-Craft/225 , Allison/175 , ChargerDL/200 etc etc etc etc the list of boat types can go on for hours.
This class is meant for those boats. A basic non race boat that may have done a small bit of testing with a small prop , 145psi cranking compression.
This class will NOT evolve away from its intended design. Full interior boats with stock NON factory high performance power. In the case of Mercury a 225 ProMax WITH stock rev-limiter intact has always been the Mercury maximum.
This class has the largest amount of possible growth because we all know at least 2 of these boats each and that are not the same boat. The fact that there has been class domination for all these years and a lack of a more levelled competition is my fault for not making a move to adjust this or pushing harder for it and this will continue.
If we have a consistent 8 boats that have been coming out then those 8 boats are all equally important. We MUST allow for as level of a playing field as possible for the boats in the class that participate for the simple reason that they are the boats that support the class and that is the most important reason of all.
Please remember this is a true lake boat class. . . not a race boat class with a 225hp maximum rule.
15" mids have no bearing and in fact are heavier than a 20" so we won't ever need to discuss mid length again
Side vs centre steer is a manufacturer "as built" rules and will be followed.
We are continuing to make this class tighter and as you can see with the weight adder for one of the FORMULA boats now moving forward and the class dominator rule moving forward we are going in the right direction and this will get better.
I have always wanted to make this racing as close as possible for this and Lake Racer. A photo finish in every race of each round is the goal ( unlikely but we will continue to try )
In saying all of my rant above I also can't not mention that the results you get are a direct result of the time and effort you put into your particular boat and setup. This will always be the rule of success in racing (besides Lady Luck) of all forms. If you put time and effort into your boat and you just can't get it to do any better ten please come and speak up as we will do what we can to make this class work for all racers. But ...... to want changes without maximizing what you currently have is plain selfish. Try a few loaner props , tune the motor to hit for an 800' race , test
Keep the conversation going gents