HPBCANADA.COM

How would you feel if you were allowed to reconfigure your boat to center steer if it hadn't come like that or if your particular model didn't come like that.
An example would be : A Hydrostream V-King converted to center steer but still having the second bucket behind you and still in front of the rear bench.
Or an STV Euro changing to center steer. An Allison XR2002 switching from side by side to inline seating.

The performance gain is really for handling in FORMULA class. Let's hear the racers thoughts.

YES or NO

Hope everyone is having a great spring

i sure hope you can run a center steer boat in formula because currently all my boats are center steer and i dont feel like drilling more holes in my slocomp dash i just refilled .. so im all for it..

"non competition hull with interior installed"
If the boat was delivered with 2 buckets and a bench then it races with 2 buckets and a bench.
An XR02 could be delivered with side by side buckets or tandem buckets. Same weight, different functionality. For pleasure use side by side may be preferable but for racing tandem is more desirable.....and safer.

"Non competition hull with interior installed" to me reads your boat can't be a gutted single seat. The rule doesn't say factory installed interior configuration....

To me at this point I say anyone willing to even race formula, bring your boat out. Center steer or not. We just need more boats to race. Now that said I feel a center steer boat is probly more a "race boat" set-up and not a cottage type boat that I thought formula was for. The "race boats" should race lake racer.

I say bring em out, lets line em up. If your center steer boat blows us all away then off to lake racer you go. If it is consistent with the group Its no issue in my eyes. Pretty much goes with any boat in the class.

I really do think that if center steer boats show up it will prevent the class from growing as many feel they have no chance as it. I know tons of side by side boats that can destroy a lot of center steer boats.

This class was intended for the average lake boat guy with no more than a 225 STOCK non high performance division motor to come out and have fun. We clearly already have the ones that have center steer boats wanting it and guys that can't convert to center steer (because it's there everyday lake boat and enjoy that) against or semi against it. In this class everyone can easily set their boats up to be able to be driven side by side. Examples of that are proper steering systems , solid motor mounts and better overall set-ups. The boat should stay as delivered from the factory in my opinion and if it has been modified for better handling for racing then the boat has become more of a race boat than a pleasure boat which is what FORMULA is all about. This has been discussed in the past and it was always meant to be a pleasure boat style of class with bone stock power. I really hope those that are involved here think of what's best for the attraction and growth of this class and what the original thoughts of this class were meant to be.
Modifying your pleasure boat to make it more race ready turns that boat into more of a race boat in my eyes.

Now that being said if there's an uneven balance of competition who's willing to make changes ? Who's willing to add 500lbs ? Who's willing to think from above and not from their own perspective ?

Lake Racer class was adjusted in hopes of even competition and I hope we decide to do the same with FORMULA.

This class is about dead stock grass roots here gentlemen.

This is just my opinion about the rules and the meaning of this class

Not sure if my boat will be race ready this year. I hope so, but I still have a few hurdles to overcome. It's a 16' Hydrostream with a 200hp efi Merc, that is bone stock as far as I know, except the rev limiter certainly doesn't work. The boat is under rebuild now, it's getting a full floor, 2 seats up front, and that's all I can afford for this year. They're not factory seats, they're lightweight Allison style buckets, because that's what I want and that's what I have access to. I know I skirt the lines between formula and lake, and I'd be willing to race in either honestly, but I'd rather have a competitive formula boat than a 3rd wheel lake racer boat because I'm not in a position to build my boat to be competitive in lake racer format. Nor do I want to be the guy all the other formula guys complain about because my boat doesn't "fit" the formula format. I guess all I can do (IF I can get my shit together in time) is show my ass up, and have my fellow competitors determine what would be most fair, and go from there. As you know Jeff, all rules can be debated, contested, and skirted lol...

Don't know exactly what I'm trying to say here, just maybe there may be a few oddballs that don't fit anywhere that may need to be taken into consideration.

idvette that sounds fair considering the power you have, If you had a 225PM in the mix I'd think that's where the complaints might start rollin' in.

On that subject, are there any Formula entries running a PM?

Sounds like a great combo and seems great for FOTMULA

Just starting a debate about what is best for the class to attract boats and owners, not scare them away. For all forms of multiple power combo racing power vs weight is the only way to balance and class when discussing drag racing.

If a racer is walking away with a class, then in all fairness the class needs to evolve it's rules for equality and competition to show an attempt to create a level playing field. It is the only way to create equal competition.

Center steer , side steer it doesn't matter I guess but there needs to be rules and those rules need to be followed.

You FORMULA racers can decide.

On a note about people that may say the boat's configuration doesn't matter ..... I'll be racing my car in a class call Ultra-Street and the Yellow Bullit Nationals this fall. This class requires full interior carpet , two front seats , stock style suspension etc etc. I will be adding the required carpet to my car to be able to race this class.
Point is that yes the style of car (or boat) does , or could or should matter if that is what the intended set of rules are meant to say. Simple. It's a street car class ..... Cars that I have to keep up to are running 5.00 and even some sub 5 second 1/8mile ET's. Does carpet or lights really matter in this class ? No not really. But it's the rules and the overall intent of the type of car the class is meant to display.

Up here in Ontario we are limited in the interest for outboard drag racing so we have to be more open minded as well as hopefull promoters. FORMULA has the potential to be the largest class of all. Maybe one day it will be.

No, mine isn't a promax, but it's an xri, so laser efi 2.4, which apparently always made more than rated hp, kinda similar to a 2.5 vs a promax. Plus mine spins well over 7000 rpm.... Hence my dilemma. I guess what I'm getting at is I'm building an everyday lake boat on a strict budget, not a purpose built drag boat, and would just like to see myself amongst fair competition, not way ahead or way behind the rest.