dandrews wrote:
Just out of curiosity where are these tunnel boats coming from? You going to use a 45 or 60 hull, Mod VP style hull? The 45SST runs low to mid 80's (Kilo record 89+mph). By the way there's a lot more to driving a tunnel than you think. Also is air going to be mandatory? Safety cell? Capsule training? These are all current APBA standards. Tunnel racing is way down the radar screen these days, I don't hear much about it, especially the smaller classes. I vaguely remember the boats of old but can't remember the smaller classes, there was a 50hp class though. The question I have at this point is why the loss of interest in T boat racing? 3 or 4 boats does not make a race. These things seem to go in 5 year cycles.
You need to look outside the states and see what has happened over seas. They have gone away from the larger classes at their grass roots level. Its smaller motors. GT30 is popular and small tunnels mostly 15 hp to 30 hp. These tunnels are open style similar to stock hydros. You are not looking at 80 mph boats. They're mostly 40 to 55 mph boats. When I said they are easy to drive I was referring to a SPORT C type tunnel at 55 mph. UP here there currently is no cell rule in SO, Sport C or T. I don't think any of the current tunnels over here would work as a SO tunnel. We would need to get plans from over seas. Racers could build wood boats and we could make a mold off a wood boat to produce a composite boat.
What has happen to T Class?T750 is growing slowing, the race members in the class want to keep the class STOCK. So far that has worked very well and the
performance improvements have come from better set ups, props, shared knowledge and better driving.
T850 class had grown with 41 T boats in the area. We were the largest class and we had 10 plus boats at most races. The T850 racers voted to allow racers to alter one motor, the 56 cubic fishing motor. That has hurt the class. The 49 OMC, the 60 hp [59] Mercury and the 70CES Yamaha all became non competitive. The increase in speed over the last 2 years has been a worry to many in the class.
The GOOD NEWS is we saw more T850 boats at our Peterborough race and by the competition results there were not any of the highly altered 56 motors. I tried last year to get some of the past T850 guys back but had no success. T class is always going to be a class where racers leave and then return in later years. We are in a down cycle now, but with an adjustment or two in the spec rules it should grow again.
THANKS FOR ASKING
Don
PS did add pictures to an early post
- I would have a 50 hp Tohatsu 4 stroke running on a tunnel running in T750.
https://boats-from-usa.com/sites/defaul ... -89864.jpgHERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A STOCK 50 MERCURY/TOHATSU 2 stroke on a similar tunnel...4 stroke should be about the same as this boat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTnJ6RX6bSANOW THAT YOU WATCHED THE VIDEO....
That stock motor would be a D motor in stock outboard. Modify the top deck like a D hydro, make it a kneeler boat. How would it run against a current D stock Hydro? Likely not well, However,we have 2 to 3 D stocks at our races now. Do you think we can get some additional interest if we allowed the D tunnel?
- I would have a 10 to 12 foot tunnel running 20 hp 4 strokes in Stock Outboard.
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA== ... L/$_59.JPG
