Powerboat Racing |
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Tentative Racing Schedule for 2006
More races are in the works. Check in again soon!- Moose Lake, MN -- June 10, 11
- Little Falls, MN -- June 25
- Sioux City, IA -- July 22 & 23
- Crosby, MN -- July 29, 30
- Hill City's Park X -- August 5, 6
My first season as a powerboat racer (2005) has come and gone, too quickly of course, as summer always does. Wow, what an experience!
Actually, this all started in the late 1960s when I became obsessed with small, speedy powerboats. I paid $150 for an 8-foot Minimax "punkinseed" and a 1950s vintage Mercury Mark 20. What a hoot! The next year I built my first boat, a 3-point hydroplane. I soon got the bug to take up racing, but it never happened, and for the next 35 years or so I assumed it never would.
Racing Boat For Sale
More info.Well, it's never too late, it turns out. My rookie year came in 2005, at the age of 50, racing against kids as young as twelve, and veterans up to 79 years old. In my homebuilt, slightly modified "Tunnel Mite," I finished as high as 3rd place, and as poorly as 9th (last place) as well as one DNF (Did Not Finish). Actually, I didn't finish that 9th place race, either. But they were kind enough to give me a placing, and thus the few points that go with it.
I've got a new boat under construction for 2006, my own design this time, and I'm confindent it will be a winner. Or least a contender. Well, it should float anyway. See this page for pictures of the new project.
More About Mini GT: Mini GT is a part of the Outboard Performance Craft (OPC) category, raced under the auspices of the American Powerboat Association (APBA). It is a divisional class, which means it is not raced nationally, and in fact is only found here in Minnesota and nearby states in races organized by the Twin City Powerboat Association (TCPBA). The boats are tunnel hulls and V bottoms, at least ten feet long, and powered by stock 25hp motors with aluminum propellers. It's not complicated and it's not expensive. Speeds range up to about 40 mph. The class is open to drivers (men, women, boys and girls) as young as 12 years old, and there is no maximum age. In 2005 the age range was 12 - 79, including two teenage girls. At Moose Lake we were joined by a young veteran driver who two weeks earlier had won a National Championship in Formula 150 (130 mph+). Mini GT is for everyone!
If you are interested in becoming a Mini GT racer, or want to know about racing in general, please feel free to contact me with your questions. The TCPBA is a wonderful bunch of men,
women and youngsters. We have hard-charging competition on the water, and geat comraderie and cooperation on the shore. The idea is to have good, safe races, and just plain fun.
At one race last summer, I launched my boat only to find that my motor would not start. Two fellow club members, both of them marine mechanics, waded into the water, took the hood off my motor and in a few minutes diagnosed the problem and got me going. What's more, between them these guys have four kids who race against me. That's the kind of organization TCPBA is. The first priority is to have good races!
Below are the results from 2005, my rookie year. The number of boats per race ranged from seven in Little Falls, to eleven in Moose Lake. Mini GT saw steady growth all summer -- what luck to have jumped in just as the class is taking off! There are prospects for up to five more new drivers in 2006. And now that I have a new boat under construction, my 2005 boat is For Sale. Hopefully that will bring in yet another new racer -- IT COULD BE YOU!!.
There are a lot more than just Mini GTs at these events, including drag boats, hydroplanes and V6-powered tunnel boats that scream down the straightaway at 120-130 mph and then turn on a dime. The 2006 schedule is starting to come together, and can be found at the top of this page.
- Little Falls, MN, June 26: (4th place)
- Sioux City, IA, July 23-24: (3rd, 3rd)
- Crosby, MN, July 30-31: (DNF, 9th)
- Hill City, MN, August 13-14: (5th, 4th)
- Moose Lake, MN, Sept 17-18: (5th, 5th)
- ** 2005 Season: finished 5th overall
Mini GT Technical Standards
MinimumBoat Length: 10'0"
Minimum Boat Weight (boat, motor and driver): 600 lbs.
Minimum Age Requirement: 12
Engine:
1. Any advertised 25 horsepower engine is permitted
2. Engines must remain stock (as Manufactured) with the following exceptions
a. Rpm limiters and oil injection may be removed.
b. Electric starter may be added
c. Solid or pinned motor mounts are allowed.
d. Engines must be bolted securely to the transom with a minimum of two bolts.
3. Power trim, manual trim or spoilers, adjustable while underway are not permitted.
4. An ignition interrupt switch attached to the driver via tether is required
Boat:
1. Boats must be of tunnel or V-bottom design, no Hydros
2. Boat must be minimum beam of 48" (width).
3. Drivers must remain in a sitting position at all times, in a seat securely fastened to the hull and use a foot throttle and steering wheel.
4. Junction of seat and seat back may not be more than 36" rearward of midships.
5. Boat must have a minimum of 2 cu. Ft. of floatation foam.
Propellers:
1. Aluminum Props only.
2. Cupping, re-pitching and removal of material is permitted.
3. No material may be added to a propeller.
For more information:
- Twin City Powerboat Association -- Brand new site, check it out!
- American Powerboat Association
- Outboard Performance Craft
- Boat Racing Facts, boat racing forum
- Scream and Fly, high performance boating online magazine and forum
