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TBPNews #127 – February 12,
2009
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>>>> Tunnel Boat Performance News
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In this issue:
1)
Cowes Torquay Cowes Classic Powerboat Racing
2009
2)
Mercury OptiMax Dominates 2009 Australian Speed Ski
Championships
3)
Fountain Faces Uncertain Future
4)
2009 ABRA Race Schedule Set
5. Restoring Bluebird K7- Request to change
speed limit
6)
NEW Powerboat History & Design Books On-line
7) 2009 "Motor Wizard" Update for TBDP© and
PropWorks2©
8)
Powerboat Racing on TV
9) Jimboat's NEW Feature Articles
******************** TBPNews
*******************
Check out new
review
of Jimboat's 13th Ed. "Secrets of Tunnel Boat Design" book in latest HotBoat
magazine issue!
1) Cowes Torquay Cowes Classic Powerboat Racing 2009
Following
the successful return of the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes and Cowes Classic Powerboat
Races in 2008, the British Powerboat Racing Club (BPRC) will be running the
full-on powerboat event again in August 2009.
The British Powerboat Racing Club intends to expand in 2009, by inviting other racing fleets including OCR, Honda and Class 3 to experience a great weekend of Powerboat Racing on 28th, 29th & 30th August 2009.
The Cowes-Torquay-Cowes (CTC) which first ran in 1961, was the very first offshore race in Europe and is recognised as one of the toughest challenges in world powerboating, comparable with the Indy 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans. The “Cowes Classic” is for race boats that do not have the fuel range for the CTC but who also wish to be part of this great weekend. These two great races have been a proving ground for the last 50 years for both boat designers and builders.
See more at: islandpulse.co.uk
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2) Mercury OptiMax Dominates 2009 Australian Speed Ski
Championships
[article courtesy Mercury
Racing, photo courtesy RMI Images]
Mercury
OptiMax outboards dominated the Australian 2009 Speed Ski Championships held at
Lake Charm in Victoria, Australia, Jan. 19-22. The direct fuel-injected,
2-stroke engines powered skiers to eight national crowns, leaving the other
manufacturers scratching their heads.
David Morabito, driving the OptiMax 250XS outboard-powered Mercury Kaned-it with
Ian Kirk observing, pulled skier Steven Rowe to a 2009 Australian SMOC (Standard
Mono Open Cockpit) title.
Twin OptiMax 300XS outboard-powered Ring of Fire, with William Brien behind the
wheel and Libby Brien observing, pulled skier Daniel Campbell to win the
Unlimited Outboard class.
OptiMax also won both the Social Men and Social Women titles. Tuff E Nuff,
powered by an OptiMax 300XS, pulled Christopher Stout to the Men’s crown and
also towed home Trudi Stout to collect the Women’s title.
Thundernuts pulled Brett Dominguez to gold in the F2 Engine Class. The OptiMax
300XS outboard powered hull also powered Lloyd Woolman to the Under 13 Boys
national title, and put Cara Jochinke on top of the podium in the Under 30
Women’s category.
In the Up to 2.5 Litre Outboard class, Mercury OptiMax powered home the 1st, 2nd
and 3rd place getters – the trio led home by Nicholas Groves behind the OptiMax
200XS outboard-powered Kane-It.
Rounds 3 and 4 of the world selection races were held in conjunction with the
2009 Australian Speed Ski Championships, and to top off a near-perfect weekend,
once again the OptiMax 300XS dominated the F2 class in both the Men’s and
Women’s categories - winning four races from four starts.
See more at:
mercuryracing.com
******************* TBPNews
*******************
[return to top]
3) Fountain
Faces Uncertain Future
Fountain
Powerboat Industries' stock has been suspended from trading on NYSE Alternext
US, successor to the American Stock Exchange.
"In light of current economic conditions in general and, in particular, conditions within the marine industry, the company does not believe it can regain compliance with the Securirties and Exchange Commission continued listing standards in the near term" a spokesperson for Fountain stated "As a result, the company's board of directors has elected not to appeal the staff's determination". On the 30th January 2009 Fountain stock was listed at 33 cents per share. Its 52 week high and low were $1.93 and 22 cents.
In suspending Fountain, the exchange noted that the company had 'sustained losses that were so substantial in relation to its overall operations or its financial resources, or its financial condition was so impaired that it was questionable whether the company would be able to continue its operations.
For more information check marketwire.com and fountainpowerboats.com
******************* TBPNews ******************* [return to top]
4)
2009 ABRA Race Schedule Set
The
American Boat Racing Association (ABRA) and the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF)
have agreed on race dates for the Oryx Cup World Championship in Doha, Qatar.
QMSF President Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani and ABRA Chairman Sam Cole announced November 13 and 14 as the race dates for the season finale. Testing will take place on Thursday, November 12.
The ABRA will tentatively have six races plus one exhibition event in North America before 10 teams start packing for Qatar in November. The 2009 season will begin with the Indiana Governor's Cup in Madison, Ind. on the Fourth of July weekend.
2009 ABRA SEASON SCHEDULE
Indiana Governor's Cup, Madison, Ind., July 3, 4 and 5
Chrysler Jeep Superstores APBA Gold Cup, Detroit, Mich., July 10, 11 and 12
Lamb Weston Columbia Cup, Tri-Cities, Wash., July 24, 25 and 26
Chevrolet Cup at Seafair, Seattle, Wash.,July 31, August 1 and 2
Kelowna Exhibition, Kelowna, BC, August 8 and 9
Thunder on the Ohio, Evansville, Ind., August 21, 22 and 23
San Diego Bayfair on Mission Bay, San Diego, Calif., Sept 18, 19 and 20
Oryx Cup World Championship, Doha, Qatar, Nov 12, 13 and 14
Check out more at abrahydroplanes.com
******************* TBPNews
*******************
[return to top]
5) Restoring Bluebird K7- Request to change speed limit
The
team restoring Donald Campbell's Bluebird K7 wants to conduct engineering trials
on Coniston Water, a huge expanse of water in the Lake District in Northern
England.
However, with a 10mph speed limit on the lake a
new bylaw would have to be created specifically for Bluebird. The current
Coniston Water byelaws do not allow any speed in excess of 10mph, except in a
legitimate bid for a National or World speed record. Bluebird K7 holds the
British Outright water speed record of 276.3mph, but the team will not mount a
serious challenge to this record, believing 100mph will be enough to test it.
The craft is being rebuilt after it was recovered from the lake bed in pieces in
2001, 34 years after Donald Campbell's fatal record attempt.
see more at: news.bbc.co.uk
6) NEW Powerboat Design Books On-line
The
most complete supply of
over 60 books specialized performance powerboat history, design and racing.
Check out the new powerboat book additions:
Powerboat Design & History books
Discounted prices for all of these powerboat & design books
Also...get past archives of
"TBPNews"
And...check out free articles by author Jimboat.
******************* TBPNews ******************* [return to top]
7) 2009 "Motor Wizard" Update for TBDP© and PropWorks2©
New
2009 Motor Wizard
update (AeroMarine Research®)- Now over
750 engine
selections in Motor Wizard
database! New 2009 engine spec's. [Included with "Tunnel
Boat Design©" software & PropWorks2©
software]. Use the New 2009 Motor Design Wizard to easily input the dimensional
information for your setup. Just select your OEM engine manufacturer and
highlight your model from the over 750 listed. The published manufacturers
specifications are all there - Mercury Marine, Merc Hi-Performance, Bombardier,
Evinrude/Johnson, Yamaha, Suzuki, Nissan, Honda, Tohatsu, Mariner, Volvo,
Mercruiser, Steyr, OMC, Volvo Penta. The OEM factory correct MaxHP, Height, Weight, RPM and gear ratios
will be automatically input to TBDP V7.9 and PropWorks software V2.8. Contact
AeroMarine Research® for more information or your Update!
Check it out at: aeromarineresearch.com
8) Powerboat Racing on TV
*** "Thrill Zone: Extreme
Powerboats" -
National Geographic powerboat show.
Author Jim Russell (Jimboat) is powerboat design technical consultant on a new
National Geographic special for "Thrill Zone"
series...
Details at: (channel.nationalgeographic.com)
check out next show date at
AR's website! aeromarineresearch.com/NatGeo_thrill-zone.html
*** "Streaming Motorsports" on Speedbox.tv
- Parker ENZED Jetsprinting Championship - -
Check at: speedbox.tv
***"2008 IHBA Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing"
Series on SPEED TV - Check next show at
speedtv.com
*** "Champ Boat Grand Prix Series"
- on SPEED Channel - Check next show at:
www.champboat.com
or at: www.speedtv.com
*** "F1 World Championship TV
Show"
on The Water Channel - See:
www.waterchannel.com;
[see web site for other show times]
*** "War On Water" TV
Show" on
The Water Channel - Check it out at: www.waterchannel.com;
[see web site for other show times]
*** "Powerboat Showcase"
on The Water Channel - Check it out at:
www.waterchannel.com;
[see web site for other show times]
*** "Offshore Classics" on
The Water Channel - Check it out at: www.waterchannel.com;
[see web site for other show times]
*** "American Powerboat
Television" on The Water Channel - See: www.waterchannel.com
or americanpowerboat.tv
*** "Honda Formula 4-Stroke Powerboat Series"
-
Check
it out at:
honda-racing.co.uk
[Ed. Note: The Water Channel is available
on The Dish Network]
******************* TBPNews
*******************
[return to top]
9) Jimboat's Feature Articles
Watch for upcoming articles by Jimboat in "Performance Boats" magazine!
NEW
Jimboat Article Announcement! - Author Jim Russell explains 'How
Do Tunnel Boats Fly?'
Check out full article at:
aeromarineresearch.com
Jimboat writes Feature articles in HotBoat, Family&Performance Boating,
Performance Powerboat, World of Powerboats, Extreme Boats magazines.
-
Tunnel
Vision - 'How Do Tunnel Boats Fly?' - HB Nov/Dec 2008
- 'Why
Do Boats Create Rooster Tails?' -
HB-August 2008
- 'What
a Blow Out!' - "Gearcase & Propeller Blowout- Why it Happens & How to Fix it" -
HB-June 2008
-
'Walk on the
Wild Side' - "Chine Walk - Why it happens & How to Fix it" - HB-Jan
2008
- 'Hump
Zone' - "Why does your Boat Porpoise?" - HB-April 2007
-
'The Bottom Line'-"Why does a
Pad make a Vee Hull faster?" -
F&PB-Sept 2005
- "10
Smokin' Speed Secrets Revealed..." -
HB-Feb2005
-
"Winterizing your Performance Outboard" - F&PB-Jan2005
-
"What a Drag" - 'Trim Angle & Engine Height Can Reduce Drag and
Increase Speed' - HB-Sept2004
-
"10 Safety Tips" - 'Ten Safety Ideas for High Performance Go-Fast
Boats' - HB-Aug2004
- "Flight
Path" - 'Where does Lift Come From?' - HB-April2004
- "Rocket
Science" - 'How To Increase Your Hull's Design Speed With Aerodynamics' -
World of Powerboats-Winter2004
-
"Tunnel
Vision" - 'What Factors Influence Tunnel Hull Performance' - Extreme
Boats-April2003
- "Step-by-Step"
-
'Step
Design in Powerboats' - TBPNews #88, October 2005
******************* TBPNews
*******************
[return to top]
See you next time!
/Jimboat
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