5 Liter Hydroplane Racing

new boat

2010-07-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:12:00.002-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:12:00.001-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:11:00.004-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:11:00.003-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:11:00.002-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:11:00.001-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

new boat

2010-07-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

Whoops!

2010-07-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

well we have been mind blowingly busy! From sometime in March, till last week, I have been in that shop for 13-15 hrs a day. Jim comes in when he gets home from work, and there we stay. But it is DONE! We took it out for it's first race last weekend. She got right up and boogied! With a little bit of tweeking, we are going to have a fast boat on our hands! Yay!! Although, Jim did manage to put a hole in the bottom on the second day. But as of yesterday, that was a done deal. So here are some pics for you to peek at, and now I will be keeping you updated on the races again! Our next one isn't for 3 weeks or something though... Enjoy the pics!

mmmmm 3/21/10

2010-03-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well, we have the possibility of having sold the old boat, so we have taken the last few days off of the newbie & the trailer so that we can strip the old one. We are leaving no hardware, windows, anything at all really. Most things we can use on the newbie. I am hoping to take pics of it today so you can see what a stripped hydro looks like. It is a very sad thing. I'm trying really hard not to think about it in the "our boat" sense, but in the "get some $$$" way. Not really working.
In other things, we are picking up the steel to get the frame done on the trailer. After that it is a pretty easy matter to get it done. Just time. We put the boat on hold to work on the trailer, so it isn't any farther than last time I posted. Although, my excitement of the art class seems to have been a little early. I guess they aren't doing it, although we have had some a the kids call or email that are interested. So that is all for the moment. Got to get out to the shop, finish stripping the boat, take pics and at some point, I need to forget about the boat, trailer and shop, and CLEAN my house! =) Have a grand one peeps!

quick update

2010-02-26T20:56:00.001-08:00

So here is quickie for those of you who keep checking in.... The boat now has almost everything topside in prep for primer. We have a few little things left before primer-ing it, then we flip in over, glass all the seams, sand, and a few mechanics stuff, then prime & paint. We are currently dealing with the local high school art class, in that they are competing for a paint scheme. We couldn't think of another paint scheme yet again, so I came up with the idea of the school! And they liked it to! YAY!! One thing we don't have to rack our brains out over. Soooo the 1st race is in the beginning of April, and where we might have the boat done, we won't have a trailer done. Or we will have a trailer done, but not the boat. So that being said, I haven't been on here because we are pushing hard to get as much done as fast as we can! If your on island, stop by and take a peek! =-)

HHHMMMM

2009-12-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the thing here is, I suck at keeping this up! I did so good for a long time, then racing and life take hold, and whoops! there goes the blog! I tell you it is the first thing to go! So here is a brief recap of the rest of our year as it was, also what we are doing now, and planning on doing next season!
After our Mt race and our trip, we had a handful of races left. Honestly we tended to stay finishing in 3rd (ish). That seems to be our place! Hopefully that will change with the new boat. One of the reasons that I didn't write here after most of the races is the plain fact that I was so fed up after most of the races that I just didn't want to deal with even thinking of the races. There was alot of crap (read politics) in the tail end of the year and it really sucked being at some of the races. That being said, I was for the first time glad that racing was done when it was. Thankfully at the annual region meeting, alot of it was dealt with and so next year looks to be better! YAY!!
So onto what we are doing now: we are in new boat mode all the way. It gets worked on pretty much daily. All the insides are in, ie the fuel cell, steering cables, drain holes yadayadayada. The center decks are on, the sides are fit and ready to go. We had a slight hold up on those though. We are waiting for one very small important piece to go one the left deck, and the guy that builds them is in the hospital having just had surgery on Tuesday. So not sure when we are going to get that piece. So we are skipping that part, getting ready to flip the boat over and get working on the bottom of the boat. We are hoping to get the bottom done, and painted, then flipping back over and hopefully by then having the part that we need to finish the decks. SOOOOO that being said, our first race I believe is in the end of April. Ouch! I have been taking pics of the boat in progress, so I will at some point in time post those that I have! So that all being said, hope you had a grand Thanksgiving, and have a WONDERFUL Christmas!!!

Home!

2009-07-28T10:06:00.001-07:00

Well, where to start? Lets see. We went to a race in Polson, MT on the 18-19th of July. What a course! What a race! What temps! We found the course that our little wood boat loves. Looonnngg straights, tiny sharp corners, wow! It took the boat that broke a record earlier this year 3 1/2 laps to pass us in the final heat! WOW! From the races we drove to Helena, dropped off the boat with a fellow racer, then headed down to Yellowstone, then to Coulter Bay to visit family and get eaten by mosquito's. Fun. It was nice seeing everyone, hanging out on the beach, watching my big bro water ski. (wow!) we then headed towards home, picking up the boat, stopping by moms, and then home. AAAHHH home! I thought we would get away from the temps when we got home, but noooooo. It is hot here as well. Records falling daily!
Our next race coming up is weekend after this. Middle of eastern Wa, so pretty hot there to. Then we are done till the end of August. I know I said we weren't racing to much this year, but it is really hard not to. So racing we be doing! So that being said, I will keep you updated after each race now. I still don't know what we are in the points race, we told each other we wouldn't look so it wouldn't be an issue this year. As far as I know, neither of us have looked yet!

Wow I suck!

2009-07-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry it has been so long since I posted! I really just got caught up in life!
So here is the update!
We raced in Issaquah, really don't know where we placed, because, hey! I'm not paying attention to that this year! :0) It was a good weekend. The weather was nice, the hanging out was good. The next race that we are going to is coming up. We will be at BlackLake next weekend. That is down by Olympia for those of you with no clue... I was asked to once again score for the weekend, so we figured that we might as well take the boat to.
As far as the newbie, well it is coming along. It is a really possibility that we will have it out for Chelan, which is in Sept. We are ready for the decks to go on, just missing one small piece on one side, which we have to pick up from somebody someday soon. The cockpit is done, the engine compartment is almost done. I think we are putting the motor mounts in tonight, then that is done. So once the decks go on, we can flip it over and work on the bottom. Have to get the riding surfaces finished and glass the sponsons to the hull. Then paint that and flip it back over. Then the math stuff starts. Figuring out where to put different things, so that the balance doesn't go off, how much strut weight and whatnot. Then on to the STUFF. Wiring, cables, tubes, plugs, yadayadayada! So that is my update for the moment, gonna run away now! Hope you have a grand 4th!

hmmm

2009-05-18T08:29:00.001-07:00

Well, the new boat is coming along. We have almost everything done in order to put the decks on and then flip her over. I have taken pics along the way, but being I am at work at the moment, I really can't post them. We are going to the next race with our old boat in Issaquah, it is the first weekend in June, like the 6-7th or something to that effect. We have been pulling many hours on both boats, working like mad on one, and getting the other ready for Issy. Well, this is shorty!

Yippee!!

2009-04-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! The 1st race this year, was our normally jinxed race. Lawerence Lake. Bad things happen there for us. Every time! BUT this year, nothing. Just a race. That is so cool! I really only came out of this race with one thought. Get the new boat going. We are not going to be able to keep up with the boats that were out at this one! So we have changed our direction of racing for the season, and now plan on sending all funds that would normally go to racing, to the new boat. We were going to just race and work on the other in down time, but now are not going to race, but get our butts moving on the newbie. That being said, I won't be posting in here as much as normal for the race season. We are hoping to have the newbie out by late summer, so we can attempt to work out bugs and whatnot before next year. I will give updates, and post progress pics as we go!

It's almost that time!!

2009-03-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we are now 5 days till race #1. The old boat is ready to go, just have to drop the motor in. It is just waiting for oil. Had to order that, should be here tomorrow. The newbie won't be done for awhile yet. We have had many questions about it, and honestly, we just haven't gotten the time to really work on it yet. We plan on spending all time possible this summer on it. I don't know if we will be going to all the races this season or not. Between getting the other done, and the whole money/economy stuff, we are thinking about laying a little low this year. We will be going to all the ones on this side of the Mt's, but maybe not all the ones out of state. Next year! Sooooo we are leaving on Friday, so the boat will be in the ferry landing Friday morning. I think that we are trying to go for the 11ish or the 1ish. I know that one is the international, and that is always a fun treat to take the boat and camper through customs. So, if I don't get back on here before the weekend, I will post Monday as soon as I can! Wish us luck!

Almost Time!

2009-03-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Ooyyy! It's coming up fast! We have the old boats hole in primer, so no hole anymore. It should get painted this weekend. The motor is on the stand, needs some oil, but ready to go in. Everything is good to go for that one. As far as the newbie goes, we have added some more bulkheads, pulled out alot of stuff that doesn't make any sense, cut some of the decks, and ran the cables. (steering, pedals, wing) It really doesn't look any different from before, because all those things kinda blend in. I am really looking forward to the day that something looks different! Our plan is this: the first race is on the 1st weekend of April, the 4th I think, and it is in Yelm. Then 1 week off, then off to Moses Lk. Entiat was cancelled, so after Moses we have 6 weeks with no race. Weird. Very weird. But we are planning on taking that 6 weeks, and working on the newbie and nothing else. So I should get to see my big visual difference in that time! Jim is looking at a trailer for it this weekend when he is down in Tacoma for a class, and I am picking up stuff for it in a few weeks when I am off island for a class. So I will post when I can, all spare time is being spent on sick kids, and in the shop. I will definitely let you know how the races go, and will take pictures of the newbie when there is a seeing difference! I see that I now have a good amount of people peeking at this regularly, so I will try to update the same! Have a grand, cold day!

2009-02-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Race Schedule

2009-02-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

So here is the current schedule for this season.
April 4/5 Lawerence Lake, Yelm Wa
April 18/19 Moses Lake
May 2/3 Entiat, Wa
June 6/7 Issaquah, Wa
June 27/28 Burley ID
July 11/12 Black Lk, Wa (divisionals)
July 18/19 Polson, MT
July 25/26 Tri Cities, Wa
August 1/2 Seattle (Seafair)
August 8/9 Oroville Wa
August 15/16 Silverdale, Wa
August 29/30 Pateroes, Wa
Sept 12/13 Spanaway, Wa
Sept 26/27 Chelan, Wa
Oct 2/3/4 Issaquah, Wa
Oct 10/11 Lincoln City, OR

Ok, so that is it! Pick some out, and come watch us play!
I'm posting pics so check them out!

2009!

2009-01-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

Well, I really kinda sucked at keeping any updates going, that would be because we really haven't done anything. Both boats are sitting, one not done, (or started) the other with a hole in it from the last race! We are moving them both in to the new shop this weekend, and starting on them. We are hitting crunch time now. Our first race is the 4-5th of April. Soon Soon Soon. We went to the national meetings last week. Alot of meetings, alot of info, alot of alot of things. We got our trophy, made the speeches, ate drank and were fairly merry. So I will get pics of both boats in their new home when we get them in. So check back next week, and maybe you will see some pics!

Issaquah!

2008-10-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful that we don't always have 3 day races. In the rain and the wind. 3 days is alot, throw in the weather, and it is long, cold and hard. So we left on Thursday, for the first time, we took the boat ferry hopping. The ferry was overloaded, so off to Lopez we went in hopes of catching the same on to Anacortes. Not happening. So on Lopez we sit, waiting for the next boat, which still gets us there sooner than if we had waited for the next boat at home. So we made it down around 9ish, promptly went to bed. Woke up bright and early Friday, (me a bit earlier than needed, thanks to a weird dream about rabid monkeys attacking my kids) so we leave for the races, sign in, register and wait. In the wind and rain. Lots of rain. Can't really set up the canopy's, to much wind, so wet we get. So our first heat on Friday we pulled a 4th, then a 2nd. Saturday didn't go so well. On the first heat he was pushed into the in field by another boat, resulting in a 5th place. Then a 4th. But one of those 4th's that was close! 1st and 2nd were nose to nose, about a rooster tail ahead of us, and 3rd finished maybe 1/2 boat length ahead. That was a good heat. Sat night, we went to some friends house for a few hours, then back to the hotel. On Sunday, our very last day of racing for the year, we had an interesting 1st heat. On the pre start lap, a boat cut lanes resulting in another boat running over the back of ours. Not the way you want to start your last day of racing in the boat. But Jim decided that the boat wouldn't sink until it stopped, so he raced! And not only did he race, but he pulled a first place out of it! Now I ask, how many boats pull 1st with part of the back missing? It was pretty sweet. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go into the final, we couldn't get the boat fixed in time. And didn't really feel like it anyways. So we finished 4th for the weekend I think. If we had ran the last heat we should have pulled a 1st or 2nd, but that is the way it goes.
So we are now done racing for the year, we have the region awards to go to in a few weeks, then the nationals in January. We finished in 3rd in the nation this year. Not as good as we were hoping for, but the fact is that that is where we finished all year! So I will post pics of the new boat, and of both the awards to. Thanks for following us this year, we have enjoyed all the comments and questions emailed. And for those of you who met us in the ferry landing every race, thank you!

Update: Chelan

2008-09-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

So it was a weekend! Let's start from the top. Getting there was interesting that's for sure! We went over highway 20, and for those of you who don't know this road, it is steep, curvy, and beautiful. The trip was good, except for the car sick child, who wasn't keeping anything down. That was kinda sucky. But we made it to Chelan, and she was fine when we got out of the truck. The race day started nuts like normal, getting boats into the pits, arranging everyone so the cranes could reach them, drivers meeting, etc... Finally got the races started around noon. So we were the first heat of the day, and that one didn't go so hot. We fired the boat on the trailer, all was well, but then when we got in the water the starter didn't work. I hate things like that, because you can't predict them. They just go when they want and you can't do anything about it. So we missed the first heat. Second heat of the day went much better. We went out, finished 3rd. That works. It's normal. So Sunday morning, we went out in our first heat, and holy crap! It rocked! That boat was plain hauling. We had a lame start, but he managed to pick up boats like they were standing still. That was sweet. We finished 2nd, only behind the boat that broke all the speed records this year. Don't expect to pass him in this boat. We had the whole crowd screaming and yelling for us, which was really cool, because that hasn't really happened before either. Sunday's 2nd heat was weird. For whatever reason, the boat ran amazing heat #1, but heat #2, it was missing. It is so unpredictable from heat to heat, and you just never know when it is going to go great or not so great. I think we finished 4th that heat. So overall for the weekend we were 4th I think. A few other boats had some issues also, so the final placement was just plain off.
So now we are home, heading to Issaquah on Thursday, this is a three day race for us, and double points to boot. So off again we go. The weather is looking to be not so grand, Friday it is supposed to rain sideways, and windy. That's about the only thing we can't race in. Sat, same thing, not as bad. Sunday last I saw was decent. So you want to know something cool? We picked up our new boat last night. I will take pics of it soon and post them. It was funny driving down the road. We don't have a trailer for it yet, so we put it on the excavator trailer. It is a wide boat, wider than the lanes, so it was a little big for our narrow roads here on island. We were hanging over the trailer sides about 2 1/2 feet per side. Hazards on, 25 mph. I guess I know what I am going to be working on this winter. Well, not just me, but a few of us! ok, I need to go feed my kids, so I will give you an update on Issy as soon as I can. I am planning on taking my computer, so if I have time I will give you updates over the weekend. Ta Ta!

Chelan

2008-09-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well, we are getting ready for Chelan this weekend. This is a favorite race for us. Granted it hasn't always been good to us, but the town and people on their own are the best! The park is beautiful, the campground we use is quiet, with the best bathrooms. The race is coordinated well, and the weather is normally awesome.I say normally because for the first time, last year it was nasty. Cold, raining, windy. That was a first. Sooo a group of people going to this one. This is the one most people want to go to, for all those reasons I listed above. We are hoping that this race goes better than the last two. Those weren't the best of races. So that is all for today, just giving you a heads up for the next race!

Spanaway

2008-09-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well, sorry for the delay in the update from this weekend. We needed a few days to recover. What a weekend. Ok, so 1st things 1st. Friday night, we get to the race site, and like many others, park the camper, bs for awhile, go to bed. Have I told you how close Spanaway is to Fort Lewis? Well, close enough that all you hear all night, is the gun fire and the blasts from the artillery from soldiers practicing. Loud. Really loud. Soooo after a bad nights sleep, up we go to race. Registration, fuel, all things needed to get the boat in the water. It was just the two of us this weekend, so nobody to hold the boat in the water but me. While on the radios no less. Fun fun. So we go out for the 1st heat, run awesome, then in the last lap, the boat can't hold its tight lane one, and hops out to lane four. Ouch. He spun out in the corner, narrowly being missed by another boat. Jumps my heart let me tell you! But, he got it up and going again, lost one spot from that. Then with no warning, (for me at least, was for him) the boat shuts down on the last corner. Well, I am thinking, ran out of gas, overheating.....something to that effect. Wouldn't one of those be nice? But noooo. My husband doesn't do easy. He is one of those guys of "go big or go home" or both. So next thing I hear over the radio, is clear the pits! Make the crane ready! The boat is sinking! Yay! Is that my boat?! Dang it, it is! AGAIN! So off go the radios, on the crane go the lifting straps, in the water I go. It is sinking, and sinking fast, don't want that motor to go under, we can spare it! Everyone, get on the front of the boat, keep that back up! On goes the straps, slowly but not fast enough up out of the water it goes. Can't go fast, to much water weight will bust open the whole boat. Let it drain...drain...drain. Finally, we get it up, and get to take a look at the bottom and side. The skid fin is gone, not broke, but gone. Brackets, turnbuckles and all. Ouch. The bottom has a hole, um maybe 8-9 inches height, 16-20 inches wide. So, we get the boat in the pits, start draining the rest of the water, then start playing with the motor. Is it ok? YES! It starts after a few sputters, then full blown. It runs! Wow! we could still race! So on the hunt we go for a borrowed skid fin, a aluminum plate to patch the hole. Found them. Borrowed a fin from a boat that blew his motor in the same heat, he was done for the weekend, so yay! he let us use his. Found a fellow racer with a shop nearby, I got to go dig in it for a patch plate. Found one! So late into the night, we sand, saw, scuff, bolt and hysol new parts on the boat. Finally get to bed a little late, really tired. Sunday, we took it easy the first heat, not knowing how the temp fin was going to like our boat, wound up loving it. We are now going to have to guy make us one. So we finished fourth in the heat. Final for the day, we raced and raced hard. Three way tie for 2nd. Unfortunately we wound up fourth looking at the still shots. That close. Had ref's arguing over pics. Impressive. So all in all, it was a different weekend. This is the first time we have been able to fix the boat at the site. He normally does so much damage that we are done. So there is my longgggg update for Spanaway!! On to Chelan in 3 weeks!! Or is it 2? Gotta check!

Upcoming

2008-08-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

Spanaway is coming up this weekend. This is normally a good race for us. One of those ones where we just race. I don't know that anything has ever happened good or bad here for us. Yes, one of THOSE. You know, the ones where I have nothing to say in this blog after the race? yah. So it looks like the weather is going to be nice to! Holy crimany! (how do you spell that?) A nice weather weekend on the west coast! Is it possible? We will find out! So an update on the boat. We got the rudder and strut back, they look good, and will work just like normal. We now have the prop hung up on our wall of shame. I fixed and filled the crack in the sponson, and Jim has torn down and reassembled the motor. Going in today. Other than that, it is good to go. I still have to make a new cover for the skid fin, due to losing it somewhere, some road to our last race. So.... I guess that's it! Just thought that I would give you an update. Have a grand Labor weekend!

A picture of the prop!

2008-08-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Pateroes

2008-08-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well what a crappy weekend that turned out to be. And from that you should read, "it sucked immensely". Ok, I will start from the top. Friday, we get there, and at 6:30 pm it was a balmy 106. Yuck. Friday night it cooled to a chilly 82. Double yuck. Saturday temp wise I'm not sure what it hit, but in our camper, (where it was cool) hit 102. Sat night, not much better. I think we need to find an ac that works on 12 volt for these races where we don't have a power hook-up. So the weather was actually the better part of the weekend. As for the boat.....well that is a different story. Our first heat wasn't until almost 3 in the afternoon, and after being hot, sweaty, and cranky, that was a VERY long wait. So in the boat Jim goes, and then....sits. For a really long time. In the sun, black race suit, helmet, boots, you get the picture. So we are dumping water down his suit holding an umbrella over the cockpit, and feeling very sorry for him and all the other drivers sitting in the same position. The reason was the buoys wouldn't stay put. They kept floating down river. Soooo we finally get out, and being we were on a four minute gun, the boats are tooling (sp?) around the course. So we decide to do a timed run, just to get an idea of lap times and what not. Well we didn't get those times. In the front stretch, just before turn 1, the boat starts to overheat, shake like a 5.0 earthquake, and bounce in the back. Not normal. Ever. So of course he shuts off the boat, while drifting toward the shore of rocks. The race starts like normal, without us, and Jim gets to watch it go by. Finally get the boat towed into shore, and get to take a look at what happened. Unfortunately, we will never know what really happened, just get to see the effects, not cause. The prop, (we run a four blade) was toast. All blades were chewed down about 2 inches shorter than normal, the rudder, which also has a water pick up tube on it to cool the motor down, was toast. And sharp! The shaft, which runs from motor to prop, well, it was dangling. Some various other parts that are normally there weren't. So, basically what this means is that we were done for the weekend before we even started. We were passed in points last race by 2, now more by a few hundred. But not passed by any others, so we still hold 2ND, but this hurt not having this race included. So, we dropped off the rudder and a few other parts to be fixed this morning, and dropping off the shaft log this week. We then get to pull out the motor, put the old one back in until we get time to tear this one apart and make sure nothing was beat up in the process. Oh, and that prop? Remember me telling you we bought a new one a few weeks ago? Yep. That was the one! I will take a picture of it and post it for you soon. So we have 2 weeks to fix everything, and it should be done in plenty of time, so we will be at the next one. So there you have it, all the gory details of our crappy weekend! I hear we had a lovely thunderstorm on island Sat?! Sorry I missed it! I love them!

New Blog!

2008-08-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to get a new addy, due to the fact that the other site doesn't have alot of memory. It is deleting all past entries, and that bites. I now can't look and see what little things that we have changed on the boat, some of the pics that were posted are now gone, and I can't archive. Even though it says we can..... So update your addy for us, and we will be rolling in on this one now! For those of you who are finding us here, you can see our last blog page at:
http://goneracin.blogware.com/blog

2007-08-14T07:56:00.000-07:00