Proposed rules for Mini Airboat classes at this year's Shows

[Olf Art]

OK folks, we need your input. What we're trying to do is establish some basic rules so that we can include the Mini Airboats in our big airboat shows like Broward, Palm Beach, and Wildwood in the future. It will be good for the sport to see what some of the builders of these little boats can come up with, and they deserve some recognition too.

Now keep in mind that none of this will be 'carved in stone' ...... it's only a place to start. As time goes by this may be changed a lot,
but for now it's just a starting place.

Class #1: Single cylinder, any displacement

Class #2: Twin cylinder, 1000cc. (Mini Pro 116, Paul Dixon's Twister, etc.)

Class #3: More than two cylinders, 750cc. max. displacement.
That leaves the door open for a 750cc. Mini Raceboat class for the future. :twisted:

So there it is. Please vote Up or Down, but feel free to comment too. The Mini's are here to stay, so let's make the rules.

olf

 

[Whitebear]

Looks good, however almost all groups of anything will have one class called Unlimited, especially when it comes to engine limitations. Maybe a 10' boat length on that one and no displacement limit. What yas think, a Class 4 Unlimited?

I was thinkingmainly of the Harley engines that appear to have been eliminated by the 3 classes becuase of CC displacement, however if ya want to eliminate the Harley engines there were some 750cc V-twin Harleys made for hill climbs and performance bikes. That, by the way, is the engine Evil Kinevil used.

Once again, I dont have a dog in this chase, but it is very interesting to see what is being done for the future of Minis.

Scotty :wink:

 

[papee]

I think you're right Scotty, but I'm not sure how the limitations of that would work. It would have to be worded so it were still a mini but not in the full size class. Where to make the line is the question.

 

[Whitebear]

Maybe leave it up to the owner to explain why that particular boat is in the Mini Class and Not a regular airboat? Put the onus on the person entering it. You could still hold the 4 cylinder no aircraft or car engines restriction.

I guess the flip side is that unlimited means no limits. Likely boats in this class could indeed be entered in the regular airboat classes as well. Thats where letting the owner explain why it is a Mini comes in.

Just thinking out loud and discussing it. May never see one entered in an unlimited class but I thought it would be nice to have a catchall class just in case. Even if it does overlap some, nothing says there has to be a line in the sand drawn between them in this class. A little bit of overlap might draw interest in both directions.

Scotty :wink:

 

[Muddyduck]

Having worked quite a few shows in Broward, I can tell you the line that divides classes can easily get blurred. There are a lot of "small boats" that might qualify for mini that are running A/C engines. We have someone who makes a final call on what class the boat goes in. Sometimes feelings get hurt and I have seen some people pull their boats from show. But somebody has got to make the call. Also remember, there is going to be an entry fee to have your boat judged in a class. I don't think it has changed, but I could be wrong, it is free to display your boat. Also, for you out of towners, your boat is going to be in the show for two days so don't plan on leaving until Sunday late afternoon. I have not been to a club meeting in a while, but Jimmy Newton should be able to get you guys a copy of the list of things we judge on.

 

[papee]

Having worked quite a few shows in Broward, I can tell you the line that divides classes can easily get blurred. There are a lot of "small boats" that might qualify for mini that are running A/C engines. We have someone who makes a final call on what class the boat goes in. Sometimes feelings get hurt and I have seen some people pull their boats from show. But somebody has got to make the call. Also remember, there is going to be an entry fee to have your boat judged in a class. I don't think it has changed, but I could be wrong, it is free to display your boat. Also, for you out of towners, your boat is going to be in the show for two days so don't plan on leaving until Sunday late afternoon. I have not been to a club meeting in a while, but Jimmy Newton should be able to get you guys a copy of the list of things we judge on.

Going by what we have discussed so far, the fact that a boat has an AC engine would exclude it from the mini classes.

 

[Daddy Dave]

Guess the next logical question might be:

If no AC engines,
Then what of the Rotax or similar ExpAC??

If no Auto engines,
Then what of the Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Honda, etc, etc.

I would hope the mini classes would encourage non-standard thinking

 

[Olf Art]

BigDaddy, I think the class is all about non-standard thinking in that what it will do is make folks look for big performance out of very small engines. The boat that Leo is building is kind of an example of that. It's going to be a very cool little airboat, but he's building (with a Toyota engine) an airboat ...... not a Mini.

A Mini, by definition, needs to be an obviously very small boat, using a small engine.
That will encourage a lot of forward thinking that will probably later translate for the full sized craft, and at the same time encourage future owners of the big boats to get in the sport now for a lot less money.

Obviously they'll have their limitations .... nobody is going to even consider running one in anything less than fairly smooth water, but they should
be a lot of fun for days when conditions are right, and run on a lot less fuel.

My first Mini is going to be a little one-seater with a 250cc. Zenoah ultralight engine, but the door is open for someone to build a little race boat
with a 750cc. 4 cyl. Kawasaki or Suzuki motorcycle engine that could get you attention.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Whitebear]

Just a thought, but if it gets TOO exclusive, it becomes just that. Good points though on the small auto engines. Most of them have been used in Gyroplanes of one sort or another and likely, with the right redrive would work just as well or better in mini airboats.

I guess"Mini" will have to be a way of thinking more than a specific highly defined class. Besides the sub-classes can set aside particulars.

I would think, also that expandability would be a primary concern when trying to define the overall class. Let the Sub-classes be inclusive or exclusive.

Ideas anyway.

Scotty :wink:

 

[papee]

hey Olf, I take my mini in some pretty rough waters. I got a new camera for Christmas and I can't wait to get out there with the thing and get some videos. I may sneak out in the next few days, it is supposed to get near 60 here.

 

[Muddyduck]

The rotax engines are what I was thinking of, I am sure there are others. Just when you think you have it all figured out, along comes a boat that could easily fit in 2 classes. I think you will find the more you try to divide the class the more examples of overlap you will find. Best thing to try to do is get info on the boats that are going to enter and make classes from there. And don't forget, any class of airboat can go into the showboat class. So somebody build a jewel and maybe we will have the first ever mini as the best in show!

 

[Olf Art]

One of the most interesting boats that showed up for the FAA's Quiet Airboat Demo in May of '06 was one that Jeff Lessara had built with
a 650cc Hirth UL engine and gearbox. He was runnung a 4 blade prop on it and it turned a lot of heads. It blew 85.3 db on plane, and went
anywhere he wanted to go. Nice little boat to say the least.

olf