Sean Stinson
Founding Member/Contributor
There needs to be one banner that we race under nationally and the other orgs can become the divisions.....Personally I have my own thoughts about this....
Folks,
Someone needs to spend time drafting a business plan and finding potential investors to create a series first and foremost. In this economy, there will be no national series, only what you have now. If you cannot develop a plan and find investor(s) then you should focus on helping to improve what is there now.
If you want an idea for a business model to build around here is one: 1 premier class of either v-bottoms or cats. Given today's environment, I would opt for v's as the cat manufacturers - except perhaps Eliminator out West, historically have never put a dime into the sport. The investor needs to build and own 10-20 boats, which can either be leased or franchised to others who sign agreements locking them into the series. I would set up the boats to be run by one man crews which will make the personality development for media easier. Make 'em fast so they look good on TV. Secure 8-10 sites and go from there. It will take a minimum of $10 million in starting capital.
The development of such a series should also provide an opportunity for other classes of boats and racers to go racing, much like in the LLC hey days.
Mike. A ,
Your suggestion for a series sounds a lot like the old IROC car races. The ssanction body owned everything and had one shop work the cars. differenc e is they used champ drivers from all series.
ed
Ryan...I was just thinking out loud...in OPA you have the 28 ATM open cockpit boat and the32 Activator runnning in Class 3 at 95mph...and I have not seen either one of them get pitched out...I have seen others in F1 get pitched out at 73 mph....and guys like Randy not at 82 mph....I don't think the SVL's are running 90 in 3 to 4 footers...but I'm sure guys in F1 have run in3 to 4's at 75+....in Ft Lauderdale the top 5 F1 boats passed all the SVL's and they started 2 to 3 hundread yards ahead of us....and the only ones that got pitched was the Laveycraft guys due to a broken gimble in a turn....
I'm not even saying they would even be able to complete with the current SVL teams...but if a team already has a boat set up with the SVL rules other then the lid and they wanted to try...maybe it would open the door on a few other boats to come out.....we ran Marks Activator in some big water and Randy in his F1 boat...and his and Marks Activator seemed to run a lot better and in more control then I have seen some of the SVL boats in big water...and now OSS has the PRO-AM Class were SVL's and open cockpit guys are racing together...so whats the differance....
Again..its just a tought....kind of like a F1 Class with a option for a lid and multible engine packages.....with all bravo base drives and weight requiremets
There needs to be one banner that we race under nationally and the other orgs can become the divisions.
]QUOTE]his is a true story. The SVL's started 1st we were not getting pressured so we were running next to 2nd place. The f1's came by at an amazing pace. I wicked it all the way up and could run with them maybe a little more. I was very surprised at the pace that race was going. I talked with Mike A. Paul A. Mike T. after that race and said F1 has too much power we have to do something.
We were always fast as an SVL team in the rough water and we had a good setup that day. The fact of the matter is the extra 250lbs and lower X dimensions and lack of canopy did not slow them down in the rough water.
They appeared to be running 80-81MPH at the front of the pack in very pronounced 3-4' seas.
Steve
I don't think the SVL's are running 90 in 3 to 4 footers...but I'm sure guys in F1 have run in3 to 4's at 75+....in Ft Lauderdale the top 5 F1 boats passed all the SVL's and they started 2 to 3 hundread yards ahead of us....and the only ones that got pitched was the Laveycraft guys due to a broken gimble in a turn....
This is a true story. The SVL's started 1st we were not getting pressured so we were running next to 2nd place. The f1's came by at an amazing pace. I wicked it all the way up and could run with them maybe a little more. I was very surprised at the pace that race was going. I talked with Mike A. Paul A. Mike T. after that race and said F1 has too much power we have to do something.
We were always fast as an SVL team in the rough water and we had a good setup that day. The fact of the matter is the extra 250lbs and lower X dimensions and lack of canopy did not slow them down in the rough water.
They appeared to be running 80-81MPH at the front of the pack in very pronounced 3-4' seas.
Steve
How do you put some fun back in the sport.
That was a great race. Typhoon and Mark Kowalski were fighting it out in the rough. The F1 boats were fighting for supremacy of the seas in this race. I remember when they passed the SVL's. That was some great racing.
Isn't that the same race where How Sweet It Is literally fell apart. I was picking up chunks of balsa wood off the shore.
Isn't the lack of a single organization merely a symptom, not a core problem with racing?
It's sort of like saying "the world only needs one flavor of icecream". The problem is, I like vanilla and if the choice is chocolate, I'm eventually going to swim against the current.
I'm a businessman. I solve problems for a living. There's a process- I identify and then quantify those issues before I begin looking for solutions. This thread is entertaining, but it hasn't really done anything more than begin a conversation. That's not all bad, but after a while, you're just rehashing. Rather than bouncing between all the various issues, wouldn't it make sense to begin quantifying all the various issues and barriers and get a reality check on where this thing is at?
Why hasn't SVL taken off like F1? Its safe, affordable, dependable. Bad timming?
Why hasn't SVL taken off like F1? Its safe, affordable, dependable. Bad timming?
I think maybe one of the reasons are...in the F1 days you could buy a F1 boat for 50 up to 80k for a new one....it was a boat you could race on Sat. and take the family out on Sunday....there were F1 classes in both the LLC and SBI....the logic was simple...it was affordable....and you had prize money...the only thing really to do to your boat was test props...and change some weight for the boat to preform the best.....in calm water you had the 24 Warlock in front along with some Fountains and the Volocity in the early 2000's and some other great ruff water boats....I remember in Daytona in 2002...it was 3 Warlocks, Randy and BJ's Activator all running deck to deck up front...
The SVL is a true race boat...enclosed and a 2 seater...alot of the F1 boats had there back seat still in them....I would remember BJ after the race sitting in the back seat on the phone coming back into the pits