driver etiquette

It's racing.

Carl Van Houten said:

Nobody should ever expect another driver to pay for their boat from a crash. If you can't afford to loose your model keep it in the trailer. Also you will learn a lot about someone by how they treat others when they crash.

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That -
A lot of good points in this thread along the way - if your a new boater or even an older one that is considering racing your boat for the first time , please don't let anything said here stop you from that or scare you out of it, but heed some of the better messages given. Best advise for a new guy, go watch the races in your area before you ever wet a boat there.

As far as paying for damage , well - lots to offer there. If you killed a guys rudder or prop and you have one , at LEAST offer it to them . There are plenty of guys ( and I was one) that where racing on a shoestring budget / newborns/jobs/life- it is what it is- but we still want to race too . Those may be the guys that cant afford to offer parts if he is the offender and all the more reason to go have a chat with the guy you hit. But no matter the other persons reaction , say sorry- and explain yourself and the incident from your eyes- it helps. You may not see that immediately , but in the long run, you will earn more respect, and you just may learn something and make a new friend

Grim made good points on the pitman - it helps to have someone that knows you and your driving style- but anyone can do it. Tell them what YOU want to hear / dead boats / lap and where we are running , I will handle the rest . DEAD BOAT - tell me EVERY lap . Lap count is funny , because in a heated battle , I tend to forget where we are

Most important - DONT BE A D-CK , if you make a mistake or drive over your head or or or -
OWN IT . 9 times out of ten , thats all the other guy wants to hear anyway , at least me .

You boys and girls be safe and enjoy them boats, Im off to punch expensive holes in the clouds

well said

Andy,

Yes I agree. I enjoy helping people at races if they need something. I am hoping we can race soon.

-Carl

Carl Van Houten said:

Andy,

Yes I agree. I enjoy helping people at races if they need something. I am hoping we can race soon.

-Carl

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You can always come fly rockets with us Carl, there are tons of ways to burn $$ there too, it spends faster than Nitro

If you could mount that to my boat that would be cool!

Hi All,
My first post here, as I just became a NAMBA member this past summer. I've been building gas boats for about 8 years now, but have never raced. I've been into rc, mostly planes since I was 12, back in 1978. Anyway, I went to my first 4 races this summer, participated in all, and have got bitten by the "bug"! What an adrenaline rush! I thought airplane pylon racing was exciting, but this is just as good!
Like I've been reading from all the previous posts, we enter these races knowing full well what the risks are, and if you get hit, or hit someone else, it's all part of the competition. I'm sure no one out there at the races wants to intentionally hit anyone else's boat but this does and will happen. I think an immediate apology to the person you hit, with some humility, is about the best you can do. If my boat was ever hit, that's all I'd expect. Move on, fix your boat if you can, or get another. The new friends I met this summer, are some of the most quality, friendly, and willing to help people I've ever met and I don't believe any of us would lose his cool on an unfortunate accident. A friend of mine told me at one of the races, "don't build your boats TOO pretty for these events!" LOL...
Bob

First time you put it in the water it becomes a race boat!! They can get dinged taking it out o f the shop.

Brad

absolutely! With the planes it was called hander rash!

Bob

Accidents happen at a race. If you hit a dead boat or take another boat out by washing it down, you should go to the other driver and apologize. If it is your boat that is hit or taken out, then you can say, "That is racing", or, "I shouldn't have parked my boat there." We should be gentlemen on both sides of the equation.

Unfortunately I have killed Al's horse a few times, sorry Al.

Brad