I thought I drag this one up for an update. Last year I thought I'd try a different sponson design. I attempted to incorporate the JAE "Flat Plane" sponson concept to a tunnel boat. Well, long story, short - it didn't "incorporate." The boat had a severe case of the "hooks" that even 2" wide recovery pads(stumble blocks) couldn't cure.
I ran the center section through the band saw, cut off the sponsons, and stuck the center section on a shelf. I wasn't even planning to attempt another set of sponsons. However, back in March a boating buddy who had been away from the hobby for over 12 years showed up for our first club event. He wanted to get back into the hobby and I had more boats than I wanted to race so I loaned him a few. And, since I had 7.5 outboard engines I decided to build another set of sponsons for the center section for him to race.
Basically, I attempted to "clone" the VS1 sponsons and lengthened them to 32". BINGO!! The JD 45 Tunnel 2.0 corners great and has decent straightaway speed. It also spots a new candy apple red paint job. I'll post some pictures once my friend is finished clear coating the hull.
JD
