Villian S1 Maiden Voyage ....

[Jerry Dunlap]

Mike,

I think it was probably a combination of both hull length and weight. My slant on going fast with a tunnel hull is being able to finish heats. It is possible to make small tunnel boats go very fast, but I have found they are very challenging to drive in racing situations. You love drag racing, so here's what I think is a good example. As the top fuel dragsters developed more powerful engines, the overall length of the dragsters increased.

I remember you telling me your first Outboard Tunnel was a wood kit of the 24" Dumas 3.5 Sprint. In 1991, that was really a hot boat. Actually, it's still a fast boat, but in my opinion too small for the power being created by today's engines.

I prefer to have a boat with some "oops" factor built into it. I believe a little too big is better than a little too small when it comes to hull size.

What's really great about model tunnel boats is you can mess around with different variables and if it doesn't work at least no one was killed or seriously injured in testing out the theories .

Jerry D.

 

[Grimracer]

Jerry

Your slant and mine are mostly the same.. COOL I just use less power and a lightweight hull to do this. This does not work on windy days but that is ok as I would much rather take 2nd on a good water day then first on a day of survival.

Advantages to a lightweight hull are:

Less sliding in the corners.

Less energy to disperse in a crash.

I have a feeling that my piped boat will end up in the 4.5-lb. range, as like you I feel that there is a balance between weight and length that needs to be met.

My piped Villain should be on the water in a week or two. One note however, it will not begin its testing with a high power PW on the back. I have a Kick-Butt that will go on the back to begin testing.

I will post MPH, video and other information that get and find.

TTL

Grim

 

[TimD]

Less energy to disperse in a crash.

I like that one a lot! ;D ;D

The old weight verses length issue raises it's head again!

I never thought of the top fueler similarity to a tunnel before but that does make some sense.

Looking forward to hearing your findings Mike.

Tim.

 

[Tunnelbill]

Hey Grim and Jerry and everyone else,

This is some cool info on the mod boat. I have been working on my S1. I hope to have my Novarossi powed boat on the water in a week or two. I look forward to racing this boat in the Mod class. Later TB