TOPIC: anyone want to get into racing????

I'm working on building an 11' vee race boat and plan to build a tunnel by spring. Construction is pretty easy and power is either a 25hp or 35hp omc. Problem is, the racing club around here doesnt have enough boats to race (takes 3). If you have some tools or live close enough to come over to my house to work, boat cost is less than $400 total if you use marine materials and less if you use standard materials. Around here races are held:


Oshkosh, WI
Candlewick Lk, IL
Pleasant Prairie, WI
Burlington, WI
Rochelle, IL
DePue, IL
Beloit, WI
Pell Lake, WI

And nationals is in Kankakee.

boat cost is less than $400

thats the cheapest part of racing which is an expensive sport expect another $1500 on safety equipment, $$ competitive motor, dont cheap out on a motor or boat construction otherwise you will get discouraged watching the pack from behind & dont forget food, fuel and hotel bills $$$$$$$ the big expense

I was going that route, plenty of racers and clubs around me but found it was cheaper, more fun and convenient to rally up the locals into outlaw river racing

we race on the river on a weekend afternoon then run by boat to the bar in town & the looser buys drinks, after youve sized someone up running them a couple times a little side betting goes on
we have just as much fun or MORE because its all in fun!!

good luck

Ok so I might have left off the $400 life vest. Helmets are the only other saftey gear and they can be had for cheap.

As for motors though... the mini GT and GT Pro use off the shelf unmodified OMC motors. Your even limited to Aluminum props. You cant spend too much on 1 as the rules limit you. Now you could take the same boat and step up to class c and then your not as limited.

Its meant so any Joe Smoe off the street can build a boat and race for around $1000-$1500 total cost if don't already have anything. For me, I already have control's, helmet, $200 25hp motor etc. Allot of stuff like controls, jack plates, power trims etc can be built on my mill for almost nothing and I will for anyone in the area that will race.

All the races are within about an hr drive of a central point. Most are 1 day events so no need for lodging and if your like me, you pack a lunch.

As for river racing... I've been known to engauge in some of that. Unfortunatly my brothers budget is bigger than mine so I always loose now lol. My 115hp cant compete with his 550hp inboard.

I guess your all set then, your post looking for help with tools It appeared you were completely green


fun stuff...keep us posted on your progress with pics and race results!!

I'm just looking to recruit other people... Ive got all the tools etc. I guess it does kind of look like Im looking for tools, meant to say I have the tools if others dont.

They require 3 boats for a race. Right now they have 1 for GT pro and none for mini GT. I would love to find 2 more guys to build/race mini GT as I think its the cheapest and easiest to get into. 25hp stock motors with stock aluminum props, no power trim and very limited boat designs. GT Pro steps up to 35hp, power trim and I think allows Stainless props.

Ill post some pics of my boat construction. Its mainly 1/4" plywood and epoxy. Im actually planning to build mine just a little heavy as Im going to ecapsolate all the wood.

well I started mine... come on guys, has to be someone else interested

Laid out as many pieces on 1 sheet as I could. I was able to get all but the transom cut out of 1 sheet.


Here are the bulkheads laid out after cutting



Laid it out so I could see what it would look like

That is very cool, best of luck with it. I'd love to do something like that, but don't live close enough to you to do any good. It will be a few years before I could come up with a grand anyway, too many other things begging for $. You can count on my interest though, so post lots of pics, I love this stuff!

By the way, where did you get the plans?

Frank

The plans are available thru Dillon-racing.com . I had researched them for about 9 months then, over Labor day weekend I was able to see Bob Dillon (owner/creator) racing his Pro GT Mini Vee. In the turns his Tunnel design (driven by another competitor) was superior but only by a little... Down the straights the Vee had it. Unfortunatly the Tunnel spun out and lost allot of time so I didnt get to see who would win but, I was sold on the plans.


I'll post some more pics. the boat is really going together fast and easy. No exotic materials or technic. If you can use a tape measure and cut a straight line you can build one.

They are trying to get mini GT and Pro GT going across the country. There is one guy building 5 of them in Florida in hopes to jump start the racing there.

all the bulkheads dry fit


made few changes to the plans in nose


I started gluing the parts together. While I was waiting for the epoxy to come in, I dry fit most of the parts which made it quick to epoxy.


I added bracing to the bulkhead #4 to Transom area and some other bracing where the seat will go. This isnt specified in teh plans but I thought it was needed.



The motor plate is made from 2 pieces of 3/4"ply laminated together


This boat is going together really easy, its actually been a fun build so far.

Boy, looking good, thanks for posting the progress pics. That would be fun just to do for fun, not for racing, pretty cool. Good luck and keep us posted!

Frank

jet, very cool, and I just found your e mail last night, guess we can talk trades in the spring? keep posting your progress.

Pony:
I'm back down in the area this coming weekend and the weekend of the 21st. I try to get down there as much as possible.

Pc:
This is going to end up being more of a fun sport boat. With the closest club racing this class being up in Min. I dont see making more than the Labor Day race. I think once Im done with this one Im going to build a tunnel by the same designer. It really has been a pleasure building this one so far (and actually cheap).

Who in Florida is building these boats?? I'm in Fl and I raced big time from 1960 to 1974!!! I'm older than dirt now, but I still love racing!!
Just put a Merc 1000 on my Glasspar G-3!!

Send me guys name if you can that is building and starting this race program. My e-mail is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

sent you an email with his name and local, unfortunatly thats all his info I have.

I bent the side rails and laid the keel... you can see in the pics that I went a little overboard on clamps

Savage

the contact for the hydros this guy designed is here : www.dillon-racing.com/mini-vee/plans.htm

he is looking for a specific builder in Florida... Dillon is the designer from Minnisotta. This guy:
www.dillon-racing.com/customerboats/Holtzclaw/index.htm

He is building several of the boats to jump start a racing class in his area. If I had the shop space I would do the same. I have been having a blast building it and learning stuff as I go.

Got it!! Thanks!

I started laying the hull yesterday... no boring details just pics:

It's an absolute pleasure watching your progress on this racer. Thanks again, and keep up the great work!

Frank

Ride plate is roughed in... I didnt take any pics but I blended in all but the last 50" which is where the boat rides.



Then it was time to flip it... was easy enough to get it up on end myself but I had my wife help me lower it down


I had some help with the imaginary driving duty

2 cu feet of floation foam... 1 in each side. This keeps the boat floating when/if I flip.



start of the top decking

decking installed... though I dont like how I did it.

I had to see what a real sized motor looked like on the back...

the boats been laying on its back for a little bit now as I sand,epoxy and fiberglass. I rough sanded the hull for adhesion and then laid down a coat of epoxy. After that cured I sanded it and then coated the underside with polyester resin. The reason I used polyester for the topcoat is to give a harder coating than epoxy tends to yield (and the fact that its 1/3 the price doesnt hurt). I still have to sand it all perfectly smooth but, its almost ready for paint.




I had to build a nose since I couldnt get wood longer than 12' locally. I glued 2 2x4's together then glued them to the nose (that was cut perfectly flat and sanded). I then cut and sanded it to shape. I wish I would have taken pics from the beginning, it was an amazing transformation.




The hole you see is for the bow light. Since it wont be used just as a race boat I have to have lights. I was thinking ahead and cut a routing while the deck was off and then secured a wire with a screw that can be pulled out when I am ready to install the light.

I havent updated this thread in a LOOOOOONG time. Ive done a bit of work and its days from being painted.

What are your plans for the Gold Metalflake Glasspar Catalina G-3 I see in the background?? I sold the exact same hull to a friend a while back, but he hasnt got it running yet.

Your race boat looks great. Be careful with it and "Keep the Wet Side Down"!!!! I raced the same size boats for 20 years and got wet a time or two!!!!

I helped start the Florida Glasspar Club and in 2009 we had a G-3 rally here in Florida with 31 running, restored G-3s and have since found other G-3s throughout the country side. Fix it up and bring it to Florida to one of our events, or sell it to one of our members!!!!

See attached pics:

I realize this is an OLD thread....but how'd you make out with your race boat??

I'd love to build one of those, and rip around.
Not many places to boat near me unfortunately though....LaGrange, IL