October 2004

NAMBA INTERNATIONAL PROPWASH
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Cathie Galbraith
1815 Halley Street
San Diego, CA 92154
(619) 424-6380
Fax (619) 424-8845
e-mail: cathieg@ix.netcom.com
PRESIDENT
Alan Hobbs
2402 Old US Highway 91
Cascade, MT 59421
(406) 468-2706
e-mail: hobbsmt@prodigy.net
VICE PRESIDENT
Al Waters
162 Avenida Chapala
San Marcos, CA 92069
(760) 746-2408
e-mail: alwaters@namba19.com
Web Page: www.namba.com
VOLUME 34, NUMBER 3
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE
OCTOBER 2004
President’s Message
By Alan Hobbs
NAMBA President
Unlimiteds and Lights In 19 ……...
2
The NAMBA Nationals Banner ….
3
In Memoriam ……………………..
3
District 11 News ………………….
4
Notes from District One Helm ..
5
District 20 News ……………...
5
News From District 16 ………..
5
The New Quickdraw ………….
6
NAMBA Officials and Chairmen ...
7
District One Sport/Scale Report
8
In Memory of Anne Twaits …..
8
Scale Unlimited Hydroplanes ...
9
Data Logging …………………
9
Short Takes From The VP ……
10
Nats Wrap-Up ………………..
11
Hall of Fame Inducts Two ……
12
District Eight Racing …………
13
Working to Obtain Race Sites ..
14
Passing the Gas in District One
15
Handheld Frequency Scanner ...
16
Sport Report ………………….. 16
2004 NAMBA Nationals ……..
17
Odds and Ends ………………..
24
The District Director ………….
25
My congratulations and thanks to Tony Rhodes, Ralph Henry, and the 2004
NAMBA Nats Committee. It was well organized and lots of fun. The social events
were big hits for everyone that took advantage of the opportunity to have a good time
away from the pond.
The 2004 NAMBA Nats, like previous Nats at Legg Lake, drew a big turnout.
Everything moved very well because of the good organization and cooperation by
everyone there. Everyday brought lots of large heats and good racing. We'll all
remember the good times at Legg Lake.
Next year, plan to attend the 2005 NAMBA Nats in New England. That's right, we
have a new site for the NAMBA Nats. Don't miss the opportunity to race at a new site
and make new friends. I hope to see you there.
Insurance Update
During the 2004 annual meeting in Los Angeles, we agreed to expand our liability
coverage with what is known as an "Umbrella Policy." Our liability coverage will
increase to the full $2 million per incident. This does not increase our total cumulative
coverage, but increases the amount of coverage for a single accident. The advantage to
NAMBA is that we have a larger coverage per incident without paying a lot more in
premium costs.
The higher per incident coverage is something that publicly owned race sites will
appreciate. Plus, the additional cost will not cause NAMBA to raise our membership
fees in 2005. This should help us attract and keep race sites without spending a lot of
money.
At the 2004 NAMBA Nats awards banquet I announced the additional insurance
coverage beginning in 2005. I also made another announcement that I've been thinking
about for a few years. I will fulfill my current term as NAMBA President, but I do not
intend to run for the office again in 2005.
Thank you for the trust you have placed in me as NAMBA President since elected
in 1993. It has been my pleasure to serve in this office, and I've taken a lot of pride in
what we've accomplished. I never thought it would be difficult to step aside, but
making the announcement was very hard to do. We do need some new enthusiasm and
ideas in the office, and if you are interested in running for NAMBA President in 2005,
don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions. Here are some things to think about
if you want to run for NAMBA President:
Continued on page 2
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President’s Message
(Continued from page 1)
1. We need to encourage someone to host the 2006 NAMBA Nats.
2. Membership has been growing for the past several years. This is why we've been
able to improve our insurance coverage and pay the higher premiums. While insurance
costs have gone up, the larger membership has kept the price per member down. The
next President should maintain membership growth. There are lots of ways to do this,
it just takes imagination and help from the districts.
3. I've been very lucky to have great NAMBA members serve as National Chairmen
and in district offices. The next President needs to continue to attract the hard-working
people we have in the past.
4. Costs keep going up. I believe that we will have to increase membership fees
within the next few years. The next President will have to determine what is needed.
If you have the desire to help NAMBA grow and prosper, I encourage you to run for
office. As per the NAMBA By-Laws, the President must have previously served as a
NAMBA District Director. Again, don't hesitate to call me with any questions.
Something Else To Think About
The NAMBA insurance underwriter for Traveler's Insurance Company attended
one of the recent west coast NAMBA races. He didn't announce his presence, he just
showed up as a spectator and sent back a report. Are you a little bit nervous? I was.
His report indicates that there were a lot of families at the race. He saw this NAMBA
event for what we hope all races are, a family-friendly sport. There was little or no
swearing. Everyone had a good time. There were no temper tantrums. Everyone
cleaned up after themselves. He had a few questions about some of our safety
requirements, and I will address these with Bill Bridge, NAMBA'S National Safety
Chairman. We might have to update some safety rules.
But all in all, Traveler's Insurance Company is happy they carry our insurance. This
is based on one race that one person attended. What would the report be if it had been
your race he watched?
I don't know of any other instance where someone from our insurance carrier came
to one of our events. But, I'm certain that it won't be the last time. Again, I ask you to
keep your events fun. No one, but absolutely no one, is to compete, judge, or act as a
pitman if they've been drinking alcohol. Absolutely no one, period.
If someone gets out of line, throwing a temper tantrum or swearing, take the time to
cool the situation down. Make sure that everyone obeys the safety rules. Take the time
to clean up after yourselves. Keep NAMBA boating family-friendly and lots of fun. It
seems like these are the exact same things we want to do to attract new members.
Good luck at the races as our season begins to wind down.
Unlimiteds and Lights in Nineteen
By Al Waters
SCSTA President
Unlimited Lights
A lot has transpired since the last newsletter
and in just a short period time. With three races
left in the Unlimited Lights circuit, I and my
boat the “Miss Pigeon Doo” have closed out the
championship. They always say, to finish first,
you have to first finish and so far I have a 100
percent finish completion percentage this year.
And, now that this has been mentioned, we will
see what happens at the next race.
Just in case you may not remember what an
Unlimited Light is, I will help you out. It is any
NAMBA legal Sport 40 hull with a B class
2
Leonard Feeback’s pull start Light
motor. That would include the traditional
40 motor with a tuned pipe, any Sport
40-1 motor with or without a tuned pipe,
or the very inexpensive ($80.00) pull
start motors. The idea behind this class
was to get people on the water with a
sport boat that cost just a few hundred
dollars. The program has been very
successful.
Scale Unlimited
Now we move over to Scale
Unlimited with three races remaining.
Two of these are in San Diego, one
being the Bill Muncey Cup, so it’s
anybody’s race for the championship. I
should say that it is really a race among
four boaters who are about as evenly
matched as anyone could ever be.
Russ Stark’s Century 21 (what’s wrong
with this photo?
Russ Stark with his “Century 21” has
a mere 73 point lead over myself and my
“Oh Boy! Oberto.” Following close
behind are Tony Rhodes with his “Miss
Houston” and Henry Velasco and “The
Squire Shop.” Odds are in favor of a
picklefork winning it all but time will
tell if the lone round (or should I say
chisel) nose can make the grade.
Inside R/C
Now if you have been paying
attention to all of the articles written this
year about Scale Unlimited racing, you
will see that one article leads into the
next and they end up being an entire year
of a continuing story. Okay…so what am
I talking about? Remember Inside R/C
and the Carlsbad NAMBA Nationals and
the Scottsdale, AZ race episodes? I
wrote how host Krista Gibson would
October 2004
PROPWASH
have a guest host for the Scottsdale race
television program who would invite her
to race a 1/8th Scale Unlimited
Hydroplane. Well, the guest host was
none other than yours truly. She was
invited to race, she accepted, and what
an episode it should make. Krista met
Dan and Don Ast, SCSTA Unlimited
members, and myself at Legg Lake for a
day of testing. That in itself may make
an entire episode. Krista learned safety
rules, racing rules, and how to drive the
1956 U-8 Hawaii Kai. Of course, she
became a NAMBA member before
doing all of this.
A few days later was her first attempt to
participate in any kind of race at any
level for Inside R/C. Rather than tell you
how the day went (and it did go very
well according to the Executive
Producers of Inside R/C), check your
local listings and watch for the programs
in the near future.
The NAMBA Nationals Banner
By Dave Rychalsky
NAMBA Nationals Chairman
It looks as if we are going to have quite a few empty spaces in our banner. Since the
last Propwash in May 2004, I received two patches for the Greeley, Colorado Nats in
2000 from Kelly Stout of District 20, a patch for the Newark, New Jersey Nats in 1984
from Bruce LaFera of District One, and several patches from Tony Rhodes of District
19 for 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004. Thanks guys. With the extras I purchased
this year, the 2004 Legg Lake Nats is covered.
So far, the people who have donated patches or have contributed to making a new
banner are: Dave Bestpitch, Cathie Galbraith, Russ Kominitsky, Bruce LaFera, Kelly
Stout, Tony Rhodes, and myself. After spending a week at the NAMBA Nationals this
year, I spoke with a couple of the racers about the patches. My suspicions were
correct: everybody is waiting for the next guy to donate the patches that they have!
Since this is my third article asking for patches, unfortunately, I don’t think I will be
getting one from every year.
So, here we go again. I still need the following:
1986 Ft. Worth, TX
1983 Vancouver, BC
1981 Amarillo, TX
1978 Naples, Fl
1975 Tulsa, OK
1974 San Diego, CA
1972 Los Angeles, CA
-
District 7
District 16
District 7
District 3
District 17
District 19
District 19
I have one from 1997 in Manteca, CA but it is slightly stained, so I’d like to get two
that are in better shape. I would think that 1990 should be readily available. But I think
the 1972 and 1974 patches are packed away in one of our veteran’s closets, but they
exist. The difficult ones will be from 1975, 1978, 1981, 1983 and 1986. So, let’s call
an old NAMBA racer, email a friend, or search in your filing cabinet for any of the
patches I listed above. I’m sure that many of the NAMBA racers will be willing to pry
their memorabilia boxes open to free up some of these patches! Dave Bestpitch has
informed me that the new NAMBA banner is already fabricated and now needs to be
filled. All we need now is help from any one of the 1600 active NAMBA members!
Krista Gibson and the 1957 Hawaii Kai
The Bill Muncey Cup
Up next will be the Oh Boy! Oberto
Presents the Bill Muncey Cup in
September, which is our premiere event
for the year. San Diego is a beautiful
place to visit and to race this time of the
year. Please check the District 19 web
site at www.namba19.com for results of
the race. That is it for the moment. I
think I will go on the Internet and check
out District Three (www.namba3.net)
and see what kind of Unlimited news is
cooking with Scale Director Steve
Gualtieri, and District Eight’s UNW at
(www.unlimitedsnw.org). See you at the
races.
October 2004
Please send the patches to:
Dave Rychalsky
10 Timber Road
East Brunswick, NJ 08816
(732) 254-2165
Drychal@aol.com
Thank you for helping the NAMBA organization recreate a big part of its history!
In Memoriam
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bob Hay, Sr. He died
suddenly after returning home from an outpatient visit to a hospital for a minor
problem that same day.
Bob was a founder of the Del-Val Racing Club in Bristol, PA. He was a true
gentleman, a fierce, but always fair competitor, and a staunch promoter of our
hobby. He shared his vast knowledge with all who asked. His son, Bob Hay, Jr. and
his daughter Patty inherited and shared his love of our hobby.
To all who would like to send their condolences to the Hay family, Bob's address is
502 High Avenue, Hasboro, PA 19040.
3
PROPWASH
District 11 News
By Richard “Rags” Grenier
District 11 Director
Greetings, fellow boaters. All is well
in District 11 as we prepare to host the
2005 Nats in Rollingsford, N.H. We
have the distinction of being the first
Nats to benefit from the appointment of
Dave Rychalsky as Nationals Chairman.
I first met Dave when he hosted the
1999 Nats as District Director of
District One. He is a great guy and I
look forward to working with him as we
both try these new experiences.
In the upcoming months our web
site, www.namba11.com, will expand
with information, pictures, a forum, and
other items of interest relating to the
event. You will notice our Nats logo
included with this article. Also included
are some pictures of the site. We are
looking forward to all of you coming to
the Nats. The event will be held from
July 8th through the 16th . We will keep
you posted with more information as it
becomes available. And of course, keep
checking in at our web site.
Locally, the District has been doing
very well, our first championship event
hosting 73 registered boats, a very good
number for the district. I was concerned
about getting in all the heats in a timely
manner, but the park manager gave us a
few extra minutes, so all the rounds were
completed.
We now have three championship
races under our belts this year and the
numbers are staying pretty strong. We've
had growth in all the A classes, B Mono,
C-X Mono, C Hydro and G-1 Mono. We
separated out the G-1 Cat and Outrigger
classes due to growth, and have also
added G-1 Unlimiteds. Our Stock Gas,
G-2 Mono and Crackerbox classes have
diminished somewhat, but are still
competitive and will be around for a
long time yet.
For all that we did as a district to
attract new members, nothing has
generated as many inquiries or actual
attendance as the website. I've had a
number of people looking for hobby
shops, or sport boaters looking for like
minded individuals. We try to direct
them to what they are looking for, and
hopefully they've found us helpful and
will come back to us when they are
ready to take up organized racing or just
join NAMBA. If you don't have a
website, it deserves a serious look.
That is about it for now. Whatever is left
of your racing season, I hope it's a good
one.
A view of the shoreline
District 11 checks out the race site
The launch ramp area
A nice view of the race site along the town road
4
From the road to the lake is a short walk
October 2004
PROPWASH
Notes from the District One Helm
News From District 16
By Charlie Ott
District One Director
By Keith Warham
District 16 Director
First, I want to apologize for not submitting a news article for the last issue, and
rest assured, boating is alive and well in District One. As a new twist, I attended an
IMPBA race in Elmira, NY in July. It’s always interesting to explore how “the others”
run races, and to check out the competition.
They treated me great. Pete Forcier and crew did a great job, they completed
approximately 60 heats on Saturday alone, the balance on Sunday, and we were on the
road by 3:00 pm. Wow! They did a nice job, and I thank them for their hospitality.
It’s nice to see the two organizations mix together, and share ideas. We welcome all
racers to our District One events. Our schedule and contacts are listed at our web site
www.namba-1.com
Boating turnout in District One has been fair so far this year, not many new faces,
but quite a few new, and fast boats. With the season two-thirds done at this writing,
we hope to see a strong finish to the season. Word is getting around that the
competition is better than ever, and that usually brings the competitors out of the
woodwork. We hope to see many of you out there to end the season strong.
I would like to thank all of my chairman: Jack Ditta, Lou Gerdik, and Doug Reeve,
along with my Assistant Director David Neelman for all of their help and support in
keeping our district running. Great job guys…I thank you!
If anyone has any suggestions, or needs any information on racing in District One,
please don’t hesitate to contact me. My e-mail is badboy1741@aol.com. Happy
boating.
District 20 News
By Kelly Stout
District 20 Director
The District 20 race season has been one of excitement and disappointment. On
one hand the races that we were able to have were well attended and provided some of
the best racing action we have seen in the district in years. On the other hand, bad
weather and the loss of access to one of our best race sites in the district has caused us
to cancel or at least re-arrange our race
schedule.
As we wind down for the 2004
season, most of the classes are still up
for grabs. New District 20 members
from the Holland family, Colton and
Cody are battling for the A Stock OPC
title while their fathers David and
Robert are battling for the B Hydro
title. The Sport 40-2 class is also a
close one with David and Robert trying
to hold off the dynamic duo of Marvin
Taylor and Neal Goldsbourogh.
Cody Stout’s Sport 21
New to District 20 this year is the
Sport 21 class. It has taken a while to get the class off the ground but the members that
have built sport 21’s are having fun with them. It is always a challenge to set up a new
boat at our altitude, and any type of hydroplane adds a little bit more to the challenge.
With two Sport 21 classes run and only one more to go, Marvin Taylor and Cody
Stout are battling for the year end award in the inaugural season of Sport 21 racing in
District 20.
The 2004 District 20 year end finals will have been held on September 11th and 12th
in Fort Collins, Colorado. We would like to thank all our sponsors and raffle donors
for making this race a great District 20 finals.
October 2004
District racing commenced May 1st
and 2nd in Calgary. Most of the classes
were able to be completed, however,
several had to be re-scheduled for pick
up at their next race due to weather
conditions.
The second race was May 14th and
15th in Edmonton with all classes being
completed. There was excellent racing
and some close finishes.
The June 6th and 7th race in Calgary
produced some good head to head racing
in most classes. Most of the previously
re-scheduled races were completed.
However, again some of the Sunday
classes had to be put off until the next
Calgary race due to wind problems.
The second Edmonton race had to be
cancelled because of problems at their
Stoney Plain pond due to a complaint
from some poor fisherman who wanted
the whole lake for fishing. We don't
know at this time if they will be able to
complete the balance of their 2004
schedule, as their Edmonton pond is also
having problems with other water sports
clubs. One is willing to share the site
with them but one is not, so only time
will tell.
The last race completed as of this
date was in Calgary June 26th and 27th.
Again there was some excellent close
racing but once again one class had to be
moved to the next race due to high
winds.
To say the least, this year’s schedule
has been a challenge due to wind and
rain in Calgary and pond problems in
Edmonton. There are three races left to
be completed in August and September,
so here’s hoping things will improve.
Good luck to all NAMBA members for
the balance of the racing season.
5
PROPWASH
The New Quickdraw
By Lohring Miller
Emerald R/C Boats
A few years ago Quickdraw came out
with a 25cc Zenoah modification package that, for the first time, resulted in a
GX engine that was more powerful than
the best G1 engines. At that time in
2001, the best Zenoah G23s were putting
out around four horsepower. The six and
one-half horsepower of the Quickdraw
seemed revolutionary. Speed records
were set, lots of kits were sold, and a
new era in gas boating began. However,
relying on the average boater's engine
building skills resulted in some people
having engine problems from poor
assembly.
contour, more material around the wrist
pin, better oil retention, and wrist pin
oiling. It also uses the Zenoah 260 wrist
pin instead of the Zenoah 230 pin.
View of the intake port
View into the transfers looking at the
exhaust
One of the biggest problems the boaters
had was not sealing the bottom of the
cylinder to the cases. This resulted in
cooling water leaking into the engine.
Also, the sleeves bore finish was very
smooth. It did not hold oil well so the
piston ring wore fairly quickly and the
engine would lose power.
The new kits now have these problems corrected. There is a base gasket
between the cylinder and engine cases
that doesn't require any sealer. The head
button uses a silicon O-ring between it
and the top of the sleeve. The steel
sleeve has a coarser crosshatch and then
is plateau honed to take the sharpness off
the coarse crosshatch. This leaves a
smooth finish for the ring to ride on with
plenty of valleys to hold oil. The piston
has been redesigned with a better
6
Quickdraw still can't do anything
about the builder’s abilities, but the new
kits are easier to put together without the
meticulous sealing of the originals. I
suggest that you buy a set of bearings
from Quickdraw and have Quickdraw
install them in the cases for you. This
leaves just basic assembly on the
builder’s part. The new kit engine is a
good way to step up from a Zenoah into
an engine that is still user friendly.
In 2003 Mike Bontoft was determined to be the first gas boater to go faster
than 100 mph. His heat racing rigger was
close to the old record, and his new
straight line rigger powered by his heat
racing Zenoah ran in the high 80s the
first time out. He called Mitch Cary at
Quickdraw about possible mo difications
to the 25cc Quickdraw. Mitch took up
the challenge and began development
work on the old kit engine. Almost one
year of work resulted in a very much
more powerful engine and a 102 mph
straight line record. The straight line
effort resulted in the availability of a
completely assembled very high performance version of the Quickdraw 25,
and the latest version has just become
available for purchase direct from
Quickdraw. This engine is very different
from the engine described above. On the
outside the basic engine looks like the
old one. However, there is an electronic
ignition module with its coil and battery
pack. The carb is a modified Walboro
WYK barrel type with a Perry pump
attached. Inside there have been major
changes. The crankshaft is the full circle
crank from the Zenoah RC230. The rod
big end has been re-honed and slotted to
improve oil flow to the bearing. The
cylinder porting has been extensively
modified after hours of testing on the
Quickdraw flow bench and dyno. What
once were big ports are now huge. The
cylinder is spaced up and the head button
has been changed to compensate. A new
exhaust system gives the engine around
eight horsepower at 18,000 rpm, and it
only drops off a little by 20,000 rpm. A
rear exhaust engine that is slightly more
powerful is also available. Detail
changes have improved the engine's
durability. The most important is the
heat treated steel sleeve. That hardening
process results in a thin hard layer with
minimum sleeve distortion. After a year
of running, our record holding engine
shows very little power loss on our
dyno. For the first time, a gas engine is
available that is as powerful as any
available nitro engine.
View of the transfer ports
The engine is ready to run as it comes
from the factory. The electronic ignition
makes starting easy. The engine pulls
smoothly from idle to full power, and
there is no high speed cutting out from
fuel starvation. Both problems plagued
Continued on page 8
October 2004
PROPWASH
NAMBA OFFICIALS AND CHAIRMEN
Revised 10-1-04
PRESIDENT:
Alan Hobbs
(406) 468-2706
hobbsmt@prodigy.net
VICE PRESIDENT:
Al Waters
(760) 746-2408
alwaters@namba19.com
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY:
Cathie Galbraith
(619) 424-6380
cathieg@ix.netcom.com
CHAIRMEN:
DEEP VEE/OFFSHORE:
Open
ELECTRIC:
Doug Twaits
(973) 347-5765
snobuster@aol.com
GAS:
Russell Stark
(909) 613-1819
RStark372@aol.com
HALL OF FAME:
Doug Twaits
(973) 347-5765
snobuster@aol.com
MONO/HYDRO:
Open
NATIONALS:
Dave Rychalsky
(973) 724-4607
DRychal@aol.com
OUTBOARD:
Andy Smith
(941) 995-3145
drewsboats@comcast.net
RECORDS/AWARDS:
Dave Bestpitch
(916) 608-1908
dave@awardsee.com
SAFETY:
Bill Bridge
(858) 449-9344
whb254@earthlink.net
SPORT HYDRO:
Eric Bourlet
(253) 460-7283
ebourlet@msn.com
UNLIMITED HYDRO:
Al Waters
(760) 746-2408
alwaters@namba19.com
District 1:
Charlie Ott
(718) 634-7805
badboy1741@aol.com
District 3:
Ron Drake
(813) 707-1879
ronracewon98@aol.com
District 4
Doug Robichaud
(608) 767-2050
drobie@tds.net
District 7:
Jay Stone
(915) 497-9673
jaystone@namba7.com
District 8:
Kirk McKee
(206) 721-3991
racnrc@uswest.net
District 9:
Gary Crawford
(925) 682-6490
crawfordclan@astound.net
District 10:
Open
District 11:
Richard Grenier
(603) 524-2628
rubenesq@worldpath.net
District 12:
Open
District 16:
Keith Warham
(403) 253-9031
fastracer@shaw.ca
District 19:
Tony Rhodes
(310) 549-6810
rctoys99@rcn.com
District 20:
Kelly Stout
(970) 454-0963
kelly@midwestrc.com
DISTRICT DIRECTORS
October 2004
7
PROPWASH
The New Quickdraw
(Continued from page 6)
the development engines. The engine's
power overwhelms most hulls that run
well with Zenoahs. Tests with a 43"
Aeromarine cat, a 49" Muck mono, and
a Midwest rigger all were unsuccessful. They are very fast in a straight line,
but can't turn at the higher speeds that
this engine makes possible. Henry
Velasco's rigger was radared at over 90
mph just before the NAMBA Nationals,
but had structural problems that resulted
from the Quickdraw's power and torque.
The engines ability to rev forever can be
dangerous. If you use too small of a prop
the engine can self-destruct. An onboard
tach is almost a necessity. The Sendec
tachometer is not reliable at these rpms.
We use the Eagle Tree Systems data
logger. The engine in our straight line
rigger will turn 20,000 rpm on a 70 mm
diameter prop. I wouldn't use a smaller
diameter.
District One Sport And Scale Report
By Jack Ditta
District One Sport and Scale Chairman
After a long cold winter in the Northeast, spring finally arrived. Seems like the
lakes thaw and two weeks later the first race of the year is here. The season started out
with a good showing at the Nassau race at Grant Park. Sport, Scale, and Gas Classes
were run with a total of approximately 60 boats. So far we have run six of 10 events
and the competition is better than ever.
Sport 21 has been falling off in recent years with the lack of hull availability. This
will change with the introduction of the new Phil Thomas and Steve Muck hulls. As a
new twist, a few boaters started running car motors in this class with good results.
With IMPBA starting to run Sport 21, I think the class will pick up once again.
Sport 40 is once again a hot class. We don’t have a slow boat in the bunch. Everybody has an RC, AC, DeWitte, or Muck hull, and all are running in the mid to upper
50’s, some approaching 60 mph. Some Blazer Whiplash hulls are also rumored to be
on the water before the end of this season. Mark Sacken, David Neelman, and Charlie
Ott are currently dukeing it out in the top of the class with many contenders hot on
their heels.
In District One, we allow the G-1 Sport Hydros to run with the Sport X boats. In
years past, the fuel guys had an advantage… well not anymore. With the PUM 260
motor, and the new hulls available, the fuel guys are fighting for their lives. Joe
Venango has done something that to my knowledge has not been achieved in District
One. He has won five straight races in Sport X. He has done this with his G-1 Sport
boat. It appears that everyone else will be fighting it out for 2nd place on down in this
class.
In Scale Unlimited Hydro things are pretty much the same. There are no new boats
this year. With six races complete, this class is tight, and up for grabs. This class, in
our district, seems to be like the NASCAR/IROC series, with almost all the boats
within two to three mph of each other. It’s a driver’s class. We average 10 boats per
race, and 10 races per season.
The current point standings are located on our website: www.namba-1.com
In Memory of Anne Twaits
By Herb and David Neelman
Morris County Roostertails
Quickdraw in Mike Bontoft’s record
holding rigger
This is NOT an engine for beginners.
If you want a user friendly, reasonably
priced Quickdraw, buy the kit engine.
Because it runs so close to the edge,
small errors will cause very expensive
problems. The connecting rod is the
weak link and when it breaks the engine
can be completely destroyed. Even
though each engine is custom built and
dyno tested, Quickdraw has no control
over installation or operation. This
engine is the reason there is a GX class.
The performance is outstanding, but it
comes at a price in both first cost of the
engine and maintenance.
8
It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Anne Twaits, wife of former
NAMBA President and current NAMBA Electric Chairman, Doug Twaits, Sr., and
mother of Doug Twaits, Jr. She passed away on August 4, 2004, after a long bout with
cancer.
NAMBA has always been fortunate in having many active members who contribute
to the advancement of our hobby and who become recognized leaders. Doug Twaits,
Sr. has amassed a wonderful legacy and is a keystone of our organization. While we
may heap honors upon such men - we tend to forget that behind most of them stand
their wives and family who have urged them on and supported their activities. They
are really the unsung heroes of our hobby.
Anne will always be remembered by those who had the pleasure of meeting her as a
soft spoken, vivacious personality who always looked at the brighter side of life. She
lent her enthusiastic support to her family and friends in any worthwhile endeavor they
undertook. She raised two wonderful children, Donna and Doug Jr., and was devoted
to her three grandchildren. She was active in her community and church. She lived a
full life which was cut much too short by this insidious disease. She will be sorely
missed by all who knew her.
To all those who would like to perpetuate her memory, a memorial fund has been
established by the Twaits family at The United Methodist Church, #2 Route 183,
Netcong, NJ 07857, Attn: Rev. Harry DeKolf, Pastor. Doug Twaits resides at 23 Elm
Street, Stanhope, NJ 07857, (973) 347-5765, snobuster@aol.com.
October 2004
PROPWASH
Scale Unlimited Hydroplanes
Data Logging
By Al Waters
National Scale Chairman
By Lohring Miller
Emerald R/C Boat Club
In the last issue of the Propwash, I talked about the measuring of boats, photo
authenticity, interpretation of the NAMBA rules, and the running of the Final at
Unlimited races. If you can remember everything I talked about, more power to you as
a scale boater. But after competing at the 2004 NAMBA Nats at Legg Lake, I think we
could all use a little reviewing. I saw the worst and the best in people. Now granted,
there should be nothing but positive things written in this newsletter, but it is what it
is.
The worst I saw was the complaining going on about certain Scale Unlimiteds not
being compliant in their design or building specs with regards to the NAMBA rules.
After much grumbling during the week, President Alan Hobbs made an announcement
that if someone wanted to protest a hull, they had to individually protest all boat hulls
made by that manufacturer and not just a selected one from a particular boater. I was
in total agreement. As it turned out, when it came to crunch time, not one boat was
protested. It didn’t preclude the fact that someone just had to go by another person’s
pit area and make their opinion known. This behavior was totally unacceptable.
On the brighter side, 2004 NAMBA Nationals Contest Director, Tony Rhodes
called for an eight boat Scale Unlimited Final. That raised a few eyebrows, especially
from the spectators. With a field of 38 boats in a lake bigger than most, it gave two
more boaters a chance to make the Final. It was a good call. What also made it a good
call was District Nine’s own Jim Wilson, announcer of many premier Scale Unlimited
events, warning all drivers prior to the Final heat about their responsibility in holding
their lanes coming out of the first turn after the start of the race. It made all the
difference in the world. All boats held their appropriate lanes and no one swung wide
exiting that first turn. I think if you keep the boaters honest, and let them know that
you will make the call, and make them when the situation calls for it, you will have
much better racing. With that being said, I would like to congratulate Troy Davis from
District Nine, winner of the Scale Unlimited Final driving his 1999 U-16 “Miss Elam
Plus”.
Now how about that DVD R/C Photo Master Hull Roster I have been talking about
the past year? The first run has already been in distribution. I passed out a couple of
dozen of them at the Nationals for people to look at, give me their opinions, and catch
any errors that I might have made. Since that time, I have hopefully corrected those
errors and added a few more boats. Right now, the total stands at 132 boats. The DVD
is very simple to use. You can play it in your computer or on your home DVD player.
It opens up with a quick video of Scale Unlimiteds racing down the front straight and
then on to a screen displaying the letters of the alphabet. If you select the letter “A”, it
will run through the entire DVD, which is 43 minutes long. Or you can select any
other letter to start the slide show at that point, and it will travel to the end unless you
stop the program. I received many positive comments with the DVD. So far, the
resources of the program do limit some of the current suggested improvements.
The idea behind this project was to pass on to others the boats being built by scale
enthusiasts across the country. So now I guess you are asking how you can get one.
Easy! If you would be kind enough to cover the cost of priority mail at $3.85, the cost
of the label, printing, DVD, DVD insert, and protective envelope which totals $5.00
(sounds like an easy number), I would be more than happy to send you one. If you
have a Scale Unlimited that I do not have listed in the Photo Master Hull Roster, send
me photos by e-mail, and I will cover the entire cost of the DVD. And, anyone who
has a DVD in their possession, please feel free to copy them to pass around to others.
This is all about providing a resource to model boaters. Until then, hold your lane and
we don’t wait for pitmen.
A valuable tool, the data logger, has
just become available for modelers. Full
size racers have used data loggers for
years to record various parameters of
their vehicles for later study. I have been
testing model boats with a data logger
from Eagle Tree Systems. The system
was originally developed for model airplanes and adapted for radio controlled
cars. It has just been released in a model
boat version. Wired to the model’s
receiver, it records the positions of two
servos, air speed, cylinder head temperature, and engine rpm. Additional
modules are available to record battery
data for electric powered models, exhaust gas temperature, and acceleration.
Information on the system can be found
at www.eagletreesystems.com. I was
interested in engine and propeller data
from 3.5cc and 7.5cc outboard tunnel
hulls.
The basic unit is very small and
rugged. The software is installed on a
computer (I used a laptop) and the recorder is plugged into the USB port. The
program steps you through the setup
process. I recorded only one servo
position, the throttle, and ran the plug
from the Y-harness to the outside of the
radio box.
October 2004
The wiring setup installation on an O/B
I connected this plug to the recorder
with an aileron extension. The pictures
show the installation of the recorder, the
rpm pickup, and temperature sensor. I
experimented with the airspeed sensor,
but had problems getting good readings.
It turns out that the delicate sensor is
affected by vibration. By isolating the
recorder with foam, I was able to get
reasonable readings, but a water speed
sensor now in development will work
more reliably. I wrapped the recorder in
a balloon for water resistance. Though it
is not permanently affected by
Continued on page 10
9
PROPWASH
Data Logging
(Continued from page 9)
immersion in fresh water, you will need
to wait for the unit to dry out before the
data can be downloaded. Turning on the
receiver also turns on the recorder. After
a run, I unwrapped the recorder, plugged
it into my laptop, and downloaded the
data.
increased again. I downloaded the data
into a spreadsheet so I could select the
area to view and customize the graphs.
The software that comes with the
recorder does a simpler version of this.
This testing has just scratched the surface. For the first time it will be possible
to do propeller testing in the turns. The
future water speed pickup will give
accurate speed readings for propeller slip
data.
I travel around to the different district
web sites and I see a lot of recent
activity. I am sure that the locals follow
the pictures and racing points but think
of the exposure which your district
would receive if the information was
also included in the NAMBA Propwash.
Let your District Director and the
National Chairman of the classes you
run know that you would really like to
see articles from them.
Tach magnet mounting on flywheels
There are several ways to use the
information the recorder makes available. I was interested in improving the
performance of my 3.5cc Rossi outboard. I had already raised the port
timing, but the engine needed more.
Long ago modelers learned to use test
propellers and measured an engine’s rpm
with a particular propeller. This is a
sensitive test of the engine’s power. I
planned to do the same thing with my
engine. By loading the engine with the
same propeller and setup, the rpm
reading would be a power indicator. I
made a series of base line runs, and
looked at the data. On of the first things I
noticed was that the engine ran very
cool. I lowered the head clearance and
removed some fin area. The next runs
showed increased rpm. The last change
was to add holes in the piston skirt into
the auxiliary transfer passages. The rpm
Tach and cylinder temperature sensors
on a Nelson
Exhaust gas temperature readings
along with third channel servo position
will help set the correct mixture. Acceleration data can help develop hulls with
better cornering ability. A telemetry
system will be available to send real time
data back from the boat. I can imagine
using this to set the needle during a race.
It may become standard to look at the
recorder data after every heat and adjust
the boat for the next run.
Short Takes From The VP
By Al Waters
NAMBA Vice President
You know, Lohring Miller really puts the pressure on me when it comes to writing articles for the NAMBA Propwash. Quality and topics aside, it just relates to the
number of articles we write. But all kidding aside, it is fellow boaters like Lohring
Miller, who day in and day out participate in contributing to NAMBA and to the
Propwash that make this publication what it is. I have a great deal of respect for a
person who jumps in there and volunteers. Take a look throughout this newsletter.
Look and see which District Directors have written something about their district,
which NAMBA class chairman have written about the class of which they are the
chairman. If there is nothing written, I guess everything must be rosy? I don’t think
so! And if it were rosy, wouldn’t you like to read about it?
10
As NAMBA Vice-President, my goal
was to work with NAMBA Executive
Secretary Cathie Galbraith on getting out
four newsletters this year. This issue is
number three and we will have a fourth
printing before the year is completed.
This has been accomplished while participating in district racing, the NAMBA
Nats, our own local races we help out at,
and major house remodels that the two
of us are currently going through. Oh
yes, and we both work for a living also. I
think that the representatives of the
districts and NAMBA classes could find
a little time in their day to communicate
to the rest of the boating world the
goings on and advances in model boating. Do I sound a little stern? Maybe so,
but there was a time when NAMBA
members complained that there were not
enough newsletters during the year. Now
that we have the number of newsletters
people have wanted, the next comment
will be why they only consist of just a
few pages. Work is like play. We are
always the first to tell someone that they
are messing up, but the last to tell them
they did something good.
October 2004
PROPWASH
Now that I have made that statement, I should make mention of a couple of
NAMBA boaters I do hear from time to time that let us know that they appreciate our
efforts. Perry Walter from District Three, a man I have never met, e-mails me about
the happenings in his area. Doug Robichaud from the Madison Area Fast Electrics
(and I don’t even know a thing about FE boats), and Marty Shallenberger, boat racer
and a first time contest director from District Eight. So please take a moment and see
if we can end the year with a Propwash issue that will communicate to the NAMBA
members all the great things that has transpired during the 2004 season.
Last but not least, Chris Wittrig from District 19, who now is the web site
administrator for NAMBA, is currently working with Cathie Galbraith on updating the
NAMBA web site. There will be good things happening in the future. Bear with us as
this can not happen overnight but I can say that Chris has stayed right on top of any
updated material that has been sent to him, including the records.
That’s it for now. If anything I have written has caused you to scratch your head
and squint your eyes, please e-mail me at alwaters@namba19.com.
Nats Wrap-Up
By Tony Rhodes
District 19 Director and 2004 Nats Co-CD
I just received my reminder that
the newsletter was coming up so here
goes a little bit of news from District
19. We just finished the 2004 Namba
Nationals. I think that’s newsworthy
in itself. Since that was the major
thing going on in our district I will try
to give a brief overview of how I
think it went.
A very large group of people
worked very hard for most of the year
putting together one of the largest
Nationals ever held. We had over 750
boats and 175 entrants. We ran 475 heats during the week. Most days had 56 to 72
heats. That is a fair amount of racing.
The crew from District Nineteen arrived early Wednesday and did a clean up,
trimmed trees, put up a shade canopy over the drivers stand and radio impound area,
built start box racks in the hot pits, and did a general set up. We put in the Committee
trailers on Wednesday and the other thirty trailers on Thursday morning. They were
lined up for quite a ways when I woke up. I think everyone was happy with their location. Two full days of testing followed set up.
We had a very good showing from Australia. Sixteen in all came to our event for
the entire eight days. After finishing up on the west coast about ten of them packed up
and went to the east coast for the IMPBA Internats. I did not follow how they did there
but I know they were very competitive while at the NAMBA Nats. They were a great
bunch of guys and I look forward to seeing them again in the future.
District Nine sent a large group as usual. They set up their recliners, TVs, computers, and had Internet access, game boys and the likes going within a couple of
hours of their arrival. They do know how to enjoy these events. They were very helpful during the week, and I thank them for pitching in and doing a lot of the jobs that
needed doing. They did not have to be asked. They just kind of showed up and did
things.
We raced Saturday through Saturday from sun up until sun down. We found time to
have a welcome party on Monday night for all entrants. This was held at the Headquarters Hotel after racing. On Wednesday night we went to Speedzone. This was a
fun night of car racing on the slick track, Indy type cars on the road course for time,
October 2004
drag racing, and miniature golf.
On Thursday night we played boat
games at the race site, had scale concourse judging, paddle boat races, and
the BBQ. Saturday culminated with an
eight boat main event in Scale. We tore
down all we could and went to the
awards banquet.
The awards banquet was at the
Doubletree Hotel. There were about 150
people in attendance for this event.
Cocktails started at 6 pm while we sold
another 2000 raffle tickets. The tables
were piled high with raffle prizes and
awards to be given away after dinner.
The awards were quartz clocks on Piano
wood. We handed out almost four hundred awards and thank you gifts. This
took quite a while and we did not finish
up until after 11:30. Sorry about that!
Thanks again to everyone who helped
in any way. Without these volunteers it
would not have been possible. I hope
everyone had as good a time as I did. I
am looking forward to next years Nats
where I will have a little less to do.
Hopefully the Nationals web site has
been updated to show all results and as
many pictures as possible posted for all
to enjoy.
Propwash
Advertising Rates
Classified Ad - $10.00
Business Card - $25.00
1/4 Page - $25.00
1/2 Page - $50.00
Full page - $100.00
These prices are per issue. Multi issue discounts are available. Advertising
will be printed in the body of the newsletter in the same color as the text.
Please call for quotes for special or two
color printing. Should an advertiser
choose to supply the Propwash with professionally printed or multi-colored flyers for insertion into the newsletter, the
charge will be $50.00, as well as the delivery to the NAMBA office of approximately 1500 flyers.
Please call the NAMBA office at
(619) 414-6380 for more information or
for special advertising requests.
11
PROPWASH
Hall of Fame Inducts Two
By Doug Twaits
NAMBA Hall of Fame Chairman
This year was a busy year for the
NAMBA Hall of Fame and its members.
As you may or may be not be aware,
Hall of Fame nominations are sent to the
chairman, who then forwards them out to
the existing Hall of Fame members for
voting. Several years ago, the members
voted to have all submitters utilize a
nomination form which lists the accomp lishments of the nominee. Areas such as
national and district offices held, national and district chairmanships held, contest director experience, experience on
Nationals committees, championships
won, records set, and other contributions
to NAMBA are requested. The idea was
that someone who had some qualifications and contributions in most or all of
the areas specified would indeed be
qualified to be considered for the Hall of
Fame. On the contrary, someone who
only had credentials in one area would
probably not be. It was also decided that
the person being nominated must be a
current NAMBA member to be included
on the ballot, and the person submitting
the nomination must have also been a
NAMBA member for at least five years.
Initially, it was decided to limit the new
inductees to one per year. This year, a
vote was taken and it was decided to
permit up to two per year to be inducted.
This is not to imply that there will
always be two. In fact, there is no
requirement that there be any inductees
in any given year. A nominated person
must receive “yes” votes from at least 50
percent of the total number of existing
Hall of Fame members who vote to be
inducted.
Four nominations were received for
consideration this year. As it turned out,
one of the persons submitted was not a
current NAMBA member so their name
was withdrawn from consideration. The
ballots and qualification sheets were sent
out to the existing memb ers and those
who took the time to vote mailed them
back into the chairman. After all of the
balloting was completed, two NAMBA
members were voted in. They were
inducted and presented their Hall of
Fame plaque at the banquet at the
Nationals in Los Angeles. Special
12
congratulations go out to these two new
members. Quotes used below were
derived from the nominating petitions
submitted.
Mark Anderson
“Mark joined NAMBA at the age of
12, when his father introduced him to the
hobby. He has shown mastery in all
aspects of R/C model boating. He has
designed record holding and national
championship winning boats. He is
recognized as one of the premier propeller experts in our hobby.” He has won
so many district and national championships that there would not be room to list
them all in this article. His list of records
held is also extensive. Mark has been the
contest director for numerous District
Eight races and served as the overall CD
for the 1998 and 2002 NAMBA
Nationals. He served two terms as
District Director for District Eight and
several terms as NAMBA Sport Hydro
Chairman. He has also been the
Commodore of the Puget Sound Model
Boat club numerous times. When the
Electric Nationals were held in District
Eight, Mark agreed to CD the races so
that the electric boaters could actually
run their boats.
“His positive attitude and competitive
spirit have inspired many racers over the
years. One of Mark’s finest traits is his
willingness to help others. Mark has
always taken the attitude that it is no fun
to beat someone because they are stuck
in the pits. It is not uncommon to see
Mark cruising the pits looking for someone to help. When Mark’s closest
competition has an engine or boat failure
the first person on the scene is Mark
with his tools, parts, and motors to help
get the boat ready for the next heat.
Mark keeps few secrets, and as he learns
new tricks he shares them with h is
fellow boaters. For many years Mark had
an “R/C Boat Night” every Tuesday
where he opened up his shop and made
his tools and expertise available to
anyone who showed up.”
Mark is carrying on the family
tradition in NAMBA as he now has his
son Bryce involved in the hobby. Who
knows, we might have another Hall of
Fame member in the making for the
future. Mark was able to be at the
banquet to celebrate his induction into
the Hall of Fame.
Charles Fondacaro
Chuck started his model boating
career in Los Angeles in 1970. In 1972,
he and other members of his club, The
Challengers, requested permission from
then NAMBA President, Gary Johnson,
to put on a large nationwide event, and
the first NAMBA Nationals became a
reality. Chuck served on this first
Nationals Committee. Back then
NAMBA also encompassed Sail, and
sailing events were included in the Nats
which were held at Legg Lake. So it is
only fitting that the 2004 Nats at Legg
Lake should be the event at which Chuck
was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Chuck remained active over the
years, and later moved to the Las Vegas
area. The Las Vegas Challengers carried
on the name of the early club from LA.
In 1993, the new Challengers hosted the
first sanctioned NAMBA gas boat race.
Chuck has won several district and
national championships, including being
a National Champion in one of the Sail
classes at the 1974 Nats. However, most
of his championships were won in the
gas classes in the 1990’s. He also set a
G-1 Mono record at the 1995 Nats in
Manteca.
October 2004
PROPWASH
Chuck was not able to attend the Nats this year, so unfortunately he was not present
for his induction. I am sure that someone from the Las Vegas area took him his plaque
and our congratulations.
The Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring those me mbers who have gone above
and beyond the norm in representing and serving NAMBA. They have helped make
NAMBA what it is today. Several of the members have passed away since their
induction. However, the contributions and the legacy which they created within
NAMBA will live on. And keep on eye on some of the newest members and the kids
who are participating. Who knows, maybe years from now we will see some of them
being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
By Jerry Dunlap
Puget Sound Model Boat Club
The final District Eight 2004 Championship Series race was hosted by the Kitsap
Model Boat Club on August 21st and 22nd at Sandy Shores Lake on the Olympic
Peninsula. Due to scheduling problems and construction work at the Spokane race site,
the 2004 District Eight Championship Series consisted of only six races. The Northwest Roostertails hosted the initial points race the first weekend in April at Twin Lakes
near Arlington, Washington. Two events were held in May with Puget Sound Model
Boat Club’s race at Lake Waughop in Lakewood, and the Emerald RC Boaters race
Memorial Day weekend in Springfield, Oregon. In June, Team Twister hosted a race at
Duval. The final two races were contested in August with Team Toothpick’s race at
Lake Waughop, and the Kitsap MBC’s Sandy Shores Lake finale.
A scanning of the final results proves rather interesting. Some of the well know
names in District Eight are not there. Greg Roth of Everett had an outstanding year
winning four classes and the Overall Highpoint and Two Boat Highpoint. Greg’s wins
in A and B Stock Tunnel were accomplished in the two largest classes raced during
2004. For the first time ever, a father/son team both won District Eight classes. Fourteen year old Michael Mallit won the A Mono Class with consistent finishes. Ken
Mallit won two classes, B Mono and B Hydro. Michael and Ken managed to wrap up
their class wins with one race still remaining. Michael Bontoft was a two event champion in B Mod Tunnel and Open Hydro. Jere Heiser won Sport 40 while only racing
in three events. Winning a District Eight Champ ionship running in half the races has
never been accomplished previously.
Kirk McKee, District Eight Director, will be leaving this position at the end of the
year. We want to thank Kirk for his time and effort on behalf of model boating in
District Eight, having served two terms as District Director. Betty McKee, Kirk’s wife,
is also deserving of thanks for the many times she helped score District Eight races. At
the time this was submitted, there is one candidate running for District Eight Director.
Lohring Miller, from Eugene, Oregon, is seeking election. Lohring has been actively
involved in R/C model boat at the local, district, and national level for 12 years.
The time and effort of our District Eight Scorer, Mike Hughes, needs recognition.
Mike set up the computer used for scoring and heat draws at every Championship
event.
October 2004
A MOD
1. Greg Roth
2. Lohring Miller
3. Dave Solway
A MONO
1. Michael Mallit
2. Bruce Mooring
3. Dave Solway
B MONO
1. Ken Mallit
2. Mike Hughes
3. Valerie Roth
District Eight Racing
A STOCK
1. Greg Roth
2. Shawn Warren
3. Jerry Dunlap
B MOD
1. Michael Bontoft
2. Gene Gager
3. Craig Bailey
B STOCK
1. Greg Roth
2. Gene Gager
3. Jim Hagen
A HYDRO
1. Greg Roth
2. Doug Hanson
3. Mike Hughes
A OUTBOARD HYDRO
1. Ray Ackenhausen, Jr.
2. Doug Hanson
3. Chris Fanaris
B HYDRO
1. Ken Mallit
2. Eric Bourlet
3. Gene Gager
OPEN HYDRO
1. Michael Bontoft
2. Frank Crockett
3. Greg Roth
SPORT 20
1. Shawn Warren
2. Jere Heiser
3. Jim Hagen
SPORT 40
1. Jere Heiser
2. Tom Asif
3. Dennis Monroe
SPORT 60
1. Gene Gager
2. Tom Asif
3. Bruce Mooring
OVERALL POINTS &
TWO BOAT POINTS
Greg Roth
13
PROPWASH
Working With Cities and Counties to Obtain Race Sites
By Kelly Stout
District 20 Director
So you have your eye on the perfect
race site, only to find out that it is owned
by the city or the county government.
But never fear, obtaining a race site
owned by one of these entities can be
easier than you think. Here are some
things to keep in mind when you look at
a race site owned by a municipality;
1. City or county owned property is
actually owned by the taxpayers in the
taxing district, the parks and ponds are
there for the use of the people in the
area. They want people and groups to
use the parks for fun non-destructive
events.
a copy of the policy, they are very
impressed with the professionalism of
our organization and the fact that we do
care that if an accident happens on their
property, and that we will do our best to
take responsibility for it. This is not
saying that a private land owner cannot
read an insurance policy, it may be as
simple a thing as not being able to
understand the legal jargon contained in
the forms, or simply not having the time
to read it over. It’s easier to just say no
as opposed to going through the hassle
of reading the paper work or taking it to
a lawyer to look at. Government entities
have people on payroll or retainer to do
that kind of thing, so it doesn’t cost them
anything to have the policy looked at.
ordinary. If you need to drive on a
sidewalk or trail to get your equipment
to the site, make sure you have
permission to do so.
Tips for working with them:
2. In order for them to get funding for
maintenance and improvements for the
property they must show some type of
usefulness for it. As an example, the city
owned park where the 2000 Nats was
held was an under-developed park. They
had no restrooms, no picnic areas, and
the shoreline of the lake was badly in
need of some work. Because no one was
using the park for anything (lack of
amenities), the parks department could
not get funding to make the needed
improvements on the park. We had been
using the park and the lake for about two
years before the Nats. The year after the
2000 Nats the parks department showed
the budget committee pictures they had
taken at the Nats. They received funding
to build a picnic shelter and add restrooms to the park.
3. Cities and counties have attorneys that
can read an insurance policy. When
working with a government agency
insurance is one of the big issues, once
you explain to them our (NAMBA’s)
site insurance coverage, and show them
14
1. Contact the person in charge. It
doesn’t do you any good to get
permission to use a site if you don’t get
permission from the right person. If you
ask the grounds keeper for permission,
he or she may say yes only to find out
they have no authority to give you
permission. Do some research, find out
who is at the top or close to the top of
the chain of command. Once you get
permission verbally, try to get it in
writing, even if you have to write the
letter yourself and get them to sign it.
Most government employees don’t need
anymore work to get done, ask them if
you can write the permission letter and
send it to them for a signature.
2. Take your time. The government
works in mysterious and sometimes slow
ways. Expect it to take a while to get
everything in line for the use of the site,
don’t try to rush the process. Gentle
reminders can be useful, but don’t pester
the person you are working with. There
was a sign I saw recently that reminded
me of working with a government
agency: “Failure to plan on your part
does not constitute an emergency on my
part.” Don’t schedule a race at the site
until all the T’s are crossed and the I’s
are dotted.
3. Don’t over step your boundaries. Get
permission for everything out of the
If you need permission to use sound
amplifying equipment, make sure they
know about it. Anything you can think
of that is out of the ordinary for the property you will be using can be addressed
in the first few conversations with your
contact.
4. Be professional. Have your ducks in a
row (hopefully they will get out of the
way when you start to race). Know the
facts before your first contact: what is
the NAMBA rule on noise, how many
people on an average will attend the race
(or show up for practice), how long will
you use the property each time, etc. If
you need to, ask for help from someone
in the club or district who doesn’t get
intimidated by people in a power or
management position, some people are
better at dealing with people than others,
especially if the person you have to deal
with is on a power trip because of a job
title or their job position.
5. Be willing to follow the rules. If the
property you are looking at has some
specific rules, ie: lower noise level,
parking restrictions, pet restrictions,
smoking restrictions, etc., then you will
have to decide if it is worth putting up
with the restrictions to use the property.
If you decide it is worthwhile to use the
site, then make sure that all the people
October 2004
PROPWASH
coming to the event are aware of the
rules before they get there.
6. Don’t blow off complaints. When
racing model boats in a city or county
owned park or property close to houses,
you will undoubtedly encounter a person
or two that is not happy about you being
there. The boats are too noisy, you’re
chasing all the ducks away, the fish
won’t bite with you guys here, are all
things I have heard over the last few
years at one of our race sites. Always
listen to them, explain to the person that
you have permis sion to use the area and
tell them what time you will be finished
with your event and things will be back
to normal. You can als o try to get them
involved in your event, offer them a
chair, shade, cold drink, or a comfortable
place they can sit and watch some of the
action. As a last resort, try to have some
type of complaint form that they can fill
out, assure them that you will take it
seriously and discuss it at your next club
or district meeting. Try to get their name
and phone number so you can follow up
with them, and also provide them with a
contact from the club or district that they
can call. In my experience when you ask
them for their name they will refuse to
tell you. I will normally explain to them
that I cannot file a formal complaint with
the city/county or the hosting club without a name on the form. Most complaints
that have been expressed to us at the race
site never go any further than that, but its
best to be prepared. Call your government contact as soon as you can after the
event and let them know about it so they
can be prepared to handle it if they get a
call or letter from the person
complaining.
Working with a city or county government can be a rewarding experience
if approached in a positive manner. They
have endless resources that are available
to them for things that may benefit your
club or district. Don’t burn any bridges if
they say no on the first site you look at.
You never know when a new area may
be developed or when they will be purchasing a piece of property that may
work down the road.
Once you get involved with using a
government owned property, treat it with
the utmost respect You can use your
contact as a reference when working
October 2004
with other cities or counties in the area.
Try to encourage the person you’re
working with to get involved in our
hobby, and ma ke sure they feel welcome
to come to a race or come out and watch
a practice session at your current pond.
If they have children have them bring
them along, maybe even offer to let them
try their hand at driving a small boat if
you have one. Express over and over to
them in your conversations that this is a
family hobby, not just a bunch of
overgrown kids out playing with expensive toys.
If they do show up, make sure you
show appreciation for all the hard work
they did in helping you get permission to
use a site even if you got turned down,
or things are not completed yet. Try to
let all the racers know who they are and
what they have done for the club or
district. Once you have the go ahead to
use the area, make sure you provide
them with a race schedule. You never
know, your government contact may
become your next club member.
Last but not least, everyone should be
on their best behavior, (this is good any
time). Nothing can blow a future or new
race site deal faster than having the
person you are working with show up
with a couple of children and maybe a
spouse and see a grown man having a
temper tantrum over something that
happened while he was playing with his
toys.
In our district (District 20) we now
have three government owned race sites
and one site owned by a large corporation. A perfect example of how a city or
county can work in your favor was dis played at the 2003 Nats in Carlsbad,
New Mexico. The City of Carlsbad went
above and beyond the call of duty to
make sure we all felt welcome to their
town, and that everything that District
Seven needed from them was taken care
of. The city built one of the best driver’s
stands I have ever seen for the race, provided help in the retrieval boats, and
attended the banquet to thank all of us
for coming to Carlsbad.
So next time you think about
approaching a government entity about
using a city or county owned property
for model boat racing and think it will be
a lot of work, you’re right, it may be a
lot of work and red tape. But in the end it
may be well worth it and your hard work
and time will pay off more than you
could ever have dreamed.
Passing the Gas in District One
By Louie Gerdik
District One Gas Chairman
Gas racing in our district is growing at a slow pace. Our G-1 Sport Hydro class
seems to be the most popular. Our district allows us to run in Sport X also, which
gives a racer two classes to run in with one boat at each race. As a matter of fact, gas
boats have taken first place in points for two years in a row in Sport X.
Our Cracker Box class has its ups and downs (so has my boat). So has G-1 Mono.
Last season we had a good turnout at all races. This year we had a good turnout at the
first three races, the fourth just barely squeaked by, the fifth was rained out due to
thunder and lightning, and the sixth was somewhere in between.
Many racers have had family obligations that have affected turnouts this season so
far. We hope to see entries pick up for the balance of this season. I know of quite a
few gas boaters in our district that are becoming fantastic racers. Things are definitely
looking up in District One gas classes. Anyone who wishes to contact me to discuss
any gas class issues should feel free. I can be reached at (516) 333-1306
15
PROPWASH
Handheld Frequency Scanner
Sport Report
By Dave Rychalsky
NAMBA Nationals Chairman
By Eric Bourlet
NAMBA Sport Chairman
In order to be a successful model
boater, a countless number of details
must be followed, one of which is reliable radio gear. Over the years I have
seen quite a few boats head for the shore
without the radio working properly. It
may be the transmitter, the receiver, one
of the servos, the battery pack, or faulty
connectors. Even today, with a higher
quality of radio equipment on the
market, there still are factors which may
turn your boat into scrap. It’s been over
10 years since the FCC pushed the R/C
hobby into narrow-banding. We used to
operate on 75.430 MHz through 75.990
MHZ, separating each channel by 40
KHZ bandwidth. Now we have the
“odd” channels added at a 20 KHZ
bandwidth. I understand that in between
our channels are some cell phone frequencies! Wow, cell phones, frequency
drifts, equipment out of tune, etc. can
result in a very unpleasant day at the
lake. Maintaining a level of confidence
while you’re running your boat is something that may be taken for granted. All
over the country, and especially at our
lake sites, various frequency generators
should be a concern for every model
boater.
First of all, the 27 MHz band has
thousands of kids radio controlled toys
operating on it. Even on the 75 MHz
band, some of the more expensive R/C
cars are being sold to consumers by a
variety of manufacturers. Well, what do
we do? It becomes difficult to police an
entire park for R/C cars operating on
your frequency. On the east coast, Dave
Neelman, our assistant District Director
found a relatively inexpensive means of
checking the RF at every lake site. A
company called Alinco makes a handheld frequency scanner that can easily be
programmed to scan any set of frequencies. The Alinco DJ-X3 is a small
scanner, the size of a cell phone that can
be purchased for approximately $200.00!
16
The height of the unit is 5” without
the antenna. Our district has one and we
bring it to every race. I even went out
and purchased one for myself. It took
approximately 15 minutes to program
the boating frequencies in, and I was
done. This can pick up TV stations, and
AM and FM radio broadcasts too. The
programming process is very simple.
Select one band, enter each frequency at
27 MHZ, 53 MHz, and 75 MHZ. Enter
each frequency into a corresponding
channel, and press save. Then, turn the
device on, press scan, and it quickly
scans every frequency that you programmed in. If there is a radio transmitting somewhere, it will stop on that
channel for five seconds, and then continue to scan. It quickly goes through all
of the channels you programmed, stopping only at the frequencies that are
currently being transmitted.
Looks like another great season of
racing is behind us here in District Eight.
I would like to thank all you sport hydro
racers that participated at the Nationals
in Los Angeles. It was great to see a
strong showing in our sport classes at the
Nationals. I had a great time and enjoyed
the chance to compete with the best in
the nation. The host clubs did a great
job.
I hope that you have the new Sport
Hydro section of the rulebook soon. I
know that there have been many of us
that worked on the updates for about two
years but due to the cost of printing and
mailings the Sport rule updates were
delayed . The reason for the delay has
been a reoccurring rule change proposal.
For some of the lakes that are located
within a park or recreational areas, this is
a “must have” in order to avoid that
eight year old kid who’s running his
radio controlled monster truck on 75.550
MHz behind those trees! It also helps out
when someone suspects that another
radio is left on outside the pit area without the proper clip.
So, for some added insurance during
a race or merely just practicing, I would
look into this as an investment to avoid
the hours it would take to rebuild your
boat!
A great shot of the drive dog placement
on a Scale Unlimited
It looks like the membership has
spoken and at least for now the one drive
dog behind the transom rule stands so we
have a stable enough set of rules that we
can get the cleaned up rules out to the
membership. I do know that some of you
have pointed out possible proble ms with
the Sport 40 Division One motor rules,
as to what motors are legal under the
current set of rules. As I understand it
there may be issues relating to the carburetor and exactly how to measure it
and which ones are legal. In District
Eight we do not run the Division One
class, so I have to admit I am not as
familiar with the problems the new rule
has created as maybe I should be as your
Sport Chairman. I would appreciate it if
October 2004
PROPWASH
I could hear from those of you that race
the class as to how we can clean up the
Division One rules. I might suggest that
it would be much easier not only for the
racers but the contest directors if we had
a simple max bore size and dropped all
those rules that related to the cross
section of anything that protrudes into
the bore, but that’s up to you guys.
Please let me know your thoughts. I also
have been approached by several
members that would like to know if
“brand X” motor is legal. I would sure
love to have a list of motors that meet
the present rule requirements. If anyone
out there would be willing to put
together a list of known legal motors for
Division One please let me know. I am
not saying that a motor has to be on this
list to be legal, but rather a list we can
use so we know that if it is on the list we
know it is legal.
This year at the Nationals I had the
opportunity to race a class that I have
never run before. It was Gas Sport
Hydro. For some curious reason the gas
powered group came up with their own
set of rules that do not follow the traditional set of Sport Hydro Rules. One of
the key things that I see that has created
some friction is they specifically have a
Gas Outrigger Hydro class, which by it’s
very definition excluded many forms of
hydro such as a stepped monos, catamarans, etc. What happens is that due to
this the only place left for these hulls is
in Gas Sport Hydro. I know that the Gas
rules do not come under the Sport Hydro
rules, but from the grumbling I heard
from many of the racers that race the
class at the Nationals, the Gas Sport
Rules may need some work. Also I don’t
believe there is a formal set of NAMBA
National Gas Sport Hydro rules. Any of
you guys that race the Gas Sport Classes
that are concerned about the current
rules you need to get involved and not
just sit back and complain. I know that
your classes are some of the newest ones
in NAMBA, and you are still undergoing
growing pains. If I can be of any
assistance in helping with your Sport
Hydro Rules drop me a line.
Nationals. LeAnn Blake and Kim Grim
handled the class sponsorships and there
were about 750 boats entered by around
180 boaters. Considering the size, the
event ran very smoothly. Even the
awards banquet, officially the longest in
NAMBA history, went well. The results,
along with the winner’s pictures and
equipment description can be found
www.2004nambanationals.com, Chris
Wittrig’s outstanding Nationals’ web
site. It was impossible in an event this
size to pay attention to everything. I will
mostly talk about the people and races
that I observed.
A Gas Sport Hydro competes at the
2004 NAMBA Nats at Legg Lake
I guess that’s about it for now so I’m
off to the workbench to build a new Gas
Sport Hydro and Sport 40. Oh I almost
forgot, don’t forget to put February 7th
and 8th on your calendar if you own a
Sport 40–2 or Scale Hydro (or for that
matter tunnel boats). There is a great, not
to be missed, race in Fremont, California
called the Grand Prix Classic. I know
that it gets better every year, in not only
the racing but also in the after hours
activities. You can find more info at
http://www.namba9.net/Directory.htm
click on the Grand Prix Classic. I hope
that all of you got my new email address.
If not here it is ebourlet@msn.com.
Alan Terry, third from the left, picks the
brains of the big guns Mark Anderson,
Mike Hughes, and Eric Bourlet
District Eight, my home district,
arrived with a large group of boaters.
The quality varied from new NAMBA
Hall of Fame member, Mark Anderson,
to me. Mark mostly went to Disneyland
with his family, but managed to win A
OPC Tunnel impressively and help
everyone else do well.
2004 NAMBA Nationals
By Lohring Miller
Emerald R/C Boaters
My first experience with the NAMBA Nationals started in 1998 when my club
hosted the event. I impulsively decided to attend the Nationals in New Jersey the next
year and became hooked. The hospitality, the friendships, and the fun have only
increased over the years. I continue to reaffirm old friendships and make new ones at
this annual gathering. The California Nationals at Legg Lake was my seventh Nationals, but my first in the birthplace of NAMBA.
The event, put on by Tony Rhodes and Ralph Henry, with lots of help from the Los
Angeles area boaters, was the largest I have attended and NAMBA’s second largest
October 2004
Rich Hazlewood asks Jerry Dunlap how
his racing is going. Can you tell?
Jerry Dunlap had the worst luck I have
seen, with no awards in any of the
several classes he entered.
Continued on page 21
17
PROPWASH
Nats webmaster Chris Wittrig listens to CD
Tony Rhodes for last minute instructions
Alfred Lanza’s Spiderman
Pit Boss Tony Ojeda takes a well
deserved water break
The Race Site
Nats CD Ralph Henry finds a rare moment to
have some fun and pit for Richard Fish
The drivers stand area as seen from the back straight
The Scale Concourse and Unlimited Hydro
winner driven by Troy Davis
This Crackerbox couldn’t handle
the rough water
18
Joe Monohan and Mark Grim check
out the bearings on their O/B motors
Nobody knows how to relax with the TV
remote at a Nats like District Nine
October 2004
PROPWASH
Jerry Crowther and Darlene Novotney
The Aussie Invasion really knew how to entertain everyone
The Nats Banquet
President Alan Hobbs has a conversation
with model boaters from other districts
Thanks to Eric Bourlet, Joe Monohan,
Chris Wittrig, and Tony Rhodes for the
extra time they took out of their day to
provide the photos that we all have a
chance to enjoy.
District Nine’s Renee and Jim Piazza
are obviously having a good time
Aussie Justin Antoni is a professional
auction “caller”
Mark Anderson and Ralph Henry.
Congratulations or who can pull who?
October 2004
District Eight’s Dave Solway enjoys the food
with Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Dunlap
19
PROPWASH
Kids R Boaters Too
Megan Wittrig
Austin Johnson
Madeline Stark
Zach Waters
Anthony Gaines
Matthew Davey
Nicolle Wittrig
Aubree McKay
Austin Piazza
Chris Wautlet
Kirk Henderson
Dylan Waters
Matthew Rychalksy
Harrison Davis
Rylee Hilton
October 2004
20
PROPWASH
2004 NAMBA Nationals
(Continued from page 17)
I managed to finish a few heats and
scare Tony Rhodes in one heat of C OPC
Tunnel. Dave Solway was second in B
OPC Tunnel, but it took three powerheads. He had to have all of them inspected. He was also second to Mark in
A OPC Tunnel. Mike Hughes struggled
with a huge fleet of boats but won A
Outboard Hydro and was third in Sport
21. Eric Bourlet struggled in the tunnel
classes, but won Sport 40 and GX1 Sport
Hydro. He had fast times in both GX1
Mono and GX1 Sport Hydro. He also
had the shortest Gas Marathon run ever
when his boat died on the back straight
at the beginning of the race. Thanks,
Lenny Blake for the oil to mix up the
gallon of gasoline we should have
needed.
Jerry and Darlene explain to Dave what
it takes to win the Gas Marathon event
Team Seducer eventually won the
event after Russ Stark’s mono took a
dive while in the lead on about the 95th
lap. What these results don’t show was
the teamwork it takes to get there. Boats
were rebuilt with everyone’s parts, then
tested with propellers from the group
collection. Some days we were on the
water at 6:30 as well as after the racing
getting ready. I’m sure this was typical
of many other groups such as Seismic
Amigos. They not only did well, they
were responsible for a lot of the race
preparation and furnished many of the
race officials.
Speaking of groups, the Australians
were everywhere. At least 13 came to
Legg Lake for the Nationals. It’s hard to
travel half way around the world with
October 2004
very many boats, but they entered most
of the hydro and some of the mono
classes. Tony Grinter led the group with
The Australian team in action. You
couldn’t find a better bunch a blokes.
second places in G1 and GX1 Mono as
well as G1 and GX1 Outrigger. Who
knows how well he would have done if
his new Quickdraw had worked. Bill
Annabel’s beautiful twin was second in
Open Multi-engine and third in X Hydro.
All the Australians I have met know how
to have a good time, and this group was
not an exception. They were prominent
with their yellow and black shirts at all
the non-racing events as well as the
races. They extended an invitation to
everyone to attend the Australian
Nationals this Christmas.
Some other racers travel a long way
to attend the Nationals. Dave Rychalsky
seldom misses the Nationals even though
he lives in New Jersey. This year he
brought his whole family including his
mother and mother-in-law, as well as his
Frosted Flakes scale boat. Jerry
Crowther didn’t come with his usual
Florida group this year. However, he still
When Betty Overton makes the Nats, she
can be found in the radio impound
was a presence in all the mono classes
winning G1 and X Mono. His girl friend
and new racer, Darlene Novotney, also
did well. William and Betty Overton
drove out from New York to race Scale
and Sport 20. Betty also helped with the
radio impound and William helped with
the judging. The Midwest Engines
group, Cornell Cirilla and Bill Sydor,
always travel to the major gas racing
events around the country. This year
they brought Bob Kester as well. Bill
had unusual bad luck, and wasn’t as
prominent this year.
District Nine is always well represented at the Nationals. They had their
usual camp complete with satellite TV.
Alfred Lanza seemed to be racing in
every class, but his needle seemed too
lean when I was watching. This made
the first few laps fun to watch but it
takes six laps to win anything. Alfred
still finished enough times to win overall
high points. Alfred’s classic crackerbox,
Super Hero had my vote for the boat
with the most impressive paint job at the
Nationals. Speaking of paint, Troy Davis
bought a tunnel hull and listened patiently while I explained that the boat needed
to be painted. Then he showed me his
scale boat. He didn’t need any advice on
paint from me. Troy’s scale Miss Elam
won both the concourse and the heat race
final. Sport 40-1 seemed to be dominated
by District Nine boaters. Since I am
building one, I spent some time observing the Sport 40-1 racing. Jim Wilson
made a point about the modern rules by
dominating every heat with his Jett
engine powered boat. Ted Sterner was
second with a side exhaust K&B that
met the old rules. The Magnums,
Thunder Tigers, and other engines that
the rule makers hoped would revive the
class didn’t do as well. I hope the days
of a class that races under $100 engines
aren’t over.
The awards banquet was long but
well organized. Tony kept everything
under control and got raffle tickets sold,
prizes raffled off, speeches made, and
awards presented. At the end he presented the D Cup to Dave Bestpitch for his
spectacular twin hydro crash. Dave
promises to make it an annual award. Al
Hobbs made his farewell speech as
NAMBA President. He will be hard to
follow. The Nationals is over but my
memories will remain.
21
PROPWASH
Harrison Davis is in heavy concentration as Mike talks him through the turns
I do believe that sunglasses do make the
difference
Grandpa, I think that my Spiderman
boat hit a turtle!
Kids
In
Action
Chris Wautlet gets a little pit man help
from his brother Nick.
I don’t know what Zach Waters was
thinking. The boat’s in front of him.
Looks like father like daughter racing to
me.
22
Maddie Stark shows that it can be done
with her eyes closed. Well, almost!
Megan Wittrig shows that she is ready to
be a Seismic/Amigos racer
October 2004
PROPWASH
Dylan Waters negotiates turn two with
grandpa coaching for him
Aubree McKay shows her intensity
while racing
Matthew Davey drives his boat around
turn one whole dad shows his intensity
Austin Johnson waits for dad to get his
boat ready for the next heat
Veteran driver Kirk Henderson is on top
of things as dad Vince is right there
Rylee Hilton is definitely focused as his
boat travels the back straight
Anthony Gaines is doing well and
grandpa shows how pleased he is
Like father like son. Austin and Jim
Piazza are on the same wave length.
October 2004
Matthew Rychalksy and dad are pleased
that their boat is performing well
23
PROPWASH
Odds and Ends
By Cathie Galbraith
NAMBA Secretary
As this newsletter goes out our
members in Florida are dealing with a
succession of hurricanes and tropical
storms. I know that I join all other
members in wishing them well and
hoping that the storms do not hit close to
where they live, work, and play. I know
that a lot of sporting events have been
postponed down there, so I am assuming
that this could also be having an effect
on racing. It makes model boating seem
pretty inconsequential when you are
dealing with the safety of your family,
home, and possessions. Kind of puts life
into perspective, doesn't it? Again, we
wish all of our southern members the
best, and hope that this newsletter finds
them all safe and well. Hopefully all of
the stormy weather was past by the time
the Electric Nats rolled around in
October.
Well, the 2004 racing season is
coming to an end. Here in District 19,
our local club, the San Diego Argonauts
will have hosted the final district points
race by the time you read this newsletter.
I am sure that our district boaters are
already working on new boats for next
season. Of course, our club does hold a
series of club races which span the entire
12 months so our members are not quite
done yet. For those clubs who don’t have
club races you might want to consider it.
It not only provides that racing fix during the months that don’t have district
races, but it also provides great opportunities for tune up and general practice
and water time for newer boaters who
may not yet be brave enough to enter
district races. We even have quite a few
boaters who never do anything but club
races, and that is fine also. At least they
are enjoying the hobby and may someday venture into the district racing. Of
course, for those of you in colder
climates, year round racing is probably
not feasible. I guess we are spoiled with
our year round temperatures in the 70’s.
But you still might be able to hold club
races on non-district weekends. I hear a
lot of districts complain that attendance
is down. What better way to get new
boaters involved and participating that
24
by having activities at the grass roots
level.
Of course, there are many other
reason why attendance may be down in
any given year. Marriages and divorces,
new babies or grown children going out
on their own, job changes, new homes,
illnesses, all contribute to temporary
lifestyle changes. But it is surprising
how many previous boaters you see
coming back into the hobby at some
point later in their life. Recently two
boaters that I used to race with when
they were junior boaters returned to
NAMBA with all of their kids in tow.
And even though they now all live in a
different district they are actively
involved in racing again.
I personally have not done too much
racing this year as I have been involved
in a major home renovation and room
addition. I didn’t realize just how much
time and energy that could take. It has
also been fun trying to find things in the
many boxes that I had to pack to empty
out various rooms. I appreciate everyone’s patience when I couldn’t find
something because it was covered with
plastic sheeting. I hope to return to
racing full time next year.
2004 Nats
But I did take a two week hiatus from
remodeling to attend the Nats in Los
Angeles. I want to congratulate the
Nationals Committee for a great job.
Everything was well organized and for
the most part everything ran very
smoothly. Over 700 boats were entered
so it was a busy week of racing. But the
computerized score keeping instantly
had entrants apprised of just where they
stood in the points hunt. I volunteered to
keep the manual score sheets going up
on the drivers stand for the first day and
ended up being up there the whole week.
But it was fun, I got to see all of the
racing close up, and got to talk to all the
participants as they came up to race.
I also want to thank Tony Rhodes and
Ralph Henry for helping me with my
racing. They moved me lock, stock, and
boat to their pit area which was right
behind the drivers stand, made sure that I
was fueled, plugged, and ready to go for
each heat, and pit for me during the
races. Of course, I am sure that they had
the ulterior motive of making sure that I
would not have to spend much time
away from the drivers stand and the
score sheets. But seriously, I couldn’t
have done it without them. My B Mono
was running especially well, as I had a
first and a second in the first two heats.
But the old Murphy’s Law entered into
the equation.
In heat three, the boat started, went
out running fine, and then died in the
mill. When we couldn’t find anything
wrong, we richened it up for the next
heat. This time it didn’t get off the bench
and the engine wouldn’t turn over. I was
already figuring out how I could possibly afford a new engine for next year.
Well, after taking everything apart
after the race I was pleasantly surprised
to find that the engine was fine. It was
the Teflon insert in the shaft log that had
disintegrated and had bound up the
cable. No wonder the engine wouldn’t
turn over. I had to listen to all the
“experts” tell me that I shouldn’t have
had Teflon in there in the first place.
Okay, okay, it isn’t in there anymore.
But seriously, I want to thank everyone
who helped me with my boats. I also
want to thank Kelly Groul for talking me
into running in the first place and for
making sure that I was ready. I was
going to scratch and just enjoy helping
and watching. But he coerced me into
running and I am glad that he did.
2005 Nats
Now we can all look forward to the
2005 Nats in New Hampshire. I hope
that there will be a good turnout for them
as they host their first Nats. I for one
have never been to New Hampshire and
am looking forward to going if at all
possible. In fact, I would bet that outside
of District 11, very few members have
ever been to New Hampshire. What a
perfect excuse to visit New England!
Run you boats and see a new area all at
the same time. More will follow about
that Nats in the upcoming months.
October 2004
PROPWASH
Elections
Well, it is an even numbered year, so
that means that it is time for the even
numbered districts to elect their d istrict
director who will serve for the next two
years. Of those districts that have an
active racing program this would include
Districts 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. I have received one nominating petition for
District 8. These petitions had to be sent
to me by October 1st so that I could get
the ballots out to the district members.
Since no petitions were received from
some of these districts, we will assume
that the current director is willing to
serve another term.
A Visit to Eight
In June I visited Seattle to attend
three baseball games between the Padres
and the Mariners with good friends Kirk
and Betty McKee. First of all, I want to
thank them for their hospitality in inviting me to stay in their lovely home and
taking me to all three games. They were
even kind enough to let the Padres win
two of the games. I also got to meet their
“boys,” their two lovable bulldogs,
although I just missed meeting their new
little girl dog which they acquired right
after I left.
While I was there the dis trict was
holding one of their regular district
races. So Saturday we went out to the
race to help out before going to the game
in the evening. The race was held at one
of their sites that is on a family’s private
land. What a beautiful place! The lake is
large and surrounded by beautiful wooded areas. I enjoyed meeting a lot of the
district boaters that I had not met previously and seeing old friends that I had
met before. There is lots of family participation in this district, with girlfriends,
wives, and kids all racing boats. They
are a great bunch of boaters, so if you
ever get a chance to visit District Eight I
October 2004
suggest you attend one of their races.
Next time I might even try to figure out a
way to take a boat with me on the plane.
Membership Renewals
It is fast approaching that time when
memberships are due for renewal. A
renewal form is included with this
newsletter as we start taking renewals on
November 1st . Try to get your membership in early, before the rush of the holidays, so that you don’t run the risk of
losing your number. Any new member
joining after November 1st will get the
rest of 2004 and all of 2005 for the same
membership fee. So if you know of
someone who is just waiting until next
year to join, have them send it in around
November 1st and they will get two
bonus months of membership.
No matter how many times people are
reminded that if they do not renew by
December 31st they might lose their
numbers, I still have people who renew
late or skip a couple of years and then
yell at me because I have to give them a
different number. They lament that they
have numbers painted on all of their
boats and ask me if I know how much a
new paint job will cost. Yes, as a matter
of fact I do. And I guarantee you that the
cost of renewing on time is less than the
cost of the paint job. So get those
renewals in on time.
Whoops!
In the last newsletter we indicated
that corrected rulebook pages were
included to make the updated mono/
hydro section two sided instead of one.
Then we forgot to include them.
Hopefully we will get them included
with this issue.
Well, I guess that is about all for now.
Hope you all have a great rest of 2004
and a terrific holiday season.
The District Director
By Dave Rychalsky
NAMBA Nationals Chairman
Ahh, the District Director! This is the
most powerful position in your district,
next to the Contest Director. In order to
run model boats in NAMBA, each
District must have a Director to help
guide the members to operate under the
auspices of NAMBA. The District
Director is the only elected district
position that really matters when it
comes to the future of model boating.
Even though our members will always
help new people in the hobby, the
Director is the one who usually has a
good grip on the activities throughout
his/her district, as well as across
NAMBA.
Back in the mid to late 80’s, District
One, which covered New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, Delaware, Maine, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and
Washington DC, was the largest district
in NAMBA. By largest, I mean the most
paid members, not territory. Southern
California, District 19 was very close in
district membership for NAMBA. Many
of the other districts were smaller, but
also had a great core of dedicated
NAMBA proponents that helped
NAMBA grow. During the early 1990’s,
it became obvious that the best for model
boating in the northeast was to divide the
existing District One into two separate
districts. The New England states
became District 11, which helped out the
attendance in all of their races.
When I joined NAMBA in 1984,
Doug Twaits, Sr. was the District
Director. At every race, Doug was there:
Mono/Hydro, Deep Vee/Offshore,
Outboard, Scale/Sport Hydro, all had
entries with one or more boats from
Doug. I recall the days when A Mono
and A Hydro had 25 to 30 boats each,
entered in every race! Down at our
Baltimore site, if you didn’t mail your
entries two weeks in advance, you didn’t
make the 180 boat cut and were left out!
So, what does it take to grow a district
into an interactive entity of model
boating enthusiasts? A ton of hard work
and dedication. Being the District
Continued on page 26
25
PROPWASH
The District Director
(Continued from page 25)
Director of a fast upcoming district
means countless hours of phone calls,
meeting preparations, newsletter writing,
and a wide array of organization skills.
Doug had developed a good team of
class chairmen who helped maintain
scores and oversee the growth of their
respective class. However, Doug was the
one who set up two district meetings a
year, the yearly Awards Banquet,
printed/mailed the District One newsletter, The Driveline, purchased the
District Championship Awards,
purchased the Class Champion Tee
shirts, answered countless calls from
boaters, promoted each class, settled
disputes before/during/after the races,
provided guidance to every newcomer to
the hobby, and successfully raced in
every hydro class we had! For the last 10
years, Doug has promoted Fast Electrics
to be a prominent staple for model boating across the country. The Electricpowered model boating faction is now a
self sufficient entity all on its own.
When I ran for District Director, the
New England states were already off and
running; however, our membership was
down to 354 and we were starting to
experience a drop in race attendance.
Talking to a number of boaters who
dropped out of the “circuit,” I encountered a variety of reasons for skipping
races. Anywhere from being burnt out on
model boating, working the weekends,
supporting the kids in sports, were some
of the answers I came across. I was a
Two term director in the mid 90’s, and
have seen yet another big drop in
attendance/membership into the year
2000 and even today. We have lost the
use of at least eight different race ponds
that were once prosperous in model
boating. No one seems to have a
26
The Propwash
common reason, but we still maintain an
effort to grow in NAMBA. One thing for
sure is that we all have a great time at
each race.
During my term, I vividly remember
the telephone calls and letters from a few
members who constantly had issues with
one thing or another in boating. One
instance was when I was arriving at the
Kennedy park race site in Sayreville, NJ.
One boater was chasing my car as I
drove around the parking lot looking for
an open spot! He wanted to be sure to
tell me to yell at another boater for
driving poorly at an earlier event last
month! Some of the guys drove me
absolutely crazy! Another boater was
visibly ticked at me because I didn’t
invite him to our “Ice Boat Rigger” races
in the winter! He read an article I wrote
in the Propwash discussing a fun time
we had racing model boats made from
colored frozen water. Perhaps I should
have clued him in on the fact that I made
the article up! Anyway, I guess I was
lucky because I only had to deal with a
smaller group in District One. I honestly
don’t know how Doug made it through
every race with the onset of work, rule
questions, and issues that were thrust
upon him. I tip my hat to the best
District Director we have had: Doug
Twaits, Sr. If you have a chance, take a
look at the NAMBA website, and click
on the link for NAMBA’s Hall of Fame.
One of the most deserving members that
was ever inducted into NAMBA’s
prestigious category occurred in 1986!
All of us that are still racing today
can thank Doug for putting the extra
effort years ago to set a baseline for
model boating on the east coast in
NAMBA.
Thanks Doug!
NAMBA International
1815 Halley Street
San Diego, CA 92154
(619) 424-6380
Fax - (619) 424-8845
e-mail cathieg@ix.netcom.com
Editors
Cathie Galbraith
Al Waters
Newsletter Contributors
Eric Bourlet
Jack Ditta
Jerry Dunlap
Louie Gerdik
Richard Grenier
Alan Hobbs
Lohring Miller
Herb Neelman
Dave Neelman
Charlie Ott
Tony Rhodes
Dave Rychalsky
Kelly Stout
Doug Twaits
Keith Warham
This newsletter is sent to all
members free of charge as a part of
their membership. All articles
contained herein may be reproduced as
long as proper credit is given as to
author and publication source.
October 2004
2005
NAMBA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
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PLEASE NOTE: Print all information clearly. In the event of an accident, this form becomes a legal form. Please do not use it for
personal notations. Where any doubt of spelling of the name and address occurs, the form will be returned to the maker, and the membership held up. Please keep in mind that the member is not insured until the request and the fee for insurance have been properly filed
with an authorized NAMBA official.
Enclosed please find $
to enroll me in the NAMBA modeler’s insurance plan.
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