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 Post subject: Racing with the big boys
PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 6:04 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
This weekend every year they have the annual Superboat races in Sarasota ( http://superboat.com/2014-sarasota-schedule/ )
My wife never lets me go out on this weekend, however she had to work today so I went out and ran the race course with the big boys. Well I got halfway thru the course then chickened out. They were out practicing today for the big race tomorrow. Unfortunately there was little to no wind (around 4-6mph and that's it), plus about 2 ft chop offshore, so it was pretty rough out there. So I didn't try to race anybody (lol).
This is the race course:
Image

I had an absolute blast, here is a video of some of the boats going past me:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diW8EwXep20[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diW8EwXep20

Actually it was pretty cool some of the racers were taking pics of me.

I think it rates as an adventure.

Bob


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:28 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:33 pm
Posts: 338
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
An adventure to be amongst those monsters.
I hope you weren't eying off the OBs on Porta Products.com.
I'm sure they use a little more fuel.

I'm looking at the setup for the two Hondas you have.
I have a 2 stroke which is ok for the mainly inland waters as far as reliability.
Trouble is, the noise and no clutch. So I'm contemplating a single Honda.

Looks like you lock the Hondas straight ahead and have some plastic tubing
attached to allow you to adjust speed from front seat of the TI. Is that
working ok? Do you have to go to the back seat to tilt the motors for
shallow water. Is a single motor noisy from the back seat?

_________________
Cheers, Brian in South Australia
Tandem Island -
Image


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 11:02 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Brian:
I have an unusual setup, because I only use the motors for supplemental propulsion. I have really high pitch props on the motors and only run them just about idle (just high enough rpm to engage the prop clutches (around 1/4 throttle max). As a result the engines are extremely quiet. Because I have the high pitch props on there, at that RPM the boat with no sails at all on flat water cruises along at 7-8 mph. Because the engines are operating at close to idle I get huge fuel economy, about 3-3 1/2 hrs of run time per 1 liter tank of gas. At WOT 1 tank lasts about 1 hr (Honda's published economy, which I tested and got the same results). With a single Honda the boat goes about 5-6mph at 1/4 throttle with the 7 inch pitch props installed. I never run the motors without my sails up trying to sail as best I can.
The motors are surprisingly quite and its hard to hear them from the front seat, in the video they are both running. I usually only sit in the front, I had my daughter out with me a few weeks back and she couldn't stand sitting in the back seat ( a motor in each ear), and we couldn't talk much with her back there so she spent most of the day up on the tramps.
I used to have a rope rig thing that I could tilt the motors up from the front seat, and also another rope rig so I could start them from the front seat, but ended up taking them off after a short time (too much messing around, and too many lines). However the pvc tubing I have running up front for the throttles works great, I also have kill switches up there (ropes that I tug on to kill the engines), I also have a tether that I hook to myself, if I fall overboard it kills the engines.

I designed and went out and bought all the stuff to hook the steering and motor tilt stuff up just like a real powerboat, so I could run everything from the front seat but then decided not to bother (too much work).
What I have works fine, is easy and simple, if my rudder ever fails, I left the tiller on one of the motors so if in a pinch I can steer home with the motor if the rudder breaks.

In that video if you look closely at the Porta products Merc engines, they have decals on them that say 2.5, the decals on my Hondas say 2.3 so I was preparing for an epic Honda vs Merc battle, we stayed neck and neck for quite a while, but then we left the no wake zone he was gone ( LOL).

With the motors I typically drop them down and start them when I launch, then just let them idle until I need them, then when I come in I just let the bottom tilt the motors up when I beach (the props don't spin at all when idling), I then get out and kill the motors and tilt them up.

I do have to stop and refuel every 30 miles or so, or about 3 hrs of sailing in very light winds, (each tank carries 1 liter of fuel) I carry 2 2/3 gallons of fuel on board, which should get me quite a ways if needed.
I have no idea what all this means, I just have a blast going out every weekend getting my exercise (I pedal 100% of the time). My exercise program is to pedal my boat at least 15 miles per week, and have been doing that faithfully for almost 4 yrs now. However there is nothing written in my exercise plan on how long it should take so devised a way to get all my exercise done in 1-1.5 hrs vs about 8 hrs when I started. I keep tinkering until I can get it under 30 minutes (LOL).
Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 9:02 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:33 pm
Posts: 338
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Thanks Bob.
Sounds like a good compromise all round.
I like your simple solutions so when the Mrs complains about the noise,
I'll tell her to sit on the tramp with the dog or buy me an early Honda Christmas present.

I'll rig the extension. My kill switch is probably the same on a short lanyard that
I can extend to the front seat and attach to myself. Lacking that clutch at idle
is my biggest bug bear although I will try killing the motor before hitting the sand.

What it all means is that another TI will be set up well and you may have just
saved my TI motoring over the horizon with me in the water watching.

Cheers, Brian.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 6:20 am 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Brian:
When I was out with my daughter she sat in the front seat for a while and drove the boat and I sat in the back. Just like when she was little we would always go flying and she always drove the plane, brought back lots of fond memories, she is all grown up now and I don't get to see her much.
To make a long story short (too late) , I couldn't hear her talk from the back seat with both motors running WOT about 2-3 miles offshore in 15 mph winds and 3 ft chop with all the sails full out. We could hear each other fine if I scooted up and sat on the rear hatch cover (with the mirage drive removed). One cool thing about sailing with the motors is in rough seas and sailing a really close reach the boat normally stops whenever you hit a big wave, with the motors running you plow thru them and the boat doesn't slow down. However it is a very wet white knuckle ride. TI's are awesome boats. Actually we went to a forth of July party and I talked to a guy who saw us out there, who works at one of the resorts (he runs the Hobie cat rental at the resort) and said he was really impressed and thought my boat was awesome, and asked how in the heck are you able to sail directly into the wind at those speeds, he had apparently never seen anything like it before, just goes to show it's a small world.
Bob

Disclaimer: keep in mind my TI is heavily hardened for offshore use (don't try this at home (lol)).


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:03 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:43 am
Posts: 483
Location: Long Island NY
Totally wacky being out with those boys .. no wonder your wife forbade it

ME LIKEY !!!

(kinda like when I had walking pneumonia and my wife, an RN, forbade me from taking the AI out the day after a hurricane passed by. I had a Dr. appt that morning and had him write me a script for "OK to go Sailing after Hurricane"

:mrgreen: ... Showed her !!

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Alan W.

Papaya AI2 to replace my well worn V1
TheTwins - His/Hers 2007 Papaya Hobie Adventure Island's (v1.00.01)
.. and a Hobie Outback SUV


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