| Archived ERCU Newsletters |
8/31/10
Nelson Holmberg's photos of this past weekend's Stan Sayres Memorial have been posted to the Photos page. If you're interested in copies of any of these photos, please email Nelson, who will send you the pictures you request, free of charge.
FYI hydro collectors and dealers of collectibles, Bob Senior is hosting a hydroplane memorabilia swap meet on Saturday. September 11 from 2-4 p.m., at the Stan Sayres Pits. No charge for buyers or sellers, but bring your own table & chair.
The August edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
URGENT UPDATE: The race is still scheduled for this Sunday, but there are problems with the clubhouse that will prevent its use, so bring generators, just to be safe. Some power may be available from other buildings, so if you have some long extension cords, bring those along too. More information should be available later this afternoon, so stay tuned.
Sunday is the day for the next race for ERCU and ESU. While set-up will commence at 8 a.m., to honor the host’s request there will be no running, generator use or other loud noise allowed before 10 a.m.. We have access to the clubhouse power, first-come-first-served, but generators are a good alternate power source at this venue.
Ron Daum had a good experience at the NAMBA Fast Electric Nationals in Greeley, Colo., the past couple of days, and he represented ERCU very well.
On Friday, when the schedule had 1/10-scale modern unlimited hydroplanes on the docket, the day started out with six boats registered, but after half of them scratched, Daum's 2003 Llumar Window Films proved to be the most consistent and solid boat of the day. Daum took first place, winning all three heats to claim the national title. Second place went to Jay Stoltz (Michigan) with his Atlas Van Lines model, while third went to Gary Rose (Arizona) with a model of the Gale's Roostertail.
When Saturday dawned, Daum had a chance to complete a sweep of the 1/10-scale unlimited hydroplane championships in a field that started with 10 vintage hydros, and suffered four scratches. In the six boat competiton, Daum's Wildroot Charlie proved to be one of the best boats in the fleet and had a chance to win the national championship, but in his own words, Daum, "once again, I managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."
That said, Daum did finish second in the vintage division. First place went to Chuck Alarid (Colorado) with his Short Circuit and third went to Fred Siewert (Michigan) with his Notre Dame.
In the councorse, Daum's Wildroot Charlie was voted second place behind Tom Costello's (Michigan) My Sweetie.
With two podium finishes, Daum did a great job of representing ERCU — the largest 1/10-scale unlimited hydroplane club in the world — at NAMBA Nationals. Congrats Ron!
The next race on the 2010 Red Dot Championship Series for ERCU is the Stan Sayres Memorial Trophy, the oldest R/C trophy in the history of scale model boat racing.
Mark your calendar for Sunday, August 29 for the race, to be held at the Cherokee Bay Community Club in Maple Valley. The trailer will arrive at 8 a.m., but due to noise considerations testing will commence at 10 a.m., so a leisurely set-up and registration period can be enjoyed.
Our resident chef, Dan Gilmore, promises to have coffee started early, and will be providing his usual luncheon feast for the attendees. Rumor has it that several salads will also be added to the menu.
The 1/7-scale boats will be coming out of hibernation after a nearly two-month hiatus to join the fray, so there will be lots of racing activity through the day. The drivers meeting will be held about 10:45 with racing scheduled to start at 11 a.m. The three-minute clock will be used as necessary to keep the event moving. 1/10-scale vintage boats can use any prop, to allow the boat to be better prepared for the following race, the Gold Cup on September 19.
There are three races remaining on the schedule, so plan to attend to keep your registrations active if you are short of the required three appearances, or if you just want to have an enjoyable day at the lake.
It is with sorrow and regret that we share news of the passing of Bob VandenAkker’s mother Joanne, who left us last night after a prolonged illness. Joanne enjoyed our boats, and was even a member of the club - by ownership of the Nitrogen that Bob occasionally raced each year. Our sympathy, best wishes and prayers are offered to Bob as he goes through the grieving process.
As we get back to ERCU action this weekend, with Ben Keller's inaugural running of the ERCU Apple Cup, it's time for yet another race preview.
The Apple Cup, for 1/10-scale unlimited hydroplanes, will be run Saturday, Aug. 14 at Bellevue Pond in beautiful downtown Bellevue. The race will be the usual format — three sets of preliminary heats, and first and second connies as boat count allows, along with winner-take-all championship finals.
This is an open prop race for all boats.
A special feature for after the race: Under Keller's direction, a special heat will be held. This one will be a re-enactment of the 1960 Apple Cup, run on Lake Chelan. That heat featured current ERCU participants Miss Burien, Miss Everett, Hawaii Ka'i III, Miss Thriftway and Miss Bardahl. If we need to fill our the field for the re-enactment, any vintage class boat that ran during the 1960 season will be eligible.
There will be a prize for the winner of the 1960 Apple Cup re-creation as well...and the winner of Ben's trivia question from the July newsletter "Stat Geek Column" will also be awarded his prize.
Three new registrations emerged on Sunday at Seafair when Mike Webster's U-22 became known as "Great Scott", Dr. Ken Muscatel's U-25 Miss Car Pros, and Dave Bartush's "Miss Jillians". All of the new registrations that came from Seafair this weekend will be added to the ERCU Master Hull Roster, and photos will be added to the website when they become available.
Thanks to Ted Porter and the folks at Washington Truck Dispatch, there's another new registration for the U-57, driven by N. Mark Evans in Seattle today. The U-57 is now also known as the 2010 Washington Truck Dispact U-57.
Another new registration came clear today when Fred Leland's U-100 was sponsored for Seafair by Lays Kettle Cooked (potato chips). Looks like more and more snack food companies are starting to get interested in unlimited hydroplane racing.
BIG BOAT NEWS: This just in from the Pacific, Wash., boat shop of Ron Jones Jr. and Dr. Ken Muscatel: Repairs on the U-25 Car Pros are nearly complete. The decks were being put on the boat tonight, after the right canoe of the boat was repaired. Significant damage to the canoe was a result of an accident at Tri-Cities, which kept the boat from competing after heat 1B. Muscatel had qualified the boat as the fourth-fastest in the field at a little over 157 mph, and it was running better than it ever had.
If the boat runs in Seattle this weekend, it will be another new registration for the 0925 hull number on the ERCU Master Hull Roster.
Mark Gran, captured digitally by Bill Smiley, at Country Cousin, on the way home from the Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup. The big question is: could he actually get his mouth around that entire burger?
Red Dot Corporation is known as a hydro-friendly company, as title sponsor of the U-17 Miss Red Dot, and as a temporary home/work space for some of the Indiana-based teams when they come to Seattle after the Tri-Cities race.
It is entirely possible that for the span of time between Tri-Cities and Seattle races, Red Dot could be known as "HydroTown".
This year is no exception, as Gary Hansen shows us with a couple of photos of the Precision Performance Engineering, LLC Racing Team (U-5 Formula Boats, U-7 Graham Trucking and U-57 Formula Boats) hydros and haulers being stationed at Red Dot headquarters in Kent. Thanks Gary and Red Dot!
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Four more new registrations were born this past weekend in the Tri-Cities. Those boats are:
- U-25 Superior Racing Team
- U-37 Miss Peters & May (backup)
- U-57 Formula Boats
- U-100 Fleury Auto & Truck Parts
The club's Master Hull Roster will be updated soon, to reflect these hulls, and will be posted on the website. Stay tuned, we'll alert you when it's posted.
The July edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
Here's a short video that was shot at the Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup last weekend in Tualatin, and shared with us by Carl Switzer of the Tualatin Parks & Recreation Department. Thanks Carl! We appreciate your help with the Lake of Tualatin Commons every year.
Click here to see the video.
Continuing on the theme of a model hydroplane guy living a dream; ERCU & Classic Thunder racer Jon Zimmerman has been named the driver of the U-37 Miss Peters & May for the rest of the season as the Schumacher Racing Team has leased one of Fred Leland's hulls (No. 00100: the same one Dr. Ken Muscatel leased last season), for the rest of the year. The information below is from the U-37 website.
"The U-37 Miss Peters and May Race team is proud to announce Jon Zimmerman will be filling in for JW Myers for the remainder of the 2010 season. Jon is a 5 Litre world record holder and previously ran this season for Ken Muscatel and the U-25 team in Madison, Ind.
"Billy and Jane Schumacher would like to thank Ken Muscatel for the opportunity to work with Jon Zimmerman. “We thought Jon looked great running the U-25 in Madison and are very excited for him to join our team.”
"JW Myers who was injured in an accident in Detroit and will sit out the next few races felt Jon was a good fit for this team. 'I have watched Jon race for several years and he has done a great job in anything I have seen him race. He doesn’t open himself up for mistakes.'
"Jon is excited to fill in for JW in the “Red, White and Blue” Leland hull the U-37 team is leasing for the rest of the 2010 season. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with crew chief Scott Raney on a professional level after racing inboards with him for years. I would also like to thank Ken Muscatel for allowing me to work with the U-37. He gave me a chance to pursue my dreams with the U-25 team and I’m very grateful for that.” Jon who is 45 years old lives in Maple Valley, Washington with wife JoAnne and 4 year old son Jack. Please go to www.u-37.com for more information on Jon’s driving career."
A recent review of the rule book indicated that the organizers of this weekend's Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup jumped the gun a bit in announcing the format for this Saturday's race. There's no stipulation in the rule book that allows a CD to change the points structure, so as a result, the Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup will not be run under the Fan Plan, as originally announced. It's also a case where qualifying cannot be made mandatory.
As announced at the Bernie Little Memorial drivers meeting, there will still be a qualifying session for the race, though voluntary, with cash prizes for the fastest qualifiers in the modern and vintage classes. There will also be a cash prize for a slow qualifier in both classes. A drawing will be held of the slowest six boats in the qualifying ladder to award this prize.
What's still undecided is how heats will be drawn. There's some consideration of randomly drawing heats as normal, but there's also still some thought of seeding boats into heats using qualifying times and season points. A decision will be made, and announced, no later than Wednesday of this week.
Graupner K45 props are still required for vintage boats at this race.
Regardless, the event — which is the final race before a month-long break for the Tri-Cities and Seattle big boat races — promises to be very fun with a number of cash prizes still available, including a gas card that will be awarded through a random drawing.
Additionally, Merrick Lentz Architect is presenting the Second Annual Straightaway Speed Challenge. After the race, any driver who would like to participate in the Straightaway Challenge may run his boat. Each boat will be given three passes through the radar trap, and the best speed will be recorded toward the standings. Top boats in both modern and vintage will be given cash prizes. For the Straightaway Speed Challenge, vintage boats are allowed to use any prop they choose.
Questions? Contact CD Nelson Holmberg by email.
The next race on the Red Dot Championship Series is the Bernie Little Memorial – being hosted for the seventh consecutive year by Mike and Jeff Campbell on Saturday, July 10 at Bellevue Downtown Park in Bellevue, Wash. Race set up will begin at 7:45 a.m., on race day, and the event will consist of three preliminary heats, with connies and a winner-take-all final championship heat for both modern and vintage classes. Also note that any prop is legal for vintage boats at this race. The weather promises to be great, so plan to spend the day in the park-like setting running fast and turning left.
Only two ERCU'ers have entered the NAMBA Nationals with 1/10-scale modern hydroplanes so far. If you're intending to enter the race, please remember to do so. The deadline has been extended to July 19. You can find out all of the information you need online at http://www.2010fenambanats.com/.
So far there are no other modern entries and the current schedule has modern running on Friday, August 20. Without another entry, that won’t happen.
As Ron Daum correctly says, "Heck, we made the thing big, we are the first, the biggest and the best and we wrote rules too. Only two entries from District 8 is no way for ERCU and CT to represent."
Red Dot Corporation announced today that it will return as the title sponsor for the U-17 Our Gang Racing unlimited hydroplane for races in Detroit, Tri-Cities, and Seattle.
The U-17 Miss Red Dot will compete for the ABPA Gold Cup in Detroit on July 9-10; the Columbia Cup in Tri-Cities, Wash., on July 23-25; and the Albert Lee Cup on August 6-8 in Seattle. The events are part of the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane series.
“What made this possible was the support from several of our key business partners. Spal USA, Fastenal, TCCI, Eaton Aero Quip, and OSI Consulting all stepped up to support the return of the Miss Red Dot,” said Gary Hansen, vice president at Red Dot, a Seattle-based manufacturer of climate control products for heavy-duty vehicles.
Red Dot was a title sponsor during the construction and first season of the U-17 and has continued to support Our Gang Racing as an associate sponsor. Our Gang Racing, led by Nate Brown and based in Preston, Wash., has been racing on the H1 Unlimited circuit since 2007.
“We are very excited to have this agreement in place in time for the Gold Cup,” Hansen said. “We wish Nate and Our Gang Racing all the success this weekend. We are very proud to support such a terrific team once again.”
The company is also title sponsor of ERCU's Red Dot Championship Series.
Red Dot designs and builds premium climate control components, integrated systems, replacement parts, and aftermarket units for vehicles in demanding work environments all over the world. Based in Seattle, Red Dot has approximately 400 employees in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and China, and more than 175 aftermarket distributor locations in North America.
The Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup is back, and it’s set to run at the Lake of Tualatin Commons in Tualatin, Ore., on Saturday, July 17.
It’s the last ERCU race before a month-long break in the schedule for the big boat races in Tri-Cities and Seattle – and with a different format, it promises to be a lot of fun – so it’s most certainly a race that should not be missed.
Thanks to Island Hobbies, a number of cash prizes, including a gas card, will be awarded throughout the day.
Setup will begin at 7 a.m., with registration set to open at 8 a.m., and testing to begin as soon as boats are registered for the event. Rick Lentz will serve as pit boss, while Mick Shutt will be the driver’s rep.
Vintage boats are required to use stock (out of the bag) Graupner K45 propellers during qualifying and racing.
To shake things up just a bit, the Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup will feature a format completely different from most other ERCU events – the Fan Plan, which was used in the 1974 Gold Cup at Sand Point in Seattle. In this format, boats of similar speeds will be grouped together in the same preliminary heats all day long (for example: the fastest boats will run together during all prelims, and so on).
This year, a mandatory qualifying session will be held to determine the heat draws, with boats placed according to the times they turn in during qualifying.
For the purpose of keeping the event organized and moving, there will be a few rules governing qualifying. These rules are:
• Qualifying is mandatory for entry into the event.
• A qualifying run is defined as two penalty-free laps following one warm up lap (which consists of launch, go around the right turn, down the back stretch, and around the left turn. Once a boat crosses the start finish line, it’s “on the clock”).
• There is no limit on the number of qualifying attempts, but boats that have not yet qualified have the right-of-way to the water.
• Two stopwatches will be used for timing qualifying runs. The average time between the two watches will be recorded. Best qualifying speed from all of a boat’s runs will count.
• The course will be closed for testing during the qualifying session. One boat at a time is allowed on the water during qualifying.
• The next boats in line should be ready to go (this means the driver on the stand and boat on the crane) as soon as the previous boat finishes its run.
• Qualifying order is first-come-first served. If you skip your turn after requesting a spot, you will be moved to the bottom of the list.
• Registration will be open from 8-9:30 a.m.
• Open water, for testing (no runs will be timed), is open from 8-9 a.m., and boats may test once they are registered.
• Qualifying session: 9-10:30 a.m.
• Open water, for testing (no runs will be timed) from 10:30-11 a.m.
• Race officials will compute qualifying times and finalize heat placement from 10:30-11 a.m.
• Drivers meeting at 11 a.m. at official tower.
• Modern heat 1A (faster qualifiers) will begin at 11:15 a.m.
• Boats will run in the same section (A, B or C) for all three preliminary heats.
• The final heat participants will be the top 4 from the A section and top two from the B section if 12 or fewer boats are entered, or 3 from A, 2 from B and 1 from C if more than 12 boats.
• All boats not in the final qualify for consolation heats as usual, placement based on total points earned for the day. Connie winners will move up as the trailer in the next heat (i.e. second connie winners are trailers in the first connie; first connie winners are trailers in the finals)
In order to ensure there’s no “sandbagging” in the qualifying session, points distribution will also follow the real boats Fan Plan format. Points in preliminary heats will be distributed as follows:
Place |
A |
B |
C |
1 |
400 |
300 |
225 |
2 |
300 |
225 |
169 |
3 |
225 |
169 |
127 |
4 |
169 |
127 |
95 |
5 |
127 |
95 |
71 |
6 |
95 |
71 |
53 |
7 |
71 |
53 |
40 |
Points will be distributed as per normal ERCU procedures in the connies and finals.
After the race is over, the Straightaway Speed Challenge will return, in which vintage boats may use any prop they desire to take three runs through a radar trap, to record speeds for a cash prize. Modern boats will also have three runs through the trap for a cash prize.
Good sportsmanship and observance of the ERCU racing rules will again be held in high regard. Any concerns or questions regarding a ruling by a race official WILL be handled by the driver’s representative as a point of contact. Complaining about calls on the drivers stand, or directly to the contest director, chief referee, turn judges or anyone else, will not be tolerated and will be penalized as appropriate, as authorized by the ERCU rule book.
Oregon Emerald Cup CD Nelson Holmberg is happy to announce today that Island Hobbies of Vancouver, Wash., has renewed its title sponsorship of ERCU's July 17 race at the Lake of Tualatin Commons. The race will be officially known as the Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup.
Island Hobbies (www.islandhobbies.us), provides a great selection of parts, pieces, plugs, props and more for boats. They're also an authorized dealer of Himax motors. Island Hobbies is located at 13503 SE Mill Plain, Suite 6, in Vancouver. Their phone number is 360-891-5572. If they don't have what you're looking for in stock, they're happy to order items for you, some of them can even be delivered directly to your home.
Because of Island Hobbies' support of our race, we'll be able to bring back the Straightaway Speed Challenge after the race is over, and will be able to provide a number of extra prizes throughout the course of the day.
If you haven't yet made plans for Saturday, July 17, it's time to make plans to attend the Island Hobbies Oregon Emerald Cup in Tualatin, Ore.
With the Oregon Emerald Cup coming up after the Bernie Little Memorial on the ERCU Red Dot Championship Series, we at www.e-rcu.org headquarters figured it would be a good idea to provide a little history on the event. Modeled after the real race, which was held about 25 miles east of Eugene, Ore., the upcoming model race is set for Saturday, July 17 at the Lake of Tualatin Commons.
Seattle's Billy Schumacher piloted Dave Heerensperger's Pride of Pay 'n Pak around Dexter Lake's 2½-mile unlimited course August. 15, 1971 to sweep all three heats and win the Oregon Emerald Cup, 1,200 points toward the national unlimited title and the lion's share of a $15,000 purse. It was Oregon's first, and only, unlimited event and was sponsored by the Eugene Jaycees.
Pride of Pay 'n Pak moved into third place nationally behind Miss Budweiser (Dean Chenoweth) and Miss Madison (Jim McCormick), but he had a long way to go. As the season waned, Miss Bud had 6,996 points; Miss Madison, 6,313; Pride of Pay 'n Pak, 6,017, and Atlas Van Lines, Bill Muncey, 5,595.
Schumacher toured the Dexter course at 109 mph in the final heat but was under his qualifying mark of 112 mph set the day before. He announced then that he intended to win the Dexter races, where his only real competition was McCormick, who drove the community-owned 13-year-old Miss Madison for three second places and 900 points. Schumacher ruled in heats 1A and 2A and Chenoweth and Muncey took heats 1B and 2B, respectively. Bill Muncey was fined $200 for violation of an APBA rule concerning unsportsmanlike conduct after an argument with referee Bill Newton. (History provided by www.lesliefield.com).
OREGON EMERALD CUP TRIVIA: We are aware of just two current ERCU members who were in attendance at the real 1971 Oregon Emerald Cup. Can you name them? Email the webmaster with your answers.
With today having been the first day of the first race of the 2010 season, a number of new boats are now eligible to be built in ERCU, after having run for the first time today. Another, the U-57 Formulaboats.com, is expected to run tomorrow, and we're awaiting a clarification on the 2010 U-13 as to whether it qualifies as a new registration or not. The other three boats, not listed below — U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto, U-5 Formula Boats, and the U-7 Graham Trucking — are simply renewals to the Master Hull Roster, not boats available for new registrations. For now, however, the complete list is below.
If you're interested in registering any of these boats, contact ERCU's Registrar, Henry Marvin, who will let you know details of the draw procedure.
Hull # |
U# |
Year |
Boat Name/Notes |
0925 |
U-25 |
2010 |
Boyland Nissan (Low profile cowling/no rear wing) |
0717 |
U-17 |
2010 |
Cruisin' Auto (fairings moved further apart, longer horizontal stabilizer) |
0721 |
U-21 |
2010 |
Miss Albert Lee (new paint job, new primary hull to team) |
0203 |
U-3 |
2010 |
go3racing.com |
0116
|
U-96 |
2010 |
Spirit of Qatar (new paint job, new sponsor, new name) |
9899 |
U-100 |
2010 |
Leland Unlimited |
9703 |
U-22 |
2010 |
Miss Broadway (checkered wings) |
9401 |
U-37 |
2010 |
Miss Peters & May (new paint job, new sponsor, new name) |
Bernie Little passed away on April 25, 2003, but his legacy in unlimited hydroplane racing lives on. Hydroplanes, Inc., his racing organization, continues in Tukwila – this past winter at least two boats were there for significant repairs and a number of turbines were dyno’d there as well.
Bernie Little was the most successful owner in unlimited hydroplane racing history. His Miss Budweiser team won 134 of the 354 hydroplane races it entered. Miss Budweiser won the high points championship 22 years in 40 years of competition, and the Gold Cup 14 times.
And nearly every model racing club around runs a Bernie Little Memorial annually.
ERCU is one of those clubs, but no other club can claim its own strong ties to Bernie and Miss Budweiser racing as Mike & Jeff Campbell and Mike McIntosh.
And that brings us to the next race on the Red Dot Championship Series, as the Campbell brothers are putting on the next race – the seventh annual Bernie Little Memorial –Saturday, July 10 at Bellevue Downtown Park in Bellevue, Wash. The Bellevue race course is one of the smallest courses among the club’s race sites
Race set up will begin at 7:45 a.m. on race day, and the event will consist of three preliminary heats, with connies and a winner-take-all final championship heat for each class. Also of note is the fact that any prop is legal for vintage boats at this race.
Defending champions of the Bernie Little Memorial are Jason Hartley (vintage) and Mike Gossler (modern) – as both won from the trailer position just one year ago.
Albert Lee Appliances, title sponsor of the U-21 unlimited hydroplane, is doing more than "just" sponsoring a boat and the Seafair race to support and promote unlimited hydroplane racing, they're bringing back a tradition that was once super popular with kids, and giving 10 kids a chance to be in the Alaska Airlines Torchlight Parade.
On Saturday, July 3 (Southcenter and Lynnwood) and Saturday, July 17 (Bellevue & Seattle), from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., kids are invited to Albert Lee Appliance locations to build their own hydroplane. The wood kind. The ones that get towed behind bikes, like most of us used to do when we were kids, too.
Once the kids build their boats, they can enter a contest on Seafair's website to be selected as one of 10 kids who get to tow their boats behind their bikes in the Torchlight Parade on July 31.
A pretty cool idea. Thanks Albert Lee!
The first NAMBA Region 8 Summer Regional is set for Sunday, July 18 at Twin Lakes in Marysville. It's the day after the ERCU Oregon Emerald Cup in Tualatin. The event is hosted and sponsored by Classic Thunder and is open to all 1/10-scale racers and enthusiasts. More information is available on the flyer that you can find by clicking here.
Here's the race format and racing schedule for the ERCU Columbia Cup, scheduled for Saturday, June 26 at the Lake of Tualatin Commons in Tualatin, Ore.
This race is a “points race”, where the winner of the event is determined by the most points earned in all heats run during the day, regardless of the outcome of the final heat.
Chief Referee/Contest Director: Mick Shutt
Pit Boss: Rick Lentz
Drivers Representative: Nelson Holmberg
Racing teams may back into the loading zone at the southwest corner of the park, but must please immediately after unloading, move your vehicle to street parking area or one of the parking lots.
The three-minute clock will be used for starting of heats, and drivers are expected to be ready for their heats, in order to eliminate the starting clock needing to go “on hold” when boats are already on the water waiting to start the heat.
Safe driving and good sportsmanship will be held in high regard, and the 2010 ERCU Racing Rules will be strictly enforced as appropriate.
Setup of the race site is expected to begin around 7:30 a.m., with open water ready to be shredded by hydroplane props as soon as boats are registered for the event.
The drivers’ meeting is expected to take place around 10:30 a.m. For more information about the ERCU Seafair Trophy Race, including directions to the race site, click here.
Reminder: Graupner K45 props are required for vintage class boats at this event.
Format
- Three rounds of preliminary heats for modern and vintage
- First and second connies for modern and vintage (dependent upon turnout)
- Finals for modern and vintage
- Accumulated points for the entire day will determine the race winner in both classes
Event Schedule
7:30-9 a.m., Course and pit area setup
9-10:30 a.m., Practice and testing
10:30-10:39 a.m., Driver's meeting
10:39 a.m., “Three to the Three” for modern heat 1A
10:42 a.m., Three minute gun for modern heat 1A
10:45 a.m., Modern heat 1A
Approx. 4 p.m., Columbia Cup Final Heat (modern class)
Approx. 4:15 p.m., Columbia Cup Final Heat (vintage class)
Approx. 5:30 p.m., Trophy Presentation
Next up on the ERCU Red Dot Championship Series is the ERCU Columbia Cup, set for Saturday, June 26 at the Lake of Tualatin Commons in Tualatin. It’s the first of two races at Tualatin this summer, this one CD’d by Mick Shutt.
This race is a “points race”, where the winner of the event is determined by the most points earned in all heats run during the day, regardless of the outcome of the final heat.
The trailer is already in the Portland/Vancouver metro area, so it will arrive at the race site around 7:30 a.m. on race day and setup will commence shortly thereafter. Registration will open at 9 a.m., with the race course to open as soon as your boat is registered and your proof of NAMBA membership has been provided to the registration desk.
Mick will commence the drivers’ meeting at 10:30 a.m., with racing scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m.
The three-minute clock will be used for starting of heats, and drivers are expected to be ready for their heats, in order to eliminate the starting clock needing to go “on hold” when boats are already on the water waiting to start the heat.
Safe driving and good sportsmanship will be held in high regard, and the 2010 ERCU Racing Rules will be strictly enforced as appropriate.
The June edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
Another new modern turbine boat from Bradshaw Boat Works is nearing completion. Below is an update photo on the progress toward completion of Betty Bradshaw's 2008 Oh Boy! Oberto. Paint and decals are complete.
The latest in the string of modern turbine boats from the Bradshaw Boat Works shop, Jesse Shehan's 2008 Beacon Plumbing, is finished with paint and decals. Systems and hardware will be installed next, and the new boat should be running soon.
Remember to bring a canned food item as part of the registration for this weekend’s races. For those planning to help set up Saturday morning, the trailer will arrive about 7:30 a.m., but no admission to the lake area will be permitted after 9 a.m. until the end of the parade, which typically is over shortly before noon.
Here's a link to a number of photos, by Jim Clark, from yesterday's test session that included Jon Zimmerman, Dr. Ken Muscatel and Brian Perkins in the U-21 and U-25 Albert Lee hydroplanes at Lake Washington.
Model (and real) hydroplane racer Jon Zimmerman is just starting to live a dream, thanks to Ron Jones Jr., and Dr. Ken Muscatel. Zimmerman, a champion 2.5 liter and 5 liter hydroplane driver, and a hobbiest who enjoys 1/10-scale fast electric hydros, will co-drive the U-25 unlimited hydroplane in 2010. He's slated to drive the hydro at Madison, and some heats at the Tri-Cities.
Today, Zimmerman drove the U-25 — with it's low-profile cowling — in two test runs on Lake Washington.
There's much more to this great story, which can be found on the H1Unlimiteds website.
Thanks to the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, the efforts of Rick Lentz, and the commitment of Mike McIntosh who volunteered his truck to haul the vintage hydroplane through the parade, the 1968 Miss Budweiser will be in the Maple Valley Days Parade this Saturday, June 12, representing the museum, ERCU, ESU and promoting the Maple Valley Days model hydroplane races that will be taking place throughout the weekend.
After the parade on Saturday afternoon, the restored hydroplane will be on display in Lake Wilderness Park while the 1/7-scale electrics from Electric Scale Unlimiteds (ESU) race for their President's Cup. The ERCU President's Cup is on Sunday, June 13.
For the second time this spring, Alex Daum's 2009 Grandview on the Lake has been featured on the Cooper Motorsports Racing Team website. Two photos of Alex's boat running at its first event this season — the Rose Festival RC Regatta made the home page of the world's fastest piston powered unlimited hydroplane website.
The May edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
With Maple Valley Days coming up, and with ERCU being a part of the festival, it made sense that we provide a bit of a history lesson on the summer festival alongside Lake Wilderness. So, with thanks to the Maple Valley Days website, here is a brief history.
"In 1950, a group of citizens gathered at Gaffney’s Lake Wilderness Lodge to celebrate and raise funds in order to purchase the area’s first fire engine. Firemen sold tickets for one dollar each in their effort to raise $1,000. They succeeded, and our celebration of community was born. In 1951 the first Queen and her Royal court were crowned. The 1958 festival added the famous Cedar River Boat Race with entrants building their own boats. The Queen’s Parade, now known as the Maple Valley Days Parade, was introduced in 1961 and is an event that young and old alike enjoy. 1976 brought the recognition of the "Citizen of the Year" and a street dance. During the 1980’s and early 1990’s, the festival expanded to include events and activities to entertain all age groups. In 1998, the festival moved to Lake Wilderness Park. We are proud to say that in 2003 Lake Wilderness Park became the property of The City of Maple Valley. This event has truly become "The Festival in Our Park". "
We here at e-rcu.org are trying to keep the website, in its entirety, as complete and current as possible — including links, sponsors and boat bios — and to that effort, we could use your help. Many of the boat bios on our website are either well outdated or missing completely. Our goal is to bring the boat bio page current, not only with all of the boats that are currently registered in the club, but also with current bios.
Please take a look at the modern and vintage boat bios pages to find your own boat(s). If there are pictures there already that don't link to anything, that means we don't have a bio for your boat on file. If there's a bio linked to the photo(s) of your boat(s), please check it to be sure its up-to-date and if it isn't send us a boat bio form with the updated information. If your boat(s) is missing all together, that means we have nothing on file for your boats.
We're here to help, but we need your help too. Please do spend just a few minutes to help us make sure the information on the site is what's most current and up-to-date.
If you have any questions or concerns, or need help, please feel free to contact the webmaster by email.
Next up on the 2010 racing schedule is the President’s Cup at Lake Wilderness, hosted for the eighth consecutive year by CD John Williams as an event in support of the Maple Valley Days celebration.
Members are asked to arrive at 7:30 a.m., on Saturday to assist with setup. Access to the race site will be restricted between 8:30 a.m.-noon as usual for the annual parade starting at 10 a.m.. This will be followed by the ESU President’s Cup, with the drivers meeting scheduled for 12:30 p.m., and racing to commence shortly thereafter. Sunday will be the full schedule for both classes of ERCU, with registration and testing open at 8 a.m., and racing to commence at 11 a.m.
In support of the Maple Valley Food Bank, everyone is asked to bring a canned food donation, to be collected when registering for the races.
For those racers, families and fans attending the ERCU Diamond Cup and Bill Brow Memorial this weekend in Friday Harbor, Contest Director Doug Brow has highliy recommended Herb's Tavern as a place to hang out on Friday night. Herb's is a sponsor of the race on Saturday, so when you do go into Herb's, be sure to let them know you're in town for the race and you appreciate their support.
Also, on Saturday night, after the race, Doug is hoping the racers who are staying in town overnight will all meet at Haley's Bait Shop Bar & Grill to celebrate the day's racing, share fellowship, have dinner, watch the NASCAR All Star race, and experience the awards presentation. Haley's is also a sponsor of the race, so let's let them know how much we appreciate their support.
It's the second straight year that all of Doug's sponsors have supported the race in Friday Harbor, and our sponsors are great!
Doug Brow continues to do a fantastic job as a race promoter in Friday Harbor. The ERCU Diamond Cup and Bill Brow Memorial got a little attention in today's issue of the San Juan Journal, with a very nice preview story, including a photo of Craig Mullen's American Spirit and a link to ERCU's website.
To see the story, click here.
After nearly 20 responses, we have a "winner" in the hydro guessing game below. Ben Keller is the only person to get all of the questions correct. The correct answers are:
How many hydros do you see in this photo?
Answer: 7
Name them.
Answer: Boats in the water (front to back) Miss U.S.I, Breathless II, and Miss Burien. On their trailers (back to front) Miss Everett, Miss Spokane, Miss Bardahl, & Miss Tool Crib.
What Pit area?
Answer: Stan Sayres Pits, Seattle.
What year?
Answer: 1960
Thanks again to Kirk Pagel of Golden Thunder Photography and Golden Thunder Racing Team for submitting the photo and questions. Kirk has already offered to do another couple of these type of contests in the future. Stay tuned for more.
Here's a new hydro guessing game from the good folks at Golden Thunder Photography and Golden Thunder Racing Team. Questions are below.
1. How many hydros do you see in this photo?
2. Name them.
3. What pit area?
4. What year?
If you know the answers to any, or all, of these questions as they relate to the photo above, please email the webmaster with your answers. The "right answerer" will be the person who gets the most of those four questions correct. Thanks again to Kirk Pagel!
Doug Brow has everything in order for the Diamond Cup/Bill Brow Memorial in Friday Harbor on May 22, except maybe for a little mowing to clear the pit area. The community is getting excited to see the club in action, and race sponsors are lined up to help support the event.
Attendees are asked to consider visiting Herb’s Tavern on Friday for lunch or dinner, and the no-host banquet and awards ceremony will be held at Haley’s Bait Shop and Grill Saturday evening after the race. Ferry tickets will be going out in the mail this week to those who had requested them.
Check the website for directions to the lake on the island. This is a generator site, but gas will be supplied by race sponsor Petro San Juan, so gas cans will not have to be carried on the ferry. Stock Graupner 45 props are required for the vintage class boats. Last year’s event was very well received, so another spectacular outing is expected.
Central Washington RC Boats is hosting its Spring Invitational this coming Saturday, May 15, at Hisey Park in Granger, Wash. As of Monday evening, they have just two 1/10 scale hydros coming, so the club has extended an invitation to members of ERCU and Rose City Model Yacht Club who may want to run an extra race day. Word is the weather is supposed to be near perfect (sunny and 75), so it's something to consider. The entry fee is $5 per boat. The course is to be setup by 9 a.m. with the drivers meeting at 9:30 a.m.
For more information, contact Tom Maggard by email.
ERCU is one of the nation's leading racing organizaitons for model hydroplaners, and now it's on the leading edge of social media, as well. Today, ERCU has announced its presence on Facebook, the No. 1 social media website in the world. It's one of the fastest-growing websites on the internet, and surprisingly, its fastest-growing demographic segment is seniors.
To check out ERCU's Facebook page, click here, or on on the ERCU website's home page, where you'll find a button under the list of sponsors on the right side of the page. If you're not already a member of Facebook, you will need to sign up in order to participate on the ERCU fan page.
Scott & Kellie Fetterly, organizers of the ERCU Seafair Trophy Race, which is coming up this weekend have announced that there will be two dashes following the race on Saturday at Twin Lake Parks in Marysville. The dashes, one for the vintage class and one for the modern class, will include the bottom five points boats in each division for the day. Gift cards will be presented to the winners.
Also, no stranger to assigning officiating duty, Scott announced the individuals who will serve as key officials for the day. They are:
Chief referee/Contest Director: Scott Fetterly
Pit Boss: Kellie Fetterly
Drivers Representative: Nelson Holmberg
Reminder: Graupner K45 props required for vintage class boats at this event.
** Any prop will be allowed on vintage boats for the dash **
Setup of the race site is expected to begin around 7:30 a.m., with open water ready to be shredded by hydroplane props as soon as boats are registered for the event.
The drivers’ meeting is expected to take place around 10:30 a.m. For more information about the ERCU Seafair Trophy Race, including directions to the race site, click here.
Doug Brow has unveiled the 2010 Diamond Cup & Bill Brow Memorial promotional poster, and it is appearing in the windows of Friday Harbor businesses to advertise this year's race. Here's an online version for the viewers of this website to see. Click on the poster below to see it full-sized.
For those wanting to take advantage of reduced ferry fares to Friday harbor, remember that payment ($30 car/driver and $8 per passenger) needs to be to Rick Lentz not later than Monday, May 10. Rick will be at the Marysville race this Saturday if that is more convenient for you.
Scott Fetterly is all set to go for his first experience as contest director.
He’ll run the next stop on the ERCU Red Dot Championship Series – the Seafair Trophy Race. The race is set for Saturday, May 8 at Twin Lakes Park in Marysville, Wash.
The race will be run on the south lake, same as in years past.
Fetterly’s plans are to focus on the day’s events and perhaps run one boat, so he’ll be delegating some of the raceday’s duties to help spread the workload, and to keep the day fun for everyone involved.
Setup of the race site is expected to begin around 7:30 a.m., with open water ready to be shredded by hydroplane props as soon as boats are registered for the event.
The drivers’ meeting is expected to take place around 10:30 a.m.
Three flights of five-lap heats will be run throughout the day, followed by five lap consolations for both modern and vintage – second connies will be run if boat count supports them.
Winner-take-all finals will also be held for the modern and vintage classes.
The Electric Scale Unlimiteds 7th-scale boats will again join in on the fun and race for their own version of the Seafair Trophy Race, with three heats of racing and finals of their own.
Fetterly Racing is also working on coming up with some prizes for the day. Stay tuned to www.e-rcu.org for further information on the race, and the possibility of prizes.
The April edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
We here at e-rcu.org are trying to keep the website, in its entirety, as complete and current as possible — including links, sponsors and boat bios — and to that effort, we could use your help. Many of the boat bios on our website are either well outdated or missing completely. Our goal is to bring the boat bio page current, not only with all of the boats that are currently registered in the club, but also with current bios.
Please take a look at the modern and vintage boat bios pages to find your own boat(s). If there are pictures there already that don't link to anything, that means we don't have a bio for your boat on file. If there's a bio linked to the photo(s) of your boat(s), please check it to be sure its up-to-date and if it isn't send us a boat bio form with the updated information. If your boat(s) is missing all together, that means we have nothing on file for your boats.
We're here to help, but we need your help too. Please do spend just a few minutes to help us make sure the information on the site is what's most current and up-to-date.
If you have any questions or concerns, or need help, please feel free to contact the webmaster by email.
In the meantime, the links and sponsors pages will be updated gradually behind the scenes.
Another busy day on the ERCU website has spurred yet another record day of views. An all-time high of 265 unique visitors stopped in at www.e-rcu.org on Monday, April 26. Those visitors requested a record 607 page views and 78 of them returned to the site to find out more information. The most popular page loaded on Monday? For Sale. That page was seen 94 times, which was actually second behind the home page.
Here's the race format and racing schedule for the PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta, scheduled for Saturday, April 24 at the Westmoreland Park Casting Pond in Portland.
Chief Referee: Nelson Holmberg
Pit Boss: Gary Simmons
Drivers Representative: Mark Gran
Racing teams may drive on to the grass at the south end of the pond (where the pits will be) to unload your vehicle, but must please immediately after unloading move your vehicle to the parking area on the street or in designated parking.
Three-minute clock will be used. All boats must be on the water, moving forward and on plane by the 30-second mark before the start.
Format
- Three rounds of preliminary heats for modern and vintage
- Electric Scale Unlimiteds 1/7-scale boats will race between ERCU flights
- First and second connies for modern and vintage (dependent upon turnout)
- Championship finals for modern and vintage
- Graupner K45 props required for vintage class boats
Event Schedule
7:30-9 a.m., Course and pit area setup
9-10:30 a.m., Practice and testing
10:30-10:39 a.m., Driver's meeting
10:39 a.m., “Three to the Three” for modern heat 1A
10:42 a.m., Three minute gun for modern heat 1A
10:45 a.m., Modern heat 1A
Approx. 4 p.m., Winner-Take-All PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta Final Heat (modern class)
Approx. 4:15 p.m., Winner-Take-All PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta Final Heat (vintage class)
Approx. 4:30 p.m., Winner-Take-All PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta Final Heat (1/7-scale modern)
Approx. 4:45 p.m., Winner-Take-All PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta Final Heat (1/7-scale vintage)
Approx. 5 p.m., Hobbies Unlimited Dashes for Cash
Approx. 5:30 p.m., Trophy Presentation
Hobbies Unlimited of Portland (located at 4503 N. Interstate Ave., in Portland) has joined the PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta as the sponsor of cash prizes for two post-race dashes and has provided the prize for a special drawing at the event as well.
The Hobbies Unlimited Dashes for Cash include a dash that pits six boats (both modern and vintage) drawn randomly out of the day's field into the same dash after the day's winner-take-all finals are finished. Those six boats will not include the "current" modern boats, but will mix the modern and vintage boats into the same dash. Vintage drivers will be allowed to switch to their favorite custom prop for this dash, but stock Graupner K45 are required on vintage boats for the day's racing.
The "current" modern hulls (such as the 2009 U-7 Graham Trucking and the 2009 U-3 GrandView on the Lake) as well as any others of that ilk that are in the pits, up to a maximum of seven hulls, will run in their own dash — the first time a race is made up of exclusively the more modern boats in ERCU.
Racing at this year's PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regattais set to begin at 10:45 a.m., after testing and practice which will begin around 9 a.m., and a drivers meeting at 10:30 a.m. Participants are reminded to bring generators, if they have them. The event will be held at Portland's Westmoreland Park Casting Pond.
ERCU and 1/10-scale hydroplane racing was on display early this morning at the Westmoreland Park Casting Pond in SE Portland, as Portland's KGW NewsChannel 8 at Sunrise "Out and About" reporter Drew Carney promoed the upcoming PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta, airing four live segments highlighting different parts of the model boat racing world. In the final segment, which you can see by clicking here, Drew took a shot at driving the 2009 U-5 Formula Boats himself. It didn't last long, and the result wasn't good. Drew drove the boat into one of the concrete piers, doing a little bit of minor damage. You'll see it still ran fine after the hit, but with a more-experienced driver on the wheel.
John Earnest brought out the 1951 Slo-Mo-Shun IV and 1962 Gale V, while Brad Lewis joined in on the fun with his 1978 Squire Shop and Roger May's 1957 Miss Rocket, and both even got a little face time during one of the segments.
The Friday Harbor Diamond Cup Race is a month away – time to start preparing. If you would like to take advantage of discount ferry rates, you will need to send in your check before May 10. Club-provided rates this year will be $30 for car (under 20 feet) and driver and $8 for each passenger, if using the multi-fare discount. Otherwise the single-trip fares would be $52.55 and $13.45. The ferry to Friday Harbor leaves from Anacortes. Fares are taken for west-bound traffic, and you get to come back for free! Check http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/schedule/ for the schedules to plan your excursion.
If you would like the club to purchase the discount fares, send your check with return address, made out to Rick Lentz, 1800 136th Place NE, Suite 100, Bellevue, WA 98005. Tickets will be purchased on May 11 and sent out before May 14.
In keeping with a standing tradition, Portland’s largest annual gathering – the Rose Festival – has invited the ERCU back for another year of hosting 1/10-scale RC hydroplane racing as an offical part of the fun.
The race is set to take place on Saturday, April 24 at Westmoreland Park and it is anticipated to draw racers from all across the Northwest along with a large contingent of race fans.
KGW TV (NBC, Channel 8 in Portland) will also be promoting the race with live remotes by morning guy Drew Carney who will talk about the boats, the event and will even take a shot at driving one.
The sponsors from last year’s race have graciously returned, as PC Triage and Hobbies Unlimited are both set to support the day’s events. Standard racing format will be used with three sets of preliminary heats for both the vintage and modern boats followed by one or two consolation heats (dependent on the number of boats) and a winner-take-all championship final for both vintage and moderns.
All vintage boats will be required to run the Graupner K45 propeller and don’t forget that we will be joined by our friends from Electric Scale Unlimited (ESU) with there 1/7-scale electric vintage and classic unlimited hydroplanes.
The club trailer will arrive around 7:30 a.m., with the course open for testing as soon as the race day setup and boat registrations have been completed. The driver’s meeting will be schedule for 10:30 a.m. with a goal to start the first heat at 10:45 a.m. Keep in mind that this is a generator race site.
Additionally, a couple of dash races will be held for non-turbine modern class hulls and one special race for modern turbine boats that may or may not involve prizes. Don’t miss out on all the fun.
Be sure to make your arrangements to travel to Portland to be a part of the Rose Festival.
To get to Westmoreland Park, from I-5 south, follow exits to Highway 99E/Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd. Stay on 99E/McLoughlin Blvd., turn right at Westmoreland Park sign. Turn right at SE Bybee Blvd. and left on SE 22nd Ave.
It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce the launching of the latest edition for Newton Marine, Newton Marine the Blog! (Official website for blog:newtonmarine.blogspot.com) I plan to add new posts frequently, so make sure to check back and see the latest and greatest with Newton Marine. Giving the most back to the radio controlled hobby and community that I love is my goal. This blog is just one more step towards my goal. I encourage people with questions or comments regarding Newton Marine or anything boat related to share here or to my email, newtonmarine@gmail.com. - David Newton, Newton Marine
The 1/7-scale boats are holding the Silver Cup Race on Saturday at Lake Waughop in Lakewood – same location as the Spring Training event held in March. This would be a good time for ERCU members to work in some additional testing while the big boats are recharging their batteries. A generator would be helpful, as there is no power available at the site other than what we bring ourselves. The crowd will arrive at 9 a.m., and will be there through the afternoon, so if you would like to join the fray, stop by. All you need to be able to play, besides your equipment and boats, is your current NAMBA membership card.
Bill Smiley checks in with an update on his new Miss Thriftway:
"The Thriftway is getting closer. Now to do the other side and repaint the tail & cowel, so the orange matches the orange deck stripes. Then comes the clear and someday we see if it will still floats. It was pretty fast as the Shanty, but it just has to be faster as the Thriftway!"
Here's a photo.
The club's website continues to grow in popularity, and that probably has to do with the season getting to its starting point. In the month of March, the site recorded a total of 5,205 unique visitors, and more than 11,000 page views.
Fellow ERCUer Jerry Johnston has recently endured surgery to repair the ruptured achilles tendon on his right leg. Reports are that Jerry had surgery the first of the month and is now resting at home. He will be in a cast for three months and will have extensive physical therapy after that. To send Jerry a get well message or just say hi, click here.
Our deepest condolences and fond thoughts go out to the family and friends of David Bryant. David, former driver of the U-10 unlmited owned by the Gregory family, was one of two drivers killed in a flatbottom accident this weekend in New South Wales, Australia. More information is available at www.abrahydroplanes.com.
The Meyers' Auto Tech S-81 2.5 stock hydroplane team is getting ready for the start of the new season with a new paint job. This racing team is owned by ERCU past race sponsor, and friend of the club, Scott Meyers and will be driven for the third season by former ERCU racer Jesse Robertson. Good luck to the S-81 team as they go into the 2010 season.
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The Meyers Auto Tech S-81 hydroplane as it appeared in 2009. |
Being masked and readied for it's 2010 paint job, |
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| The S-81 painted for the 2010 season. |
Mark Gran has finished the touch ups on his Atlas Van Lines and is happy to announce that he's ready to race on Saturday at the Country Cousin Champion Spark Plug Regatta.
Here's a picture of the boat with fresh paint on it. Great job, Mark!
This just in: Jack Regas Sr., the man who drove the Hawaii Ka'i III to a Gold Cup victory in 1958, is recovering from a from a stroke he suffered on March 18. He spent three days in intensive care, but is home now and doing very well, but his daughter Sharon suggest that a nice supportive card or letter from some of his fans would really lift his spirits.
If you have a moment, please drop him a note at:
Jack Regas Sr
c/o Sharon Bourasa
4809 E. Orchard Ave.
Nampa, ID 83687-8551
Ben Keller (a.k.a. "Edgar Kaiser" in the 1/10 and 1/7 scale racing circles) said, "We'll be racing for Jack this weekend (at the ERCU season-opening Champion Spark Plug Regatta in Centralia), and we hope he has a full recovery soon."
Got News? Well, if you do, please share it with the e-rcu.org staff. We'll take pretty much anything. It doesn't necessarily have to be boat-related, but if it's member-related, that's a good thing. We're always looking for information so that we can hopefully keep the site updated on a daily basis.
If you have news about testing, build progress, items for sale, questions about a problem you've run into, photos to share, updated or new boat bios (hint, hint), etc., please send them along to the webmaster and we'll get them posted for you.
A power pedestal will be available at Fort Borst Park in Centralia for our use during the Champion Spark Plug Regatta, but it might be a good idea to bring generators, too, if you have them due to the potential for a limited number of plug ins.
We're less than a week away from the season opener!
A special request from Brad Luce, chair of the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum's annual auction.
When Roger Newton passed away, amongst many other things, the Museum lost a tremendous contributor to the annual auction. Each year, Roger would build and donate any number of model race boats to the auction. Sometimes they were built to support the theme of the auction when applicable, sometimes not. He also built a number of half-hulls mounted on a piece of decorative oak. These items ALWAYS brought in top dollar, and were sorely missed from our auction catalogue (and revenue) a year ago.
As you are an active member of the RC racing community, I am asking for your help in filling this tremendous void in our auction offering for 2010. Would you be willing to build and/or contribute a similar item to this year’s auction? Perhaps you have an older hull that could be patched up, painted, and donated to this year’s efforts. These only need to be static displays, not actual running models, although they could be. We are open to anything you could provide. Our working theme for this year’s event is 60 years of hydroplane racing in Seattle...so perhaps a Seafair or Lake Washington Gold Cup champion from the past is in order. As I said, we are wide open.
As model builders and racers, would you be able to help and support our efforts on behalf of the museum? I apologize for this intrusion, but hope you will understand the importance of my doing so. Thank you very much for your consideration, and I will look forward to hearing from you. You can reach Brad by email, if you're interested in helping out, by clicking here to email him.
Two ERCU racing teams were featured on their partner big boat websites, beginning yesterday. Alex Daum's 2009 U-3 GrandView on the Lake and Nelson Holmberg's 2009 U-5 Formula Boats & U-7 Graham Trucking were given friendly coverage on www.go3racing.com, and www.u5racing.com, respectively.
Both teams were impressed with the level of detail committed by ERCU, and were appreciative that their teams were considered by our members for their builds.
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| The U-3 hydroplane's website: www.go3racing.com, has a nice feature, and two photos, about Alex Daum's new 2009 GrandView on the Lake model in its news section. | Precision Performance Engineering LLC racing team's website (www.U5racing.com) has a photo of the two models of its 2009 boats on the homepage of its website. |
Sunday was another record day for ERCU's club website as 263 unique visits were recorded on the site. That's the most ever one-day unique visitors ever to stop in at www.e-rcu.org. Those visitors looked at a total of 438 pages. There were also first time new visitors to the site that day. Thanks to all who come to visit our website on a regular basis, and to our great members and fans, keep up the good work spreading the word about our site!
It’s official – there are less than two weeks to go before the first race of the 2010 season! For the fifth consecutive year the season-opening Champion Spark plug Regatta will be held at Fort Borst Park in Centralia on Saturday, April 3. CD John Earnest has secured sponsorship from the Country Cousin restaurant, so there can be some good eats available after the race, no matter what you boat does (or doesn’t) do during the day.
Looking to retain their crown against all challengers are the defending champs 1963 Notre Dame (Bob VandenAkker) and the 1982 Executone (Mike Campbell). Plan to attend to see if they can prevail for another year, or if there will be new champs to start the year.
Plan to arrive by 8 a.m. to help set up. Testing can commence as soon as the course is set and you are registered. The drivers meeting will get under way at 10:30 a.m., with racing to commence at 11 a.m. The three-minute clock will be used to help keep the day on schedule. Don’t forget to bring your NAMBA membership card and the completed inspection forms for the boats you will be running. If you will need to complete an inspection prior to the race, plan to arrive before 9 a.m. to give the inspectors time to complete the work.
ERCU's Spring Training day was a cold, windy event at Waughop Lake in Lakewood, but at least the bulk of the rain held off and allowed for some fun in the pits and on the water. Due to the wind, the water was a little bumpy most of the day. But there were a few bright spots that allowed for some not-so-bad water...but all day, there were comments about how the backstretch resembled Seattle's famous rollers off the logboom.
Among those in attendance were Mark Gran & John Burkey, Kellie & Scott Fetterly, Ron & Alex Daum, Dawn & Nelson Holmberg, Mike, Jeff & Teri Campbell, Mike McIntosh, Ben Keller & Craig Mullen, Kirk Pagel & Chick Bartsch, Terry Harmer, Bill Smiley, Judy Fenton, Rick Lentz, Howard Price & Ryan Opfer, Jesse Shehan, Robbie Roberts and Doug Brow.
Here are a few pictures, for your enjoyment.
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Jim Latimer will drive Gary Simmons' Miss Bardahl in a handful of races this season, and got a little practice at Spring Training. |
Gary Simmons got in a little testing time with his Miss Everett, between scale inspections of multiple boats. |
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Jim Latimer (back) and Gary Simmons of Cougar Racing Team work together to prep their boats for another test run. |
Ron Daum's Llumar Window Films and Alex Daum's Thriftway Too await their Elite Husky Racing Team drivers, who were busy thinking basketball. |
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Mike McIntosh (left), Mike Campbell (right) and Jeff Campbell (center) try to stay warm while talking boats. |
OK, so this picture wasn't taken at Spring Training, but 24 hours before. Nelson Holmberg's new 2009 Graham Trucking (left) and his "old" 2009 Formula Boats sit outside after a little prep work. The U-7 is about a week away from completion. |
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| Kellie Fetterly takes her FIRST spin around the course with the 1961 Miss Madison, which will be "her boat" this season as she becomes just the second woman to race in ERCU. Hooray, Kellie! Great job today (especially by ignoring the photographer while you concentrated on your driving)! | |
If you're planning to attend ERCU Spring Training at Lake Waughop in Lakewood this coming Sunday, and will need power, you might want to remember that this is a generator site. There will likely be a couple of generators on site already, but just to be safe, if you have one, you might want to bring it.
This just in from the Great Lakes Boat Shop in Woodinville: Alex Daum's “Big Red Turbinator”, U-3 Grandview on the Lake has returned to the Great Lakes from the Bradshaw paint shop. Final fit out and graphics are underway in preparation for a maiden voyage this Sunday. In news of another boat, Newton Marine and Great Lakes are teaming up to put the canard Circus Circus on the water before mid season.
Spring Training is underway in Arizona and Florida — for baseball, anyway — so there's no reason why ERCU members shouldn't start thinking about Spring Training as well.
To avoid conflicts with the current remodeling work on and around the Cherokee Bay clubhouse, Spring Training scheduled for Sunday, March 21 will relocate to Lake Waughop in Lakewood. Click herefor location map if you are not familiar with this site. We will be setting up just like a regular race, so plan to join us at 8 a.m. to help set up camp and prepare for the day. Proof of NAMBA Membership is required before running so be ready to show your card when registering. This will also be a good day to have your boat inspection completed. You can prepare your boat inspection form by clicking here for a copy of the form.
Here's an update from Bill Smiley's boat shop in Seattle, where he's busy converting Robbie Roberts' former Shanty I into a new Miss Thriftway for himself.
"I am getting ready to paint those pesky stripes on my new Thriftway," Smiley said. "The stripes are the biggest headache!"
Bill is planning to attend the ERCU Spring Training event this coming Sunday, March 21, at Lake Waughop, though it was unclear whether he plans to have the new Miss Thriftway there or not.
It's getting to be that time, when boat projects are down to the 80-40 rule (or the last 20 percent of the work takes 80 percent of the time), as the new season draws nearer each day.
The March edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
February's website statistics are in, and despite it being a short month in terms of days, it was a big month for ERCU's website. A total of 4,336 unique visits were recorded to the site and nearly 10,000 page loads. Of the 4,336 unique visitors, 2,891 were first time visitors to the site, so the word is clearly getting around that the ERCU website is one of the ones people are looking at consistently.
Doug Brow has again arranged for a block of rooms, and great rates at the Discovery Inn in Friday Harbor for the Diamond Cup/Bill Brow Memorial, which is scheduled for May 22.
The block includes 14 rooms — 4 rooms are standard queen ($84 for one night or $80 for two nights); 7 rooms are queen with a microwave and refrigerator ($89 for one night or $85 for two); and three of the rooms have two queen beds with a microwave and a fridge ($95 for one night or $89 for two nights).
These are the same rates as last year, and the rooms will likely go quickly so book as fast as possible.
Doug says he'd like to sell out the Discovery Inn for the race weekend, and if that occurs, he can help with other opportunities for lodging, or camping.
To contact the Discovery Inn, call (888) 754-0034 or (360) 378-2000. You can also see the Discovery Inn website by clicking here.
To avoid conflicts with the current remodeling work on and around the Cherokee Bay Clubhouse, Spring Training scheduled for Sunday, March 21 will relocate to Lake Waughop in Lakewood. Click here for location map if you are not familiar with this site.
We will be setting up just like a regular race, so plan to join us at 8 a.m. to help set up camp and prepare for the day. Proof of NAMBA membership is required before running so be ready to show your card when registering. This will also be a good day to have your boat inspection completed.
An update from the Cougar Racing Team Vancouver boat shop: while the boats are still not yet out of the paint shop — it's been quite an adventure getting these two boats painted — the cowlings of the 2009 U-5 Formula Boats and 2009 U-7 Graham Trucking and decals for both boats are finished. Here are a couple of photos.
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This just in from ERCU Chairman Jeff Campbell: NAMBA Nationals schedule has been changed to run the modern class on Friday, Aug. 20 and the vintage on Saturday, Aug. 21 thanks to Robert Holland & Rodney Sanata.
Rose City Model Yacht Club’s second annual Spring Training event is set for Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the Lake of Tualatin Commons.
We’ll have access to the electrical outlets at the pond, and will be allowed to run as long as we like. The plan is to start with setup at 9 a.m., and run until we’re done. John Howell will be bringing a chase boat and John Earnest will bring the weights and buoys, so we can set up a course if there are enough attendees to make it worthwhile.
You must have your NAMBA membership in order to run boats during the Spring Training event, and you will be asked to show your membership card or a fax receipt showing that you’ve faxed in your membership payment and just haven’t yet received your card.
This spring training is open to ERCU members, too, so if you're interested in coming down to participate, please feel free to come down and enjoy a day of fun running.
At the February members meeting, a lottery was drawn for new boat registrations of hulls that were given up as of the end of the 2009 season. Here's the results of that lottery and who won the registrations.
1960 Thriftway Too, Craig Bradshaw
1960 Miss Spokane, Rick Lentz
1962 Miss Bardahl, Ben Keller
1967 Miss Bardahl, Kellie Fetterly
1974 Red Man, Gene Melang
1975 Lincoln Thrift, Scott Fetterly
1980 Pay 'n Pak, Mike McIntosh
1994 Smokin Joes, John Burkey
2007 Beacon Plumbing, Jesse Shehan
FOR SALE Update: Bill Smiley is the proud new owner of the Savair's Mist 1/7-scale boat that Rick had up for sale last week.
There are a number of new boats coming soon, or already in action, that are not represented on our boats pages. So we'll be expecting boat bios from the following, in order to keep our boats pages fresh with the boats that are registered in the club. Please fill out a boat bio form from the Club Info page and send it in to the webmaster as soon as you can. For those boats that aren't ready for prime time (don't have any photos taken yet), let's get the bios together and add them once we get pictures of your boats.
| Vintage | Modern | ||
| 1975 Miss US | Gale Whitestine | 1999 Miss Madison | John Williams |
| 1966 Miss Bardahl | Gale Whitestine | 2008 Oh Boy! Oberto | Betty Bradshaw |
| 1960 Nitrogen Too | Bob VandenAkker | 1982 Executone | Mike Campbell |
| 1958 Shanty II | Jesse Shehan | 1980 Pay 'n Pak turbine | Jerry Courtway |
| 1960 Miss Burien | Robbie Roberts | 2009 Jerry's Tavern | Jerry Courtway |
| 1956 Miss Seattle | Brad Lewis | 1997 Pico (#9701) | Zane Courtway |
| 1968 Miss Budweiser | Scott Fetterly | 1997 Pico (#9399) | Zane Courtway |
| 1957 Miss Rocket | Roger May | 2009 Grandview on the Lake | Alex Daum |
| 1993 Miss Circus Circus | Scott Fetterly | ||
| 2009 Graham Trucking | Nelson Holmberg | ||
| 1982 Pay 'n Pak turbine | Mike McIntosh | ||
| 1984 Miss Tosti Asti | Mike McIntosh | ||
| 1974 Red Man | Gene Melang | ||
| 1993 Miss Budweiser | Craig Mullen | ||
| 1981 Circus Circus | David Newton | ||
| 2009 Buffalo Savings Bank | Ryan Opfer | ||
| 1982 Island Security Systems | Dave Reiser | ||
| 2007 Miss Beacon Plumbing | Jesse Shehan |
Well, well...It appears things in the world are again in order. After nearly a week of technical difficulties here at the world headquarters of www.e-rcu.org, it appears we have things all fixed up. Thank you for your patience with us as the website has not been updated in several days. We hope the repairs are final, and we'll be able to get right back on top of taking care of the business we're expected to take care of.
Kirk Pagel's new Miss Smirnoff was tested for the first time on Saturday morning, and he was pleased with the results. Kirk reports, "Bob VandenAkker, Chick Bartsch, Mike Gossler & I tested it today. It runs well, Bob tried to flip it and it wouldn't go over. I'm very encouraged!"
Here's a picture of the new boat in the water.
The February edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
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On the mystery photo from 2/15: As they say...here's the rest of the story. Miss Bud with driver Bobby Saniga and the Bayswater Bulk with Stan Jones had been waging a fierce battle all season in Australia, each winning a couple of races prior to the Griffith Cup.
That Sunday, February 1, 1981 on Lake Eppalock the expected duel between the "Land Down Under's" newest boat, the Bayswater, and the tried and true Miss Bud import never materialized. Jones jumped the gun, thereby dq'd from the heat while Saniga and the Bud went on to win. Although the Bud and Bayswater put on a good show, all Saniga and the Bud had to do was hold off lesser challengers the rest of the day to claim his final Griffith Cup and ease into retirement.
Interestingly, the Miss Bayswater Bulk, which is given the hydroplane hull number of 8341 was actually completed in December of 1979, and began racing in Australia in 1980. She gained some amount of fame for her performance at the 1983 Houston Clear Lake World Championships with Bill Baberton at the wheel, although not officially scoring APBA points, did impressively win a consolation heat. She returned to Australia for a very successful racing career winning her first Griffith Cup in 1982. She actually still competes on a semi-regular basis down-under as the Aussie Connection.
President's Day was a busy one for the ERCU website. A total of 251 unique visitors perused the pages of e-rcu.org on Monday, Feb. 15 — a record number. Another record resulted from 443 page views on the website during President's Day.
Through the first half of February, the website has received 2,288 unique visitors (153 per day) for a total of 4,838 page views. By comparison, the second half of January saw 2,025 unique visitors and 4,111 page views.
This one is almost too easy...on the surface anyway. Yes, on the right is the VS-21 (later VS-22) Miss Bud (Aussie boat) and former Miss Budweiser as well as the former Pride of Pay N Pak (7025 hull).
On the left is the other pride of Australia in the 1980's, the VS-41, Miss Bayswater Bulk!
They both came back to race in the United States, but never at the same time.
So, for this question: Who? What? Where? Why? When?...the backbone of American journalism personified! Have fun with it!
Contact the webmaster if you know the answers.
For your testing and planning:
It was decided for this year to have the race contest director decide whether the vintage class boats will run with any propeller, or be restricted to the Graupner 45 carbon fiber prop only. The results by race, noting the CD for that event:
4-3 Champion Spark Plug Regatta (Earnest) – Graupner
4-24 Rose Festival Regatta (Holmberg/Simmons) – Graupner
5-8 Seafair Trophy (Fetterly) – Graupner
5-22 Diamond Cup (Brow) – Graupner
6-13 President’s Cup (Williams/McIntosh) – Graupner
6-26 Columbia Cup (Shutt) – Graupner
7-10 Bernie Little Memorial (Campbells) – Any Prop
7-17 Emerald Cup (Holmberg) – Graupner
8-14 Apple Cup (Keller) – Graupner
8-29 Sayres Memorial (Monte Steere) – Any Prop
9-19 Gold Cup (ERCU Board) – Any Prop
9-26 Newton Memorial (Newton/Lentz) – Graupner
Come one, come all! It's time for the second annual Roger Newton Memorial Radio Control Model Boat Show. Boats in all phases of preseason readiness will be on display for anyone and everyone to see, Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent.
The show runs from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and admission for the general public.
Modelers from clubs all over the Pacific Northwest will be involved. If you're interested in participating, bring a table and your boats. Modelers with display boats will pay a $5 fee for entry. Set up begins at 10 a.m.
Visitors will see more than 60 perfect scale models of unlimited hydroplanes from all eras — both gas and electric-powered. There will also be a live auction of hydroplane memorabilia at 12:30 p.m.
The Hydroplane and Raceboat is located at: 5917 South 196th Street, in Kent, Wash.
Country Cousin Restaurant in Centralia has come aboard as a sponsor of the season-opening Champion Spark Plug Regatta, thanks to a lot of hard legwork by contest director John Earnest. The restaurant, Earnest says, has contributed a number of gift certificates that will be given away during the race.
If you're planning to attend the race, make sure you save time for dinner afterwards at Country Cousin.
Is this a real photo, or not?
February's ERCU Member Meeting is set for Sunday, Feb. 7 at Red Dot Corporate Headquarters in Tukwila. The meeting is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. The Super Bowl coverage starts at 3 p.m., so there should be little or no time conflict, except maybe to the die-hard football fan whose life revolves around this day.
Click here for an agenda for the meeting.:
Updated stats for the ERCU website show continued interest from around the country and the world.
In the week of January 26-February 1, the site attracted 1,031 unique visitors, which included 709 first time visitors and 322 return visitors. We also had a total of 2,185 page loads, which means visitors who come to the site are digging in deeper than just the home page.
As one would assume, most of our visits have come from the United States (457), but we've also had 173 visits from France, 132 from Canada, 8 from Germany, 3 from Japan and 2 from China in the last week.
Our five most popular pages are: Home, vintage boats, boats, news, modern boats.
Here are the results from the two recent online surveys conducted by ERCU, gauging members interest in NAMBA Regional races for the 2010 schedule, and whether or not to move the Gold Cup. The Contest Board will consider the information from these surveys before making decisions with both issues. Thank you to those who participated in these advisory surveys.
NAMBA REGIONAL RACES
1. Are you interested in the potential of up to three NAMBA Regional races added to the 2010 schedule?
a. Yes – 16 votes (61.5 percent)
b. No – 10 votes (38.5 percent)
2. If you answered “yes” to the question above, how many of the NAMBA Regional races would you participate in?
a. 1 – 7 (33.3 percent)
b. 2 – 3 (14.3 percent)
c. 3 – 2 (9.5 percent)
d. None of them – 5 (23.8 percent)
e. Some of them – 3 (14.3 percent)
f. All of them – 1 (4.8 percent)
3. Do you have any other thoughts on the matter to share? (Comments)
a. This year is just not good for me. I do like the idea of working with namba for club relations and something different.
b. I'm just not willing to set up and test a boat for just 1 or 2 races. I'm not going to the Nats so there is no reason to build one.
c. One Regional should occur before the Nationals, so participants can better prepare for the rigors of the Nationals.
d. race.race. RACE!
GOLD CUP
1. Would you prefer that the ERCU Gold Cup be run at Friday Harbor in May, or keep it in September at Lake Wilderness?
a. Move it to Friday Harbor in May – 3 (12 percent)
b. Keep it at Lake Wilderness in September – 22 (88 percent)
PC Triage (Portland) has announced it will again be the title sponsor of this year's ERCU race at Westmoreland Park on April 24. Ron Billings, owner of PC Triage, said his commitment last year was great, and that he wouldn't be doing the right thing for his business if he failed to remain consistent with his marketing. As a result, the April 24 race will again be known as the PC Triage Rose Festival RC Regatta. Billings' commitment to the race covered the Rose Festival Association sanction fees, so for the fourth time in as many years, this race will be an official event on the Rose Festival calendar. Thanks Ron, for all of your support!
Here's a brief boat shop update from the Cougar Racing Team West Vancouver boat shop. The 2009 U-7 Graham Trucking got its first coat of paint yesterday and is well on its way to being readied for the 2010 ERCU and RCMYC seasons. The 2009 U-5 Formula Boats (last year's hull) is in the background, and will also get re-painted this winter.
If you're a Facebook user, the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum now has something to offer you. There's a brand new fan page, which is growing quickly, on Facebook. If you aren't a user of Facebook, maybe it's time to give it a try. To do so, visit www.facebook.com, and once you're set up as a new member, type Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in the search box, then select the "fan page" that indicates its for a museum/attraction to join.
A reminder that January 31 is the deadline for registering boats for the 2010 season. Boats not re-registered by the deadline will be placed in the annual lottery, to be held at the February 7 members meeting. Contact Henry Marvin for registration information and assistance.
ERCU's website has been popular over the last week. Our new webstats provider (www.statcounter.com) offers proof that this is one popular website. Over the week of January 19-25, the site drew a total of 1,174 unique visitors, 907 returning visitors, 267 returning visitors and a total of 2,272 page loads. The busiest days on www.e-rcu.org were Saturday, Jan 23 with 200 unique visitors, Friday, Jan. 21 with 199 unique visitors and Monday, Jan. 25 with 195 unique visitors. Monday's numbers included the highest number of returning visitors yet, with 64.
The January edition of ERCU: The Newsletter has been posted here. You can also find copies of all back newsletters at the newsletter archive, by clicking here.
Contest Director Doug Brow has secured the new site for the May 22 Diamond Cup Race in Friday Harbor. Property owner Al Sundstrom has graciously agreed to allow our club the use of his private lake on the island. You can check out the location by clicking here. The address to the new location is: 1578 Roche Harbor Road, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.
Ben Keller has stepped up to be the contest director of the inaugural ERCU Apple Cup this year. The race is tentatively scheduled for August 14 at Bellevue Pond. As soon as a confirmed date and location is set, we'll post it to the Schedule page. Thank you Ben!
The NAMBA Fast Electric Nationals this year are in Greeley, Colo., August 17-21.
There are a number of ERCU members who are already planning to go to Nationals this summer, and a handful of others who are still considering a trip.
If you'd like more information about the 2010 NAMBA Fast Electric National Championships, please click here.
A couple of changes to the still tentative ERCU schedule for 2010: Lake Waughop has been removed as the race site for 8/14 (or 8/15) as the site was no longer available for either of those dates when we went to get reservations. The Apple Cup is now tentatively set for Bellevue Pond, but all of the Bellevue Pond dates are still unconfirmed as well.
The Apple Cup also now needs a contest director, so if you're interested in helping out, your assistance would be appreciated. Contact ERCU Race Coordinator Judy Fenton if you want to step up.
Thanks, also, to Scott Fetterly for stepping up to CD the May 8 race at Twin Lakes. That race will be named at a later date. Stay tuned to e-rcu.org for more information as it comes out.
Here's the reveal of the Mystery Boat John Earnest sent in. Several right answers came in to the webmaster, but Kirk Pagel was first to get it right...just minutes after the original photos were posted.
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The model on top of the photo on the right is the model of the Gale V that John ran for many years in RCU. That hull is now in his "basement museum".
Here are another two photos of the Mystery Boat from John Earnest. There are several photos available, so these are just the first two. More to follow in the next few days.
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If you know, or have a guess, which boat this is/was after just these two photos, please email the webmaster.
Here's a Mystery Boat from John Earnest. There are several photos available, so these are just the first two. More to follow in the next few days.
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If you know, or have a guess, which boat this is/was after just these two photos, please email the webmaster.
Jeff Campbell recently tested his plug for the modern 1/7-scale hull he's working on, and shared a video for all to see. Looks pretty good so far. You can see the video on YouTube by clicking here.
At the ERCU Members Meeting on Sunday, Jan. 10, two questions came up that the Contest Board needs more input from members on before making a decision. One of the questions was whether or not ERCU membership wanted to participate in as many as three possible NAMBA Regional Races in 2010, interspersed in between ERCU races, and the other about whether the ERCU Gold Cup should be moved to the Friday Harbor site in May, or kept at Lake Wilderness in September.
Please take just a moment to answer both surveys, by clicking on the links below, if you would. Thank you.
When you view this really cool video of an RC airplane, sent in by Bill Smiley, you can't help but wonder, just WHEN do you stop calling it a "model" airplane. Click here to see the video.
January 10, 2010 Members Meeting Agenda
Beginning at 11 a.m. at Red Dot in Tukwila
1. Call to order and start attendees list
2. Reports of Officers
a. Secretary: adoption of January minutes
b. Registrar/Treasurer: Report on Finances and updated registration form.
c. Race Coordinator: Schedule review
d. Technical Inspector: Comments
e. Scale Inspector: Comments
f. Statistician: Comments
g. Webmaster: Comments; Updated Master Hull Roster Available
3. Reports of standing committees: None
4. Reports of Special Committees: None
5. Old or Unfinished business:
a. Final 2010 Racing Rules – questions or comments?
b. Review equipment needs
c. NAMBA insurance reminder
6. New Business:
a. Boat Registration process
b. February 13 R/C Show at HARM
7. News and Rumors
8. Adjourn
Ron and Alex Daum have checked in to let e-rcu.org know that Santa was good to them as well. Alex got a new Spektrum DX3S system and Ron got a new DX6i. "Both are DSM2 so we have compatability between the wheel and stick radios (with the proper Rx of course)," Ron said.
Happy New Year!
We're starting a new news page for the new year. You can still find all of the past years' news in our archives, however. There are links below to all of the ERCU news from over the years.
All Content Copyright ERCU 2010 Unless Otherwise Noted