Race tuning question

[zooma]

I have a problem with two of my race boats flipping in the wakes of the other boats. My P-Limited boat is a Proboat Impulse and my P boat is a TFL Pursuit. Each one is very competitive in speed. In flat water, each is stable, dry running, no bouncing, no chine walking, smooth turning, no hooking, and no flipping. But, when I am working my way through a pack of boats on the course, each boat will suddenly roll upside down in the rough water. This is more likely on the straights than in the turns. It seems to happen to me more than the other guys. I have tried moving the CG a little forward of 30%, but it makes them run wetter and slower, so I can’t catch the leaders.

Is there a technique or procedure to tune this out?

[ray schrauwen]

Do you run one pack only in the Pursuit or two in parallel?

The Impulse I am not familiar with.

[Peter A]

I used to have to run my Pursuit against much bigger petrol boats, = bigger wakes. (We now have more FE boats in our club). There is always a risk of rolling over or, my favourite, stuffing in at speed. You have to learn the limitations of your boat, when to throttle off and where not to drive. Flat out boats are on the edge of control and it can take only a small wake to throw a boat off. Racing boats make holes in the water that you cannot see. Try running outside of the wakes on the straights. In the end it is better (points wise anyway) to finish 2nd or 3rd than DNF.
The art of things is to get in and hold the inside lanes. The most fun is sitting right on another boat in a race and looking for any chance to take them on a turn when they make a mistake. Getting the inside line allows you to control the race (to a point) and you can hold off faster boats by pushing them wide and thereby gaining extra distance on them. It's all in the learning, the more you race, the more experience and familiar with your boat you get.

[zooma]

Do you run one pack only in the Pursuit or two in parallel?

The Impulse I am not familiar with.

Pursuit is 4S2P, Turnigy 5000Mah 60C, along side of the motor. Impulse is 2S2S on a tray in front of the motor. In both cases I can shift the batteries.

[zooma]

I used to have to run my Pursuit against much bigger petrol boats, = bigger wakes. (We now have more FE boats in our club). There is always a risk of rolling over or, my favourite, stuffing in at speed. You have to learn the limitations of your boat, when to throttle off and where not to drive. Flat out boats are on the edge of control and it can take only a small wake to throw a boat off. Racing boats make holes in the water that you cannot see. Try running outside of the wakes on the straights. In the end it is better (points wise anyway) to finish 2nd or 3rd than DNF.
The art of things is to get in and hold the inside lanes. The most fun is sitting right on another boat in a race and looking for any chance to take them on a turn when they make a mistake. Getting the inside line allows you to control the race (to a point) and you can hold off faster boats by pushing them wide and thereby gaining extra distance on them. It's all in the learning, the more you race, the more experience and familiar with your boat you get.

I know what you mean about being in the inside lane. Fun, all right. But it sure increases the chance of a cut, especially when the guy next to you tries to squeeze in. Most of my flips are on the back straight where it's hard to read the water from where we are standing.

[ray schrauwen]

Pursuit is 4S2P, Turnigy 5000Mah 60C, along side of the motor. Impulse is 2S2S on a tray in front of the motor. In both cases I can shift the batteries.

Everything seems right inside your boats then. Looks like throttle control will help you out a bit... As Peter said.

[Doby]

Yup...have to know your boats and drive to the conditions.

[NativePaul]

when I am working my way through a pack of boats on the course, each boat will suddenly roll upside down in the rough water. This is more likely on the straights than in the turns. It seems to happen to me more than the other guys. I have tried moving the CG a little forward of 30%, but it makes them run wetter and slower, so I can’t catch the leaders.

Is there a technique or procedure to tune this out?

I think that you have answered the question yourself. You are able to catch the leaders because you have set your boats up looser than they are willing to in race conditions, and you can't keep uptight in race water when setup that loose as the leaders have already found, which is why you can catch them up. You have 2 choices, wet out a little like them, run at the same speed and work on improving your driving skills to beat them, or stay looser and faster but keep the hell away from their wakes by either going very wide or hanging well back till one of them goes very wide before pouncing, and work on reading water better..

A wise man once told me never to test on my own if I could help it as it is pretty meaningless running without wakes, and if I really had to test solo set it up to run boringly wet, which would probably be about right once things chop up in a race.

[zooma]

NativePaul, your advice makes a lot of sense. I would rather run a little wetter and learn to drive better. So, the next question is: What is the best adjustment to make the boat run wetter, move the CG forward, raise the strut, or something else? Looking to make incremental changes with the least negative consequences.

[Doby]

CG adjustment would always be preferred.

[wdac]

Race setup and top speed setup is rarely the same setup.