You guys crack me up. In the 60s, we raced slot cars with only a thumb operated on/off click switch. No pressure= OFF, press down= 100% ON. Even back then you would lift your thumb for a nano-second - OFF - before entering the turns, then full ON in the turn & straights. Got into racing R/C offroad buggies & trucks in the late 70s and, just like full scale racing, you hit the brakes before you enter a turn to set up a drift and roll on the throttle in the turn, then 100% as you exit. That's what drifting is all about.
Full sized Offshore cat racers & FE RC cat boaters enter & exit a turn in the same way. Same thing is true with on-road & off-road cars & motorcycles. None of this is NEWS. DUH! Simple physics.
In general, if the design of a RC model boat works well, that design translates up well into full scale boats. But, when you scale down the design of a full sized boat that handles great - especially catamarans - it dosen't always translate well. When Venom first tested a scaled down prototype of the Miss GEICO it did not handle well. Among other things, it was too narrow and rolled easily. That's when Venom asked Darin Jordan to help modify the MG's design. As the designed evolved, it "resembled" the actual MG, but is not built to scale. The results speak for themselves. The FE MG is one of the best handling FE cat hulls in the Offshore P class available today.
I think both the smaller FE version and the larger converted gas versions of the Segad & King of Shaves are beautiful. The Segad in particular. While neither are built to scale, they do share the slab-sided design of the actual race boats. And, just like the full sized Segad & King of Shaves race boats, both the FE & converted gas RC versions are solid in the straights, but both roll over easily it the turns. The FE & ex-gasser hulls have a great deal of potential as SAW racers. Exactly how much potential my big Segad has will be answered at Legg Lake in October's SAWs. JIM
PS: Darin, if I have your story wrong, feel free to bitch slap me & set the record straight.
JIM MARCUM: NAMBA 777; EX? SoCal FE Racers Club; D-19; Official 2012 NAMBA FE Nationals Rescue Diver; Purple Heart Viet Nam Vet; Professional SCUBA/HOOKA Diver, KELCO, 1973-1978; BBA 1978, Magna Cum Laude; MBA 1980 w/honors; Retired DOD GS1102-12 Contract Specialist
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