News at 11
By Rags Grenier
NAMBA District 11 Director
Editors Note: Long time District 11
Director Rags Grenier has written race
reports and financial statements
e-mailing them to his district members. I
have been included in those e-mails so I
thought that I would share some of that
with you. Their newsletter is called “The
Waterline”
August in Rollinsford
After the delay of a month plus, race
number one became race number two
and is now behind us, but not without
leaving us with more memories of a
pleasant day of racing. I set up the
course that morning, and after some
adjustments, we had open water and
racing got under way on time. We got in
the four rounds at an easy leisurely pace
and I trust everyone had a good time.
It was a little different this time as we
had a couple of collisions, but I didn't
see any great damage other than to the
points totals. We also had the requisite
break for a wedding at the gazebo so
when the happy couple looks at their
video in the future, they won't be
listening to high RPM madness
(although the rest of us would like it).
We pretty much had the same boat
count as Mansfield, although Terry
Munn made it back and pretty much
didn't skip a beat despite his absence. He
was strong in all of the classes he
entered. Josh Tullson and Archie
Martinez continue to be the hot guys to
chase cleaning up in their classes for the
second race in a row. Let's see who will
challenge them this Saturday.
Oh yeah, one other thing. I did not
get a porta-potti and depended on
everyone using the woods or Cumbies
down the street. Sorry to have to do that
to you, but we went a little bit in the hole
financially last year (no pun intended).
By skipping this one time, we should not
have to do that again in the future as we
are now ahead financially. Another side
affect of the low boat count I am
afraid. My thanks to Butch Thibodeau
for his help and the Wakemakers R/C
Boat Racing Club for the use of their
retrieve boat.
(Continued on page 16)
PROPWASH
October 2014
15
Now what can you do for a site that is on a large lake or waterway? Here is where
you would need to create a box around the race course. The net will be the same, but
in addition to the shore anchors, you will need two anchors to pull out the two on the
water corners. The anchor lines can be attached at an angle at the bottom of buoys on
the two on the water corners. See below.
To enclose a standard 330 foot straight, 70 foot wide NAMBA course, the box
above would need to be 200 feet wide and 600 feet long as a minimum. Big, fast boats
would need a bigger box. The minimum box would take at least 1,000 feet of net.
Other nets would depend on the width of the pond or river that needs to be isolated.
The cost will be around $2000 to $4000 depending on how long the net needs to be
and how creative you are at getting fancy. Check local sources for better deals. Some
suppliers are:
Netting - www.christensennetworks.com (supplier for the Lake Minden net)
Crab Pot Buoys - www.easternmarine.com
Snap Hooks - www.discountmarinesupplies.com
Storage drum - check local electric companies for discarded wooden cable reels and
build the rest of the set up.
Winch motor - www.harborfreight.com (2500 lb electric winch/wireless remote)
(It’s hard to beat a winch like this for the cost. Adapt it to the above drum.)
Trailer - www.harborfreight.com (modified to carry the reel or find a used reel trailer
like in the picture.
This style of safety net is also suitable where the water is secure, but spectators
need to be protected. If people come close to the edge of the pond, a sports net in the
water at the pond edge will stop a runaway boat. In this case the buoys can be replaced
with flexible posts. These posts can be pushed into the pond bottom or supported on
heavy disks. The net does not need to be high or tight. It only needs to trap the boat.
The construction netting that is often used for this is not strong enough to always stop
a boat. It is mostly useful for keeping spectators back. That can be done at a lower cost
with caution tape.
Space between the pond edge and any spectators is often enough since boats
usually do not travel that far beyond the pond edge. However, spectators around ponds
with low edges are always at risk. I have even seen boats get out of ponds with three
foot banks. It may be time to consider safety netting in highly populated areas.