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mattyboy
05-13-2013, 08:17 AM
took the 40 minute ride over to Lake Hopatcong to see the OPA event had a great time . I thought it was a great venue and the yacht club was a great view point .

I have a few videos I need to upload check back later

mattyboy
05-13-2013, 08:52 AM
see if this works first heat

Greg Guimond
05-13-2013, 05:20 PM
Cool posts Matty. I always thought Lake H was pretty small. How did they run those speeds there? Also, did you see a grass roots class of 21' OB's run? There was a rumor that they were going to allow a low budget class to race.

mattyboy
05-13-2013, 07:20 PM
Cool posts Matty. I always thought Lake H was pretty small. How did they run those speeds there? Also, did you see a grass roots class of 21' OB's run? There was a rumor that they were going to allow a low budget class to race.


the lake has 47 miles of shore line and has several large basins , the race was on the north end of the lake and the action was very close to the shore and gave the crowd and great view. the course was probably around 2 miles long you could see both sides of the straightaway . not sure how the racers felt about the course but the fans loved it

the class is the new 700 class single eggbeater 17-21 feet 60 mph they did not have any entries in that class in this event

mattyboy
05-14-2013, 07:53 AM
here's some better pics from Lucididee fast boats my i phone went dead after heat 1

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/lucididee-fast-boats/296280-2013-lake-hopatcong-grand-prix.html


and a video from another spectator closer to the shore than we got , Marie was cold so we kept walking to the sun , the wind was pretty fierce .


http://s29.photobucket.com/user/skilliam/media/20130512_155136_zps26b8ea0f.mp4.html

mattyboy
05-14-2013, 08:47 AM
Greg

I toyed with the idea this would make a great 700 class boat . I said to Marie we should try this she could be the navigator. She said only if we had a bigger boat Like that Apache Chiro one . She said we would name it after her navigation skills and that early Native American tribe, team: we're dafukowee!

mattyboy
05-14-2013, 11:30 AM
another video courtesy of team TUG IT SVL

Greg this will give you an idea of the course the start finish line is basically the crane in the left hand part of the scene



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6nkrSBkWSs

Conquistador_del_mar
05-14-2013, 12:04 PM
I know the GoPro cameras have a wide angle view, but those boats sure look like they are running very close to each other! Why do they load the boats by crane instead of trailering in? Are the ramps too steep for the long and heavy race boats? Thanks, Bill

mattyboy
05-14-2013, 12:24 PM
Bill they launched some by trailer

I think there are a few reasons

it gives them double the launching capacity they had two lines going one at the ramp and one at the crane for each heat

some of the tilt cat trailers look to me like they are not float on/ off.

bet some of those big cats are a real pleasure around the docks, remember this is a lake with docks and fingers setup for lake boats. the lift dropped them on a straight dock no navigating the docks just forward and go.

depth and turnouts at the ramp some of the larger boats I don't think would float off without dunking the rig too and with their tow rigs had issues with the space there were display booths and emergency apparatus in the ramp area. the class 5 and 6 for the most part used the ramp but some were lifted in. the infield for lack of a better term was pretty ripped up where they parked the rigs we had a lot of rain in the prior days so the ground was soft.
yes i would imagine the course is tighter than most and the action was tight and very close to the spectator area giving the audience and up close. Marie and I had a blast it was really exciting .

I have a video of a lifting pretty cool let's see if I can find it

mattyboy
05-14-2013, 12:32 PM
here's a lifting

Greg Guimond
05-14-2013, 05:25 PM
Greg, I toyed with the idea this would make a great 700 class boat . I said to Marie we should try this she could be the navigator.

Matty, what is hiding under that cover? Is that an old Apache 21 with a bracketed wacker? The course is longer and larger than I would have thought but I agree those boats tend to run very close. Thanks for the cool videos, I keep waiting to see a Warlock race boat in there somewhere lol.

mattyboy
05-14-2013, 06:37 PM
Matty, what is hiding under that cover? Is that an old Apache 21 with a bracketed wacker? The course is longer and larger than I would have thought but I agree those boats tend to run very close. Thanks for the cool videos, I keep waiting to see a Warlock race boat in there somewhere lol.

there was a warlock in there "pump it" not sure I got it in the video but the stills from lucididee got it.

it is an early challenger 21 been bouncing around my lake for some time now not sure if it is for sale or not think it does have a bracket too

Greg Guimond
05-14-2013, 08:27 PM
Missed those shots of "pump it" Matty, I'll have to check how they did with that Warlock World Class :checkered:

Now you know that the Challenger 21 started it all and in fact, the next iteration was Team Shadow built on Lake H. That would be a great restore, but I'm not sure you could deal with that rat....a...tat-tat and all that blue smoke. :rofl:

There is a pretty darn unique piece out there that is a close second to a Challenger..........I have owned two and never seen one that was fresh water only. :drool:

mattyboy
05-14-2013, 09:02 PM
Greg
I spent a bunch of time as a teenager in challengers late 1970s. I did yard work and go for for a guy that had 2 of them and know of another two on my lake One was a twin race boat I posted pics of it somewhere. The pay was ok but the perks were jet ski and waterskiing and every once and a while seat time in the challenger

blue smoke is where I started as a 12 yr old I had a 16 foot 1964 Starcraft beer can with a west bend 40 HP golden shark

Think the warlock took 3 in the 500 class. Check the oso threads they have a ton of pics

Greg Guimond
05-14-2013, 10:38 PM
They really are legends, did not know that you had grown up around them...........

Greg Guimond
05-14-2013, 10:40 PM
I will now take 30 paces back to the woodshed for a firm weedeater woopin.............

mattyboy
05-15-2013, 06:25 AM
this is the one the guy I worked for owned it was one of George Linder's race boats

mattyboy
05-15-2013, 06:48 AM
Greg post 13 in this thread is the warlock the superboat above it won that class the pro boat had a single etec rude on it

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/opa-jersey-boyz/296276-photos-2013-lake-hopatcong-grand-prix-2.html

mattyboy
05-15-2013, 08:37 AM
Greg,
here are the other two that ran around the lake. the one I drove around in was a red and white one single merc 200 nice boat rode great and was pretty fast .

the older brother of the guy in the brown challenger was the lake's Donzi dealer.

Greg Guimond
05-15-2013, 07:54 PM
Nice old pictures from back in the day. One thing I regret is not having any photos from my youth with my old 16 Classic.

mattyboy
05-16-2013, 06:32 AM
Greg

that is a doubled edged sword yes I have very few pics of my boating life and my youth outside family life. I had a polaroid and an instamatic 110 but wasn't really a shutterbug. BUT I think that is a good thing with today's easy access to phone camera and video cams on every corner I would say I would have been viral and juvey in a heartbeat. I wonder how many hits I would have gotten with the waterski boot on the skateboard being towed down the street with a kawasaki 125 I think the term today's kids use is "EPIC FAIL".

If you get a chance the OPA has two more events in our NYC metro area Long Beach NY and Atlantic City NJ. check their site

http://www.oparacing.org/

yembo77
05-16-2013, 12:56 PM
Matty,

I pass that boat all the time and always thougHt it might be a superboat. What is the point of the raised cable down the bow, I've never understood that? I don't think he launched it last year and it sat on the trailer all summer. Cool looking hull and long!

Still have my dash torn apart and have yet to fire my boat. Looking to wrench on it all day Saturday and maybe Friday eve. I want it ready for mem day weekend. I hope to be on the lake. You?

Matt

mattyboy
05-16-2013, 01:16 PM
Matt,
I have never seen the boat in the water I have seen it a few years ago at a marina getting worked on. The cable is supposed to aid in deck walking I have seen them on cigs,magnums and superboats . The hornet is ready fluids changed battery charged on it's new trailer just a few minor things to do. May has been hectic Mother's Day has been our only down time, so we went over to the races. Not sure if we will be on the lake over the holiday, this weekend my daughter graduates from the University of New Haven so we will be in Ct. then she may need us to help move her over the holiday weekend and then the following weekend I have family coming into town for a graduation celebration here. The first chance i may get is the dustoff :rolleyes: maybe I can splashe her one day during the week play a little hooky