Vintage
Race Boat Shop
Vintage
Race Boat Shop
We maintain vintage wooden boats.
Minutes:
From our APBA Vintage Winter Gathering - 2004
Detroit, Michigan
February 21, 2004
Wow - what a Gathering ???!!!
Yup, our second annual APBA Vintage Winter Gathering was a huge success - with over 60 attendees. Many thanks to our hosts, Tom & Jacq Bertolini.
Our business meeting was held first, was well attended and productive, and everyone behaved, thank you. Our first order of business was to agree that our growing APBA Vintage Winter Gatherings should be an annual event, based either in Detroit or at the annual APBA Winter Meeting.
After our business meeting, the food and second wave of vintage addicts started arriving, armed with copies of Phil Kunz's new book - Prop Riders. What a sight, everyone was autographing, and the vintage banter and videos continued well into the wee hours of the morning. A good time was had by all, as we bantered and fantasized about our exciting 2004 APBA Vintage Race Boat Circuit. Click here for some fun photos ???!!!
The following is a recap of the discussion points made during our business meeting. No new rules were put in place. We are not about rules and regulations, we are about having fun, safely, and sharing our passion and history of our beloved vintage race boats.
APBA Vintage Safety Inspection Form:
Our existing safety inspection form was designed by Bob Moore and Bill John, has been used since Madison 2002, and continues to work very well for us.
The mandatory requirements are:
Functional kill switch
Safety collar on prop shaft
Driver/rider must wear helmets
Driver/rider must wear life jackets
Driver/rider must be APBA Vintage members.
Lifting straps – each leg must be able to lift the entire boat weight
In addition, our APBA Vintage inspectors survey the entire boat and driver/rider safety gear, and strongly recommend improvements as required. Help is also frequently rendered, to enable the boat to run and to ensure a safe event.
We also discussed that through the hard work of of Tom and Judy D'Eath, there is but one level of APBA Vintage Membership. All those who hold a current APBA Vintage Membership are eligible to ride or drive a vintage race boat at APBA vintage events.
New section for our vintage safety inspection form:
It was suggested and agreed that we add a new section to our official inspection form - recommendations. These safety items would be strongly recommended by the inspectors, but would not be mandatory.
Vintage era safety equipment is legal, but current technology is strongly recommended.
Helmets should be current racing type and painted orange
Life jackets should be current racing type
Hydro drivers should wear ballistic pants
Lifting slings should be tagged with weight capacity
Please note that Lifeline, of Parker Arizona makes vintage looking life jackets using current technology. Check out their regular full page ads in Propeller Magazine, and their Website at www.lifelinejackets.com.
Rookie Drivers
We discussed a concern that with the growth of our vintage class, there will be rookie vintage drivers with limited seat-time on an actual race course.
It was suggested that rookie drivers try to obtain "seat-time" before participating in major APBA vintage events like Madison or Detroit. Seat-time is very important, and events like Dayton, Buffalo, and Clayton are a good place to start.
At the APBA Vintage event in Clayton this summer, Marv Hart is planning a vintage orientation for all drivers and crew members.
APBA Vintage Drivers Rep
Last year at Wolfeboro, the concept of an APBA Vintage Drivers Rep was instituted, worked very well, and is strongly recommended to be used at all APBA vintage events.
Donnie McLean was the Drivers Rep, and had to speak with several drivers about safety. The offending drivers responded positively, and we had a safe, accident free event.
The concept is as follows:
At daily vintage drivers meetings, the Safety Referee and the Drivers Rep are introduced, who reinforce that this is NOT a race, these are demonstration laps, and that safety is the number one concern. The drivers are also informed that they will be watched very closely on the course, and if any safety concerns are observed, the offending driver will be spoken to by the Drivers Rep.
If any safety concerns are observed, the Safety Referee and Drivers Rep review the situation, and if required, the Drivers Rep talks with the offending driver - providing education - and if required - a warning.
It is important to be aware that many vintage drivers are rookies, with limited seat-time on an actual race course. Therefore, the primary function of the Drivers Rep is for driver education - helping drivers to learn from their mistakes - and become better/safer drivers.
Vintage Drivers Meeting Checklist
It was agreed that our vintage drivers meetings should be held daily at our APBA vintage events, and should be more structured. That that end, Bill John volunteered to work with Joe Johnson and Bob Moore to develop a drivers meeting checklist - to be used at APBA vintage events - to ensure that important issues are discussed.
The following items were suggested for our checklist:
Stress that safety is the number one concern - this is not a race.
Review the schedule of events for the day,
Review the course layout, marker buoys and flags.
Review crane safety - hand signals, no lifting over people.
Review the proper way to enter and leave the course.
Introduce the pit boss and dock starters - review procedure to start a heat.
Introduce the Safety Referee and Drivers Rep - discuss safety.
First lap - parade lap
Encourage communication between drivers before each heat - run together
Important to "hold your lane" - leave adequate room between boats.
No alcohol in the pits - until the course is closed for the day.
No smoking in the pits at any time.
It was also agreed that in the interest of safety, the Vintage 100 MPH & Kilo Awards/Hats will be put on hold, pending further discussions with Tom D’Eath.
Vintage Media & P/R
With the growing interest in vintage race boats, and the increasing number of APBA vintage events, it is time to get serious about media and public relations. We spent a lot of time discussing this topic, and had some good input from several vintage event organizers. Here are some suggestions:
To promote our vintage events, the organizers need photos and information sheets for each vintage boat.
To put on a better show, and to help educate the fans, event announcers need information sheets to read during our vintage heats. Announcers also need these info sheets to promote vintage pit tours.
For vintage pit tours and autograph sessions, boat autograph cards are needed.
Also important to take the time to talk with people during the pit tours. Also great fun to put kids in our boats, with adequate care, and encourage all to take lots of photos.
In summary, a very proactive and productive meeting. We agreed that we are on the right track, as our growing APBA Vintage membership numbers indicate. Please remember, we are not about rules and regulations, we are about having fun, safely, and sharing our passion and history of our beloved vintage race boats ???!!!
Respectfully submitted by Tom Bertolini & Bill John.
