Tug It is a sleek, needle-nosed race boat, home-based in Baltimore. Her name reflects sponsor Smith Shipyard’s background in tugboat operations in and around the Chesapeake Bay. Exclusively used for racing, this racer’s top speed has been clocked at 93 mph. And this season, she’s scheduled to compete right here on the Chesapeake Bay in the Super Vee Lite American Power Boat Association (APBA) class in the OPA racing series.
Since boat racing operates according to a strict rule book,
Tug It was built to a set of standards for her hull, her engine, and her weight at the end of each race. Her single cast-iron, big-block Chevy (made specifically for racing by Mercury Marine for high performance boating) puts out at 525 hp. Although Mercury Racing makes engines up to 1650 hp, this racing class uses the 525 hp to control costs.
According to those strict racing rules, the engine is marked and sealed before it leaves the Mercury Marine engine factory. Then about every three years, the engine is sent back to Mercury for “refreshing.” After each rebuild, the engine is again sealed by Mercury to ensure everyone in the class has roughly the same power. It’s a computer numerical control- (CNC) machined block that has 502 cubic inches of displacement (CID). Mercury adds high performance aluminum cylinder heads that are made by Edelbrock to Mercury’s specifications. Mercury Racing’s closed cooling system allows this mix of metals to co-exist in the engine. Special connecting rods and forged pistons add to the durability of the engine package. Features such as water cooling the fuel as it enters the engine are also included in the design to increase reliability.
During a day of racing, the throttle is usually down with the engine operating at 5450 RPM. This is the rev-limiter setting by Mercury for the 525 hp engine, although Mercury publishes a max range of 4800-5200 RPM. Racing demands the most boat speed and that requires a prop selection that allows the engine to “bounce” on and off its rev-limiter engine RPM. Such behavior is not good for the engine, so it’s only done when a podium finish is in contention.
Tug It uses a Mercury Marine stern-drive, as does every other boat in her class. The technical detail here is in the mix of part sections that make up the racing application of the outdrive. These drives have an upper section and a lower section. Although all boats in this class use the standard Mercury upper section of the drive, there are two lower sections used, either one from IMCO or Mercury’s Speedmaster. Then there are the propeller selections, which are also evaluated for their impact on performance under various racing conditions. Following exhaustive testing, the
Tug It team now uses two props: one for a tighter, short race course and another that’s their favorite for longer courses. Funny thing… the brand, specs, and prop tuner’s name are never mentioned in conversation. Who-does-what regarding your race boat’s prop is a closely guarded secret.
The 1999 Phantom Boats Speedster model is one of the most well-respected, competitive offshore powerboats available in the world. The
Tug It team feels that Phantom Boats offers the best balance of stability, handling, and speed. This team has now owned two Phantom Speedster models, and feels that the balance and weight in the current model gives them an edge over their previous racer, as well as the other models that they race against. The bottom design, the aerodynamics, and the length-to-beam ratio (29’ 10” with a beam of 7’ 2”) make for an incredibly fast racer.
Tug It is raced with a two-man team: a driver who steers the boat and a throttle man who sets the throttle and uses the stern drive’s power trim and the boat’s heavy-duty trim tabs to adjust the boat’s attitude, level of control, and speed. The driver is fearless Wil Ros. A former race boat owner himself, he now limits his involvement in the sport exclusively to driving. On occasion, Brit Lilly of Lilly Sport Boats subs for Wil as the driver. Brit is a second-generation racer who lives and loves boating. Kevin Smith is the throttle man, perhaps the key man for best boat control and speed. Scott Glockner functions as the team’s manager.
When the cockpit is covered with a canopy, an offshore racer is called a “sit-down” boat. This is an alternative to an open-cockpit offshore race boat, where the crew takes the beating of the waves, turns, slams, and extreme speed by standing up in a deep bottomless type of seat, so they can absorb the pounding by flexing their knees with the motion of the boat. The human body can’t take the beating of offshore racing standing upright with straight legs, which transmits the shock right up the spine.
Tug It is a canopy boat. She’ll also sport a very sophisticated racing seat set-up that’s now being engineered for her for the 2014 season. Both her driver and throttle man will sit in a custom, hand-engineered seat with springs to absorb the shocks as the boat slams into and over ocean waves. First this has to be designed, then made and custom-fitted into this boat. After the seat is in place and rigged to the boat while still allowing for the up-and-down spring action, testing will be done to properly size the springs to each crewman’s weight.
It may come as a surprise that it takes a trailer engineered to carry 7000 pounds to tow a boat that weighs only 4950 pounds. That’s because the boat plus all its necessary gear—supplies, fuel, and the weight of the trailer itself—were factored in when the trailer was engineered for a maximum of 7000 pounds.
Tug It is towed behind a Freightliner hauler, which carries tools, spare parts, crew supplies, and items (such as the four scooters that the crew uses to get around the race course pits).
If you want to get up close and personal—and watch 90-plus mph powerboat racing at its finest right here in Maryland—then plan on attending the Nationals down in Solomons, MD, on September 12-14. Or make it a point to go see the international and “Miami Style” racers go head-to-head for the top title in the OPA World Championship down in Ocean City, MD, on October 3-5. Can’t wait that long? Run up to Lake Hopatcong in northern New Jersey May 2-4, or catch three days of racing in Atlantic City June 20-22.
tugitracing.com
by Chris "Seabuddy" Brown
