Joe Mcauley and his Son Hans Kuffner-Mccauley bought an SST 45 rig. This has a ca. 1988 Evinrude 60 hp SST45 motor, mid-1990s Grand Prix tunnel. Hans, guided by AOMC member Darrell Beaulier made the boat repairs. Joe will go through the motor after the racing season is over. See the gallery photos:
For those club members that don’t know, SST45 is an Outboard performance Craft (OPC) class running a 13′ tunnel powered by the ca. 1990 44 cu. in. OMC 60 hp racing motor. The power head is not identical to the 60 hp production motor but is close enough that a fishing power head can be rebuilt and converted. Blueprinting is allowed so a good motor pulls 190 psi compression. A typical fishing motor pulls about 135 psi. The SST45 exhaust housing is very short and the racing gear case has no shift and is 1:1. The kilo record is around 80 mph. The boats run on very short, tight courses and the motors turn about 7300 RPM.
A dunk test is required for beginners and every two years for all drivers. One sits in a capsule like the one in the cockpit of every tunnel and is rotated backward under water. The driver is strapped in in seat belts as in a race. He must first open the canopy, remove the steering wheel (it slides off the shaft), unbuckle himself and exist upside down under water. The rescue team is extremely important. The rescue boat has two divers prepared to help when a driver doesn’t emerge immediately from a blown-over or barrel-rolled boat.
Hans took the dunk test and driving school at the OPC Nationals at Kankakee Labor Day weekend and ran as rookie at Orange Sept. 23 weekend. Texas has two big national races, Port Neches in April and Orange in Sept. Boats come from as far as Illlinois, Canada and Miami to run. The races here are sanctioned by American Powerboat Association (APBA) and organized by S.P.O.R.T., run by the Schuberts of Sport Marine in Richmond. I rework the props for this class and just finished a Dewald 8.5×11 for Hans. Several boats including three top runners run the McCauley & Son decals.
Hans, as a rookie, ran three 15 lap heats and then would have run 3rd in the 30 lap finale had the spring not popped off the foot pedal. He got it back on but then was 2 laps down. He passed the 3rd place boat on the outside coming out of a turn 2 laps before the heat ended. Many an old hand allowed as how it had been a long time since they’d seen a rookie drive like that. Hans’ rookie status was removed Saturday evening before the finale.
Figures in the gallery include:
1. Hans in an SST45 rig in driving school at Kankakee
2. Cornelia, Darrell and Hans in Darrell’s shop
3. Hans repairing a crack in the port sponson
4. SST45 outboard
5 thru 7 Hans racing the SST at Orange Sept 23rd.
