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For the last several months there has been a lot of discussion and input from the T members to up date our rules. Paul Coulter has headed this team project and this weekend the changes will be presented at the CBF convention for approval. This has been a major task and thanks for the input from those involved and a special thanks to Paul who was able to keep the project moving forward.
SO! What has happened:
First of all we have increased the number of inspectors.
The number one focus is SAFETY. Included in the rules is a safety check list. It MUST be completed and signed off before you are allowed in the water. it is the racers responsibility PERIOD...
Second There will be motor inspections in T850.
Third There is more detail re the spec of the 56 OMC Bridgeport motor.
Fourth The 49 twin carb Mercury is on probation in T750 for 2015.
There are several clarifications in the spec rules. These were grey areas that needed to be addressed.

So what does it mean to you!
You will be given a rule book from me,
You will read and follow the rules.

Thanks Dan, for the message asking about the 49 Mercury on probation in T750.
Here is the reason:
The T750 class is for motors 45 cu. inches and less. Some 2 cylinder models can be a bit larger displacement. The original rule to allow the 49 Mercury in was the number of boats in the area that ran that motor and wanted to race. That motor on those boats ALL ran in the 53 to 55 mph range. Competitive with our T750s. Two 49 Mercurys currently race in the T750 class. The T750 members have NO PROBLEM with those two boats. The concern is new racers seeing an advantage in that motor and building more racer power heads. T does not want to encourage others to do that. If you want to race T750 build a true T750 motor. If you are one of the others with a 49 Mercury, come out and race, but remember if your too fast for T750 the you WILL need to move up to T850.

Thank you Don. I can't wait for the season to start!

Most of the discussions concerned the 56 cu, in OMC. Many had a problem with the 4 different 56 models and thought they could alter ANY 56 model to the SST 60 spec. The oval port was the one that many messed up on.
Forget the two blocks production [sand cast] and foam cast. The cylinder sleeve is the key. There are only 2 different types of sleeves. One has a bridge thru the port [bridge port] and one does not [oval port].

The oval port 56 is NOT INCLUDED in the SST60 allowed specs. It is a separate motor. Same as the 49 OMC is a separate motor. The rules for it are the same as for any other motor. It can race as a balanced blue printed, motor using its original carbs and original porting. Your CANNOT alter the ports and run the larger carbs.

The bridge port 56 has 3 different sleeves:
- fishing motor without the decompression hole
- fishing motor with the decompression hole
- SST 60
There is more detail in the 2015 rules as to what you can do and YES they will be inspected along with the compression check.

ALL of the rule changes are based on fact and learned lessons from last year.

The 56 OMC rule changes are not major changes to the previous rules.
T class is a affordable race class. We were seeing this expect changing. Racers were spending more and more money and there was a wider range in performance compared to previous years. Plus there were engine failures and racers not being able race. We did learn a lot about what works and what does last.

We also opened some rules and closed others.
Examples:
Tuner....in 2015 you can run any tuner..BUT No dry stacking! This is for all T750's and T850's.
The skeg on an OMC Nitro case can be the enlarged to the same size as the SST60 skeg. This does improve the cornering.
We saw examples of this last year.

The suggested new skeg rule was the skeg was to be OPEN. That rule was rejected because that would mean you could run with NO skeg at all and that is a safety issue. YOU must run the stock skeg on all motors. HOWEVER, the OMC nitro case will still be able to run with the SST60 skeg under the current rules as mentioned in the post above. REASON: The SST60 case is legal and nose cones are legal. Most like to run with no nose cone. So the nitro case with an SST60 skeg is legal. That case is the same as the SST60 with no nose cone. BUT you cannot have a skeg larger than the SST60 on the nitro.

Just to clarify this. The OMC is the only motor that has two gear cases. The nitro from the 49 and the SST60 from the 56. Rules allow you to run a nose cone on any gear case. You can run no nose cone. You are allowed to remove the nose cone off your SST60 if you want to. That is legal. Now you have a nitro style case with the larger skeg. So on your motor information sheet you state you run an SST60 case with no nose cone. It you make the skeg on your nitro case the same as the SST60, you have exactly the same thing. So they are both legal. You DO NOT have that option on any other model of motor in 2015.