Well, did my first 180!!!!

[biller31]

Not quite a bat-turn, but a good example of how things can go south in a hurry..... notice how the bow comes down mis-aligned with the momentum of the boat, setting up a lever arm that turns the boat around in a hurry!

http://s236.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Fieldzy15/Vid/?action=view&current=einekjaervelt.mp4&sort=ascending

Yeah, That's kinda what I remember... except for the upside down part.

 

[Alli-drenaline Rush]

Thanks everyone for candidly sharing your learnings!

 

[Jr in Jax]

I know right... I've searched YouTube to no end looking for one :bang head. It's almost like an albino alligator, everyone one wants to see one but nobody want to have to meet and deal with it. I love all the stories, hopefully they will prepare me for when it happens.

Kevin shot some great pictures of me doing about a dozen of them at the Palatka Hot Boats Reunion about 7-8 years ago. I had one of them with the bow straight down and the water line at the windshield. You pull about 5 Gs.....

 

[SmallJaw]

Dangit Jr in Jax!, that's pretty freak'n scary looking. I guess it really is a good thing Ray left me a roll of toilet paper in my boat when I bought it from him. If mine ever does that 180 thing like yours did it will take more than a roll to clean my butt up!

 

[h2oskiier30]

There is a vid of a drag doing a bat turn coming across the finish line at some races... It was a relatively new driver that was in it, but the vid just catched 2-3 seconds of it skipping sideways... Word is that he was heading right toward the judges booth and had the cleverness of thought to keep the boat spinning around and gassed it going backward to save it from ramping onto the bank and ending up stuffing in the clay..

I believe this is it...happens in the first 2or 3 seconds of the video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GPJ8aJ92To&feature=plcp

 

[Jr in Jax]

A good bat turn is over in about 1 second and you don't even have time to think about it.

The G force gives you a big blood blister under your skin [and the imprint of your vest] from your waist to your shoulder from being pressed against the cockpit. Don't try it in a bass boat or you'll be doing some horizontal skydiving with a STOL landing....

BTW, make sure your jackplate and setback plates are in good shape. I tore a 3" long tear in my 4" Allison setback plate that Jack Barsh found while it was in his shop.

The more passengers in the rear, the faster it swings....Since the bow goes down on a Grandsport and it pivots standing up, the rear passengers are pressed into their seats and thrown sideways into each other.