Kings Of The Forum

[911Dispatch]

I'd like to know, and I'm sure I won't get a straight answer anyway but, what the heck! Who's the King around here? I know I've heard a lot of knowledge and experience come from Ron, DD, and HJ. :) Not too belittle anyone else and my apologies if I forgot anyone but, that's why I'm inquiring. I'm just trying to find out where the experience lye’s, who's been around the longest, maybe some background, things of that nature. I thought these guys were the kings and they very well may be but, who's this Mike T guy that popped up the other day in a thread? :confused: Has he been around awhile? Also, if anyone would be so kind as to rank these guys (in their opinion ;) ) in order of experience, feel free. Thanks

[lovinnitro]

You won't get any agument from me about those guys knowing their stuff. but I've seen them all ask questions. and I think each mentioned run different kinds and styles of boats which all require different setup and knowledge. out of age I think Ron (sorry Ron :rolleyes: ) probably has the most experience not sure how old Hydro is.
I can't rank them they all have helped me in one way or the other.

[Hydro Junkie]

Can I rain on your parade a little bit? You also have to look at where the experience comes from. DD is more of a gas boater with some background in nitro. My background is in hydros, both R/C and full size. Ron has a broader range(from what I can tell) including Vees, tunnels and hydros. On top of that, Ron and I have been in the "sport" for over 20 years each, while DD's experience is more in the short term. Don't know enough from the few posts from Mike T to say anything beyond he knows "cats". IMHO, no one person is the king. We all work together, from those of us with 20+ years to the newest rookie, to help each other out with problems, challenges and ideas to make boating better for all. Isn't that what this forum is all about :)



Just an added note: Age doesn't mean experience. Yes, Ron is older than me, but let me use some other examples. Chris LaPanse is a student not out of high school yet, but he has much more knowledge than many older people on the forum. In my other hobby(Square and Round Dancing), I've been involved for over 30 years, yet I'm second youngest member of the club I belong to. Only one couple in the club has more floor time than I do, being founding members of the club in 1957.

[Doubledog]

Geesh. Just to have my name mentioned is a privilege.:)

HJ hit the nail on the head... (don't want to quote his whole post).

Everyone here contributes.

That to me is what makes it fun. Newbies especially have a lot of input and I cant' stress it enough that you especially contribute! Being open minded and listening to opinions from you is whats important.

A strong point to make is that I have no experience in painting. Well a little, but its almost always turned out poor. Some might not have modeling experience, you do have it in other areas & have shown it time & time again.

We all appreciate it.

Right now I'm having trouble with shaft log to strut assembly and will post a new thread later asking you guys for help. Do you know the answer? If not, post an idea. We are not here to bust out someone with a crazy idea. Funny thing, I know the answer to most of my own questions but being open allows us to apply your ideas. That I've done many times.

I love Jims but this place is by far the best ever! You guys make it what it is. A high post rate means nothing. If you look at mine, its mainly posting photos and "atta boys" for a job well done & for some nice rigs. To say who contributes the most is hard one to answer.

Good post, but you guys are the Kings in my opinion. :)

[Hydro Junkie]

Well said DD

[Ron Olson]

I don't like the title of King, I'm just a regular person that has been in this hobby in various forms for a good 30 years. If I don't know something, I'll keep my keyboard quiet. I do ask questions also so that I can and do learn from here and other sites. If it wasn't for this computer, my learning curve would be much lower. I'm a member of just about every R/C boating site that I can find and a boating Forum Moderator on one. I won't mention their name here as they don't like links to other forum sites.
Mike Tyson is well known over at Jim's R/C Boat dock along with his products. Just because you see a low posting count on somebody, don't assume that they are a 14 year-old kid with a new toy. I'm as guilty of this as anyone. My high post count comes from being one of the first members in here and answering the same question who knows how many times.
Andy Brown recently joined a site where I hang out at a lot and it's amusing to see a "Newbie" or "Beginning Boater" beside his name.
I'm no hot-shot Pro (I wish) and as I get a new style of boat (I'm kind of looking at a Sport 20 hydro now) I keep on learning. I know some guys that make me look like the Village Idiot when it comes to this hobby/sport, I am in awe of their expertise. You'll probably never see my name in RCBM under race results or my picture in there (my butt was in there once, I was sitting behind a tree when the shot was taken) unless I contribute something to the mag like pix of my boats, a letter to the Ed or a tip to get me a free subscription.
Experience. Some electric but mostly nitro power. Monos, tunnels and just getting into 'riggers. I've been really getting into the small-block (under .21) boats lately trying to get some serious speed out of them. Boat Freak, yeah, as I'm typing right now I have a video from the 2004 IMPBA Internats playing.

[Doubledog]

Someone posted about "eating, sleeping, all day thinking about boats" a while back.

THATS ME !

Lets just say that my wife & I went to McDonalds for lunch today. She had a salad with her burger. While she was eating, I couldn't help but notice the plastic fork looked to be pretty strong & the wheels got to turning.... It came home with us and I'll use it to stir epoxy. :D See, there's an idea!

Always got boats on my mind.:)

[BoatDoc]

it's funny that you mention andy brown. i just saw a video of one of his boats earlier today...120.6 mph!!!! phew!! i've been into boats for 9 years and i'm still trying to figure out exactly what i'm doing. the fun of the hobby is learning new stuff and sharing what you do know with others. however, having guys like ron and hj around is always good. they share a lot of knowledge. if you're like me and don't run boats with a club, these forums become really helpful!

[911Dispatch]

Great.....that clarifies things little bit. Is Mike Tyson his real name? Hey Ron, maybe you could talk Andy into joining this forum. We need to have all the masters in one place instead of scattered all over the internet. Sorry, BoatDoc I meant to include you as well. Also Ron I know which other site your moderator on and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that Howard Power is a member there also. I don't know much about him either but, I've heard his name a few times as well :rolleyes: just like you and Andy and the rest of these guys I mentioned. Thanks for everyone's input.

[Ron Olson]

I hope that Mike doesn't mind that I "outted" him.
I've seen the name HowPow on there selling stuff.
911, you know the rules of that site, I couldn't link to anything here so I won't give them the pleasure of linking to them in here. It's their rules, not mine although they even advertise their site in RCBM.
Andy doesn't get on that site too often, the guy has a business that keeps him kinda busy, an understatement. :)
I really like visiting this place. Each site seems to take on an identity after a while. This one is great for the new boaters, some are for Gas boats, others may specialize in tunnels, 'riggers or whatever becomes popular in there.

[Mike T]

Mike Tyson is his real name and he had it first, being ten years older than the ever-popular pugilist. Don't try to Google search me; the dirt on that other guy is all you'll find.

But I wouldn't claim to be the king of anything. I do hang out a lot on Jim's, and build a lot of stuff for myself, for others, and to sell. T-Mod Stinger Mufflers, Prop Pitch Gauges, Prop Molds, and Pitching Pliers mainly. The occasional Zenoah belt-starter pulley or throttle arm. Also do my own Zenoah mods. I race in the local club and go to the Gas Nats to meet, greet and race. I generally take home a trophy, however minor, from whatever I events I attend. I do bend over backwards to help those who ask, offering advice, spare parts, or machine shop services whenever possible. Or not. I guess I owe everone here an apology for not properly introducing myself from the outset.

[BoatDoc]

it's good that the newbies can come in here to get answers. i ran into a guy when i first started who wouldn't help you at all unless you had a speed record already. that's an exageration...but he had that kind of attitude. i'm probably the king of stupid questions and strange ideas, and asking the "hot shots" can be a bit intimidating some times.

[CFRACR]

I Read This Thread Carefully. I Must Say That I Came Up With This. There Should Not Be A King, Kings Can Always Be Overthrown. :)
I Feel That Just About Everyone Has Something To Contribute. There Is Always The Times When A Newbie Comes Up With Something Good That Works.
I Personally Have Been Serious In R/c For Hmmmmmm, 20yrs Give Or Take. Mostly In Nitro, Planes & Boats. I Never Contributed To Forums In The Past Because I Never Had The Time. Was Hard Enough Just To Get Out To The Flying Field Or Lake.
I Will Confess That I Don't Know Everything & Am No Pro. I Have No Problem Being Humble And Learning From Someone. Which Goes Back To The King Thing. The Only "kings" That I Have Seen In The Hobby Are The Guys That Are Always Out At The Pond Or Flying Field. They Are The First Ones To Tell You What You Are Doing Wrong, Give You There "right" Way Of Doing It And Pretty Much Be Full Of Advice. Yet, They Are There Every Time You Are & More. There Always Dishing Out Advice And never Have A Plane Or Boat. They Think There Kings I Guess, & Every Club Has One.

On Another Note. ron, Interesting That You Say Something About Riggers. I Got A Wild Hair Last Week And Picked Up Some Wood From The Lhs. Starting To Design A Scratch Rigger For .15-.21
I Wanted To See What I Could Come Up With. That Is To Get A fast Boat For Little Doe. Also Something That Is Not Really To Complex. That Way When A Newbie Says "i Wan't Faster" I Will Have A Prototype That Should Cost About 25.00, Less Harware And Engine. I Personally Like The Smaller Boats Myself. It Lets Me Have More Boats To Play With, Since I Have Planes Too!!!

[Ron Olson]

Mike, did you get to meet Antron Brown at the Gas Nats? From what I saw, it sounded like he is a pretty nice guy. For the others, THE Antron Brown, Pro Bike Drag racer who is a Gas boat racer too! I did talk to a few Pro Drag racers in my time, Don Garlits really stood out to me. He would talk to you like you were friends for years.
Boatdoc, we were all there at one time. Remember, we're all still learning every day. Some of you don't race but I always look forward to going. I always learn something and get to see the friends that I've met.

[Mike T]

I did in fact meet Antron at the Nats. I had talked with him a while back on the phone making a muffler and prop tools deal, and was very impressed then, but in person he's a stitch. A great guy all the way around. Very enthusiastic, a great driver and a very good builder, too. His rigs were too pretty to race. Still hard to imagine him running that drag bike. He was there with Jeff Michaud (Insane Boats), Carlo (CC Racing Engines) and Chris Herzog. What a group. Makes one feel humble. Antron was given the Sportsmanship Award as well as winning several class trophies. He and Jeff also got thrown in the lake for good luck. I think the chance to meet the others is the best reason of all to go to the nats. Carlo is also great to talk to and will share some great engine building info for the asking. He, by the way, built the Zenoah engine that Jeff Michaud used to to break the 100 mph gas SAW mark for the first time.

[Watercadet]

Can I be the King of "Checks in most often?"

[911Dispatch]

Well...........I'm glad everybody showed up and responded to this thread, it was fun to find out where you guys are coming from. Just information, I wasn't inferring that there were one or a few people in this forum that is better than anybody else. I know that everyone's opinion matters and everybody has something to contribute to the forum. The fact remains that there are a hand full of individuals that are antiques in this field and most boaters on here look up too. One might take their advice over two or three opposing opinion on a fix or mod question. I've read several times where a thread was started for a problem and you have one person give advice on how to fix the problem and you have another person saying, no that's wrong, you should do it this way. It's nice to put a personality with the name so to speak. I would sure take the advice of one of these guys over "Joe Shmoe", who I know nothing about, when I need some help on my boat in the future. :)

[Hydro Junkie]

I'm sure I can speak for Ron, DD and Watercadet, when I say we don't know everything, or anywhere close to it. The person that says they do is lying to everyone, including themselves. The best way to deal with the "My way is the only way, he is dead wrong" personality is to take what everyone says and make your own choise on who's right. When it comes right down to it, who's boat is it in the first place. I'll be the first to admit I'm wrong(if and when that ever happens :D ), but I'll also give someone else's suggestion the vote of approval if their way sounds better than mine(which isn't likely :D ). Don't know about you guys, but on second thought, I like the idea of being Royalty :D

[Ron Olson]

Antiques yes. :) I'm old enough where I used the Futaba box wheel radio, before ESC's and you weren't a flyer unless you had a Kraft radio system. I remember meeting the guys at Traxxas and Bob Novak when they were garage operations.How about when the K&B 3.5 OB's when they were new, The Dumas Hot Shot 21, the Midwest Klampon Kai and the Hughey tunnel were the ones to have? Gawd I'm old!

[BoatDoc]

i may not have been doing this as long as a few of you guys...but my "ole reliable" boat that i run all the time and love to death is older than some of the guys on the forum!! i'm still using the futaba fp-s134 servo for steering! in fact, that boat has been around twice as long as i've been in the hobby.

[lovinnitro]

"Just an added note: Age doesn't mean experience. Yes, Ron is older than me, but let me use some other examples. Chris LaPanse is a student not out of high school yet, but he has much more knowledge than many older people on the forum."
Sorry if I offended you Hydro. I know that Ron has been doing this 20 or so years. didn't realize you have been around as long. point there was that some of the older guys can have a little more experience since they have been around it longer. kind of hard for a 20 year old to have 20 years under his / her belt.
However, I am trying to correct that with my kids :D :D

[Hydro Junkie]

Granted, but what I was trying to point out is that some people equate age with experience. That is why I threw in the reference about dancing. Many look at someone in an activity with grey hair to be experts, when many are just beginners themselves. I'll go back to my dancing example, only one couple has more what is referred to as floor time than me. They were learned to dance in 1957(if not earlier) meaning they have been dancing for 48 years or more. If they started dancing at the age of 20, they would be 68 years old now. I've been dancing for 31 years, but I started as a preteen. By doing a litle math, that should tell you my age group. Now, to take it one step further, I'm the second youngest dancer in my club, while the average age in the club is mid to late 50s. The average dancer in the club has about ten years of experience, though many have less than five. See where this is going? Age doesn't mean experience, Experience comes from time participating. If you can have your kids become experts by the age of 20, fantastic. We (like all other activities)need kids to pass on what we have learned to

[lovinnitro]

"Experience comes from time participating."

Guess that was my point all along Hydro, but regardless, can't have more time participating than being alive. :D

[scottericsonon]

me personally i know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING LOL


KIDDING ill be the first to admit i dont know a damn thing about ANYTHING

and even if i THINK i know i like to pick other peoples brains to see if i caan find out a better way of doing it

scott

[Chris LaPanse]

Thanks HJ, but there's a lot of people on the boards just as knowledgeable. I happen to know stuff because my first hobby class boat was a Caribbean Cruiser, and I decided i'd never spend that much money on junk again (although my dad thinks I just did with my WH purchase). After that, I did a lot of research about the boats so I knew which ones to buy and which ones to look out for. Also, I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about certain things (nitro engines, for example). I don't think there is any one "king". Some people know some stuff, others know other stuff. Also, it's an honor just to be mentioned in this forum (especially by HJ).

[Hydro Junkie]

Chris, I mentioned you specifically for a reason. I've read post after post from you. Like many of us, when you have a suggestion, it's normally a good one. Granted, on some things we don't see eye to eye, but that's the fun of this forum :)

[lovinnitro]

Hehe we can all be the kings of our own little boating castle :D Unless the wife is around! :eek:

[Doubledog]

Cant' agree more.

The wife doesn't go to my little room in the cellar at all. I've asked several times if she's stuck her head in there to see the boats. Nope. :)

[Watercadet]

I am the king at home. I know because the boats (and all the equipment) have been on the kitchen table since we moved because I havn't set up a shop. :D Yes there have been some discussions about that but, they are still there!
Adam

[Hydro Junkie]

Sounds like my house all last winter. Boat(or two) sitting on the kitchen table so the epoxy would set up. Tried to stay in the garage, but even fast set West Systems wouldn't set up due to the sub 50 temps. And guess what, WINTER'S COMING!!!!!! Clear off the table dear, the boats are coming in :D

[lovinnitro]

:D :D That's funny, my kids had to eat around my boat for about two weeks, Momma loved me for that one.

[Ron Olson]

I heard a guy at the Toledo Expo 2 years ago talking about him building his huge scale ship on his Dining room table. I can't, that's where this computer is!
I might be a King, I have a Throne in my Library made of white porcelain! :D

[Chris LaPanse]

I used to keep all my model/rc car/rc boat/model rocket/rc plane/etc. stuff on the dining room table. Then, once my mom discovered that she couldn't use the table because it was so covered in my stuff, she got rid of it. We now no longer have a dining room table, and the RC stuff has a place of honor in the garage/basement. My mom is always complaining because every other week, the house smells like epoxy/spray paint/ca/accelerator, but that's just part of the hobby :D

[Ron Olson]

Chris, that sounds very familiar. I have an old dining room table in my basement, 2 work benches, an 8' table plus 2 sets of shelving for my gear. I literally have more boating gear than all 3 Hobby Shops in town!
My wife knows when I'm painting in the basement as I can hear her complaining (to put it mildly!). I do have a small room down there that I am thinking of converting into a spray booth.

[addicted2rc]

I am not new to r/c by any means, got my first plane back in 1978. Got out for a little while then came back. Once you experience r/c it never leaves. These forums have been more help to me than any place else. when I (we) started in this hobby computers were non-existant. Now that I have begun my third cycle in this great hobby/sport (boats) I feel as if i am starting all over again. My post rate is very small but I spend hours and hours reading all the threads here (and that other site Ron :D ) and usually find the answer somewhere. If I have failed to thank someone for their help I apologize now for you have all been a lot of help. This is one reason I got into this great hobby/sport. Everywhere I've been everyone has been very helpfull. I live on a lake with 1300 mi of shoreline so if i don't run at my own dock I can boat to a cove with the right "water" if I choose. I also run 1/10th stadium trucks and have my own oval track right out my front door. Sorry this is such a long post but since all you guys are here at once it was my chance to thank you for your help.
Thanks ron, dd hj and all you guys

[bugfanatic]

Ron, you not only give great advice, you're humble (& fun to boat with). In my opinion that raises you to the top. There are a lot of great people here - with some awesome advice. So if Ron's at the top, there are a lot of people in his supporting cast. Then again on the flip side... I wish some people wouldn't give advice unless they knew for sure. I swear some people love to give advice just to hear their computer keys clicking.

p.s. Ron, I have found a GREAT site to run at & it's almost in my backyard. We'll have to tear it up next spring!! It's at a lake I never knew was there. And I don't have to worry about PCB's!!

[Hydro Junkie]

Now BF, it's not fair to vote for someone because you go boating with him. I mean really, it gives Ron an unfair advantage :D

[Chris LaPanse]

Unfair!!!
If it was based on how many people go boating with you, i'd be at the bottom of the list. I live in a WASTELAND of rc boats. (although I have found a couple of guys)
HJ-you're finally addicted :D I hope to be there soon too (although post count isn't everything, it's still fun to have that title)

[bugfanatic]

OK, you guys might be right - but how about if I felt this way BEFORE we went boating? Maybe consider it a 'dangling chad' & toss out my vote. Anyway, I'll try & pop in from time to time to see how you guys are doing, but here in Michigan it's the end of the rc boating season. Even though there's no ice on the water yet, I just hate fooling with my needles & dealing with the cold water. For me that means I need to put some attention into my Beetle (rust-free '73 Super from Colorado for those curious) so it'll be ready for paint when it's warm again.