On the Throttles of a High Performance Powerboat

[VINMAN]

On the Throttles of a High Performance Powerboat - features.boats.com

On the Throttles of a High Performance Powerboat
Equal parts skill and experience, throttling an offshore race boat to victory is an art.

What’s the fastest you’ve driven your car? Come on, I know most of you have topped triple digits. Whatever the speed, the odds are good that at any given moment—like if you realized you just blew past a state trooper—you were prepared to move your heavy right foot from the gas pedal to the brake.


Renowned offshore racing throttlemen John Tomlinson (left) and Bob Teague.
Now, imagine you’re hurtling along at that speed on the interstate and you have no—as in zero—control over the gas or the brake. Heck, you don’t even have a brake. All you have is the steering wheel and some guy next to you who is in control of your speed and—at least until he slows down and comes to a stop—your life.

That, my friends, is how it works in offshore powerboat racing. There is a driver, usually the well-heeled owner of the boat. And there is a throttleman—often an engine builder or a rigger or “setup man” who is hired for the job. The driver steers the boat. The throttleman controls (obviously) the speed and trim of the boat.

Unlike the gas pedal in your car, the speed control in an offshore race boat is usually a pair of throttle levers with buttons that control the drive and tab trim. Race boats often have trim tabs to correct for sea conditions, either on the handle or just ahead of the levers. The throttleman handles them all to adjust for constantly changing sea conditions.

If throttling a race boat sounds like a “busy” job to you, you’re right. In fact, the job grew out of the ridiculously busy nature of running an offshore race boat. In addition to throttling and steering and controlling trim, it means staying on course, watching out for other race boats and, well, racing.


In 2010, Tomlinson throttled the Abu Dhabi team catamaran on the Class 1 circuit.
So in the 1970s, offshore racers—most notably Bobby Moore—began splitting the duties. One guy steers and the other guy throttles. Seems simple, right?

Actually, it’s anything but. In the 16-plus years I’ve been writing for Powerboat magazine, I’ve worked with several throttling legends including Jerry Gilbreath, who let me drive—and even throttle—the Reliable Carrier Super Cat race boat. And I’ve logged close to 1,000 hours as a co-pilot in boats with throttling aces Bob Teague and John Tomlinson, the professional test drivers who work for the magazine.

Wildly different in personality and temperament, they have several things in common. First, they’re calm under pressure. Second, they anticipate things before they happen. Third, they can read the water far ahead. And four, they like to go fast, as in really fast, as in a lot faster than I do. With Tomlinson driving, Teague throttling and me praying, I’ve gone almost 170 mph on the water.

It was all in a day’s work for them. It was three lifetimes before my eyes for me.

“I learned how to throttle by first observing as a navigator in the last 1980s and then by doing it,” says Tomlinson, who in 1996 earned the American Power Boat Association Open Class World title with driver Laith Pharaon, and then followed with a Union International Motonautique Class 1 World title (also with Pharaon) in 1997. “Throttling is about adapting and learning each boat so you can understand its limits—what it can and cannot do. You have to learn how hard you can run it in different conditions, and that takes testing and seat time. It usually takes five or six races, at least. You want to manage what you’re running and take it to its greatest potential without getting yourself out of shape and in trouble.”

As you’d expect, communication between the driver and the throttleman is crucial. In a canopied race boat, that generally happens over a two-way radio, though the more-seasoned driver-and-throttleman teams usually speak very little to one another during a race. The best teams always know what the other guy in the cockpit will do.

Tomlinson says that most of the drivers he’s worked with come to him with substantial seat time in performance boats. Those who don’t have a lot of experience but do have solid driving skills can be taught—if they learn to trust him and trust themselves. Of course, Tomlinson needs to learn to trust his drivers as well.

“Trust is a big thing,” he says. “When we get to a turn, the driver wants to turn the boat. If I run him too deep into the turn and he’s not ready for it, we won’t be very efficient getting around the course. But I can do that if the driver is confident in himself, confident that he can catch the boat, and confident in me. The more confident we are in each other, the harder he can turn the boat and the more aggressive I can be on the throttles.”


Bob Teague throttled team Amsoil to two Super Cat Light World Championships in the 2010.
As for the act of throttling itself—controlling boat speed and trim angle—Tomlinson says it’s a matter of establishing a rhythm—much easier in evenly spaced swells than in confused “washing machine” water.

“You always want to feel like you’re moving forward at a constant speed or accelerating,” he explains. “You don’t want to feel like you’re ‘on the gas,’ then ‘on the brakes.’ You are essentially skipping across the water from wave top to wave top. You’re flying across the water and timing your application of throttle. That’s all about reading the water.

“Throttle it too much and eventually the tail will drop, you’ll nose in and have gather it all back in again,” he adds. “Trim angle, throttle position and reading the water are everything. Mixed up conditions are difficult. But when you have predictable sea conditions with a pattern, you can do it with your eyes closed.”

Actually, I’ve done it with my eyes closed. OK, so I wasn’t throttling. I was just what they refer to as “meat in the seat” at almost 170 mph. As I mentioned earlier, Bob Teague was throttling and Tomlinson, taking a break from his usual role, was driving. And despite my anxiety and fear, I knew I was in some of the best hands in the world.

[Joeaksa]

Vinny,

You be forking crazy!

JoeA

[Racerbvd]

Way cool, thanks for sharing!!!

[VINMAN]

Yeah he gives the perfect description. Especially the part about needing to have total trust in your co-driver/throttleman.

[craigster59]

I drive by Teague Marine every day. The constantly changing boats out front never ceases to amaze me!

[Radioactive]

Been there done that (lower class)

Mucho respect for Bob and John.

I wished I could have afforded to run with those guys.

[VINMAN]

Nice ride, Radio! Recently got rid of mine. ( happy days!!) 32 Velocity