SUHA Overview
How We Got Started
In 1985, a group of keen radio controlled model power boat enthusiast from around New Zealand that belonged to the NZMMA, (the Association of model powerboats in NZ at that time,) formed a Club for racing in particular the 1/8th Scale Unlimited Hydroplanes. Later the Club became the Scale Unlimited Hydroplane Association (SUHA) and was formed to lay down the building and racing guidelines for the enjoyment and friendly competition of Scale Unlimited Class Racing in NZ. This group was headed by Dallas Gibson whom also came up with the SUHA name. The other four original foundation Members were Warren Belk, Don Horne, Skip Francis and Merv Sowden. This Group started with four 1/8th Scale Hydroplanes that quickly escalated to eight within the first year. These boats were based on the full size Thunder Boats that raced with V12 aircraft engines in the USA and NZ.
L to R Don Horne, Merv Sowden, Skip Francis and Warren Belk
There was already a Club in Seattle, USA that was “Dedicated to duplicating the Unlimited Class of Hydroplanes as closely as possible” and at that time some of us had been corresponding with Roger Newton who was supplying us with his boat plans and Roger suggested that we should follow in his Club footsteps, RC Unlimiteds and sent us the RCU Rulebook which we promptly adopted as our Rule Book. With the setting up of SUHA and knowing we didn’t have a following of 75 to 100 boats per meeting like Roger’s Club, we couldn’t be dedicated solely to 1/8th Scale Hydroplanes, so we decided to have support classes of boats that fitted our aims of building and racing scale boats and to have the 1/8th Scale hydro as our featured class. We introduced a 7.5cc motor sized semi scaled 40 size hydroplane, and a F1 Tunnel class of boats. We also introduced unofficially a 1/5th Scale GP hydroplane, and a Semi Scale Offshore Deep Vee or Catamaran Class and this was only on a temporary basis until we could sustain a two day Regatta with just the Hydroplanes. Later on we introduced the Petrol Scale Hydro and just recently we introduced two electric class powered hydroplanes, the LSH and Restricted “P” semi scale hydroplane class. By now the F1 tunnel and 1/5th Class hydro had disappeared through lack of boats and with the introduction of the electric classes the Offshore class was discontinued, giving us what we had intended to have from day one, which is solely, a Scale Hydroplane Association, featuring the 1/8th Scale Unlimited Scale Hydroplanes.