International Waters R/C Interview With Terry Keeley

INTLWATERS) Tell us a little about yourself Terry. Where do you call home? How did you get started in R/C boating? What is your favorite boating class? etc..

Terry Keeley) I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario which is the capital city of Canada.  I was always interested in airplanes as a boy and started building plastic models very young.  About age 8, with a lot of help from my father, I built and flew my first control-line airplane, one of the 049 Goldberg kits.  I had a couple of buddies that I flew 049 combat with for a few years before I got into R/C at about 14.

I built a Falcon 56 and I remember it had an OS 30, and learned to fly with a great instructor named Mike Portugese at the Ottawa R/C Club, which, at the time, was the largest in North America with over 300 members.  I later built and flew an Ugly Stick and started going to a couple of pattern contests but actually found it quite repetitive.  We usually spent summers
at our cottage on a lake so I thought I'd try a boat.

My very first boat was an 049 Dumas DV and I later also built a Swamp Buggy. I had a blast!  I really enjoyed being near the water on a nice summer day enjoying my hobby.  My first "real" boat was a fibreglass Dumas DV 20 with a Supertigre G-21, a real "racing" engine.  I remember even back then at about age 17 I couldn't wait to take that motor apart and try to make it go faster.  Well I did that for a season and it didn't go fast enough for me
so I crammed a new K&B 6.5 in it, that did it!  That thing would jump about 5 ft when you jammed the throttle open.

I remember seeing my first hydros at an exhibition race one Sunday our club hosted.  A bunch of guys came down from Montreal with JVS Claimjumpers and K&B 6.5's to put on a few mock races. I couldn't believe how fast they were, and, after talking to a couple of the guys, I found I was even more
interested in the technical side of things.  I had to have a hydro, so I got one of the round-nose Hughey Hydros and had a great time doing some club racing.  I next built one of the original Pinkert Gator's, again with
the K&B 6.5, and really started understanding how the motors worked and what it took to properly trim a boat and make it corner etc.

INTLWATERS) Sounds like you have been around almost since hydroplanes as a design got started. What would you say are the biggest advances that make hydroplanes faster today then back then?

Terry Keeley) Ya, the outriggers were just starting to make their mark in the mid 70's. I remember Don Pinkert's Gator and Timmy Reese's original Crapshooter. 

I believe a couple of things make us faster today, one of the big ones is the flex shaft.  In the old hard shaft days a boat was almost designed around a certain prop and you bent the prop slightly to trim the boat. Being able to move the prop anywhere with a flex shaft lets you run almost any prop on a hull and still trim it, a big advantage.  Another one is the digital radar gun allowing us to "see" a mph or two, the motors have come a long way too.

INTLWATERS) When it comes to motors one advancement has been your Turbo Head. What is the idea behind the unique shape, and how do you feel about K&B using a similar shape in their new 7.5 pro outboard engine?

Terry Keeley) Our Turbo Head came about after discussions with my partner in Detroit, Ron Wahl.  Ron is a part time model boater, full time machinist and big street rod enthusiast.  He saw some cylinder heads from the then new Corvette ZR-1 which had a cloverleaf shape, with a "lobe" by each of the intake and
exhaust ports.  The idea was to promote gas flow within the engine by using a unique head shape.  At the time I was doing a lot of reading on two-stroke theory and thought we might apply a similar idea to our model engines.

Knowing the boost port helps to clear the cylinder, and the effect of the tuned pipe on scavaging, I came up with a shape that would promote the effect of these two forces.  Through bench testing we found that we could run higher compression ratios, without the usual detonation, and that we consistently picked up over 1000 rpm with the same test prop.  When we put the new head in a boat the effect was dramatic!  With the addition of a
coating some of the drag racers were using our Turbo Head was born.

When K&B showed a prototype of their new Pro 21 O/B that had a similar head shape, I called them right away to see if we could work together on the project.  They declined.  We had applied for a patent on our idea, but
didn't complete the process due to costs and the simple fact that patents are only as good as the money you have to defend them.  So, K&B did what they felt they had to, and we keep making our heads.

INTLWATERS) Here is a question I am sure a lot of people would like to see your answer for. A while back there was a debate on the listbot discussion group about head clearance. How do you set your head clearance, and how do you know if you should add a head shim as opposed to increasing the bowl size?

Terry Keeley) I start with a basic head clearance of 0.012" for 21's, 0.015" for 45's and 0.018" for 67's and up.  Once I have ALL the other variables nailed down such as prop, pipe length etc, I run the engine for a few hard laps (making sure the needle is not set lean) and check the plug.  I believe that being
able to read the plug is one of the most important tuning tips available. 

What I want to see is the element slightly grayed (no longer shiny), pulled to one side and even a little out of it's cavity.  If the element is gone, badly distorted, or pushed up in it's cavity, I raise the head 0.003" at a
time until it is right. If I have to raise the head much over the above starting figures though, I'll opt to open the head a little to reduce the C/R.  Getting the head clearance too high really robs the motor of bottom
end making it hard to get on the pipe or even to launch.  If the head is too small, or a poor shape, it'll usually detonate, taking the plug element out and possibly a rod, crank-pin or rear bearing with it.  If the top of
your piston or head looks like it's been sandblasted, it's detonating, and it won't be long until you hurt the motor.

If the plug comes in shiny and centered in it's cavity, I'll lower the head 0.003" at a time until I get what I want.  If I can get the head down to 0.003" or so and the plug doesn't tell me the motor is working, I'll probably need a smaller head.  If I ever see the plug body a dark brown color indicating the oil is burning, I'll open up the cooling or look for restricted lines.  This is only evident with a shiny plug like a McCoy.

I believe that raising or lowering the head slightly is just a way to adjust the C/R  (thereby affecting the ignition point and head temperature) to compensate for changes in the atmosphere.  If the air density is good
(cool temperature, high pressure or low elevation) it has the effect of raising the C/R as more air and fuel is taken in each gulp.  You may have to add a shim to keep a plug.  If the air is poor, lowering the head will often bring back some of the lost performance.  An exception to this I've found over the past few years concerns humidity.  Theory says that the higher the humidity the lower the air density as there is less air in a given volume.  I've found though that I've had to add shims when running in high humidity to prevent blown plugs. I believe the extra water in the air, being uncompressible, acts to effectively increase the C/R, beating out the plug.

INTLWATERS) WOW Terry that answer ought to help out a ton of boaters, especially me:) Now that we know how to determine what to set your head clearance to, how do you recommend measuring head clearance accurately?

Terry Keely) Accurately? Well our Head Gauges of course! I believe the best way to measure head clearance is with the head torqued down and to account for the rod and wrist pin clearances (which can account for up to 0.004"). Our Head Gauges are just feeler gauges that have been cut down and bent to fit through the glow plug hole and measure head clearance under compression, as close to actual running conditions as possible. An alternative to this is to stick some thin electronic solder in the plug hole, turn the engine over to squish it, and measure with a micrometer. Other ways are to use a dial indicator adapted to the head or a depth micrometer, but our Head Gauges are still the simplest and most accurate.
 

Intlwaters) In the old International Waters R/C, when Andy Hartz did the interviews, he always asked the same ending question. I intend to continue that part of International Waters history. Here is the standard last question. Peer into your crystal ball and predict where this hobby/sport is going.  What is going to be the next big thing?  What technology should we be on the lookout for?

Terry Keely) I believe one of the most important factors for the future of model boating must be the joining of our two major organizations in North America.  Our hobby is extremely small compared to airplanes and cars, and for us to continue to grow at even a modest rate we'll need one voice when it comes to issues such as insurance and running sites.  We also need to make our hobby easier for the newcomer, possibly with better beginner classes and mentoring programs at the local club levels.

I see technology continuing to advance in our hobby, keeping it exciting for years to come!  Who would have thought years ago that we would have "toy" boats running at 120mph?  I think the areas we'll see the most advances will be in materials and aerodynamics.  I've started using some advanced composites for construction and the results are unbelievable, allowing for lighter weight and higher strength than ever before.  As the speeds keep increasing, the air flow over our models, and how we manipulate it, will become much more important.  Anybody know where I can get some cheap wind tunnel time?

In closing I'd like to thank you for asking me to be a part of your series, Tom, and to keep up the great work promoting our wonderful hobby/sport.
Thank you!