21st September 2005 - Garin Keane & "Too Keane"
TOO KEANE
FORMULA 3
BOAT RACING
Early in 2004, late into our boat-racing season, I started my hobby as a powerboat driver. The boat I was using at the time was a hydroplane, a hull designed for straight-line speed but useless at turning. It was very different from the conventional boats seen around. Most hydroplanes we see are inboard. Mine was an outboard. Instead of a seat, all I had was soft padding, on which I knelt. I had what was known as a kneel-down outboard hydroplane, the last one still racing in New Zealand.



It was one of the worst things I could have started in, but I enjoyed it immensely, had some wonderful races in it, and won some trophies. A few meetings in, I had an accident. The lower unit fell off the engine, and into the murky depths of Lake D. For a time, I had to give up my newly acquired hobby, and sit on the side line. We soon acquired another hull for me, but it needed a lot of work, and would still be useless with out the lower unit. After a few attempts, and a full day searching with a metal detector, and diving, we managed to retrieve the lower unit. Work on the new hull continued slowly, and I endured a whole season as a spectator.

During the off-season, I received a surprise from Kevin Thorburn, a fellow driver and a man I have great respect for. He had got his hands on another hull for me. This hull was considered perfect, but needed a lot of work. So with the great help of my father, John Keane, Kevin Thorburn, and Tombo Needham, our boat builder, we sanded, repaired and under-coated the hull, this took 12 weeks of work.

We then took it to CTB panelbeaters and car painters for painting. Colin, the owner of the business, said it would be done for us free of charge. For this I give him and his painter, Alan, great thanks - it came out from CTB looking fantastic – I think that it is the best looking tunnel hull on the circuit. From there, we rigged it up with engine, battery, fuel tank, wiring and the like, and took it off to Cannon Signage Concepts to have the sign writing put on. This was done sooner than expected, and was given to me as a birthday present. Cannon did a great job on TOO KEANE, and the signage has really made the boat come alive.



It was taken off to Lake D for testing, and went better than we thought it would. It rode perfectly on the water, when trimmed right. The first time I went out, I was told it rode nicely; all I needed to do was put my foot down a bit more. The second time I went out, I was told that it was riding far too high, and that I was lucky to survive. The last time, I was told it was perfect.

The next weekend was race day. We took it back to Lake D once again using a Ford Explorer to tow TOO KEANE. The Explorer is a very versatile vehicle, having up to seven comfortable seats or a large storage area, and having a towing capacity of almost 3,500 kg, it made easy work of towing TOO KEANE, even with plenty of parts and race equipment on board, there was room to spare and it was very comfortable. We gave everyone a large shock with our new and improved hull, quite different to what I was expected to have. Another new boat was there from Wellington, in the same class as mine, and was expected to do quite well. The first race I got a third and pursued this boat around the lake. The second, I won quite easily, as the boat from Wellington had stopped part way through the race. The third I won again with relative ease.



The last race that I competed in really showed what my boat could do. Both myself and the boat from Wellington were starting on the same time. I had decided to stay on the outside of him and let him go first, because this driver has more experience than me as he is now into his third season of racing, and I also wanted to see how ‘Too Keane’ would go from behind his boat. I soon found as I was taking off that his wasn’t going as well as mine was, so I decided to go for it. I sped past him, and with dad screaming through the walkie-talkie in my earpiece I beat him at the first turn. There was still another slower boat to overtake, but he was miles ahead of me. I managed to catch him up on the last corner, to give a spectacular three boat wide last turn. Out of good sportsmanship, I decided to give the win away to the slower new driver to the sport.

I want to thank everyone who has made it possible for me to compete in this wonderful sport; especially my father for his support and encouragement; Kevin Thorburn from Warkworth Motors for getting the hull and always being there to help; Tombo Needham our very talented boat builder, Colin from CTB Panelbeaters for the fantastic paint and finish; Cannon Smith from Cannon Signage Concepts for the awesome livery; and Ford Motor Company for making it possible for us to get to race meetings by providing a wonderful vehicle to tow "TOO KEANE".

I look forward to the next meeting, as it will be a long course, with higher top speeds and it will be good to see how we go. I will keep you informed.
Thank you,
Garin Keane