Honing Their Craft On and Off the Job

Well-tuned engineering skills certainly have their place on the job – as well as in the heat of competitive racing.

Just ask master technician Kevin Todd and house engineers Wade Lambert and Onell Lousteau, all of whom work at Imperial Sugar Company’s refinery in Gramercy, La.

As house engineers, Lambert and Lousteau make sure the plant systems – including air, water and conveyors – are all running properly. As a master technician, Todd fixes anything that breaks, using such skills as welding, steel fabrication, and various mechanical and millwright work.

When they’re not on the job, this trio spends as much time as they can on their favorite hobby – racing radio-controlled model boats in international competition.

In their off-time, you can find them customizing and racing model boats – boats that reach speeds of 70 miles per hour and more.

The three are members of the North American Model Boat Association (NAMBA), as well as members of the largest club in NAMBA’s District 5 – called Voodoo Model Boaters.

Operating radio-controlled vehicles has been a hobby of Todd’s for many years. He says he started focusing on boats 10 years ago because with airplanes, for example, “once you crash them, you pretty much go get a garbage bag.” He also finds them more interesting because hydrodynamics are involved, as well as aerodynamics.

Todd, Loustea and Lambert recently competed in the NAMBA nationals, which were held at the St. John’s Parish retention pond in Reserve, La. Competitors came from as far away as Australia.
Todd says the pond provides a perfect place for a race because there are no residents or businesses nearby and the noise from the boats gets quite loud.

The race course is a 330-feet-long, 50-foot-wide oval – with up to six boats competing in each six-lap heat. Each event is conducted over a period of five days. First place goes to the best cumulative time.

The model boats range from 40 to 56 inches long and run a 7.5-horsepower gasoline engine, which amounts to a “highly modified weed-eater motor,” Todd says. Boats that use nitro fuel have clocked speeds as fast as 89 miles per hour. Two minutes is the best time for six laps.

Todd and his colleagues spend a lot of time coordinating and setting up local races, sometimes working as pit bosses and making sure things go smoothly and safely. “The props are razor sharp,” says Todd. “And some of these boats weigh as much as 25 pounds – and, at 65 mph, 25 pounds would hurt.”

Todd and Lambert also own and operate a business called Byyouboyz RC Boats, where they build and customize model boats to help support their racing passion.

Gramercy associates that are members of the Voo Doo Model Boat Club are (l-r); Onell Lousteau, house engineer Kevin Todd, master technician and Wade Lambert, assistant house engineer.

Racers might spend anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000 on a boat, but Todd says money won’t win a race. “It’s about knowing the boat, setting it up well and being a consistent driver.”

While Todd hasn’t won a trophy yet, three fellow members of the Voodoo club became national champions at nationals in June.

The Voodoo RC Boat Club will be sponsoring the next NAMBA nationals event in November – also in Reserve. It’s called “The Voodoo’s World Fastest Gas Boat Shootout” and includes entrants from such countries as Germany, Australia and Kuwait.

Antron Brown, a top drag racer who can be seen on ESPN, also competes as a member of the Voodoo club.

“It’s a really fine sport. A lot of fun and very competitive,” says Todd. “The good thing is that at the end of the day, everybody’s still friends.”