Special Agent Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 I was introduced to Scoot Boots a year or so ago. Since then I've discovered how widespread their use is. Like you say it is amazing what is thrown at you through Google and how much you can learn without getting off the couch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 @curious the mesh layer is BELOW the 300mm sand layer in which the grass is growing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said: @curious the mesh layer is BELOW the 300mm sand layer in which the grass is growing. Not in the core sample I saw. If that's true I'd say they'll be redoing the whole track in 12 months time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 2 hours ago, curious said: Not in the core sample I saw. Where did you see that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Think it was somewhere in their Keeping Track series but don't have time to look at the mo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 25 minutes ago, curious said: Think it was somewhere in their Keeping Track series but don't have time to look at the mo. Have a look at this. Sand peatmoss and mesh for the growing medium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15zC6zZ5jO0&t=49s 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 53 minutes ago, curious said: Sand peatmoss and mesh for the growing medium Which is what it should be not straight sand! I would have thought that you wouldn't need mesh in the very top layer but the next layer down. That way it gives you some room to move with mechanical cultivation in the top layer from time to time. But definitely having peat in that top layer with sand makes sense as it provides a buffer and lessens the need to irrigate constantly. The grass roots also grow through it better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Is it just me? I could never have faith in anything Paul Wilcox says, bearing in mind that interview is 11 months old and we know what has transpired. Those key phrases make you think ... - "Is it sustainable?" - "Our investment fund will provide stakes". With the hill gone which set Ellerslie apart, and the obvious ongoing problems, I can't help think it might have made more sense to have sold the lot and start off with a new canvas. They might think they have a large enough water storage facility to capture all the storm water from the new subdivision. I have seen how much run off there is from a new subdivision on a bit of a rise, not a steep hillside like at Ellerslie. I don't think they are fully aware of what they are in for, despite Paul Wilcox's repeat of the 100% confidence he has. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 On 17/04/2024 at 4:18 PM, Chief Stipe said: Where did you see that? You've likely seen this by now but thought I'd post it here anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 5 hours ago, curious said: You've likely seen this by now but thought I'd post it here anyway. What do you think of that core? It doesn't look right to me. Verti-draining and deep coring and then filling with sand again will only perpetuate the problem. Of course each time they do it they will increase the organic matter content in the soil. They could have acheived that with a better top layer mix than straight sand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Well, it's 6 months old and Jason says then, it had got a bit tight in the root zone but seemed satisfied that the roots had since penetrated well below that. Appears to me that where the root zone wasn't matted, the sand fell straight off. Say, below about 120mms down, but above that you can see the sideways roots cut off by the core and holding the sand there. So they've known about it for at least that long. Just hope that further mechanical intervention can break it up sufficiently and that the new root growth will penetrate directly through the spring so we have a safe and secure track by summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 Ha. Looks like others see it differently, or can't see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 53 minutes ago, curious said: Ha. Looks like others see it differently, or can't see! Post the core sample picture from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 LOL another channel reckons the aggregate salesperson knows all about the track and it will come right with racing! Really that's taking the crash test dummy to the extreme. In my opinion racing may reduce the slipping but it will because the surface will be roughed up. Which isn't great for racing on. I've walked a few tracks this past season and the best I've seen was Matamata. Especially given the amount of racing it got. Te Aroha was OK too until it was diseased. The Matamata Club offered to help but there assistance was turned down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 (edited) I reckon it's 50/50 the mechanical intervention works and we have an ok track by the end of the year. Just hope they don't do what Randwick did with their Kensington Strathayr and spend two years and $3mil trying to fix it only to end up with: Another set of trials are scheduled to be held on the Kensington track on January 12 but Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy says it has no future in its current state. “It happens every time we use the track, they just get into it and rip it out," Murrihy said. “It hasn't improved. I can't see it being able to hold a race meeting as it is now.” More than $3 million has been spent renovating the Kensington track in the last two years in a bid to get it up to standard. Similar symptoms. The reasoning they went Strathayr in the first place is obscure. It's unproven in the Auckland climate. The grass species were untried on a Strathayr before and the seeding process had never been done before. Seems like a huge punt to me. Edited April 23 by curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 Well said Curious. The sticking point with everyone who wishes this track to succeed is why is it now on a 50/50 knife edge when this was (according to all the hype from ARC/NZTR/Strathayr) going to be state of the art racetrack that will not fail. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 Worst thing is the circus has been given control over all the other tracks in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 On 23/04/2024 at 1:43 PM, Chief Stipe said: LOL another channel reckons the aggregate salesperson knows all about the track and it will come right with racing! Really that's taking the crash test dummy to the extreme. I don't think that's what he said. He said it needed more time. I think that meant before trying to race on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 On 4/23/2024 at 7:57 PM, Wingman said: state of the art racetrack that will not fail. Sounds like the Titanic of race tracks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 24 Author Share Posted April 24 2 hours ago, curious said: I don't think that's what he said. He said it needed more time. I think that meant before trying to race on it. No he said it needed more racing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 4 hours ago, Chief Stipe said: No he said it needed more racing. "My thoughts are the issue is around the delays (caused mainly by the amount of solid rock under the track being more vast than anticipated) & the need to get back racing there. The racing may have started back earlier than it should have. " "Yes, my thought exactly, they raced on it 6 months too early after the delays caused by as I mentioned above" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 9 hours ago, Special Agent said: Sounds like the Titanic of race tracks. I'm still surprised that Strathayr has allowed the finished product to be called a 'Strathayr' track, given the deviations from normal installation procedure as well as the rushed resumption. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 2 hours ago, Freda said: I'm still surprised that Strathayr has allowed the finished product to be called a 'Strathayr' track, given the deviations from normal installation procedure as well as the rushed resumption. Hasn't helped their brand at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 20 minutes ago, Doomed said: Hasn't helped their brand at all. I don't see how Strahayr could possibly remove their name from it when the whole installation was done under the auspices of their advice, including the seeding process. Whether or not that advice was followed exactly by ATR is a bit less clear, nevertheless, they were and still are monitoring and advising. It's definitely a Strathayr, fundamentally the same structure as all others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 5 hours ago, curious said: I don't see how Strahayr could possibly remove their name from it when the whole installation was done under the auspices of their advice, including the seeding process. Whether or not that advice was followed exactly by ATR is a bit less clear, nevertheless, they were and still are monitoring and advising. It's definitely a Strathayr, fundamentally the same structure as all others. Hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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