KENNEWICK -- Scott Raney, who along with his wife Shannon owns the U-11 Peters & May, is still learning his new boat.

The Raneys, who worked last season with the U-37 team owned by Billy and Jane Schumacher, made the move to start their own team and purchased the equipment of the U-25 team owned by Dr. Ken Muscatel.

"It was all new to us at Madison," Scott Raney said. "We started fighting a steering issue and found out later the rudder was bent. We fixed that, so one step at a time."

The majority of this crew comes from last year's U-37 team, and while this year will have a large learning curve, the Raneys expect success with their four-year plan.

"I want to fund this at a greater level," Scott said. "We want to run with the Oberto, the Qatar, the Red Dot. We watch a lot of video of our boat. Our sponsors are 100 percent behind us."

The Raneys have a four-year plan, with a brand new boat in the plans within a few years.

"But we've got to be smart," Scott said. "We want to step up our performance from our back east trip. We want to step up the program."

But it has to be a slow process, and one step at a time.

So what'll make the Raneys happy?

"If we could keep this boat in one piece, stay financially stable and get more depth in equipment and propellers," Scott said. "That would make me happy."