Propbender

Rick, what did you do on your bachelor party? anyone else care to chime in? I am actually glad I have this video. I can look back at it and smile for years to come. Yes, it may have been a little irresponsible, but atleast it was an innocent good time. We all made it home safe to our wives and familes. No one went to jail or caught any std's. Trust me, I am typically a safe and cautious boater, but sometimes in life you have to live it up. I know anything can happen on the water, but I know and trust my boat. I have tracked 1000's of miles in similar or worse conditions in this or a similar vessel. I knew exactly how it would respond in those conditions. If I felt like the conditions would have caused a crew member to be ejected from the boat; then I would have modified my speed or heading.

In my defense...... The most irresponsible thing I did that day was stay sober on my own bachelor party. j/k Anyways, The guys really were not as intoxicated as they appear. They had only been drinking beer at a regular pace for maybe an hour or 2. What you are seeing on video is bunch of good buddies that do not see each other that often letting loose and having a great time. I do have a rule on my boat that if you get too drunk, then you have to where a life vest. All of these guys have been on my boats many times and they know how it responds to sea conditions. Yes, the boat was on autopilt, but I was sitting at the helm making trim/tab adjustments the whole time. The autopilot was only on to maintain the heading. You can turn the wheel at any time. BTW, 48 mph is not very fast in this boat, you would have to go for a ride to see for yourself. Here is a post from the THT thread about the video. The response is from a sailboat captain we passed in Pensacola Bay: "I saw you-all East Bound in Pensacola Bay - Looking good - and I did hear the props bark! she looked stable and tracking true in the following wind and sea. I was on one of the sailboats you- all passed by - the big blue 45 footer - we were out racing and lets just say it was not dull. Even though you-all were hauling butt - you kept a safe distance from all other boats and buoys and the boat looking to be in complete control. Thats the way to have fun! We were seeing 35 knots apparent going upwind in the gusts - and steep breaking 2 foot chop in the ICW - when you-all passes by the true winds were pretty much 22 to 28 knots at abvout 260-250 heading."

We cancelled the tuna trip due to the terrible conditions this weekend. So, we decided to take the 38 from Orange Beach to Destin for the evening. The winds were howling Saturday afternoon at 25-30 knots in the video. Its entertaining in my opinion. I am getting married next weekend and this was the bachelor party so to speak. BTW, please excuse the extremely drunk guys in the video. We were definately making the best of the situation. Also, I was within the legal limit, the boat was on autopilot, the goggles are absolutely necessary, I am not a fan of eminem, and yes... I know pfd's wouldn't have been a bad idea.

I am gonna stir the pot a bit and give my prediction of the results of your perfect race: 1) 38 Fountain 2) 36 Invincible 3) 33 ST Contender 4) 36 Deep Impact 5) 35 Sea Hunter 6) 36 Yellowfin I've run them both as well and I would flip numbers 1 and 2, but that's just me. ;)I've run a 34 Fountain with triple 275 Verados and light fuel vs. me with trip 300 Vrods and full fuel and I blew him away, he topped at 64.5 and I saw 70 flat.I do know, however, the 38 hull is a bit faster than the 34. That's why these boats need to be run with the same power, same day, side by side, just to end the debate. Have you personally run a 38 Fountain with trip 300 verados? The one I ran hit 76 mph swinging labbed 26" Bravos I have fished and actually prop tested a 2009 36 Invincible with trip 300 verados with the lightest load imaginable(stripped boat and we actually ran out of fuel) We tested several different props. The best we got was 72 mph with 25 Rev4's and labbed 26 Bravos. The rev's were actually 0.3 mph faster (72.1 vs. 71.8). I realize you own one of, if not the fastest invincible built so it makes since that your boat will run 74 mph with 300 verados Also, you can't compare a 34 Fountain with a 38; especially a 34 with trip verados. Trust me, I have now owned a dozen of them. In my opinion, trip verados do not belong on the back of a 34. Trip verados are too much weight on the transom and the boat rides bow high and its slow and thirsty(COG is off and steps aren't doing their job) With trip opti's, the 34 is perfectly balanced. Its a totally different boat and has no problem running 73 mph with trip 250 opti's. While the best you will ever get out of trip 275's is 66-67 on a perfect day. Having said that, the 38 actually seems to prefer the weight of the verados on the transom. Especially if its a TE(cuddy). Opti's and verados both run about the same speed on the 38, with the opti's having an edge of maybe 1.5 mph on an open bow and the same speed on the TE. I am in no way bashing Invincible. Its a fantastic boat. I had the question myself which one was faster. I even thought that maybe the Inv was a tad faster. But, after spending a good bit of time on both hulls I have to give the 38 Fountain the edge in top speed. Blue Bayou, if your 36 is a little faster than the average 36 Inv. then your boat is probably neck and neck with a 38 Fountain that has the same power as you. If thats the case, then you don't ever have to worry about any cc with trip 300 verados or less ever passing you.

I am gonna stir the pot a bit and give my prediction of the results of your perfect race: 1) 38 Fountain 2) 36 Invincible 3) 33 ST Contender 4) 36 Deep Impact 5) 35 Sea Hunter 6) 36 Yellowfin

The performance reports were supplied to Mercury by the manufacturers. It was not an independent test. The Mercury performance report for the Fountain was generated from a copy of Fountains standard performance report they do for every boat. It is a 2 way run average that is rounded down. This Fountain report was with the prototype engines. The only production model trip 350 verado 38 Fountain (On The Brink) ran 82 mph at the Fountain factory. The 36 invincible and 38 Fountain are very fast boats and they are the fastest in their class. I have ran them both and the 38 Fountain is faster in my experience.

Blue Bayou You just posted the reason I posted this video in the first place.

I usually cruise at 50-65 mph, she gets 1.1-1.5 mpg at cruise (light vs. loaded)

If Homesites boat is faster, than he can easily prove it with a video camera

This is a 38 Fountain Open Center Console. The engines are stock 300 Mercury Optimax. Top speed achieved on this run is a steady 85.6 mph with the centers engines not achieving ideal trim in order to keep the engines off of the 5800 rpm rev limiters to prevent guardian mode. Props are labbed 28" and 30" Bravos. There is no current, but there is a moderate tail wind. Load is 130 gallons of fuel, misc fishing gear, 3 adults, open array radar and full enclosure. air temp is 58 degrees F. Fuel contains 10% ethanol. Also, notice in the beginning of the video we cut through a large 70'ish Viking's wake at about 60 mph. The video doesn't show the depth but its a solid wake.

I actually got 73.1 mph out of this 34. That was with almost 300 gallons of fuel on it in good conditions. The boat would break 70 mph with a fishing load. She had labbed 26 Bravos with one inch vent holes. They were perfect. She sold a few months back to a guy in Orange Beach. The 250 opti's are reported to put out 268-274 hp, I am not sure what a 225 opti dynoes at. I had an 04 34 with trip 250 xs's and the fastest I ever got it was 70.8 mph. It may have developed a slight hook from the previous owners lift, however.

So, once again I have my eyes on an opti powered 38 again. This 34 is in showroom condition. Never been fished. (except for the brief period I have owned it) She was a freshwater boat and she performs very well. I have had her to 72.5 mph with 3/8 fuel, 3 people, and 95 degree humid weather. I have no doubt that she will see a few mph faster in ideal conditions. In my opinion, this boat has the best power available for a 34 Fountain. Well, except maybe 300 xs's. The 34 Fountain is best balanced with trip opti's and they also yield excellent (the best) fuel economy by far. She is a 1 mpg boat even at WOT.... 1.5 mpg at 50 mph cruise..... 4.5 mpg @ 5 knots 2007 triple Mercury Optimax 250 xs's 87 Octane Vacuflush Head Pressure Water System Transom Mount Swim Ladder Freshwater Washdown Raw Wash Down System 50 gallon Live Well 3' Mercury K-Planes Heavy Duty Latham power Steering 2210 Garmin GPS Plotter Sounder Tilt Steering Wheel Depth Finder Compass VHF Radio Tab Indicators Zero Effort Throttles 159 HRS Bow Seating LX style Leaning Post W/ Drop Out Bolsters T-Top W/ Electrical Box Fish Boxes W/ Macerator Triple Mercury 250XS 251-709-3457, Chris I am still thinking about the price, what do you guys think she should sell for?

This boat is sold. It sold through Traver at Savage Yachts for 80k However, here is a sled that will do it all for less than 100k. Yes, it has a head. http://www.thehulltruth.com/boats-sale/236...n-72-5-mph.html I will post an add here shortly

Thanks Rick, She's now under contract and suppose to close tomorrow.

True, but a set of curtains with full wings to the floor will keep the cold air/water off of you. To each his own

This one fits the bill. But, she might be sold this weekend http://www.thehulltruth.com/boats-sale/231...-beautiful.html Just my opinion. Everyone I know that doesn't overnight with a walkaround wishes they had a cc. Sea sick, hot, humid, cramped, no 360 fishability, lack of deck space, lack of in deck storage, no breeze. If you don't sleep on it you do not need a w/a. Heck you could mount a bimini top and throw a kingsize blowup matress on the bow of a 34' CC for naps

34 Fountain with twin 2007 275 verados with warranty till september 2012 (Thats 4 more seasons) only 140 hours The hull is a 2002 and in excellent condition. This was a Fountain factory trade. So, she went back through the factory and was refurbished with new dash, gauges, dts controls, t-top canvas, and cushions, etc. The boat might as well be new. Fountain also installed the verados. The top speed is 60 mph. Has my favorite Fountain paint job. "victory in motion" in Navy blue. rod holders everywhere Rupp Top Gunn outriggers pads Full console enclosure DTS Power Steering Smartcraft SC1000's. 360 gallon fuel armstrong dive ladder w/ mount Electronics include: Furuno FCU-582L sounder, Garmin 2010L gps/plotter, Simrad RA30 4 kw open array radar, Simrad R668 VHF The sound system is brand new and sounds amazing. The amp and head unit are installed high and dry in the console 2 pairs of MB Quart NFK 6 x 9's. 1 pair MB quart NFK 6.5 powered w/ head unit) 1 MB Quart Nautic 460 4 channel amp running the 6 x 9's Sony double din head unit CDX-H905iP (mount in console) Sony RM-X55M wired remote control on dash w/ipod control Here is video of it running a couple weeks ago: <a href=" target="_blank"> Here are the performance specs with twin 300 verados. I would subtract 1-2 mph from the top end for comparison. <a href="http://www.mercurymarine.com/look_de...sixCyl200300=4" target="_blank">http://www.mercurymarine.com/look_de...sixCyl200300=4</a> better detailed pics on the way. Price: $73,995 Chris 251-709-3457