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Originally Posted by BajaRunner
Dock, How would you compare the 36 to the 35?
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There is very little difference in size. When we were rafted up at the crab shack I got a good comparision and the extra foot is on the bow of my boat and the bow slops down more on the new 35 making it more aerodynamic.
Poker Face has the Aero bolsters instead of the McLeod that I am use to on the 36 which did not give me the support I like. Plus the throttles are more forward and it was like I was having to stretch out for wide open throttle.
The cockpit feels every bit has big as the 36, and the engine compartment is much larger which is a welcome change.
The real lose of space is in the cuddy with the v-birth. Head room in the cuddy seemed identical to the 36.
I really do like the liner construction a lot.
The boat is rock solid as I mentioned above. It feels more solid then the 36. I would have loved to have driven it offshore that Friday when we ran down to St. Augustine. That would have told me everything.
My impression based on what I have seen is that it will be a good offshore boat.
Blane walked through how he wanted me to drive it and where to trim the drives for optimal performance. The magic number was 7-1/2 on the trim indicators.
The boat came on plane quickly and once I was on plane I'm sure we were at 70 MPH in less then 10 seconds. It is FAST, and it will really surprise you at out fast it will accelerate above 70 to 80 MPH.
Blane told me that when I have just the slightest wiggle out of the rear end of the boat that I have all she has to give. You will notice the wiggle, but it is not a bad thing. By no means is it real loose or on the edge, just not planted like the 36 is. Basically you are up on the pad.
You still want to trim the boat in for turns like a conventional deep vee. I trimmed it all the way in and made a hard turn to port at 50 MPH and accelerated out of the turn and the boat carved a solid turn, but does not lean into it like the 36 does.
If you remember this is the same yellow boat that Baja took to Tampa for the dealers meeting and got 94 MPH out of it. The problem is that they built the top deck too light and it cracked. So they pulled the boat apart, built a new top deck and had Clayton do this trick paint job. So my guess is that Baja made this top deck a little heavier then needed which has slowed the boat down to the 89 MPH speed, and the next boat could be faster. The hull handled so well that I would say with 600's that this may be a triple digit boat.
The boat is simply beautiful, but the paint job would be impossible to live with. At speed I felt extremely hot air in my face and it took a minute to realize that the heat radiating off the bow was hitting my face, and it was 20 to 30 degrees warmers then the air temp outside.
I do not look at this boat as a step down from the 36. Actually I look at it as a step up assuming you add McLeod bolsters and you can live with the cuddy setup.
I will let you in on a little secret. Next years poker run boat will not be a production boat, but something really TRICK!
Also I know what the length of the 40 Outlaw replacement will be and I think everyone will be very pleased.
Baja is getting a lot of well deserved respect and will get even more if this continues.
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