Roger

Wild Child ran great in rough water, I remember they won in Point Pleasant NJ after we and the French boys missed a turn and they passed us. They also won in Key West after we blew an outdrive while leading. So yes they won some races, but not like you stated, all of the rough water races. They were running third behind two Fountains in NJ. in rough water until we both missed the turn. Like I stated before, they are great boats and I would cherish one. But???

hammer01

Two things need to be looked at here. Reggie has done a lot for the sport but he also buried the company doing it. He would go to no financial end to prove an ego point and Mike at Outerlimits realized at the end of the day that he sold custom boats. Stock numbers are very comparable if not a little on the side of OL when you look at true hull comparisons. Secondly, there truly is no need to compare fastest boats on the water because Reggie tried to compare this with the "Catkiller" antics and we all know that physics will prevail in the end. Look at Pyburn's awesome numbers that he just put up (186 mph) with what, 300-500 Hp less per side???? In the end, if he is doing the best thing for the sport, Reggie will keep building quality boats, Mike do the same, and all of us hope that the economy and the boating industry pull out of its slump!!! Everyone will have their favorite brands and the top dog is going to keep getting bigger because even our motor manufacturers are pushing the envelope with bigger hp, Merc 1300's , #8 drives, etc. Hopefully we won't start jeopardizing safety for Top Dog status!

tony stamis

Reggie has done a lot for powerboating and holds the record but i give outerlimits alot of credit to when tripple x came out it ran great still may be the only v-bottom to win the New York City poker run.

MrOffshore

Anyone? Anyone with the money. I don't think I would qualify the Outerlimits as a "production" boat...just about everything they build is custom to some extent.

Besides, this isn't about what's custom or production, every builder has the same opportunity to bring their fastest offerings...bringing anything else is simply a moot point. Fiore brought a fast boat, it simply wasn't in the same league as the Fountain...there's nothing wrong with that, it's just what it is. No one can argue that Outerlimits isn't a premiere builder, their products speak for themselves, they're top shelf.

I think either company would be prepared to spend the money to have bragging rights of building the fastest boat...but as quick as I am to agree that Outerlimits builds a great boat, I think everyone can agree that Reggie Fountain knows a thing or two about building fast boats. Not many people, Fiore included have the experience that Reggie Fountain has...that's not a slam on Fiore, so don't take it that way.

As long as Reggie Fountain has warm blood coursing through his veins, I think we can all know that he's going to do whatever he can to shed the best light on the company that bares his name. The offshore boating community has always been impressed with top speed...they spend thousands, tens of thousands and more to squeeze that last mile per hour out of a boat. Reggie Fountain capitalizes on that need that everyone has to go fast...he builds boats that run fast...he does everything within his power to make certain that the boat that holds the kilo record has Fountain on the side of it.

MrOffshore

I hope everyone here knows there history well enough, but the battle for kilo speed dominance was never better than when it went back and forth between Scarab and Fountain. In their day Wellcraft Scarabs were one the finest offshore boats you could purchase...they were a production boat...the next closest boats were all from custom builders.

Scarab lost their battle when Wellcraft lost their interest in the difficult offshore powerboat business...that was a shame. Their quality was suffering and it was damaging the name...now it's just history.

But understand this...Scarab in their day were a huge threat when it came to running fast...they were a continual thorn in the side of Reggie Fountain, I believe they're partially responsible for fueling the fire in Reggie Fountain to build fast boats.

MrOffshore

I couldn't agree with most of what you wrote more! Particularly the last sentence...as much as the manufacturers push the envelope of top speed they need to hold some accountability for the safety of their boats at the speeds they're running.

When I watch the CatKiller setting that kilor record I can't help but think there are so many variables on the water that can turn things tragic in a nanosecond...and there's no recovering at those speeds. Boats on videos just don't look like they're going very fast...but that's not the case this time...that boat looks like it's moving across the water at an insane rate of speed (and it was).

While I'd love to see the kilo battle start back up (I love watching people spend money!!) I hope it's done safely.

OL40SVX

Great numbers by the way! 121 is smoking with the 5800 limiters. But yours isnt published anywhere either...The OL has run those numbers in much bigger boats. I have seen it and been in them. Not to take anything away from you though. OL was never as heavily into racing as much as Fountain was.

OL40SVX

[QUOTE=MrOffshore;3045852]
I think everyone can agree that Reggie Fountain knows a thing or two about building fast boats. Not many people, Fiore included have the experience that Reggie Fountain has...that's not a slam on Fiore, so don't take it that way.

[QUOTE]

There is know doubt Reggie knows what he is doing and he sure does know how to make a boat go fast. He been going very fast for a long long time now.

OL40SVX

What I meant was that if a customer wanted a boat like XXX if could be bought, thats what I meant by production. XXX was a pleasure boat. There were alot like it and very similar built.

Roger

The 121 is not published but the 123.4 is. youtube.com Ausleys38 Lightning