What are the main differences between the 2003 35 ts mistress and the 2003 38 tg ts? Where would I notice the three feet on the boat? Is it worth the price difference? What about the ride difference? I live on the great lakes.

The 35 doesn't have a notched transom. The 38 is faster. The both ride superb. Get the Top Gun if you can. Your resale will be better because it is alot more popular.

What is the difference betwqeen a notched bottom and a twin step?

The notched transom is a notch taken out of the back of the hull on the 38. It allows the drive "X" dimension to be moved around for optimum performance. The Twin step is unrelated to the notch. The steps are on the bottom of the hull. The 35 and 38 both have steps. The 35 doesn't have the notch in the transom because most of them run standard power and it will cavitate.

Here is a picture of the notch on the 38 T/S. See the white part on the vee.

Here are a few Top gun's where you can see the notches.

Cigracer is exactly right...
If you are interested I have a 2002 38' Top Gun that is for-sale...???
Regards,
Tony

Thanks Cigracer

Three more questions.

1. What is the with of the wood beams that the 38 tg sits on, in those storage pictures, I have a hoist that I would like to have adjusted.

2. Would it be the same for the 35 ts mistress?

3. The 35 I am looking at is a 2003 with 525's, would that cavitate with that power?

I had a 35 TS Playboy and it handled rough water great. The 38 is actually faster but my Playboy w/500 EFI's has out accelerate a TopGun with 575's and allowed me to pull away from the gun in rough water. On the FPC poker runs I have been on the 35 TS were always at the front of the pack when the water got rough.
The TopGun is actually only 2 1/2 feet longer same beam. The Playboy has a lower free-board than the TG. A 35 TS wiht 525's and ITS should get you in the 86-88 range. When I bought my Playboy6t it was over $30K cheaper than a TG.
If you always run in real rough water the TG will serve you better.
If you do get a cigarette I would suggest getting someone like Tres Martin to set the boat up to get the max performance.

Here is a picture of my Play Boy next to a TG.

Godd Luck!

I'm not sure of the width of the beams. It would be the same for the 35 since they are so similar in size.

None of the 35's will cavitate because they don't have the notch. Since the 35 has a lower freeboard it cannot have the notch, because it causes cavitation. The 35 is basically built to run 525's or similar, not huge blower motors with big drives. It is a very very nice boat. You would be very happy with the 525 setup in a 35. You can run every weekend at 85mph or so, all day long, in any water.

The 38 can handle any power or drive combo. It does not cavitate at all because of the ability to adjust the drive "X" dimension to fit the engine/drive combo for optimum performance. You can run 525's or 1100's if you want. A gun with 525's will run 85 mph or so.

without ever looking closely at the two configurations, a question from the peanut gallery

how does the notch increase the ability to adjust X dimension?