Finally starting to feel like summer!
 

It has been rainy and cold here in Missouri what seems like forever. Finally sunny and warm today! Got the boat out of the garage, ran the engines on the hose, changed the fuel filters, and flushed/filled the fresh water tank. Just got to load her up and we're ready to go!:D It looks like the Mississippi river should drop enough to get out on Memorial weekend.

Here are a couple pics. Check out the new Latham drive showers I installed over the winter. Boy, the back of this 292 looks like it's ready for business! Too bad I am still runing stock 6.2's...:( For now!:evilb::D

lookn good

Nice looking boat...

Those showers do look good...as does the whole boat. You're sure to have a good time.:cool-smiley-027:

i FINALLY MADE IT OUT!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU Forumla for a wonderful boat!!!! THANK YOU Ship yard marine for a great buying experiance!!!!!!

Looking good - I've got my interior back together (had the back seat re-done), ran it on the hose and changed oil. Still have to do the drive service, and finish up the fiberglass touch ups before I hit the water though.

Thanks guys!

Shame, glad to see you got it in the water! I know it had to be especially tough waiting to get her out for the first time. How did everything go?

h2oboy, sure was a nice day today to work on them! You going to try the river soon or hit the lake?

[QUOTE=4mulafastech;2561324]Thanks guys!

Shame, glad to see you got it in the water! I know it had to be especially tough waiting to get her out for the first time. How did everything go?

QUOTE]



Everything was great!!! I am very envious of you now with you K-planes and latham steering. First uprade, K-planes!!! The bennets are just plane stupid in this boat. I took off the labbed 28's and have stock 26's on the boat. Still had some bow rise getting on plane and some blow-out, but still planed quicker then my Fountain and had great acceleration!! Depending on which direction I was going on the river, cruising speed at 3600 rpms was 10-15 mph then my Fountain was!!!! Yes, 10-15 mph!!! I did not open her up, still have less then 2 hours on it. But what I did do, I could not have been more happy!!!!!

Glad to hear all went well! Those 26's should pull really good in the mid-range! Even my labbed 28's pull pretty good. Did you get a chance to get in any rough water? I remember my first impression in the rough was wow this thing handles great!

Something that can help a little with the bow rise when planing is changing the trim-in limit spacers. These are located where the rod connects the rear of the hydraulic trim cylinders to the out drive. These spacers have two positions. My Formula came with them set to limit how far the drives tuck in. I swapped mine around so the drives tuck in a tad more and it helped. You just don't want to run fast or turn hard with the drives tucked all the way in, but I'm sure you knew that!:D

I wish we had some chop, it was dead flat with no boat traffic. I will look at the drives this morning for the spacers. Thanks for the tip!!:D

Here is where they are located. You want to have it positioned forward so the cylinder can pull the drive further in. That is the standard position for a Bravo One, but Formula elected (as least on mine) to swap it probably for safety reasons. Just don't crank the wheel at speed or in a following sea with the drives tucked in all the way!:grinser010::D

Let us know how the rough water ride compares to your other 'ride'. Supposed to be in the mid-80's this weekend and we hope to get on the river. Have a good one!!:cool-smiley-011:

Shame, glad to see you got out on the water, finally. I told you that those Bennett tabs suck. My dealer told me when Formula calls and asks you how you like your boat, we need to tell them just how wrong these tabs are for these boats. They hopfully will take a look at the problem and change it on future boats, (not that that helps us :(). Before I go out next I think I'll give 4mula's drive spacer solution a try. If I can eliminate using the tabs when planing I'll be alot happier. Now get out there, and drive it like ya stole it !!:D

I'm leaving work early to flush the fresh water system, change the oil, and put 100gals of gas ($500:( ) in mine....gotta get ready for the Jones Beach Air Show this weekend.

I'll be at the lake Memorial Day weekend, but I hope to be able to put the boat in the river one day later this week to do a "shake down" run. That is, if any ramps are visible - they should be though.

Already told Formula about the tabs...:cool-smiley-011: I too will be checking the spacers on the drive. Hopefully we will good weather this weekend to "break her in"!!!:evilb:

I'll be putting a direct tab replacement on my 292 when they become available from another fellow 292 owner in a few weeks. 15 minute job to swap them out. The direct replacement measures 17.65" vs. the 12" that come on the boat from Formula.

The stock ST-12's from Bennett are too weak. Should be at minimum 16-18 inches in chord length.

Talk to Formula last week about the tab issue, and I was told by one of the engineers/designers of the 292 that it would be OK to put a larger tab on the boat.

Those should help, but keep in mind you will still be limited by the weak cylinders. I talked with Competition Marine Center in Missouri before making the swap to K-Planes. They said one of the problem with the Bennett's is the cylinders are a bit 'spongy' at high loads which allows the tabs to deflect which can effect rough water, high speed performance. Put a rock under the K-Planes and it will jack-up your boat.:D The Bennett's are also very slooooooww. Now that I have K-Planes I never realized how nice it is to be able to quickly change tab settings while running at speed. Not trying to be a downer, just sharing some info. Let us know how they work out!:cool-smiley-011:

How much for the K-Planes....installed? And yes, you are correct about the Bennet's being slooooowww.

$4831 installed. This included removing the existing tabs, pump and wiring harness. Glassing the transom where the previous rams were and installing the new pumps, harness and K-planes. CMC did a great job. Hey, I never said it was cheap!:D The wife wasn't crazy about spending the cash. She was saying "Now explain again why these are better than what came on the boat?..." Until after we ran in some big water, then she was sold! She couldn't believe the difference.:D

WOW!!! You're right, not cheap by any means. That's a lot of tanks of gas. But, you're happy with the boat and that is what matters most.

Did you ever consider trading in the 292 for a 353 where the K-Planes come standard on the boat?

Thanks. No, didn't consider it. The 292 purchase is for the long haul. I don't plan on trading or selling for a loooong time. Spent 2-years researching (and saving) before spending that kind of cash. I tried really hard to get Formula to put K-planes on it, but they wouldn't budge. I AM very happy with the Latham steering that was factory installed. The size of the 292 works great for us. Towing is a breeze, it fits in my shop, fits my 32' slip at the marina, and is plenty big for the water we run. Eventually new power will go into her and we will start having some real fun!:evilb:

Awesome....Maybe, I'll see you this summer if you do Lake of the Ozarks. I'll be there August 28th-September 2nd. I'll have the '08 292 with Hot Rod Red graphics.

Most of our boating is on the Mississippi. That is where the marina is where we keep it. If we hit the Lake during that time frame I will definitely let you know. So is Formula building your boat now? The graphics look great! That will be one unique 292!! What options did you go with? Definitely post some pictures. I want to see that package in the water!:cool-smiley-011:

Sota, when's your new boat supposed to be in, can't wait to see it. Did you take the EMI'S off your old, ( I guess I shouldn't say old, sense its so new) boat?

Yes, Formula is just wrapping up the final touches on the new boat now. The wife and I did the factory tour a few weeks back and saw the boat in production. It was truly a sight to see if you haven't. I should be taking delivery within the next week and a half. Options include: Hot Rod Red Platinum Graphics, Merc. 6.2's, mechanical trim/drive indicators, Captain's Call Exhaust, upgraded Kenwood stereo, & stainless docking lights.

As of 05/16/2008, Kerry from Formula, informed me that I have the ONLY Hot Rod Graphic 292 produced to date. Let's keep it that way gentleman. I need my resale to be strong.

FRMULTR, as part of the new boat deal, I worked out a deal with Bald Knob to swap out my EMI Thunder exhaust and install on new 292 when it arrives.

I'll try to post pics when ready.

Please let us know how she runs with those EMI's after the break-in period. Thanks!

very cool sota, can't wait to see pics!! I know what ya mean about haveing the only boat with the graphics you chose! I hope Mine is the only all white onwe that they build, other then race boats of course!

Made the change today and now when fully tucked, the drives look normal. I can understand the safety thing...last weekend I started into a turn the way I used to in my Fountin and this hull did not like that...felt like I was in a rear wheel drive car on ice....:grinser010: amazing the difference going from a single engine to twin and from a single step to twin step!!

It is officially summer!
 

Got the boat in the water Friday. Who needs any stinkin' boat ramps!:D Most in our area were closed. I got up the nerve to have it slung in at the marina. All went smooth, but I have to say the feeling of seeing her hanging out there is a bit unsettling!:party-smiley-004: Spent Saturday and Sunday dodging storms, but overall it was a great time and nice to get back out on the river.

Cool, glad you had a gerat weekend, weather here was...well CHIT!!!!

How was the river this weekend? The wind had the lake pretty rough (for my boat anyway)

Had a great day on the Chain on Sunday, Saturday was a bust. Was going out again on Monday but opted for yard work, gotta get that chit out of the way. Lift is going in tommorrow, I can't stand ramping, to many meatheads.

Thanks. The weather here wasn't much better, mostly cool and windy with some serious spot storms on Sunday. The river current is moving at a pretty good clip, so we just rafted off and floated a lot, and it sux still having to wear sweat-shirts. Jeez, isn't it almost June already?!! Saturday evening/night was the best. Wind stopped, sun came out for a good sunset and warm-up. Two of my brothers have boats in the same marina and, after the boats were put-up for the night, we had a great BBQ at the marina and the beer really got flowing!:D:D:cool-smiley-011:

I can imagine the lake got rough! Actually got in to some pretty rough water on the river Saturday, which as you know is rare. We ran up to the Winfield dam and rafted off, floating down the river. By the time we got to around Hat Island the wind REALLY picked up and was blowing straight up the river. Started white capping and the waves/rollers started building in the current. We had to untie the boats and the wind and waves kept building. Had a blast running down river to around Iowa Island. Maybe 1-1/2 to 2 footer which made it fun running 60+mph:D. My brothers didn't like it as much though...:p

The river level was dropping about a foot a day, until we got a bunch of rain Sunday night and Monday. Now it is on the way up for a brief period. Debri in the main channel was minimal Sat. and Sun., but in the sloughs you had to keep an eye out.

Good that you made it out one day. I know what you mean about ramping with the meatheads, and getting that yard work out of the way!!

[QUOTE=Shameless;2561452]
Hey Shameless, Just curious to know if you have opened her up yet with the 26's and what type of top end GPS speed you saw vs. the stock labbed 28's?

Theoretically, to obtain a high top end speed, 26P potentially will not be as good as 28P.

Like every performance guru, I'm looking for that little edge over the next guy.

[QUOTE=sotapop20;2571540]
I opened her up for about 10 seconds...so not enough time to get full potential out of Brvo 1, but I did see 68 mph. My props need to be matched in the worst way, one only pulled 5030 rpms and the other pulled 5170. Now, I only had 2 hours on teh motors when I did this, thus the quick back off on her, plus after talking to Throttle up, I should see another 100 rpms after break in time. I have not run the labbed 28's, but I will do that if weather permits this weekend. So, I am going to wait a bit until I get the 26's worked, but knowing my friends at Throttle up, I can bet they will have my 26's performing as well as the 28's without thinning any blades...:D

[QUOTE=Shameless;2571572]

Yeah, Julie at Throttle Up is great. Throttle Up labbed my Bravo III props on my Cobalt and I gained 3 mph over stock with her advice.

I talked to Mercury Racing about prop slip and also Formula on initial R&D results of the 292 and both stated to me that the 292 saw higher top end speeds running the 28's. However, the 26's will definately be better for out-of-the-hole performance and mid-range. Running the 28's will lower your RPM's for sure over the 26's, but I'm curious about what the WOT top-end speed will be between the two sizes.

I have a pair of EMI Thunder's on my 6.2's, so this raises RPM's by about 200-300 RPM. I too would run 26's to test out on the boat, but since the increase in RPM's I need to run the 28's to prevent from hitting rev-limiter.

Keep us updated on which, in your opinion, is a better pitch prop for the 292 and what numbers you see after your testing.

[QUOTE=sotapop20;2571779]
I will keep ya posted!!:D