RaggedEdge

It's a Fountain part, but if you can get past that, I can tell you it works. Stainless anchor and it never moves at all. We Fountain guys are pretty protective of that Beak and this does the trick !!!

pat@osp

Dave,

Yes, mine has the same colors and paint scheme as your boat. Yours is the only other one that I've seen also with that combo. Honestly, I wasn't sure that I was so fond of it when I found out about this boat. In the pictures I saw it looked very pinkish and I almost passed on it even though the deal was right but I'm glad I went to see it because it looks much better in person. Since then it's grown on me and it is different than anything else I've seen. I do catch some grief from a few buddys about my "purple boat" but they're happy to ride in it when they want to go for a blast to Newport for a few beers. Not sure how to post pics here but I'll investigate. I realized that I don't really have any good pictures either so I'll have to do something about that too.

I've been thinking that it has to be a fresh water tank leak also. I'm going to work on figuring it out this weekend. You do bring up an interesting point though. I store it inside my shop for the winter but I did pull it outside in the early spring for a few weeks and it sat on the trailer, next to the building, right where the rain comes off the roof, on a slight hill where the bow might have been lower than the stern. It have the cockpit cover on but maybe some water got in anyhow? Given the water up in the storage compartment next to the head I'm leaning towards a leaky water tank. You have any idea why the water won't drain back to the bilge? The boat is in the water now and the bow is definately higher than the stern. I guess I also need to check on that plug in the front of the engine compartment between and under the engines that Jay had mentioned.

Not sure if I'm going to keep the boat or not. I'd give up some speed for something with more space like an SS series. That was kind of the plan when I got this, keep it for a couple years and then trade up but we'll see. Either way, I'm interested in the K plane upgrade if it will help the rough water ride. Narrangansett Bay gets choppy with all the wakes and also with a south wind and frankly, I've been kind of disapointed in the rough water ride of the boat. I was thinking that it should knock down the rough stuff a bit better than it does but it rides pretty hard as far as I'm concerned. Did you do the K plane install yourself or have a shop do it? Just curious on what's involved. I'd be tackling it myself. I HATE the trim gauges on the boat and lack of tab indicators. Probably do a K plane and mechanical indicator upgrade next winter if I decide to keep it for another year.

I agree that I should get a Fortress aluminum anchor. Probably the best solution and it would be much easier for her to handle also. I just had visions of dripping black mud across the deck when it comes up, hand off drama over the windshield, etc. Still better than big gouges in the anchor locker.

Thanks for the great info. I'll get some pics posted soon.

Pat

pat@osp

There was a guy that I think is a Formula salesman at a dealer on LOTO that was suggesting that the tabs down / drives out manuever was the trick to get a 292 to top speed. He admitted that it was unconventional but if I understand him correctly he's saying to put the tabs way down to get the stern up out of the water and then bring the drives way out to get the bow up and that is the hot set up for best 292 speed. Said he does it all the time and it works great? Didn't sound like something I wanted to try without good tab indicators but figured I'd ask if anyone else was using that method.

Thanks for the prop recomendation. I'll check it out.

Pat

pat@osp

OK that's the place I was thinking you were describing. I have a younger small dudes that works for me. I'll grab him by the feet and lower him down there so he can get doused with slimy bilge water when he pulls the plug and it comes gushing out.

I'll give Scott a shout if I need anything else done............like maybe a new fresh water tank!!

I'll be searching Saturday also and I'll let you know if I find anything

Pat

JayFan

Cool.....

Honestly I don't think you/ or anyone can reach that plug.... I had my 5'3" thin Fiancee try to get down there.....and she was still about a foot from it.... pisser!

pat@osp

I found that post from the Formula salesman that I was thinking about. Thought you might find it interesting.

Celery sticks are shims. On a Bravo where the trim rams connect to the drive there is a slot instead of a hole. What I suggest is to move the shim from back to front of the slot that will allow the drive to tuck farther.

As far as your trimming question your boat is differant then anyone Else's Formula on this forum. I mean the 292 Fastech in general. I boat at LOTO and it is rough water most of the time. The 292 is my favorite Fastech to drive, because I can suprise people on how well I can make it handle the rough water. Now back to why its differant. USE YOUR TRIM TABS AND OVER TRIM THE OUT DRIVES. I know it sounds wrong, but it works try half way down maybe 3/4. Might do it by your self once before you do it with all your friends and trim the drives up, higher the faster you go. Don't be afraid to over trim you can always trim back in. Try this and tell me what you think. Should feel like a new boat and have a really cool roost behind you when your in the throttles. The main thing you have to be carefull about is not to get the bow pointing down THIS IS BAD. Always try to keep the bow about 15 Degrees with the water. Look at my picture below my name, thats a 292 Fastech and thats what it should look like when having fun.

I hope I haven't told you to much it is a lot easier to explain in person so try a little at a time and be careful.

Here's a link to the whole post
http://formulaboatsforum.com/forumte...5&topic=1683.0

After re-reading it I see that he's saying have the tabs 1/2 - 3/4 down, not all the way and he does cuation about bow steer. Anyway, just thought it was interesting and thought I'd pass it along.

Also don't know if I answered on the boat attitude when not draining. I noticed this water after I dropped the boat in a couple weeks ago so this is while it's in the water and the bow is high. The water level in this spot is well above what looks like the drain hole but doesn't drain. JayFan did mention a rubber expansion plug up in front of, and below, the engines which may be the other end of this pipe. If there is a plug still in there maybe that's the reason for no drain? Bigger question I have is where is the water coming from? Hopefully I'll find the answer tommorow and maybe even test out the "Troy from LOTO" 292 Fastech trim tab and drive trim super tune!

pat@osp

I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip.

Pat

4mulafastech

lol! I just wish I had a Corvette! Yes, it is definitely not a chead upgrade, but hey, it's a boat - 'break out another thousand'...

4mulafastech

You're welcome!

We get a lot of compliments on the paint scheme. I like it because it is unique, plus the wife had a lot of input on the selection since she contributed to the purchase! If it was just me, a more traditional paint would have been more likely.

Competition Marine Center in the St. Louis area did the install. It is a big job that I was not comfortable tackling and wanted professionals that have done it many times and had the right tools to do it. The grid system makes the job more difficult since you have to make some modifications to the grid (cut small windows) to access the through bolts on the K-Planes. Do a search on some of my previous posts on K-Planes and you will see what I am talking about. The entire job parts and labor was around $5000. Not cheap, but my wife even thinks it was worth it after feeling the difference in the ride.

Where we boat there is mostly sand and a little mud, so it shakes right off the anchor. We will have a large towel ready to set it on and my wife hands it over to me. I do a final cleaning off the swim platform before stowing it away. If it was really muddy this method may not work.

JayFan

or TWO, or THREE!!!!