My buddy just bought a 2004 35' twin step Fountain Lightning with T/525's. He took it out for the first time today. The boat ran great taching 32 BRAVO I's 5300 r.p.m.'s and running 91 m.p.h. on the GPS. He said the boat felt like it was hunting a little bit on the big end. Almost like a chime walk but not exactly. The props are rotating outside. Has anyone experienced this with this same hull design? Also, is anyone runnoing this same set up with inside rotation?

I'm running the Bravo 32 props on 525's on my 42 Lightning. The starboard drive (Bravo XR) is counter-rotating. I think that's what you mean by "inside rotation"?

Anyway, with all the crap my wife puts in the boat plus the AC, vac-head, two fridg's, etc, I top out at 87MPH.

No issues whatsoever with anything similar to chine walk. I can put her on course and walk away from the helm.

Good luck with it... JON

Ive always been told that with the Ts 35 that with them rotating in you will go faster, but it will handle better with them rotating out. Only one way to find out, go out buy some more fuel and go test it.

I understand that rotating inward lifts the bow, which minimizes the hunt. The hunt is not a chine walk but rather the bow center line catching the water as the boat bow falls and straightens as it re-lifts - hence the hunt. I understood the tip that might help is to go with a 5 or 6 blade prop that is rounded not eared - and to have the props turning inward, which I would have thought would have been set that way from the factory....

A buddy of mine has an 02 TS 35 w/575s. And right now he is running the new 5 blade maximus he says it handles better and plains alot easier and they are roatating out. With these it tops out at 92, when he had the stock 34 b1s he could get about 98 but boat was harder to get on plain, didnt handle as well.

The rotation stuff is a function of the drives, which one would hope was set correct at the factory. I wonder if your friends 34 b1's were wounded or dog eared..... I would hate to give up 6 mph.....

The rotation on the Bravo is a function of the shifters. It is not necessary to switch the drives. I thought the newer stepped hulls left the factory with the props spinning in for the higher speeds but experimentation will tell whether you want better speed or better maneuverability around the docks.

Ive noticed Fountain changes it up on nearly every boat. My 29 came with a left the same dealer got 4 other identical boats and I think 3 had left hand props and 2 had right hands. My friends 35 had them rotating in, and the one the dealer just sold had them rotating out, I dont know go figure.

The general rule of thumb is faster with rotating in but can be squirelly on the top end and harder to maneuver at slow speed. Rotating out will handle better both slow and fast, but will be slower-sometimes only slightly. With Bravos, just swap them and use the shifters backwards to see if you like it. If it's better, switch the cable on the shifters to the other side-voila.

Gentlemen, The rule of thumb is an inward rotation will suck the aft end of the boat down which is the preferred method on non stepped hulls with very little trim capabilities to air out the bow.On the majority of stepped hull boats you would benefit further by spinning the wheels outboard to raise the aft end, air it out to minimize the wetted surface and utilize the stepped hull technology.The hunting should pass once you find the sweet spot which could be anywhere over 92 mph.