I bought a new boat and I have some questions. I have had a 21 foot jet boat that I have been driving for 15 years. This year I bought a 27 ft Fountain and the difference between them is huge. Let’s start off with passing and crossing cruiser wakes. What is the proper way to do this? In my jet I would slowly creep up on them and then I would just go over them fast enough to carry my bow in the air, but dropping of plane and getting back on plane is a pain in the Fountain is a pain. When the cruisers would be coming at me I would aim the bow about at a place were the wakes were minimal and just hang on. Is this the same with a bigger boat? Speaking of plaining the boat, what is the proper way to do this, can you just pop one of these boats on plane or do you have to creep it up on plane. In the jet I just stood on the pedal and the boat would always pop right up. Any advise on running RPMs, in the jet I had no worries, but I was told that the way you drive your boat would be a big determining factor in how long my drive would last. I have had the boat for 4 months and I have already lost one drive doing nothing but cruising around at about 3500 RPMs with and occasional 5100 RPM blast.
Granted, the stock Bravo that was on the boat probably wasn’t in the best shape to begin with. I will be putting a new Imco Extreme SC on the boat this weekend and after what I paid for the drive I would like it to last a while. Is there any rule of thumb about running in the 3000 to 4000 RPM range? Thanks in advance for all of you suggestions.

Deltarat, I am no expert here but I'll tell you what I know. I will most likely buy a 27 or 29 in a couple of months. Like you I came from a different boating background. I grew up driving a 16' Checkmate with a Merc 95 short shaft and I also raced Jet Skis as well. Right now I have a 22' Stingray which is a good "warmup" to an offshore machine. First off, these boats don't jump on plane like your old squirter. They weren't designed for that. So when planing the boat, put the drive and the K-planes (tabs) all the way down and be patient. Once it lays over, bring your tabs all the way up (most conditions) and bring the drive to neutral trim (should be the number 3 on the indicator). Passing a cruiser from behind, aim for the crest of the wave and go!! Maybe trim your drive up a little bit. Unless the cruiser is putting out 6 footers, you should be able to launch it off the wake. These boats were built for that. Bringing the boat off plane and back on again is hard on the drive and can be frustrating if you're used to a machine that "instaplanes". In short, you're going to kinda have to "learn" how to drive an offshore machine. I am going through the same thing myself, but I can't wait until I have a Fountain. I'm sure the real experts will chime in on this soon. Good luck and great boat choice!

im no expert on fountains, but have much experience in offshore boats wakes.... try to somewhat interesect the wake. make between a 50and 75 degree angle. as long as your boat has adequate power(over 350) then you should not need the tabs to get you on plane. just keep the drives lowered and gently easy throttel up. what year is your boat? what power? what type of prop? if you have big power than the worst thing u can do is slam throttles, as long as ur drive is anything less than a #3a. i run triple 640 horse and 670 torque thru 16 year old stock bravos with drive showers rated to 375 horse at factory, but u gotta be gentle. u can run wot but stay away of gettin enough air to get the drive out of the water, cuse itll hurt once u land it bak down. rpms realy depend on your engine. it depends at waht rpms it makes most power at. if it is a stock naturaly aspirated merc of mildy modified than its usually safe to say about 5200 rpms is what u wann be at wot with your drive at optimal height for top speed. im no expert but hope it helps

The boat is a 1998 single step 27 ft Fountain. It has a 502 with the HP500 cam and a complete roller valve train. I do have a small whipple with the intercooler on it and it is fuel injected. I dont know what kind of hp it has but it runs about 83 at 5200 rpm with a 28 pich non labbed prop. I am changing to a standard rotation new Imco Extreme SC with a 1.5 ratio and a two inch shorty when ever the shipping company drops it off, I hope it will be Monday in the early AM. Any body have any idea what to expect with this new combo or any idea what it will run with a 28 labbed prop?

Welcome to our house....I gave some suggestions on your other thread. Main thing...don't show off and no hi speed turns. Wear PFD when needed and kill switch. There are too many deaths and injuries on the water, OSO has made me smarter.

Deltarat
Welcome to the Fountain side, Good luck with the Imco Sc, had 2 on a 35 Fountain, with whippled 540's. They didnt last over 40 hrs on one side and about 80 on the other before having issues. No luck getting IMCO to cover them either, but I am sure you already heard that. Knowing what I know now would have went with the shortie XR's. If your drive is 2 inches shorter you probably will need more pitch, or even a 5 blade wheel. Your 28 that you are running now at 5200 is going to hit the rev limiter. When you raise the drive you will slip the prop more. Had a 98 27 with a 500 hp. It was a nice boat, have fun be safe.

Deltarat welcome to our world sounds like a nice boat you bought there.
one thing you might want to do is when you put on your new drive, index it by this I mean take a straight edge and run it off the running surface of your boat to your drive have someone adjust the drive out until the cavitation plate (the fins) on your drive are paralell to your hull now mark this spot on your dash that is where your drive is neutral as stinger said it should be around 3 on my boat it is 3 1/2,
you do not want to be jumping off of other peoples wakes or big waves with your drive out past this point I always bring mine in to 2 before I launch it wont hurt you to bring it in all the way either. hit the wave as square as you can a general rule is that if you leave the wave even you should land even. not allways so but most of the time. 3500 rpm will launch you I am guessing about 50 mph. you have plenty of power there with that "little whipple charger" probable over 700 hp RESPECT IT
if your boat starts to chine walk ( get loose and slap from side to side) touch your tabs down a bit and back off the throtle
take your time you will get used to your boat and how it reacts in different conditions.
there are a lot more qualified people here to give you tips and advice enjoy your new boat and stay safe..
I am not a pro but, I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night

What is the rev limiter set at on these motors and how can you tell when you hit it. Right now when I get to about 5100 or 5200 RPM the engine cuts in and out and it scares the crap out of me every time. Is this spike in the power bad for my drive. Is there a way to change the rev limiter to a higher RPM?

Bring the boat to Chi-Town in the spring any we will get going in the right direction, I had a boat just like that one. It's a fun boat.....LOL BZ