top speed 35' single step 2000' with 500 hp's
 

the boat is a 2000 fountain classic single step with carb'd 500 hp's.
spoke to martin at fountain and he says that the test run they did was with the hydromotive 4 blades,q4's intimidator,28 pitch by 15.5 .
boat ran 85.5 mph !!!!!!!!!!

so , i went out and looked AND FOUND on ebay the identical props that were as new used once .....

it is the 1st time i hear of a 35 with 500 hp's doing 86 mph....
DOES ANYONE HAVE THE SAME SETUP AND CAN CONFIRM THEIR BOAT DOES 85.5 MPH ?

That sounds VERY optimistic. With no engine and drive mods, all stock, I would say 79-80mph. Shorties should net another 2-3mph putting you in the 83mph range.

Zack

i agree but that is what fountain tells me the performance report shows... 500 hp's carb with the hydro 28x15.5 props q4's ... 85.5 mph !

I owned a '99 35 single step executioner with 502 magnums, 1.36 ratio Bravos, running 23p Mirage plus props. Full fuel and passengers I could get 78 gps. Light fuel, me and one other passenger or my kids, I saw 80.3 on the gps repeatedly.

That said, 85 with 500's does not sound unreasonable. More important to me, what is the cruising speed at 4000 rpm? That's where I spent most of my running time.

T

We had a 00 Lightning with 500 HP EFI's that ran 88 on gps just like the performance report said.

Any dyno info on the engines? They must have been on the + side of the hp tolerance allowed by Merc?

4 days ago i ran a 35 single step with 496's, 1:6 drives , 30x15 1/8 5 bld meximus wheels tricked out by a local propeller guy. she ran 80.9 on speedo and garmin g.p.s .

on the rev limiter.

so i would say 85 with h.p 500's is accurate.

plus martin is in the know of his product.

My 99 with 500's carbed and 26 hydro's did 80 - 81. But the drives were burried in 99 with really low X dim. When they raised the X on later models they ran similar speeds with 496's.

Exactly...sounds like there are all ready shorties on the boat to see those speeds?

Additionally, some of the guys with the higher spped numbers look like they are running in salt water, correct?

Looking at Marginmn's speeds, it appears to coincide with my first statement and running in fresh water, agreed? That is worth 2-3 mph less than salt, right?

I know Fountain's reports say they test in salt being from NC and all... but this was just an observation on my part. Don't villify me, just trying to get an accurate apples-to-apples comparison.:p

most people will not see the speed the fountain test team does, they have great water conditions , light load and the people that drive the boats are pros.

thw water at fountain is brackish at most. as for the salt to fresh water difference, there is none. it's a myth. reggie educated myself to that. apples to apples. the boat will see the speed. the newer the boat the better the technology in it. it s just the nature of things.

monstaaa

You think a bone stock 2000 w/ 500s will run 86? Not arguing just trying to discern why? It's the same technology as a 1999 hull, isn't it?

Wait a second...is the 35 classic a Lightning or an Ex?

In 2000 through 2003 (I think?) they called the single step a Lightning Classic Deck, in 2004 the same boat was then called an Executioner. Single step, Plexiglass windshield with a venturi, and motor covers that split in the center and hinge to the outside, also has the louvers on the gunnels rather than the sculptured scoops of the Lightning.
Hope this helps.
Dave

i believe you are correct.

with some patience in dialing your props, or trying multiple props. i would say yes.

that xtra 100 or so h.p should do it.

monstaaa,

That's exactly what I'm getting at... I don't think that a STOCK 500hp 35 will run 86 w/o extra power and tweaks.

Is the lightning bottom the same as the Ex for those years? Single step until 2002?

NOT SURE ON THE BOTTOMS. AS FOR THE H.P, I MEANT FROM 496 TO H.P 500

Actually the clasic deck was the model name from 2000 to 2002. The revival of the Executioner occured in 2003.

My 2001 which had the same x-dim as 1999 or 2000, had 502s, which Reggie tested at 75. Don't think that 10mph is possible with the 500s? Maybe 5mph.

My 35 Classic was one of the last to be built in 2000 and had a higher x dimension. The performance report reported 82 mpg at 5050 rpm. The original props were 26 QIVs that Fountain had tweaked. When I had them scanned by Murphy's in Norfolk. They had been adjusted to 28 pitch by Fountain. When I bought my back-up props from Hydromotive, I got of set of non-labbed 28" QIVs. The boat turned 5250 and ran 84.9 MPH on GPS. Ran beside Mark House in his Active Thunder down the Potomac River for four miles side by side checking the speed to verify. We both got the same numbers.

I had some ignition problems corrected by Greenville Marine later and they confirmed that the x diminsion was higher on my boat for some reason.

Beak Boater had a 35 Lightning at the same time. He was much faster than I was before putting blowers on his boat.

So the 35 in my avitar could run that fast.