Lightning 38 Staggered Setup History
 

Greetings guys,

Thanks for to all whom post here and educate those of us with what some may comment are sometimes trivial questions. I hope this one is a little more challenging for the Fountain experts.

I'm researching the 38's, and I know I want a twin step staggered engine configuration; but it seems to me that there must have been a change in the "staggering" of these engines somewhere in the mid 2000's timeframe; as in some of the staggering looks much more aggressive than others.

Can someone break down when this happened (or tell me if I'm wrong- perhaps the amount of stagger has remained consistent)? I just want to make sure I buy a year that has everything optimized so that when the engines are pulled and built I'm not leaving anything on the table in terms of speed due to a better configuration out there that I was unaware of.

Thanks in advance for the comments!

Jeremy

The 38 had a semi stagger I think they started in 2001 and went to 2006 full stagger was from 2006 to current. Full stagger is faster.

Correct, the 2006 production with the new cockpit and cabin door etc, with the full stagger are 2007 models, (built in 06) I know because I own one, GREAT BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had an 06 38 Fountain with 600's and it had was was call a 3/4 stagger. In 07 they started the full stagger.
If you are planning to rebuild/repower, you should probably look for a 700 boat with #6 drives.
Dont over look the 42's their are some deals on them also.

I have a 2002 with the semi-stagger. Port engine is forward and I've noticed that others are starboard forward. Why the change?
Also, my K-planes are level to the water versus angled with the hull. What's that about? It does make for a handy tool tray.

I was told with the tabs flat with the water they can get the hull looser. faster

Thanks to all that replied! Looks like I'm looking for a 2007 or newer w at least 600's to start with.

Best Regards,
Jeremy

07's faster but has less room in the cockpit between the front and rear seats. It does have a glove box and 1 piece cabin door. How many times have you shown people how to work the latches on the 3 piece doors, and fumble with your fingers to get them unlatched from inside?

The 600 had bravo drives you want #6 drives needs to be a 700 or larger

Our 38/600 boat broke an XR drive with 40 hrs on it. It was covered by Mercury. Running high X's spinning 5 blade props can put a serious load on XR's.

Thanks again for all the info. I'm not concerned about the staggered setup eating into the seating space, and I'm on the same page with the #6's. Looks like a bit more $, but has a lot more room in terms of future power growth. I agree with the 3 piece door comment- those things are a pain to use and to keep from breaking (boating newbies always seem to close the wrong one first or the top one first or just slamming them causes breaks). Looking forward to a sliding door.

Best Regards,

Jeremy