32 fountain center of gravity
 

My single step 32 with t-502s B-1 bravo-28p is tail heavy . I replaced the heavy exhaust manifolds with EMI sets and the stern rose up about 1 1/2". Off plane I have to stand up to see over the bow. In rough water this weekend on Lake Ontario I could not keep the bow down with the tabs and keep speed up. As the boat came out of the water it did not fly as level as i would like it to. Has anybody added some bow wt or a ballast system, I know that the 28 pantera has 6 lead plates up front and ocean race boats add wt at times. My fountain has two empty compartments up front under the mattress. I could add a few lbs there to offset the stern?

Would adding weight up front raise the rear, or just lower the front too?

I going to find out. I put 4 cast iron exhaust manifolds up front weighing 45lbs each, 180lbs. will sea trial it and post results.

I saw your boat at Sylvan Beach ealier this year, looks good.

Thanks, I will be boating on the 4th july in the 1000 islands, I will post results when I return.

Glen, have you given any though to larger/longer trim tabs? I would think that would be a better solution that adding weight up front. Aluminum heads and intakes? That would probably take 250# off the rear and add a little performance. Heck it's only money...

I can't make the islands this year for the 4th, I will be back up there pirates week however.

Don't miss the sandy pond party July 21st! Its a blast.

BTW, when we saw your boat on the wall in the canal the wifey asked me if it was sinking, I said nope....32 fountain. I guess it goes with the territory, get used to it. My friend used to get about 10 calls a year from the marina he kept his at :)

Are you keeping the drives tucked in w/ a Lil tab?

Be carefull. Those loose manifolds can go through the botom of the boat. Afriend had a tool box do it. Artie

Yes, tabs down-drives in., I will strap them in. GOOD IDEA.

AGREE, I would replace with bags of sand.

+1

Good call.

Maybe wrap them in a moving blanket, and secure.

I know of a guy with a 42' Lightning whose anchor came loose in his bow locker and tore thru the side of the hull.:coolcowboy:

I may go to sand bags to adjust the wt. will post results soon.

Test results at 180 lbs up front and 90 gal of gas. The nose stays down with less trim, gets on plane with less throttle and I can see over the bow. The exhaust does not rattle the swim platform. The boat handles the waves and the over all ride is better. I do not have wot mph info yet. I have read that 29 are faster than the 27 and also the 35 over the 32 with the same power. The 27 and the 32 sit very low into the water without the weight upfront. I plan to use sand bags try 300 lbs, I had my wife climb upfront and the stern rose up another 2", that is where i would like to see my boat.

I tryed 300 lbs of sand, wrapped in plastic bags in the front hull. It was a little bow heavy when running, I had to trimmed out to 5.5 for the 1st time at 74 mph. When i got home today I removed 100 lbs. Two hundred is the best wt for my 32. Im not use to seeing the rear rub rail above the water line. Getting on plane with less throttle and tabs. See the difference in the last pic.

Very interesting,at loto a few weeks back had a knock on the door someone saw the boat at the dock as you know they thought it was sinking. I like the sand bag idea.

Try some bow weight. I can trim the outdrive to 5-6 with tabs at 2-3 with a solid ride at wot.

I now have 4 forward compartments with a total of 300 lbs of sandbags secure in the hull.The ride and stance has greatly improved. I dont have to drag my tabs to go through a no wake zone or rough waters. Additional pictures to follow, spending next week in the 1000 islands.

Good idea ! I have a 29 twin that sits real low , going to try this...

What was top speed before and after sand bag mod?

77-78 gps mph at wot, really loose, tabs trimed out at 3-4, drives 3-4 also. With the wt, solid 74+75 with the drives @ 5.5 super stable and a joy to drive. Befor I never was able to really trim out the drives. I do alot of stop and go on and off plane. I will post a full report with pictures after my vacation week in the 1000 islands ny.

I previously owned a 97 32 w/SC525's, boat always handled amazing, ran high 80's and never had to add any weight. This seems odd to me that you are having these issues. Keep in mind, more positive trim does not always equal more speed. Drives with excessive trim are not propelling the boat forward. The 32's are azz end heavy, just how they are. Good luck. But if it was me, I'd dump the sand bags and take the extra 3-4MPH..lol.

I have been following this thread thinking the same thing TRL. His pictures of the rub rail in dead flat water look no different than mine, pictures are decieving @ times but i know mine sits easily w/ a 2 or 3inch gap for exhaust to exit out. Never have a problem keeping the bow down, just adjust trim to the water conditions!!

This is how it looks with a half a tank of fuel/ 300 lbs sandbags in the forward hull. Running mid seventies with three people on board in one foot chop. Running a bravo 26p turning out on the Saint Lawrence. WOT I have not done yet.

Water line looks to be a mirror image of mine w/ out added weight. Do you have the bump stops on your tabs that always keep them level w/ the bottom of boat? I know that normal cruising @ 3 to 4 on the drive indicators in a Lil rough water the bow will want to bounce, the boats very sensitive to trim. I always have a thumb on the switch & just a click or 2 really makes a diffenerce in keeping the be down!

Why are you turning props out?

Mine are out as well, most 32's came that way I believe.....

I dont belive ours was...but I drink a lot and it was a long time ago..so God knows what our setup was??? :lolhit:

Mine spin in (28 hydro's),,,,, didn't like the way the boat ran with them out and for some reason docking didnt seem any better.

Maybe I just suck at docking!
Lol

I suck at docking. I turned them out. wife is alot happier. I dont have tab stops. I would like to get a set. Any ideal where? The prestep 32 are alot higher sitting. The step, cut off the bottom is what i think keeps it at sitting at the rubrail.

Crazy why the 32's seem to sit at different heights in back. Appears the older ones sit higher. Mine has the rub rail right above the water line. Be interesting to know the depth of the hull below the rub rail at the side back corner to know if the older ones are a little deeper, considering the 1 1/2" from the step? That sounds most likely now that I think about it as a buddies older 32 sits higher.


BTW, I changed mine to spinning out too just for the docking gains I noticed.

I have been looking at 35 fountains in the same years and there longer and heavier in the front, they sit lower in the front and higher in the rear. I was hoping the wt would help.

I experimented on vacation with 200-300 lbs weights and decided that 200 lbs does the trick. 50 lbs in each forward compartment. I installed the EMI exhaust manifolds this spring and was a 90 pound wt loss in the rear. I really like the 32 now with the rubrail well above the water line.

Looks like a slow day at Potters! :D The transom height is something that makes me a little nervous about a 32 since I cannot back into my dock and I get a LOT of wave activity. Great information Thanks

Very interesting thread George..

I had a 29 Fever 2004 MY with 2 x 377 Scorpions and experienced a bit of the same problem. If fact it was not a problem before i had 6 or more people in the boat. Then it just looked stupid, as the fine design of the Fountain hull was effected by the extreme angle at standstill and while going up to 12-1300 rpms.

I took the two 65 amp batteries out of the boat (as I thought the batteries had insufficient power with the stereo, light etc on) and installed two new 105 Ah AGM batteries wich was much heavier. This is absolutely not right for any experienced racer, but the end result was that the boat pounded through the wakes better. The top speed was reduced with 1,5 mph, but with some more cupping to the propellers, it was actually faster than the boat had ran previously. I had the batteries installed up front in 2008, and the boat still runs with these batteries there. The boat has run approx 650 houres since then and I did 4 hardcore offshore races with it. I have had no problems with this set up what so ever. The batteries were put in the center locker under the mattress. When we were having 5 persons in the boat and much fuel, this conversion really made a big difference and the boat felt more harmonious. The stern went up with approx. 2 inches.

I now have the interior out being redone. 2 XR swepbacks coming and 2 575-600hp engines to put in. ditching the silent choice +y pipes for more wt loss. I think the new carb motors are less wt than the EFI. Adding wt in the front and HP in the rear should be fun. I also have 30 bravo to spin. That's my updates for this spring. Top speed?

Wow, you are not messing around :D

To give you an idea my stock 575scis (supercharged) push my 2004 38 ft to 88 mph every summer day, and an all time high of 92.7mph on that cool fun run we did last fall. I spin 32 p 4 blades at 5150 summer air and 5350 fall/spring temps. I don't think your 30 will be enough unless your engines want to run in the upper 5000's. Your boat dialed in with 600hp a side might hit triple digits :eekdrop:

I would take that bow weight out before testing in the spring. If you are stepped bottom the increase in speed will cause even more stern lift, with the additional weight you have put up front you may have some bow steer handling issues at speed, which would not be fun.

I'm assuming you are replacing the exhaust with something high performance? That should relieve the transom of about 200 lbs.

did you ever think we would be calling 575 supercharged engines stock???how about mercurys stock 1350,s and now the race 1700,s,love the advancements....

NICE !! Can't wait to read about it, bet she'll be a lil rocket for you. Thanks for the updates.