New Fountain owner
 

Hey guys.

A friend of mine and I just went halves on a 2007 42' Lightning with twin 700sci's, NXT drives and Herring props. Picked it up in Memphis this weekend and hauled it back to Milwaukee and finally launched her on Lake Michigan this afternoon. Everything went smooth except for the fact when we launched the boat and put it in reverse, it went forward. Yes, stupid me. I installed the props backwards even after trying to be careful about not screwing it up! Pulled it out of the water, made the switch and we were good to go. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to run it but so far it sure looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. Can't wait to get it out again!

Congrats on the boat! Any pics?

Wow! That s a beautiful boat, looks like your summer just got a lot better, congrats again!!

Thanks for sharing!!

nice rig, good luck on the partnership:whistle: that should be a true test of your friendship ;)

Smith's 42 it looks like, congrats that was a good deal.

Yes it was Smiths. Great guy and was tons of help getting us underway. We had trouble with our trailer brakes and he bent over backwards to help us. If I was a Mercedes guy I wouldn't buy one anywhere else!

Nice boat !! And yes. Always let your **** run for a couple min on idle before you shut it off. This helps cool oil, block etc. Also makes it start better

:whistle:
ut o

Nice ride man. Dont let the rest of these scare tactics homos worry you about the vapor locking issue. You will love the boat and maybe you can keep it longer than 2 months before you decide to sell it...like someone else on this forum...:evilb:

I'm the other member of the group, consortium, cabal, insane asylum that bought this boat :)

It's a beautiful boat!
I have a 23' Stingray 454, and this boat is simply 19' longer and has TWO big blocks instead of one, right? No problem!...

...After our heart attacks seeing the size of this 42, and the kind seller Andy Smith talking us back off the ledge of "What The (heck) Did We Just Buy?!?", the intimidation (fear) factor is improving LOL.

I figured that with the NXT/SSM#6 drives, it would have a good chance of longevity vs XR's with the 700SCI's...since those drives have been used in 1100sci's too, they are "understressed" (if that is a good term in this power realm).

Did I mention, it's a big boat? ;)

The engine management really makes it doggy out of the hole...acts like a (poorly) turbocharged engine, with several seconds of "lag", puttering at 2500-3000, then you have to "catch" it when the revs suddenly shoot up and props cavitate. Not at all what I was expecting from a supercharged 502.
I've already had converse with Dustin Whipple, sounds like their Stage 1 reflash restores proper supercharger power linearity to throttle application down low.
Number 1 priority is longevity, but if I want turbo lag, I'll drive one of my cars LOL...we can manage the throttle and don't plan to WOT out of the hole, just want that good supercharger strong linear power.

Did I mention, how when those 700sci's come on their Boost Song, and the Hering prop roostertail shoots up in the air 30'+ in back of the boat with the sun shining and the wind whipping by, how it pastes a smile on your face and you can't help laughing like a fool? :)

Lake Michigan snotty-waves water is alot easier to deal with than in my good ol' Stingray 23!

Thanks ALOT ahead of time to all the Offshore Only community for your expertise, opinions, experiences and help...without this site the challenging might be the impossible.

So...it's beautiful, big, intimidating, and something that will take a long time learning and getting comfortable with...but the Fear is turning slowly to Anticipation...
Let the Adventure begin :boat:

Sound like a great ride. Congratulations!

I thought the same thing when I went from 21 to just 27.....lol. My wife looked at me and asked "can you drive this damn thing".....lol

That looks like a realy sweet ride and hope someday to pull it off myself. The whole "half ownership" thing will definitly test the friendship but if ya'll both get your panties in a wad just both get in the boat and remind yourselves why you bought the damn thing. I don't think it will take long to remind yourself after you "crank it up".

I think it also helps that you have another boat. But I am just going out on a limb here that it will soon be forgotten about.

Again congrats and have fun!!!

Great looking Beak, enjoy her and your summer :coolcowboy:

Congratulations! on the new ride, I bought a 42 from Andy about five or six years ago....really a good guy to work with.

Nice boat, you will love it. Had a 38/700 boat and loved it. Couldnt tell by the pictures, but does it have the prop ventilation tubes on the drives? If it doesnt then that would be the first step to getting on plane faster.
Mercury built that torque management system into the ecu for a reason, they are protecting something, I always thought it was the NXT transmission. I would get some seat time in it before I changed too much.
Ever watch the space shuttle take off, it takes a bit for it to get going, but once it finds its stride its a thing of beauty, I think they ran 37 pitch 5 blades on the 42's, plus the 6 drive boats have a high X, no matter what you do to it, its not going to jump on plane. Its something that comes with the boat. Our 38 was the same way.
Dustin can work some magic with the upgrades, but its always a trade off. Their is a 700/42 running around our area with a stage 1 or 2 upgrade, not sure which, runs about 105 mph.
Beautiful boat have fun!!

First off that is a great looking boat, second yep they are great people to get a Mercedes from, I have bought 3 from him over the years and he is always super to deal with and will do as you say bend over backwards to make you happy with your purchase. They do business the way it should be done, you can't find a better group of folks.

I hope you have a great time with the new boat.

Sick ride! Congrats

Nice boat...and a LOT of boat for the money! Congratulations...you are gonna LOVE that bad boy when the waves get big on Michigan!

Nice Boat, Like the stipes!

Gorgeous Boat! Congrats

Thanks all! We are hoping to learn it, respect it, and have alot of fun along the way :)

Ran-Dom 32, CraneHillFast, yes buying it half and half will be a test but we've been through alot with cars and etc, I'd rather throw the money away than the friendship. We just decided it's 50:50, whatever happens...it only costs half!

McProDesign et al, yes we open the hatch and run it awhile before shutoffs to avoid heat soak.

TRL505 we plan on keeping it awhile, but economy is bad so I have no doubt getting, keeping, and running is hard these days!

BeakBoater: no vent tubes on drives yet, would like to see what getting the Whipple reflash does for the down low. I don't expect it to pop right up on plane, just not to act like it's got a horrid lean miss or not "on the cam" til 3100 rpm!
Might even ask for a Stage 1 WITHOUT the RPM limit bump, to maintain lower rpm and higher engine/valvespring longevity.
The Marine Surveyor hit 105mph, Fountain's test speed, during his survey...hope I can do the Wurlitzer of drive/planes/driving to get close to that someday. Not yet!

And with a "Enjoy Your Boat" from "Reggie"...can't ask for more than that ;)

It maneuvers nicely at low speed, the twin engines is so nice vs single!

The open exhaust is kinda loud for the river, it came with 3 mufflers (would have to find a matching 4th).
Any "consensus" on "Best Flowingyet Quietest" mufflers, or something made to fit the boat without falling off?

Loud pipes save lives, leave em open!!!

Beautiful Boat, enjoy!