Well I just bought my first boat.. I have always loved fountains.. and I have one now! It is a 92 fountain lightning 35ft. The boat has been completely restored, It runs low 70s fully loaded.. Now that is where I want to start, it has 454 mercury marine crate engines. What can I do to make the boat faster but maintain reliability? It has bravo 1 drives and I believe stock props. I would love to supercharge it but I don't know how that would effect reliability, and what kit to use or how much that would cost.. So any input or information you can give me on this boat would be great! I know a lot about trucks specifically duramaxs.. But I know very little about speed boats.

Thanks, Dylan

My advice would be...learn how to drive the boat first, then worry about going faster. Even low 70s is pretty fast (people tend to forget that in today's world of 160-190 mph rides). Get used to what the boat feels like....35s are very responsive to trim and tab adjustments, and in my opinion, are a great balance between a big boat and a lively small-boat feel.

Once you do go to upgrade, remember, its not just the engines, but you have to worry about the drives as well. Once you go over 600 hp, your stock Bravos are going to be stressed if you don't treat them right.

Congrats on the new boat, and welcome to the club!

+1. Enjoy the boat and the reliability before you go to modifications. Take a Tres Martin driving school class if one comes near you. JMO

I agree with the rest , leave it alone for a while . learn to drive it first .

Enjoy the boat for a season or two - get used to driving your first high performance hull then sell it and move up to something newer and faster. Those old-tech non-stepped hulls take a bunch of HP to move and are not worth of expense involved in making them go faster. No matter what you invest in upgrading the boat the older the hull the less money you will recoup when you sell it.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm used to a 44ft sea ray, so this boat is a whole different game to me. I love it so far!

I'll trade you my 42' for your 44'

I'll trade you my 35 and 2 sea doos for your 42? lol

Congrats on the 1992 Lightning 35, the older Fountains are great boats, , I have a 1990 Lightning,,
nearly the same boat, I run twin 540's which perform great, the flat bottom hull is very responsive and they handle very nicely,,, I say it's like driving a fine sports car.
You will Love it.