Offshoreonly.com - Top speed Fountain 35 Lightning

Toffen,

Which 35? 35 Lightning (which is the twin step with the wrap around windshield) or the 35 Lightning Classic (same as today's 'Executioner')? The 35 Lightning with twin step is a little faster.

When we ordered our 35 Lightning Classic, we just liked the looks of the wind screen better than the windshield that's on the twin step.

Our 2000 35 Lightning Classic is a shade slower than Too Old's 35 Classic for sale (84.7 Mph on GPS), but we've been very pleased with the performance and handling. There is a new Executioner running around on the Potomac River. With 496's and Bravo props, the owner says boat runs about 80.

The newer 35's have given up a little speed when fountain shifted to Bravo props and deepened the x dimension. I see you're worried about HP. With 550HP I assume you're referring to the Merc 575. If you look around the board, the 575s appear to be pretty tough on gas. A few threads have highlighted that the 525 and GM HP3 are only about 10 or 20 HP less and lot more fuel efficient. There are a few active threads in the Tech Q&A on upgrading the 575. The take away I get from those discussions is that you quickly exceed the capability of the XR drive and potentially make the boat unreliable.

My wife is from Wasington, NC...so it was logically going to be a Fountain. The 35 Lightning is awesome boat. If you call the Factory and arrange a visit, they can set up a test ride in a demo boat and a factory tour. Good luck.