I dont know how many boats they sell in a year but its hardly worth risking your life to sell 2-3 more.
Anyone on here with half a brain knows the setup and power isnt what is sold every day.

Think REWARD/RISK.

Re your comment about how many boats did Reggie sell by setting a record.......well Reggie is starting with a fresh slate now.....and what has he said will be in his lineup at the outset? Center Consoles.

This doesnt have to happen. Proves nothing.

OL is a great boat. Put a couple more cup holders in it, turn up the music and have a nice life.
Thats what counts.

174, 182, 191 ??? Who gives a phuck??

I completely understand and basically agree with your thought process here. But on the flip side of the coin - sometimes personal reward is worth the estimated risk involved. Many things in life that we do are inherently dangerous. With the proper training, experience and preparation, hopefully you lower that risk.

And as the great Fabio Buzzi once said:
"Records are the true marks for progress"

I hear ya but in this case with so many people dependent on your health I repectfully disagree.
If the record is beaten by 1 or 2 mph , there will be 10 pages of how accurate the GPS was or tailwind.

Meaningless risk.

Hahaha! That's funny....And so true.:drink:

"Someone" 6 years ago did say "Someone needs to shut the old man up" and the old man said he was brining a cannon! We all saw who walked the walk and who talked the talk. I am looking forward to what the future will bring.

This has turned into an interesting discussion. Here's something else to ponder: Fountain lore—and I have a lot of respect for Mr. Fountain and the brand he created—has it that offshore racing victories were an important sales tool for the company. It's the "What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday" theory.

But I have always wondered if the sales numbers directly supported that notion. How many sales did offshore racing actually produce? I'm not talking perception, which we can all argue about until we run out of breath, but hard sales numbers? In other words, how many buyers walked into Fountain dealerships and said "I'm buying this boat because the brand wins offshore races?"

You can't tell me such things aren't trackable.

My theory, for what it's worth, is Fountains were sold on "speed," and that could have happened without offshore races or kilo records. The racing and all the rest ... you'd have to prove it to me, with hard numbers, that it actually sold boats. Again, it's one thing to say it with authority. It's another to prove it.

My take is that kilo runs and offshore race victories don't sell boats. They may contribute to their mystique. But direct sales? Again, show me.

I know a lot of Fountain owners. Not one has ever told me he bought his boat because Fountain holds a kilo record or Fountain boats have won a lot of offshore races. What I've heard consistently is that they are fast for the power and present good value in a production-built offshore boat.

I know quite a few Outerlimits owners as well. They tell me their boats are fast for the power and present good value in a custom-built offshore boat. None have ever mentioned Outerlimits' P1 championship or New York City Poker Run "kilo record."

So why bother? Bragging rights.

Bragging Rights, and I think the mystique is what might have hyped the sales more than the winning offshore directly.

Legacy --I made the fastest V-Bottom boat in the world, I drove the fastest V-Bottom boat in the world. That is pretty cool stuff. I am a risk taker and if I had the $$$$ I would love to attempt to set a world record on water (going fast). MT hit the nail on the head with his post above (two words), "Bragging Rights."

And Tank's quote 'as the great Fabio Buzzi once said:
"Records are the true marks for progress." ' Both quotes (from MT and Tank) sum it up for me. Good stuff. I wish I could be an active participant, and not a spectator.

Break the record!

Well, I have sold MANY Fountains. New and used. The "hype" is what causes the customer to walk in the showroom. And the "local, good old boy NC" aura (sp?) is what drives LOTS of buyers. Fountain owners and OL owners are a VERY diff breed.

Matt, you're correct. A great conversation...

Why does a dog lick his balls??

because the cat wont..........:coolcowboy:

who gives a phuck??? look at the guys posting and veiwing this thread and think about how many people would make the trip to where ever to see it happen. I loved it when OL and fountain were running for the record... that was epic kinda stuff...Reggie hipped it up and then performed... its all bout pride, competition and just wanting to be the best. risk/reward is all in the eye of the guy doing it, and IMO not for us to judge his decisions.

I was hoping you'd chime in on this one because I know you've sold a ton of Fountains. So does the Fountain buyer care about racing and kilo records? You know my take. But speed? You know my take there, too.

A lot of people, including the man himself, have criticized Reggie for all the money he spent on racing and kilo runs. (He's told me several times, always with a little laugh, that he he wishes he'd "saved" some of that money.) Could the mystique, marketing, hype (I am reading your mind, T2X, it's a nutty California thing) have been created without all that? Or less of it?

Or was it part of the business model?

Ha Ha!

:ernaehrung004:

OK Keep it hush hush!:bsflag:

Who's keeping it hush hush? What are you talking about?

Technically we risk our lives just getting in the boat as people have died at 60mph.

Speed records are not just marketing gimmicks, the information attatined from such testing and motivation to be the best has helped make 160mph boats "average" and 100mph basically a family runabout. So while there is certain risk, there is also certain rewards. I've been in the boat at speeds of 160+ and had my eyes and hands on 2 laptops verifying the calibration, never missed a beat and never was worried. I've been in boats at 70mph where I had to pull the seat out of my ass I was so scared.

I for one think this is a great time to show engineering superiority and stop the naysayers that don't believe in the OL product.

Me. I bought because of race results.

Matt,

Its my belief that sales can only be measured in percantage over long periods of time and even then, its tough to track. I personally know OL sold boats from there success in P1 racing, as did Fountain. Those were direct, but the harder to measure factor is the perceived value as well as brand recognition. This is very hard to measure or track, but believe me, it has a huge importance on sales and brand loyalty. It worked on me with Honda, when McGrath was destroying everyone in Supercross, I went and bought a CR250 just like McGrath had. I bought because Honda was destroying everyone, but really, it was McGrath and the team, etc., not just Honda.

The more we hear and see "records" and "wins" and these boats at the lake, at poker runs, at the shows, etc. we remember that and "pick" favorites sometimes without really even knowing why. So I can say I'm a firm believer in winning on sunday, taking orders on monday.

What I'm talking about is if you were going for a world record in any sport you want all the media&witnesses there!Oh I can or will beat the V hull record and I don't want people to know!:bsflag:

I agree with Whippled, everyone I know also bought Honda CR250s for the same reason!

I'm into sport motorcycles as well, and I have owned nothing except Suzuki GSXR's over the years. This had allot to do with race results. How else do you know if you have the best piece of hardware? I know a ridiculous amount of people buy Hyabusas because they are the "fastest" stock motorcycle.

Should Be Exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! Ive Been Over 180 Lets See What 190 Is Like.

I dont think anyone on here doesnt believe in the OL product. They make a great boat.

I've been in big water at speed with Mike and have zero negative feelings towards his ability whatsoever.He's a fabulous driver.

But bolting 3600 HP to a boat to attempt all this when you are the owner of a company whose employees depend on you is not smart.

I guess to finalize my position, the man and his company dont have to prove anything to anybody at the risk of hurting himself.

OL is at the top of their game and that should suffice.

This stunt doesnt have enough reward for the risk.

It's not a stunt I think it's a record!:drink:

Point taken. Could have used record attempt.

Doesnt alter my thoughts but I hear ya.

I guess all I'm saying, it isnt the president of Smith and Wesson that puts an apple on his head to prove a point about how great their product is after having proved it for years.

True, but could you imagine the sales increase after press coverage of that event got around the world? :eek:

the thing about reggie helping is funny i think he has forgot every thing he knows any way and that hair has got to go omg

Wishing O.L the best on this !
May is right around the corner and they sure must be busy at the shop. Always look forward to see the testing out on the local Bay.
Quite a haul to the fastest water on Earth, Bristol to the Salton Sea.
2008 Salton Sea vid-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa2Hq0WjHic&feature=fvst

gimme a break

Matt, I owned a 1990 25 foot Checkmate and went to the factory to look at a 27 Fountain. I ran the boat with Jeff Harris around 1993 and it would not run with the Checkmate. Later after Fountain had boats that were running faster speeds I bought my first one. I bought it because of the SPEED and the WINNING of championships. So now you have two who bought on Monday what was winning on Sunday. Have now owned 8 Fountains overall. Roger A.

I was there 6 years ago i hope to be able to see you do it again.

This guy lives for Reggie Fountain.
Probably has gold chains and a similar haircut!

Dude, you are the most opinionated poster on OSO when it comes to Fountain...

Then you mock anyone that goes against Fountain or you.

Isn't it pretty cool that OL or anyone has something good going on in a bad economy and we have something else to talk about besides doom and gloom?

Price Price Price...i've got a hand full of friends that bought Fountains simply based on bang for the buck. Sure they would have loved a Cig T/G or an OL but was a little out of reach. 1 specifically purchased an 05 (i think) 35 Fountain w 496 that ran 82 on the limiters. nd he was the first to admit that it was built or rigged nearly as nice as the other 2 mentioned BUT the boat show special was $159,000. I would hope that nobody truely believes that the boat that won on Sunday can be bought on Monday because it cant. That boat that won on sunday has more R&D hours in it then all the other boats on the show room floor combined. I've been involved with retail and motorsports for over 20 years...and NEVER once did i have a client come in on Monday to by a Corvette or a Saleen because it won Lemans ...lmfaoooooooooooooooo

back to the subject...alls it is, is a rich mans bigger D**K contest and honestly i couldnt care who's is bigger. If i were in a financial position to buy a new 38-42 ft boat it wouldnt be either of the above...i will take a 39 T/G w 850's n 6's that runs an everyday solid 110 and rides much nicer then either of the other 2 mentioned at the same length. I've been in all 3 so yes i am speaking from experience.

Are they going to make the attempt yet?? :whistle:

When I went looking to buy a boat I was going to spend a lot of hard earned dollars, so I looked at quit a few boats. Hell I even had to fly to see some of them. Outerlimits was the leader at the time of R&D, and always doing something whereas the rest of the industry seemed stale (this was 2 years ago).That alone made them a front runner for me looking. Weather it was racing or testing or just posting on the net, and i think that is the brand recognition that caught my eye. I liked Cig but after I went to see an OL everything seemed antiquated or didn't change much. I was surprised that the Cig's I looked at ( i was in the used boat market) still had a porta-pody's in them and when I saw the OL's cabin, I could stand up in it. Donzi's ZR you had to crawl in there cabin as well as a lot of the other manufacturers were like that. Take it easy, this is a personal preference I'm not bashing. I bought the Quatro.
It was a purchase I was glad I made to this day. The weird thing that I never expected, was when I called the factory to purchase a light cover that i had broken, they knew all about my boat, like who sold it where to who and what propellers will make it do X like they have a file on the research and what props do what. Last summer I "flung a blade" from my one prop, and even the merc factory has it on file as to what boat I have has what prop (these are not stock props they made one based on the numbers recorded). Outerlimits even sent pictures of my boat when it was being built (that was cool). Thats what kind of company they are. They didn't have a nickel to gain by helping me the way they did. This is customer support which I see as rare in any industry. I will buy another Outerlimits.

As far as Mike going for the record, I think we all like to challenge ourselves sometimes. That is what drives some of us. Maybe thats on his bucket list.

I can't help but wonder if there was another brand that was going to try to break this record if they would be getting this much negativity.

Hey Reggie, how about making this interesting? If they break the record, you get a haircut. They can auction off tickets for the person cutting it for charity. Do you except that challenge?

You Ol guys crack me up. And to the guy that keeps asking why... Cause this offshoreonly.com your looking for ontheshoreandlonely.com