2008 Fountain Lightning getting on plane.
 

What's up all,

I just purchased and took delivery of a 2008 Fountain Lightning with 496HO Staggered motors with 5 blade 32 Maximus propellers on Short Sport Masters. Boat only has 175Hours and is beautiful. Blue hull.

Though I seem to be having trouble getting this boat on plane quickly and sometimes staying on plane is a challenge when I slow down. Is this normal and just a learning curve? The propellers seem to cavitate quickly and don't catch grip. Eventually I get her going but it just doesn't seem normal that it takes a lot of work. Prior to me picking up the boat the props were fresh out of the machine shop.

Any info will help, thanks.

32's sound way big for HO's.. have you tried getting on the throttle for a few seconds, quick back off then on again when the wave catches you and pushes u up on plane.. ride your own wake

32s seem way to big to me too for HOs. You don't say what size Fountian it is.

It takes some practice ,try different tab and drive settings and like class6 said if you can get a push that helps . I have best luck with the drives out a couple from tucked and tabs a couple up from down.
Still have to creep up to where I can feel it's gonna slip then bring the rpms to 3200 .....wait...... as it catches bring the tabs and drives down and in ......... if you think this is fun , get used to 5 blades then throw some 4 blades on and start all over
I put 100 pounds of sand in the bow for half the first year and it helped quite a bit

Sorry, it's a 35 Lightning. These are the props that came from fountain and are on the performance report from fountain as well.

They probably "labbed" some of the cup out of the props.

Yeah...I bet

Some of the 496 ho exs had 32 4 blades from the factory. Different drive ration. High drives and big wheels don't make for a boat that comes on top fast. Tuck the drives and tabs and roll in easy she should fall over.

A lot of the side by side 35's with 496's were rigged with 1.65 gear ratio. I have no experience with a staggered 496 boat but sounds like there is a good possibility it is also running a 1.65 ratio.

It is not uncommon for staggered high x-dimension boats to have a difficult time coming on plane. They almost all take some patience, you can't just gun it out the hole or the props will break loose. Now if you find yourself in conditions where the boat will just physically not come on plane using proper technique then you may want to try a set of 6 blades

My recommendation is to find someone that has experience running these types of boats, let them run the boat and see what their opinion is on it.

I have a 42. Same thing. Put your tabs to about 5. Drives tucked all the way in. Once the props break loose let it rev to about 3500 and slowly start bringing the tabs back up. Try that seems to work well with my set up.

Why don't you guys try increasing the negative trim. I can get on plane with Bravo 4 blades where it was slow to get on plane with full size Maximus 5 blades. It made a BIG difference.

I always bring my drives all the way in and tabs all the way down. Once it gets moving decent bring the tabs up to the three setting and start trimming the drives out.

^ Exactly how I do it, I keep the revs at 3,000 and let the boat get up and over the hill, tabs slowly up then drives out.

I have a 2005 35 lightning with 30 pitch hyrdomotive p5x's with 525's behind them and i do just like everyone else is saying above, drives tucked, tabs down to get on plane quicker

I'm surprised you've got those big wheels on a 496 boat. Are you sure the performance report said 32 "5 blades" or Maximus? I ran 32 Maximus on my 02 Lightning side by side with warmed up 575sci's. 100mph boat. When I ran the 4 blade Bravo's, they were 34 pitch. Of course, that was a 1.5 ratio drive. What ratio are your drives? A friends 38 Lightning with 600sci's ran 32 pitch Maximus as well with Merc shorties. But he had a different ratio (can't remember number). And for the record, my old 35 was faster with the 34* Bravo's.

None the less, a high X boat will take some getting used to if you've not driven one. You won't win any drag races or holeshots. Just take your time, don't get excited, and let the bow roll over before you get above 3000-3500 rpm. It does take practice.

Yes, the performance report shows 32 Maximus. Not sure ratio. How do I find out?

Also it says X Dimension 34" C x 19 1/2.

If Fountain put 32 Maximus on the Performance Report, then I'd trust it. Looks like you need to fill up the tank and go practice! LOL ....no worries, I had to do the same thing - just about every weekend we went out when running the 34 Bravo's. You should have seen me at Cumberland Poker Run one year trying to get on plane at the start of the poker run in all that wash. I had to wait for everyone to leave then I had to drive in a circle to get on plane. ...but I caught up quickly on the big end! LOL

Most 525 boats came with 32 maximus or herings - drive ratio should also be on report. Mine came with herings and1.35 shorty sportmasters. My x dimension is 22.5 x 18.5.

C.I.M , W900 and voodorob hit the nail on the head as to how I get my fountain up quickly. Drives all the way down at one, tabs down at 5, rolls slowly it on the throttles until 3-3500 rpms, let them slip and catch and should plane out quickly. Takes me longer to pull my tabs back up to 2 and add a little trim than it did to get on plane. Hope this will work for your application. Since fountains sit low in the rear they need the tabs to get that nose to settle.

Also a good modification is to install dual buttons in your throttles, 1 for drives and 1 for tabs. This way it's really easy to modulate RPMS and adjust tabs/drives at the same time. To go one step further add a Drive Sync that evens out both drives when you use the single button, instead of having to adjust left drive then right drive, etc. I have done this on our past boat and currently converting our existing boat.
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Original Poster is talking about a 496 boat - big difference in horsepower between 496 and 525. Wouldn't you agree 32 5 blades seem like a lot of prop for 496 boat?

Not to derail, but what are the install details? Just plug in or what??

Absolutely - that was the point I was trying to make!

I am interested as well.

Real quick answer on the MDC Drive Sync. Plugs into the factory harness for the drive trim senders, connect to a power source, route wires and go thru a set-up sequence. Very simple I did it in a few hours start to finish. Have MDC add 2-3 ft of wiring, it came up very tight to make it to the back of the bench in our engine compartment, 38 Lightning Full Stagger. The throttle conversion order from Livorsi, diodes supplied in the kit, follow instructions easy also.

Boat came this way from Fountain. 2008 35 Lightning - 496 HO Staggered with 5 blade 32 Maximus on Short Sport Masters. Ratio is 1.35:1, X Dimension 34" C x 19 1/2. WOT 5100 RPM. Top Speed 84MPH.

Boat came this way from Fountain. 2008 35 Lightning - 496 HO Full Stagger with 5 blade 32 Maximus on Short Sport Masters. Ratio is 1.35:1, X Dimension 34" C x 19 1/2. WOT 5100 RPM. Top Speed 84MPH.

There is something wrong with your performance report. If yours has staggered engines the 34" center is that of a side by side set up.

Are you sure it's not a 1.65 gear? That would explain the tall props and fountain did 1.65 in the 27's with 496ho.

I have 1:5 and turn 30p 4 blades with 600hp at crank. On a 35' so 496 with 32's ?

I was thinking the same thing - 34"center and deeper propshaft - something is not right. My former boat, 38 twin step tg with warmed over 575s ran the 32 pitch maximus (labbed by BBlades, 1.5 drive ratio).

They have said 496 boats have a different drive ratio 1.66 I believe

Maybe they are Raylar motors? The 34" centers ? post a pic of engine compartment

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Here's a YouTube link to boat.

https://youtu.be/ut8IDTY56TM

When I picked it up on the way home we got caught in a cold rain storm. Temperature dropped and sky's opened. Here's a link to a video my friend recorded.

https://youtu.be/NQ-wbj6WiHI

Not a Fountain guy but that's a nice boat!