Jonas

this technology is going so fast is seems anyway i wouldnt be surprissed if they do. but in reality why do u have to turn so hard? and why not go slow and work into it get the feel for it?

velocity GREAT point thats is a nice boat,, 39 velocity.. there is a deal on one here in discovery bay i 500's super clean pretty low hours guy is getting out of boating.. or maybe he is buying a boat with steps,,, hahaha.. joke

raiseyourdrive

Troutly,

got a quick question for ya...Does your boat sit in slip 2 Dock 3A at the Ledges?

Hydrocruiser

"Typical of a Fountain, the 42' Lightning demonstrated good handling manners in all maneuvers. In slalom turns, the boat did its finest work at 40 mph, but it also earned kudos for those turns at 30 and 50 mph. In circle turns at cruising and full speeds, we found the boat leaned in, carved and held its line best when trimmed conservatively. At all speeds, the 42' Lightning tracked impeccably and was completely unaffected by passenger weight shift". They said they did turns at full speeds. What's a potential customer to think? They make it sound like a "cake walk" to turn at full speed! These articles contibute to the bottom line too!

Excerpt from PB Magazine. A guy reads this, buys one and figures it's cool in a slalom, full speed turns and boom he is out in the lake and the boat is carved in a tree. I would be careful calling a new customer a phucktard for believing this. Can't blame the new customer for everything I guess. At some point the dealer/factory has to get the guy some training and keep their new customer happy and safe. Not everybody reads OSO and till I did I didn't have the real take on a lot of things.

Ironmanwb

I have to agree with most of you about seat time and especially about taking responsibility for you actions. However, I hate to say it but many of us (myself included) have ego problems. Lets face it if we didn't like the speed, attention, flash, and abilty to show off a little with it we would all have Sea Ray Sundancers and enjoy cocktails at the pathetic yacht club.

Tame the ego and you'll tame 90% of the problem.

People will actully get training becaue they can admit they don't know their a$$ from a hole in ground when it comes to powerboating especially high performance boats.

Hydrocruiser

I liked the 240 Volt blender I had in the SeaRay and those pathetic yacht club chicks kept the "head" in good working order too!

Hydrocruiser

Keep this thread up and the last few hairs on Reggie's head are gonna fall off.

THEJOKER

Trust me straight V's spin out too. Porsche's are the worst to spin out also! A TS / TG is one mean machine and will turn just fine if you know what your doing. How do I know ? Daytona , Marathon , Corpus Christi , Bahamas and Key West and never a spin or barrel roll. I put 200 hours on our TS /TG and never had a problem. The problem is the ignorant manufacturers that offer no training or operators manual. Just as it's always been they're only interested in your check book. BH

Hydrocruiser

Hey leave my 911 Porsche out of this! But yea, a rear engine has to be floored at the apex of a turn at very high speeds where most cars need to hit the brakes. Porsche got smart for their "dumb" customers and added computer controlled systems for monitoring handling at all speeds. They call it Porsche Stability Management. PSM. So even a novice can not screw up. If you do hit the brakes in a turn going 150 mph you will bang the rear of the car into the embankment without PSM. We need RSM "Reggie Stability Management" computer systems to keep boats in check! Hey, it's just a thought but I would bet that you could put sensors in and make computer corrections to compensate for lack of experience. "PSM" Phucktard Stability Management!

h2owarrior

Thanks Hydro for pointing out that it is no longer possible to spin out a rear engine Porsche due the their computer controls.....right. All that does is keep an educated driver out of trouble.

Oh and thanks for pointing out that Reynolds numbers only apply to closed channels............are you sure.....or is it just too complex to define for open channels which is what a boat basically is and was ultimately the point.

T2x has a hard on for stepped bottom boats and will never.....never...say anything positive. I have seen pictures of Sonics on dry land and in mesquite tress that had nothing to do with the bottom of the boat but everything to do with the operator.

I know I am very caustic as it relates to this topic, but boats with stepped bottoms are more efficient and provide better cruising speeds with less horsepower and that is a good thing. What I do not like is someone from 20 years ago making statements about todays boats when they are setting on the sideline not building anything.

I would really enjoy seeing Mr. Harry Schoel and Rich in a conversation on the subject. You decide who you believe.....I think Harry knows more about the subject than T2x.

WickedWon

Well, just skimmed this " here we go again" post and will add just a couple of facts, and yes I previously owned a 42 Fountain step bottom, before going back to a straight V ( V's?)

Do they allow more speed with less power? Yup, but not quite as much as advertised.

Are they easier to trim, especially for new operators ? Yup, a straight V takes much more skill to trim to get the most out of it in a given water condition.

Do bad things happen faster ? Yup, I've spun / hooked both stepped and straight bottoms ( never the 41') My best way to describe it is, big step boats act like small fast V bottoms when it goes ugly for no obvious reason and you look at each other and say " what the hell was that !!"

Are steps going away ? Nope, but big aggresive steps are giving way to smaller multiple steps as the builders look for a better "compromise".

In a perfect world where 1000hp drivelines were the same price as 525's and Bravos, more people would opt back to straight bottoms cause they do in fact give you a more connected feel and confidence at big speed in the rough and total confidence in the flat which in turn equals more fun. Running big power straight V's ( remember with big power you can run very conservative trims in the rough ie. SAFE ) in a good chop it's just plain more exhilarating....... but damn'd expensive.

Bottom line, steps are faster but less forgiving, just keep it in mind and have fun.

Here's something none of you've ever seen before, a 41' Apache hull form running a 105 mph in the FLAT!!!, the new prop designs are allowing me to keep this old turd in the hunt, check out that trim and attitude . BTW this is before I renamed the boat WW.

JD