Fischer ‘Still In Shock’ Over Deep Impact 499 Center Console Performance
Mark Fischer is not easily impressed by high-performance boats—even those of his his own Deep Impact center-console brand headquartered in South Florida. Fischer and his wife, Eileen, have owned a slew of go-fast creations from multiple builders. So they are discerning. They’re also longtime yacht owners, which means they appreciate creature comforts and have high expectations for them.
Four years in the making, the Deep Impact 499 center console was completed in time to join the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run fleet earlier this month. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
But Fischer is almost giddy with the performance, appearance and amenities of the new Deep Impact 499 center powered by five Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines. The boat was unveiled last month at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and is going to be featured in the upcoming Speed On The Water 2024 Year In Review magazine, which is available to pre-order now.
Just one week later, it joined the Thursday fleet for the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run.
“I drove the 499 to Key West from Gilbert’s in Key Largo and I am still in shock,” Fischer said. “The boat runs like the 399, only it’s 30,000-plus pounds and still handles like a sportscar. And it’s fast. The boat ran 80.2 mph with four people on board and 700 gallons of fuel in the tank.
“The second 499 will have six 500R outboards,” he added. “That one should run in the high 80s.”
On the amenities side, Fischer is particularly taken with the 49-footer’s cabin. “It’s like a yacht cabin,” he said. “You can sleep in that boat. Every inch of that cabin is incredible.”
Powered by 2,500 hp worth of outboard engines, the 49-footer topped 80 mph on the way to Key West.
The first Deep Impact 499 has been sold. Hull No. 2 is under construction as a “spec boat” that will be delivered to Plantation Boat Mart, the company’s exclusive worldwide dealer in Tavernier, Fla. Builds No. 3 and 4 are already sold.
A collaboration among Fischer and Plantation Boat Mart’s Dennis De La Torre and Brianna Murray, the 499 project began four years ago. Though they followed the design lines of the Deep Impact 399 center console’s hull, its lower-profile styling from the rubrail up is completely new.
Next up is a 43-footer that Fischer expects to be completed in the first half of 2025. But for the moment, at least, his attention remains focused on the 49-foot beauty.
“I’m still in shock by its performance,” he said. “I’ve never driven a big, wide-beam boat that performed like the 499 did.”
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