Bahamas Bound, Part III—Taming The Big Stuff In A Deep Impact 499

For the first time in several years, I am not going to use the term “sporty” or any other wishy-washy, subjective euphemism to describe water conditions during a boat trip. When the marine forecast for the open Atlantic Ocean between North Bimini and Nassau, Bahamas, calls for 5-7-footers and you’re running with powerboating veterans Mark Fischer of Deep Impact Custom Boats and Stu Jones of the Florida Powerboat Club and they confirm the information, it’s solid.

The Deep Impact 499 center console is a true rough-water beast. Photos by Max Jones courtesy of the Florida Powerboat Club.

Likewise, when first-mate Kyle Heidecker, a 26-year-old who holds a 200-ton Yacht Master Offshore captain’s license says he saw two nine-footers during the open-ocean portion of the trip in the second Deep Impact Boats 499 center console, you take his word.

That, plus your own experienced eyeballs, is more than enough confirmation. So “sporty” be damned.

Cutting to the chase? In those conditions yesterday, the 49-footer was an absolute beast. The water came from all directions and the boat owned every one of them.

A moment in time during yesterday’s open-water adventure.

The boat is the second 499 model to be completed by the Miami-based builder—it hit the water for the first time five days ago—but the first to be equipped with six outboard engines. The half-dozen Mercury Racing 500R mills combined for 3,000 hp, and the 30,000-pound machine made great use of it. Before we got into the rough stuff, Fischer had no trouble running the boat at 70- to 75-mph in the head-on 2- to 4-footers.

But when we reached the Atlantic some 60 miles later, the seas jacked up and we slowed down. With every mile, conditions got worse. In working alongside my former Powerboat magazine test team colleagues Bob Teague and John Tomlinson for 13-plus years, I’ve never seen anything like them. In fact, the only time I’ve experienced conditions as nasty was aboard 60- to 80-foot sportfishing and dive boats.

Having experienced firsthand what the Deep Impact 499 could do in 3- to 5-footers during the trip from Fort Lauderdale to North Bimini four days ago, I was eager to see how the 49-footer would handle bigger and more unruly stuff. Despite the boat’s impressive performance in those conditions, I would not have been surprised to take mild beating. In truth, I expected one.

Talk about a full transom—the 49-footer is equipped six Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines.

It never came. Measured by the ass-o-meter, which isn’t nearly as scientific as an accelerometer but is a tool we all have and is just as accurate, the ride was commanding and comfortable. The seas looked intimidating. No one with working eyes would argue otherwise.

Yet the ride told a different story.

There were eight of us on board. Personal comfort zones vary in big-water, of course, with experience and the ride itself, but no one complained.

Two things account for this. First, the boat’s efficient hull is designed and built to handle rough water. Second, Fischer knows how to drive in god-awful conditions. He tucked in the six outboards on the transom of the 49-footer, which has a remarkably flat running attitude at all speeds. A savvy operator who made this trip with his wife, Eileen, for more than 20 years in much smaller boats, he found smooth water in the troughs between monster swells and exited them without the boat’s propellers ever leaving water.

The props didn’t “bark” once during the entire ride.

As you’d right expect, a 15-ton vessel running 30-plus-mph in 5- to 7-footers is not “silent” in the cockpit. But the 499 didn’t bang, rattle or groan. Nor did the center console itself or its super-effective windscreen visibly flex. It is a very solid boat.

One more quick observation that has zero to do with ride quality and everything to do with the sheer size of the center console? We brought a mid-size traveling circus worth of luggage and it didn’t come close to filling the cabin.

The helm station is equipped with a pair of 27-inch Garmin GPS monitors.

And that is a particularly good thing, because with its 950-gallon fuel capacity the Deep Impact 399 has range. When started yesterday, those tanks were nearly full. Some 130 miles later in Nassau, the boat has more than 200 miles worth of fuel remaining according to the information supplied by the two 27-inch Garmin GPS screens at the helm station.

“I think we hit a home-run with this one,” Fischer said with a big grin as we approached the no-wake zone leading into Nassau Harbor. “I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

Added Stu Jones, his longtime friend and partner in boating adventures, “I think you’re going to sell a lot of these.”

Based on the 200-plus miles I’ve spent in the Deep Impact 499 center console so far this week, I have to agree.

Plus, there’s more to come. A lot more. We don’t head back to South Florida until Tuesday.

Stay tuned.