Fountain Kilo Record Attempt A Go For Saturday

ByMatt Trulio

In just four days, Reggie Fountain, III, and Jeff Harris will attempt to set a new V-bottom kilometer speed record in a 40-foot purpose-built canopied V-bottom powered by twin 1,900-hp turbocharged Sterling Performance engines. Barring any issues discovered in testing this week, the record attempts should begin on Saturday, Feb. 24, at approximately 7 a.m. on the Pamlico River near the Fountain Powerboats facility in Washington, N.C.

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 Sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association with the Offshore Powerboat Association as the presenting club, the event is not open for public viewing from the Fountain facility. In fact, the measured-kilometer course on the river, which will be closed to traffic for almost three miles in each direction from the kilo run area, is not visible from the Fountain plant, according to Tara Galligan, the marketing manager for Fountain parent company Iconic Marine Group.

“There will be an online stream after the event,” she said.

Harris, who most recently throttled the Super Boat International Unlimited-class Wake Effects MTI catamaran with owner/driver Rusty Rahm, will throttle the 40-footer. Fountain will drive.

According to Harris, Fountain and veteran offshore racer Billy Moore, who has been consulting on the project, plan to run the boat for the first time today. If all goes well, Harris and Fountain could be running the boat together as early as this afternoon. (As reported last Thursday on speedonthewater.com, Ben Roberston, Jr., bowed out of the project.) “As soon as they say it’s ready, they’ll call me,” said Harris. “I’m just 20 minutes away.”

While the Fountain team is targeting a 200-mph kilo average, the bar it wants to raise is a 180.464-mph kilo mark set by a 43-foot Outerlimits V-bottom piloted by Brian Forehand in 2014.

Editor’s Note: Look for real-time coverage of the Fountain kilo event on speedonthewater.com.

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