by Tim Robinson

"Wanna go for a boat ride," my high school friend asked?",  "What kind of boat?", I asked. Ron, a resident of Three Tree Point in Burien, owns a fast boat like one you might have seen on the old Miami Vice TV series. 

Only owning it for a year, Ron was eager to get some "flight time" on the salt water. Two-thirds of the boat can leave the surface and it is part of the reason it has a stepped-hull to help keep it from "gluing" to the surface. That would just slow it down. 

The sleek, Cigarette-style, craft burns three gallons a minute at wide open throttle on two 602-cubic inch supercharged Pro Marine engines totaling more than 2500  horsepower. The engines can push the "Fountain" at 125 m.p.h. and more. Ron needed only to avoid big freighters and the occasional yacht... Oh,..those kayakers who might have enjoyed the wake created as we passed by. 

This former Catalina Island ski racer weighs close to 13,000 pounds and can get you from Tacoma to Burien in less than 14 minutes. 

Ron also invited Steve Rea and Andy Ryan, both local residents to ride along. 

Taking a 42-foot boat out is no small task. The Fountain Lightning (Lickety Split III) is kept in dry storage on the Foss waterway in Tacoma

Great focus is required in preparation. Much like a flight check for an aircraft, the pilot (Ron) goes over the checklist prior to turning the key on the starter. Fuel, electrical, prop angle, oil pressure, warm clothing, life vests, dock bumpers. Ear protection? “Nah, I'm good", I said. 

Like a top fuel dragster, the Fountain rumbled to life. "Did you bring goggles?," Ron asked. "You'll need 'em to watch for 'deadheads' (dead trees and wood branches that float). Googles? I had 'em. Nice wide, clear ski goggles.

Ron added that we can't talk to him while cruising as he won't hear us. The engines and air flow across the bow make it almost impossible to communicate. Sign language works best. "Get my attention with a nudge and point to what you see," Ron said. He was right. The noise is so intense it is akin to putting your ears up to a stadium speaker at a rock concert... for 15 minutes straight.

In a short 14 minutes, cruising at 80 mph,  we approached Three Tree Point. Ron lives there with his wife Carmella, who was out on the bulkhead.  Ron cranked the Lickety Split up on a gentle curve to be parallel with the shoreline. It was low tide. Carmella waved while shooting some pictures. 

Ron's hand nudged the throttle. The boat lifted at the nose and leveled a bit, then hunkered down. The hurricane force wind buffeted overhead. We powered west up around the Point, the boat performed flawlessly. After a smooth turn, Ron cut the throttle back to 60 m.p.h. and made a gesture to have us look at the speedometer. It has a feature Ron engages (GPS satellite) that shows the highest speed reached. 117 mph was clearly visible. I looked back at Andy and Steve. Their collective hands on the rails. It was white-knuckle speed.

We made another run along the coast for Carmella before heading for Colvos Passage on the back side of Vashon Island. Within 12 minutes or so, we entered the narrow gap entrance at Gig Harbor where we sidled up to the dock at the TIDES Tavern. Time for lunch. 

After lunch we departed for the Foss waterway. The Ruston Way restaurants were mere glances, the Pt. Defiance ferry landing was a blip on the radar. We sped along the coastline near the Sperry Ocean dock and back into the Foss waterway. It is a no-wake zone. Slow is mandatory.  

We noticed the birds weren't singing and the traffic wasn't running along the Schuster Parkway near the Glass Museum. Though it WAS, we just couldn't hear it. In those 30 minutes of run time, the constant drone of the twin engines and the wafting of air over our ears gave us temporary tinnitus. 

It was fast, it was loud, it was necessary to hold on tight. What kind of boat? THAT kind of boat... Burien's Fountain Lightning.