sleek1

2001 358 Sonic- can't remember when Sonic had something weird with their hulls. I remember people recommending certain years lay ups over others.

Sydwayz

A couple 2003-ish boats had some issues as Sonic was working out the bugs with the Infusion (vacuum bagging) process. ALL of the 2003-ish boats with issues were fixed. No associated issues before or after.

East Coast B

Was the notched transom changed during this period?

Sydwayz

I don't know exact date off hand, but it could have been 2003-ish for the 358. Hugh can definitely help with that one.

hpoffshore

Actually, the only "problem-children," were at the end of the First Derivative Era...'04 - '05. They were rushing the hulls through the laminating process, causing a variety of issues. If your hull is from those years, and it's OK, then it's OK. If it was a problem, then it's probably been remedied. The first Infusion 31 hulls were in mid-late '02, and were a bit lighter than previous lay-ups. The notch issues concernd the 358 model.
Hugh

Sydwayz

Thanks Hugh. When did the "fill in the notch" on the 358?
After Adam's boat?

sunchaser796

This biggest problem that Sonic had with there boats doing the infusion was thier boats were out of trim. 42 & 45 footers were and all nose heavy. If you watch the water break off from the sides, you will notice that the CG is way out. But it also sad that most Sonics have problems triming the nose out of the water. There is two Sonics, a 38' and a 42 ' that has that problem removed. The answer to resolving their problem for trimmon was going to the Konrad Drives.With the Konrads , you can feel the nose come out of the water. But 03 sounds about right.

NJSONIC

Sonic removed the notch from the 358 in 2002. This was done to eliminate porpoise.

hpoffshore

Infusion had nothing to do with it...the 42 was always bow heavy, relative to the ability to provide bow-lift with two Bravo drives/available prop dia. The newest 42's with NXT's and 17"+ dia. props carry the bow very nicely while generating good speed. The 45, with it's longer running surface aft, and three props providing leverage and reasonable hp(500+) had no problem with bow lift to generate speed. The 386 didn't have any issues. NJSONIC is correct about the 358 notch changes.

sleek1

Thanks for all the replies, however I am asking specifically about the 2001 358 hull. Is the 01 a good hull or are there issues? I've heard about the porpoising common with 35s. Is the porpoising really that bad or is this problem blown out of proportion? Secondly, is it such a big deal to use a little tab to stop the porpoising?