Deep Impact’s quad-engine 36 Open delivers efficient performance in a stout package.

There’s something simply impressive about four 350-horsepower outboards on the back of any 36-foot boat. Take nothing away from 1,400 hp worth of twin big-block inboard engines, which once the hatch is raised can be equally compelling. But quad supercharged Mercury Verado 350s are as delightfully “in your face,” at least for big-power lovers, as it gets.

That’s the way the Deep Impact 36 Open—the model also is offered in a cuddy-cabin version—was equipped for this roundup, and it definitely got our attention.

Riding on a two-step V-bottom hull designed by John Cosker of Mystic Powerboats fame, the 36 Open reached a top speed of 83 mph with its four engines turning 6,000 rpm. That was definitely moving for a boat that weighed more than 16,500 pounds—and that’s without a drop of gas in its fuel tanks, which can hold up to 420 gallons.

The quad Verado engine package, which included 28"-pitch Bravo One propellers on the outside engines and 29"-pitch Mirage Plus three-blade props on the inside ones, also did a great job getting the hefty boat moving in standing-start acceleration drills. The 36-footer had no trim tabs and came on plane in 6.8 seconds—quite good for its size. From a standing start, it reached 68 mph in 20 seconds.

Midrange acceleration was better still. The boat ran from 30 to 50 mph in 3.8 seconds and from 40 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds. Again, considering the heft of the 10-foot, 2-inch-beam model, those numbers were noteworthy.

Lead test driver Bob Teague gave the 36 Open excellent scores in handling drills. In sharp slalom turns, either one of the inside engines (depending on the direction of the turn) had a tendency to go into Guardian mode, which indicated overheating—not that any of the outboards on the boat ever overheated. Quad-outboard setups are tricky and take tweaking before they’re ideal, and a simple setup change likely would correct the issue.

Teague said the 36 Open had the agility of a smaller boat, but it handled any rough water we encountered like a much larger one.

“It’s a really dry ride,” Teague said. “No water ever came over the (bow), and no spray came over the sides.”

Built to handle rough offshore water, our test model was laid up with an extra layer of Kevlar (the extra layer is standard on all quad-outboard setups from the builder) and cored with Divinycell and Mantex. Vinylester resin was used in both the hull and deck, which were completely vacuum-bagged to remove excess resin. Rigging for the outboard engines was neat and tidy, as was the wiring behind the dash at the console.

The dash was equipped with Mercury SmartCraft instrumentation for the Verado outboards, a Garmin GPSMAP 5212 navigation system, an Icom VHF radio, a Fusion Electronics stereo and responsive, electronic drive-by-wire throttles for the engines. Plush and supportive, three bolster-style bucket seats were at the helm, which had plenty of shade from the large white T-top.

In addition to the helm bolsters, seating in the boat included a triple-bucket bench aft, side-by-side twin buckets in front of the console and a love seat on each side of the head locker all the way forward.

Beyond that, it was wide-open deck spaces, all of which had traction-friendly nonskid surfacing, in the 36-footer’s deep cockpit. Bumper pads were provided at thigh-to-hip level on the gunwales.

As expected, there were numerous fish and stowage lockers in the sole, as well as in the fiberglass podium for the bolsters. And of course, the T-top was equipped with rocket-launcher-style rod holders.

The 36 Open from Deep Impact made quite a first impression on our Test Team. To be sure, at $452,000 and change, it should have. But for a center-console model with that kind of sticker, the boat is everything it needs to be.