sauron

I have had the same problem with the seats. The thin plates on the sides of the seats underneath are bent. On my boat I ordered an extra set and double upped the thickness of the brackets. Had no problem since. Steve Harrelson In Fountain Service knows about the problem and can help you.

gferdon

Thanks for all the replies, you have all provided some very good insight to my 29. I did hear back from the dealer with regard to the seat. Fountain recommends running out the rest of the season and sending the entire seat back to them for repair. I will mention the beefing up of the sidewall...seems to me that should be on their nickel...again, I was surprised that this could happen on a Fountain...we shall see. I have been away on business for the last week and am looking forward to putting more time on the 29. I read in another thread about someone having questions on the close quarter handling (twins) with prop that turn in. I did have some problems around the dock but chalked it up to not having a twin for some time. Any input? I decided to put the props on hold until next season. Much as I would like to fine tune the top end, I need to learn the characteristics of the 29, especially with the twins and weight in the stearn, definitely takes some experience. I notice that the 29 K-Planes have a collar that limits the tabs up to 3 on the indicator. Is this the same on the 32's and up?? I guess that they want to keep that bow down...regards to all.

lefty

Congrats!!! I have an '02 29 with twin 350's. I've had the exact same problem with the seat. My dealer called fountain and they sent out a new bracket and motor, covered under warranty. As far as the trim tabs go, I took the stops off (it's very easy to do) so I could bring the tabs all the way up. It will give you a little more speed. A couple of my gauges fog too, I just live with it. I also had the same problem with the drive fluids, I was told that is normal.
Lefty

gferdon

Lefty,

Sounds like we have had similar problems. I am going to remove the tab collars and see what happens speed and handlingwise. Any info you care to pass along about cruise speeds and other problems or benefits I would be very interested in hearing. I will let you know how I make out on the seats, etc. BTW, what kind of speed, rpm, props are you seeing with the 350's. Just curious to see what the difference is between the 350/6.2. Also, where do you run the boat...offshore or inland WW? Talk with you soon.

gferdon

Heard back today from Steve Harrelson with regard to the seat issue and guages fogging up. Again, Steve said they will repair and beef up the seat frame so this will not be a problem in the future. The gauges fogging is also a recurring issue. He says they will gladly replace the units but it will most likely happen again if and when they get wet. I will live with it for now and see what happens. Another interesting thing concerns the graphics on the side of the boat. I noticed that the entire side is painted from the water line to the bottom of the rubrail. He is checking to see if this was necessary due to the graphics package...since this is "splash lite", the most simple graphic, I find it odd they would have to use a full paint. I am concerned about getting more scratches, etc., with the paint than the gel coat. Any ideas??

gferdon

FM,

I am too unfamiliar with Fountains to answer that question, Steve Harrelson said they only have had three instances of similar failures in the whole lineup. BTW, do you have twins or single in your 29...be interested to hear how you run.

G-