Summer Heat

Ok, this is my first post and I am so jazzed right now. Our money and insurance numbers have come together and my wife and I are about ready to purchase our first Fountain.

Our goals: 32 hopefully 35 / Twins / 500 efi / flirt with or beat 80mph & we would love to step into a 2000, not sure if that year is affordable.

Looking for input. What do you folks think about the 35 Executioner versus a 32 Fever. We like the Lightning with it's second step but do not see other reasons for price jump, and I believe it is out of our price range of 100k max anyway. We will be running on smooth Dale Hollow Lake.

Met Randy Hartman and Bill Tucker at Louisville boat show (great guys.) We are going for the walk through and rides sometime after Miami show.

I have read alot of posts here and would value any input from this group.

Thanks Kent

rouxsterre

With your screen name, you better buy the Executioner.
I drive a 1998 32 Fever t-502's.
Great boat - fast < knockin at 80 > with stock power. Boating on the Pacific Ocean, sometimes I would like a little more hull, but most of the time it's fine.
If you're lake boating, the 32 should be all you need.

FeverFan

If you could live without the EFI, I would check out this one: Nice Boat!

tomtbone1993

A Friends boat,
http://server1.offshoreonly.com/cgi-...uery=retrieval

pachangalpina

Both of those are great deals. TooOld's has a tremendous amount of upgrades and is a super clean boat. Good luck!!!

Beak Boater

We owned both a 32 and a 35. Both good boats. On a lake the 32 will probably be fine. If you are buying used there seems to be alot more 32's to chose from. What does that tell you. If you can get the 35 you may save yourself the money in the long run. Everyone says this is big enough dont need to move up. 2 years later you are looking at a 35. Only 2 feet bigger, but it is alot more boat. The walk around is nice for docking and anchoring on the 35. Best way to know is to water test them in conditions close to what you normally boat in. Every boat rides and handles well in flat water. Good luck.

Marginmn

No Question, go with the 35. Even if it means going with a year or two older boat the 35 is so much better in the chop and is still a very nimble boat with 500's.

I'm right next to you on Cumberland at Grider Hill and it gets pretty nasty on the weekends - my 35 just eats it up. You may not always need that extra 3 feet but it sure is nice to have it when you do.

Many people have said that the 32 sits two low in the water and thus has some issues with taking on water. I've also heard that the engines in the 32 are tight and a nightmare to do work on. And lastly, on the issue of buying an older 35, mine is a 99 and you couldn't tell it from a one year old 35. My carb-500's start up like champs so I wouldn't rule out a 99 or older just becuase the 500's aren't efi's - and yes, you do want 500's.

Just make sure that you find out the history of whatever boat you buy and don't go near it if it's EVER touched salt water. Ten year old boats on Cumberland and Dale Hollow often look better than 1 year old florida boats. The sun and salt just eats them up.

And Beak Boater is right, this will be my third season with my 35 and I'm already looking at 38' s and 42's - go bigger and save yourself the time and money of looking again in a couple years.

FastFountain35

marginmn, if you flush and clean the boat like i do ,you would never know. i bet mine is nicer than yours, that s not cool what you said about the salt water. thats like me posting dont buy a fresh water boat because some bull**** reason.

Von Bongo

35 is much more boat. Not that the 32 is bad, it is very similar in cockpit space and freeboard to a 27 or a 29.

The 35 is the next big step up. Depending on where you boat you have to buy what is right for you. The 35/33 is what made Fountain famous. Nuff said

nolimits

I agree with going for the 35 if you can pull it off, unless you are on a lake where a 32 is fine. But I don't mean a Great Lake which is like offshore where the 35 feels much more that 3 feet longer. The 35 is a different animal from the 32.
The new 35 Executioner is currently selling for around 150k and runs 78-80 with 496's. The 496 is a new engine with new technology that seems sound and is where Mercury is going. They are easy to maintain and run strong. Nice three year warranty as well. If you are financing, you might find the rates may make the payment close on this vs a 100k used boat. The hull on the current Executioner has been around for a long time. But upgrading those engines blows the package price and drives the numbers up by a lot. If you want more speed down the road you can put a blower of some sort on it....
The two used boats mentioned above seem like super deals from serious boaters who did the right things with them. That would make the difference to me. I bought a new 29 with a 525 in it because I was concerned about getting burned on a used boat. In the end, I'll probably buy the 35 in a few years and eat 10's of thousands. But there's nothing like the feel of new....

My $.02 worth...