huskyrider

iTrader: (1)

Howdy,
I've been a lurker here for several months doing my boat searching while waiting for a tract of land to sell. I'm very close to joining y'alls frat house.
I've wanted to move up from a walk through ski boat to a full size sport/express style cruiser for a while now. I've never wanted to finance while raising 4 kids through school, and have decided I'm to old to take a note now.
Due to my budget I've narrowed my selections down to 3 boats from the early to late 90's.
Fountain 38 sport cruiser
Baja 38 special
Baja 420
I'm looking for the largest reasonably trailerable weekender with a gen-set, A/C, galley, head, and a salon with 6' minimum headroom at the entry/galley that'll cruise in the mid 40's and hit 60 to 70 at top end. I've pretty much written off the 420 due to the triple big blocks. Fuel consumption is more important than sheer top speed.
There are some AWESOME deals out there right now with the depressed economy and I'm hoping that if I find I don't really like the boat I should be able to get my money back on a resell.
I'd be deeply grateful if any of you Baja owners would share with me your likes and dislikes of the Baja models. If you know of any other Mfg's boats that may fit the bill please let me in on them, and equally, if you know of any units for sale I'm interested in hearing about them.
Also, if any member around Houston/Lake Conroe, TX knows of a seller who may be interested in making a partial trade towards 15 commercial acres on FM 1097 I'd be open to them. I've had a couple of individuals contracts fall through due to lenders setting the bar to high on raw land and developers won't make offers 'cause it's 2 miles from the Interstate.
Thanks in advance.

See ya,
Kelly


Mod's
I hope this is OK to post in different forums, if not please leave the thread in General Boating.

Baja_342

I'm a huge fan of the late '90s Bajas. I'm on my third 1999. I do not care for the graphics and especially the floral print in the cabins on some of the '98s and older. 1999s I've had...302, 29 OL and my current 342 with gen, galley, A/C, heat, all the goodies. the 342 won't get you the head room you want though. The 38 Special is a nice boat. Quite a bit bigger than the 342. You're right good deals can be had. One thing to watch for on this generation of Baja would be headliners sagging in the cabin. I have not had this issue with any of mine, but I've seen plenty that have.

Personally I think the older Fountain 38SCs are ugly as sin. The newer 38EC I love, but that's a whole different boat and price point.

Tim

huskyrider

iTrader: (1)

I'm a bigger fan of best price -vs- pretty or ugly. Personally I think all the bigger cigarette hull style boats look very cool once in the drink. I'd love a Baja 442 or a Fountain 47 SC but I really feel that even though my truck is more than capable of hauling the load that they'll be problematic negotiating some of the turns on tighter roads around our lakes and launching at the boat ramps.
Plus, piss poor fuel consumption I'm sure.

I looked at a 38 Special at a repo yard near us, I liked the look and the size. But it had been well gone through by the owner removing stuff prior to it being picked up. The headliner was sagging and I saw staining. I figured the snaps for the cockpit canvas on the deck were leaking. Any idea of how much a new replacement headliner would be. I remember seeing threads in here where an upholstery guy who used to work for Baja is now doing them at his own business. I'll have to search for the threads for the company name.

Thanks for y'alls insight, please keep it coming.

See ya,
Kelly

Baja_342

What's your budget?

Friend of mine rigged his by poking small holes in the liner and spraying adhesive into them. Looked a heck of a lot better then it sagging down.

Dave at http://www.xt-innovations.com/ is who you're thinking of and who could do it properly.

XT-Innovator

iTrader: (1)

I just checked-out my first Fountain 38sc at Lakeway Boat Repair last week and was impressed with all the work that went into the tooling for the deck mold. Too bad it ended-up so ugly! Not really very roomy for a deck that is twice as tall as the hullsides.
The Baja 420 is a great looking boat, but the deck is fasten to the floor liner with a series of 1/4" bolts, and I have seen them sheered-off when ran in rougher water. 442's had a problem with the cabinets in the cuddy falling down. The Baja 38 Special would have my vote. Not saying they don't have problems, but usually they are smaller issues like plumbing.

XT

sonic69

I'm with XT. I was looking at the same boat at lakeway and it's very big and bulky. Not attractive at all.

huskyrider

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for your replies, I just got back from 10 days a D-world in Florida and haven't been connected.

I'm aiming at 50k turn key, water ready, and trailered.
Most of the boats in my price range will pretty much be there after handling knick knacks like a trailer purchase or handling issues such as gen set, a/c, electronics etc...
I really feel that the end of this window is near as I've seen some other boats go up on the asking prices in my brief absence.
There was a nice repo'd 97 420 recently listed at 49900 that's now raised to 64900 today.
Many say that the recession is over and judging by the crowd at Disney the attendees would most likely agree. But, my companies ledger show that I'll still be down well over 50% on gross sales at a solid 8% lesser profit margin.
This, my internet friends, sucks.

Thanks for y'alls insight and please keep it coming.

See ya,
Kelly