502KC

Hello All, Narrowed my boat purchase down to a couple of boats, one of which is 29 Fever, 2001 or newer with a single engine 500efi (to be whippled). What are any likes/dislikes about these boats like planing, docking, rough water, sleeping comfort, towing, etc. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

pullmytrigger

On the Fountain home page, where it says "show topics from last 10 days" and "go" make that "60 days" and "go" then check "Thinking about a 29"........just between you and me......get the one with the twin small blocks.....just dont let on to any of those other guys.....

Jana

Sorry Twin29, but we heard you. I can't say which is better, having never driven the twin. Anyway, I like my '96 with single HP500 just fine. My complaints would be that she's a little slow getting on plane and I do have some trouble docking. (I blame most of that on the fact that I stepped up 13 feet and keep wanting her to act like a 16 Donzi.) I've had her in 3-5 footers and she was fine. (Could take more than I can.) Handling is great - no chine walking or tendency to spin out in turns. Cabin is a little tight on headroom, but I've slept aboard a couple of times quite comfortably. Also, the headroom in a newer model should be taller. It ought to run awesome with a Whippled motor.

Dredgeking

i have a 99 29' with a 500 carb. it planes quickly when i use the big 30" K planes. the only thing i dislike about having a single is trying to dock with a funky breeze. the bow sits a bit light and acts like a sail. other than that, there is nothing that would make me go for twins. towing is easy. i hardly notice the boat. rough water is good. you just have to spend some time getting the trim right. it is an excellent example of a single engine performance boat.

pullmytrigger

You guys......I remember when I had my Liberator (single engine) and I was shopping for a new boat I went to look at this guys 29 Powerquest (twin 454's) and we got to talking about this and that and he says "Oh, once you have twins,you'll never go back to a single" I didnt know what the hell he was talking about at the time and thought that was a bit of a wierd comment. Anyway I ended up with my 33 Donzi (twin 502's) and you know what? he was right, I'd never go back to a single, wasnt even a consideration, so I guess we'll all just have to agree to dis agree eh?.........Doug

pullmytrigger

The plan is to punch my engines out to 383's and see about 370 to 400hp per side within the next couple of years.

29Fever

There you go. Just get Scorpions and all issues are solved. I like the single though. I have a '98 500HP.

Likes: speed, handling, looks, dash, mid- range power is awesome, light weight for easy towing, extremely well built(no rattles) Quality of the vinyl and leather. Tons of room in engine compartment with the single. Very good wind screen. keeps wind out of eyes. Cabin is a little small, but enough room for overnighting and comfortable.

dislikes: hard to dock in wind/current, angle of sun pad/bed. hard to get up on deck without busting your ass. uncomfortable to stand in rough water. There is no good place to lock your feet in. hard to climb in and out of boat while docked. It needs the steps on the inside that some of the larger Fountains have. I'm working on fixing that.

Overall I highly recommend the 29'. I never get tired of the compliments I get everywhere I go. It was kind of half way for sale because of a little one on the way, but I just found out yesterday that my bonus will allow me to keep it!!! I wouldn't be happy with anything else (in this price range)

Tim

pullmytrigger

In the cabin in mine I had those clear plexiglass inserts in the bulkhead that were lighted for "mood" and were so in vouge in those days, I removed them to open up the area around the bulkhead,cut out a couple of pieces of plywood to fit around the little counter with the sink in it and all the way over to starboard up against the jump seat, cut some foam to fit and supported it with plastic milk cartons (the kind that that the bag milk comes in when on the truck) It sounds funky but it works,now the entire cabin is a gigantic bed, figured it was too small to spend any real time in so might as well make it do something real well. It's bigger than our bed at home and we can sleep the "right" way (downhill). Also, come Poker Run time the whole thing comes out in about 3 minutes to save wieght. Spent 10 days in the thousand islands last summer on it and it worked out real well, spent a few nights in hotels and actually slept better on the boat!......Doug

29Fever

Hey Twin29,

If you got rid of that second motor that's slowing you down, you wouldn't have to remove your cabin for poker runs.

JK

pullmytrigger