RiReuter

Looking for my first performance boat, and after A LOT of research i am about 100% sure a fountain is what i need. I've been lurking on here and have noticed people mentioning that different years have different hulls which are giving different results in efficiency. Just curious mostly about 01-05 as that is what price range i plan on buying a boat in. Obviously if an 01 or 02 has the same benefits as an 05 with same power i'd like to save a few bucks and pick up the older boat as long as it is up to snuff. Thanks for any input you guys have. Also the only test i could find of a 29 fever was on boattest.com and i am pretty sure it was an 02 or so but they ran a 500 efi. Anyone know what the numbers are like for the 525 efi boats?

bob_t

76 - 80 mph on the test sheets depending on 1) time of year / water conditions when tested, 2) X-dim, as that varied up or down ~1" throughout 2001 - 2006 3) what prop was on the boat when it left Fountain (which is tied 1 &2). Most had 26P or 28P B1 props. Those would be the numbers for the "windshield boats" with the new deck that has anchor locker and built in swim step ladder. I dont' think they changed the hull (other than X dimension) after 2002, or if they did, it wasn't very noticable. We owned a variety of 29's as follows:

2000 29 Fever with 500 EFI (older plexiglass windscreen style) => 73 mph with 24P Hydro Q-IV, tried 25P hydro - didn't gain any speed, but noticably more strain to get on plane. Test sheet said 74.5 mph with 24p Hydro Q-IV LH. 1.50:1 std B1 drive with low water pickups, 18.5 X dim.

2002 29 Fever with 575 SCi (new "windshield" deck style) => 78 mph with labbed 30 P B1 or stock 28P B1. That boat had the highest stock X dimension of any I knew of, and it seemed to excessive prop slip that we could never significantly reduce, trying numerous styles of props. It would not even get on plane with Hydro Q-IV props ... as soon as the nose would start to break over, the prop would blow out, engine rev to limiter, and boat would just squat back into the water and stop moving fwd. It ran best with a stock 28P B1. 1,50:1 std XR with dual water pickups. 19.5" X dim. Test sheet said 83 mph with 30P B1 prop.

2003 (or 2004 - don't remember, didn't own it very long) Formula 292 with twin 6.2's => 70 mph. That boat's performance was unimpressive to say the least (sorry), but it did have lots and lots of nice creature features, was well built and was heavy. Most 292's with 6.2's run 68-70 mph, 28P B1 props, 1.65:1 B1 X drives

2006 29 Fever with 525 EFI => 77- 78 mph with 26P B1 prop, factory test sheet said 80 mph with 28P B1, but test date was Dec 21st with 40 degree ambient temp. 1.50:1 B1 XR sweptback drive with dual water pickups and 19" X dim. Absolutely loved that boat! It always ran 76 mph any day with fuel and 3-5 people.

We also had a 1996 27 Fever with HP 500, 17" X dim, std water pickup, that ran 76 mph (my first Fountain, test sheet said 75 mph with 27P Mach prop), but chine walked pretty bad above ~ 74 mph, a 2004 27 Fever with 496HO that ran ~ 70 mph, and a 35 Lightning twin step with 500 EFI's that ran 86-87 mph with labbed 30P B1 props and had 1.5:1 XZ outdrive with low water pickups. The 35 had incredible midrange acceleration, "lincoln towncar" ride, "goosebump" instilling rumble, and was my absolute favorite.

All of those speeds are GPS speeds on a lake at ~800 ft elevation, mostly summertime temps, with fuel and normal people loads (2-4 people).