MRALLEN

I purchased a 1997 32 fever a year ago and used it four times. I decide to do some maintenance on the drives and pulled off the drives and found the internal flappers fell out. Decide to pull the motor to repair the flapper in the y pipe along with some other repairs. When I took the silent choice off I notice the s.s. tip moved around in the transom and investigated and found that there is nothing that holds them in. There is a black plastic beauty ring with four screw on the outside and some sealant around the tip that was not doing its job. Beside the 4" exhaust hose on the inside, nothing else holds the tip in. There is no flange on the exhaust tip to hold it in. So is this how Fountain does things? Because now my transom is rotted. In fact the wood so rotted that it is gone (hollow). I guess this is what you get for buy a 20 year old boat. It looked like new and had 400 hours on it. I thought I had made a good purchased.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

32' Fountains sit REALLY low in the water. In fact, there has been at least a couple that have sank; and there was a lawsuit about such way back in the day, claiming "design flaw".

There are plenty of sharp 32 Fountains out there, and plenty of happy owners. Replacing a transom is not unheard of. It sounds like you have a great boat, albeit got a bit of a raw deal. Go ahead and bite the bullet to replace it. You may even want to go with urethane vs. wood for coring knowing that you are likely to have the hull/deck joint wet at times.

jeff32

In 2011, i had to replace a transom on a 2006 fountain 47...
No wood left! Only wood dirt!
Same problem, absolutely no silicone to seal the 6 exhaust tips... Could not believe my eyes...

But its fixed now and it will not get any water inside again, trust me!!!

boatnt

iTrader: (1)

a lot of boats have rot issues its not just a Fountain issue,,look at the other forums and you will find others that own different brands doing rot repairs,
it sucks that it happened to your boat ,but you never know how that boat was maintained the last 18 years, all you can do is fix it and move on,

baja john

I have a 2005 38 Lightning that I'm doing the transom on as well. Only has 270 hours and barely sits in the water. I'm shocked that all the wood from end to end is completely rotten. Called Fountain about it to see if there was any warranty & of course not. They did say though that right after 2005 they were using all composite materials & no wood. What do you guys suggest? Should I replace the wood or go with other stuff?

Unlimited jd

iTrader: (5)

If you're replacing all of it is consider going composite

Crude Intentions

iTrader: (1)

I would look at composite also. All boats with wood are prone to rot. I've even heard of some that have ended up with termites. My buddy's 1990 42 loghtning is all original and solid. I would check with high performance builders and see who's ising composites and which one they are specifically using.

baja john

If anyone could point me in the right direction as to the type of material I would need it would be much appreciated. Also thinking of throwing on some extension boxes since its all apart. Has anyone tried them on a 05 38? Already running Sportmaster -2 shorties. Has a really tuff time getting on plain, cavitates like crazy, but cruise & top speed are much better.

Lucky1456

iTrader: (1)

Most people to don't much about wood rot but in most cases fresh water is where the problem comes from. So when your out here looking for a older boat to buy and your thinking man its a fresh water boat. Never seen salt water. This is what you may very well find. Yes not nearly as many rusty metal parts but most of the time you will find rotten wood some were on these boats. So do your self diligent and look around the exhaust tips and places that you can see that have threw bolts in the stringers and such. Salt preserves wood. Think back not too long ago when you bought weather resistant wood it was called salt treated wood.