529 Program

Thinking about buying a 38 Express Cruiser. Any thoughts on year and motors? Diesel vs. 496's? Had a 35 Executioner and need more room for the family. Any known issues with the boat? Thanks!!

38fountainecman

I own a 2006 with 496 mags. It is a 60 mph boat all day long in florida heat. In 2007, they modified hull and interior. 2006 prior there is a separate stateroom for the master with a door, 2007 after the cabin is one big area with a curtain for the master bed. Love the boat, fast, stable and lots of room for family and friends. I recently had to replace bravo III uppers with bravo one. Broke the case as the upper gears went at 450 hrs. The bravo III props are hell on the upper gears. I went with bravo 1's and maximus props. still dialing in boat. I trailer on triple axle aluminum trailer all over florida with no issues, need electric over hydraulic brakes on 3 axles and a 1 ton truck to tow. I have heard the interior cabinetry was upgraded after 2004, as there was some issue with interiors on early boats. 496's run great with normal replacement of worn parts, but I hear they don't take kindly to modifications, so if you get a 496 boat, be happy with speed. 500 boats and diesel boats are harder to find, with 500 boats running 70 and diesel boats running 50-52. Great boat, good luck hunting.

mikebrls

I also owned one and it is a great boat for the intended use , boat could cruise all day @ 40 mph and be efficient , and of course top out at 60 with the 496ho's . most cruiser's of this size top out around 30 mph and cruise @ 20 mph so you can see where the 38 EC shines. I would own one again , it's not a go-fast boat per, say so if you want to run at 60 mph all day and jump waves this is not the boat , I had mine out in some rough water once and it handle fine " waves splashing on the windsheld " goverment cut Miami " a bit scary but it got me and my family home safe .

F-2 Speedy

iTrader: (6)

Your the same person looking for a Cig earlier

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/c...-purchase.html

rak rua

Reading carefully, on this thread, he's "thinking about buying" whereas the Cig thread, he's "kicking tires".
That makes all the difference......


RR

P.S. Apologies to the OP, tough crowd here.......

moderatedUser23082018

Im on my 4th Fountain and just got a 38 Express this spring, totally Love it if your looking for the best of both worlds. My 32 fevers were a blast but no living space. this has just enough for a weekend and still can get up and go for a cruiser. I also really like the Formula but the Fountain can get towed on my triple axle without getting noticed without a permit for width.

moderatedUser23082018

delete

moderatedUser23082018

What gears and props are you running with your bravo ones? Im still running 3's but worried about getting up

38fountainecman

monfunk - I borrowed a set of 1.5 bravo 1's from my old 419 fastec a few years ago and found 64 mph at a little over 5,000 rpm with four blade 26" pitch bravo 1 props. I did have to overtrim to get the speed though. So when I recently blew the upper on my bravo III (the other drive was moaning a bit also), I went with 1.65 bravo 1X with the 24" pitch 5 blade maximus. I was getting about 60 mph at 5,000 on 1 motor and 4,800 on the other. Need to change plugs and fuel filters and make sure I'm getting all I can out of my 496's before I test again. Boat is a little slower on plan of course than compared to the bravo III's, but I get a little prop slip when planning which I like as it reduces torque on the uppers, and the boat does run quite a bit smoother on cruise. Getting the same cruise numbers that I did with the bravo III's. I like the bravo 1 5 blade route as there are rubber hubs in the props that reduce torque and as you know the bravo III's are solid hubs, so that is why I think I blew out my uppers at only 450 hrs. (changed drive oil every 50 hours and did not run boat hard) I just think plaining these boats is hard on upper gears. I am going to send the props back to bblades this winter once I get some cash and let him work his magic. I used his prop testing program when I made the switch and ended up purchasing the props he sent as they were new in the box. The test program he offers is great and it worked and cost just as he advertises, he is the real deal.

Riggs2015

I took 525's out of my 38 express s/f. Had Marker 17 design bracket and install 3 300 verado's. Best conversation ever. Plains off ALOT faster. Floats 10 inches higher as well. Still runs 66 mph with all that cabin. Only 38 express that I know of with outboards. Now me & my family can enjoy without me being up-side down in the engine compartment with something leaking or making noise. Can change oil in generator in 10 minutes. Wish I would have done it years ago. There are very good running & handling boats. They are the best of both worlds as family/performance boating. We spend weekends on ours.