Wish he would've come to Houston.

US1 Fountain:

I love Fountain Boats. I'm always on the lookout for a used 35 at the right price and right condition. My observation is that they do not seem to have changed in the last 10 years.

NO ONE knows it all and NO ONE has the majic formula for building boats. Everyone else seems to be making improvments and strides in the designs but to be honest I just don't see that rate of change from Fountain.

I look at a 1995 Fountain 35 footer and a 2001 35 Footer and I hardly see any difference. Perhaps that's good for guys that own 1995 Fountain in the sense that their 6 year old boats don't look dated, but then again aside from adding steps to the hull...what's changed or improved????

my humble observation...

- jeff

I don't own a Fountian, but what they have seems to work well, other than aesthetics, why change if the hulls work well along with all the other goodies.

TO MADCOW:THERE IS NO FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN FOUNTAIN POWERBOATS AND TOTAL DOLLAR INSURANCE OR WITH ANY OTHER BOAT BUILDER.I THINK THAT THE MANUFACTURERS ARE SMART ENOUGH TO REALIZE THAT THEY NEED THE BACKING OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY TO HELP IN THE SALES PROCESS OF THIS CLASS OF BOAT.I THINK THAT BOTH TOTAL DOLLAR AND OUR COMPETITORS HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB CONVINCING NORMALLY CONSERVATIVE MARINE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO INSURE HIGH PERFORMANCE BOATS.I REMEMBER THAT NOT TOO MANY YEARS AGO THAT LLOYDS OF LONDON WAS THE ONLY SOURCE FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE BOAT INSURANCE WITH VERY HIGH RATES AND HORRIBLE CLAIM SERVICE.I'M GOING TO WORK NOW AND THIS WILL BE THE LAST SERIOUS COMMENTARY THAT YOU WILL EVER GET FROM ME AS I HAVE AN IMAGE TO MAINTAIN.

Indy

why change?

because NO ONE has the perfect hull and companies should dedicate a percentage of revenues to R&D and be innovative. History has shown that companies who are not innovative usually go out of business.

Absolutely no doubt that Fountain makes a great boat and of very good quality. I'd just like to see some innovation from an industry leader.

- jeff

JeffreyBoy - point taken, I understand the need to change in today's business environment as much as anybody. GE has become the ultimate US Corporation based upon that mind-set.
However, the boating industry does not impress me as being cutting edge technologically. I see more innovation from the engine side of the business because of the integration of EFI units and metalugurical advances. Maybe there have been changes in the hull processes and materials, but I'm not aware of many in comparison to other industries. It seems that hulls are mostly vacuume bagged or hand laid, balsa cored, foam cored, vinylester resin, wood/foam stringers, bi-axial/tria-axial/quad/whatever. Some kevlar/carbon fiber applications are out there also. If the industry has changed more than that on a production/limited production basis, I'm not aware of it (which doesn't mean much since I don't have a ton of knowledge in this area). I would think that most of the advances would come from the supplier end of the business with new materials so that the boat builders can incorporate them into their boats. Maybe the boat builders work hand-in-hand with the suppliers to come up with a new product.I'd love to hear from somebody in the industry if there are things going on that most of us are not aware of. I might use that knowledge when purchasing my next boat. Steve

[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Indy ]

Sy, good to see you at the show and thank you very much for hooking us up with the tickets! :D
I hope you wrote many policys, Kurt

HEY KURT! YOU'RE WELCOME,TRY TO COME TO THE ATLANTIC CITY SHOW AS THERE ARE MORE HIGH PERFORMANCE BOATS THERE.I CAN'T SET YOU UP WITH TICKETS BUT I CAN TELL YOU HOW TO PAY FOR THE TRIP AND EVEN END UP WITH SOME CASH.I WOULD ADVISE PLAYING THE SLOT MACHINE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ONE I'M PLAYING OR THE MACHINE I JUST LEFT.I'VE SEEN IT WORK MANY TIMES(assuming you can get the time off from work).

Sounds good Sy, I`m pretty sure I have the day off :D
Kurt.

Sy,

I think Madcow's post was a shot at Reggie, not you, but a shot nonetheless (sp). If you are going to promote yourself on this board you need to roll with the punches. :D Good Luck