Look into a 38 Fountain with staggered 525s. It should run within 2-5 MPH of the same speed, more room and better in the rough. I would never buy a side by side again, only staggered. Impossible to work on unless you are 5' 5" and 150 pounds.

I agree with Sydwayz on the 37 and Thirdchildhood on the 38.
If your talking about bigger seas you'll need an upper 30's foot boat for a better ride in the rough.
Razor's correct also, all the Fountains I saw showed noticably smaller than other Mfg's boats of the same declared size.
But, they were also faster than the competitors boats too.
I'd guess my 38 to be at least 10 mph slower than a Fountain 38SC with equal power. And their 38 was way way smaller in the salon and the cockpit.

Congrats on your upcoming purchase. Place pic's of any offshore power boat your interested in in this Forum and most likely someone will recognize the boat and perhaps know the owner. I always thought I might wear out my welcome with the boats I posted here while searching but everyone was always happy to assist. 2 of the 4 were members exboats with new owners or friends of members.
I passed on both instantly after speaking with the member who sold due to what I felt was less than desirable representation by the seller.
Like you are cosnsidering to do, I bought a sight unseen, except for internet pic's, unit based on a powertrain survey, marine survey, and a seatrial.
It was nervewracking for sure, because I had a major hull issue that the surveyor brought to my attention which was completely omitted by the seller. I was friggin pissed at him and used this to knockdown my purchase price for a huge discount but still inherited the problem after closing the deal.
WHATEVER you do, don't purchase without a survey and a seatrial. And with the high performance motors like your considering getting a Merc or Team merc approved shop to perform a powertrain survey also.
This is the best money you'll spend toward your purchase.

See ya,
Kelly

You are going to get a lot of opinions, many biased. For the kind of coin you are looking at, plane ticket and test drive.

Just be fair in your story.........the AT will be 100K less than a comparable new Fountain, Donzi, NT, Cig, Sunsation (assuming 36, not 32). Lots of things are going through a buyer's mind during a test run, budget concerns are a huge part of it!

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o42706-en.html

Check out that 37 Active Thunder, and the guys is asking $37,500!! Seems like a STEAL for that boat?

I agree that seems to good to be true!!!

Older boat with older styling, but still great quality.
It's not a step bottom boat though.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.....definitely has me thinking I should take my time.

I'm not really thinking about anything larger than 35 boats, mainly due to costs (I'm looking to buy a new or slightly used boat) so I know it's not gonna be cheap. Also smaller boats are easier to navigate in the marinas plus u can take them closer to shore.

I will try to make it to the Miami boat show. Do all the manufacturers have test drive boats there? Any other boat shows around the world?

Thanks

I dont want to post false info here, but doesnt Pier 57 and a few other dealers offer test drives for people who are interested?
If they do, that would be a great opportunity for the OP to get some seat time and learn about the boat of his choice.
Another thing to consider is tres martin's performance boat classes....a first time buyer, in my personal opinon, should do the course if they buy a go-fast....