I take it as a compliment that Reggie is impressed with the speed, and handling of our hull design. Don't think for a minute that we did not discuss stepping the Outlaw hull designs at Baja on a weekly basis! Its only natural to think what the other guy has may be better? A 26' running surface is not long enough to benefit from a step bottom design as on Baja's best selling group of models, but a 35' running surface seems to benefit more from them, and that was where the Fountain's did well.:cool:

XT

I puked a tiny bit in my mouth while watching the picture tribute to Reginald (while standing on a 26). :angry-smiley-038:

405?

I thought the 405 was gone after the big diaster and redesigned as a 415?

Did Reggie actually build the 26 hull in North Carolina that is in the pictures or was that one built in Bucyrus?

:ernaehrung004:

Kind of like hating the new guy in a divorce, and it was not even his fault?:angry-smiley-038:

It looks to me that he would have built this down in NC. I like the trim around the doorway, and side storage holes better. To bad that they do not have a newer 2009 graphic option to show on it. The motorlid headrests look a little different also?:cool:

XT

Boat was wholly built at Fountain. You would think they could come up with their own paint jobs. The Reggie tribute from Reggie himself makes me REALLY want nothing to do with the boat. That boat was fast at Baja when they blueprinted the bottom and ran a lab finish prop.They are not re-inventing Baja.

I really like the comparison to divorce and hating the new guy, that made me laugh, it hits the nail on the head. Even though, I don't like Reggie regardless due to his own arrogance.

What was the big disaster with the 405? I know it was a liner boat and was told it should never leave the no wake zone, was there failure during testing?

Forgive me if this topic was covered months back, Im just getting back into the boating scene.

Also, blueprinting the bottom. What steps are taken in this process. Im assuming its similar to blueprinting an engine where you make sure every tolerance is hit in the middle of the +/-, but Im unclear how that is possible when dealing with laying fiberglass. Just curious.

It makes me laugh how Reggie comes out saying it will run 71mph, a few mph less probably on gps. So honestly is there any difference in speed once the wish-o-meter gets taken out of the equation? Sounds like some smoke and mirrors. So we gain a few mph with a higher x and a more expensive prop, but lose time to plane and capability in the turns? Oh well. I still feel bad for all the Bucyrus guys.

I think its a compliment on the handling, but a kick in the nuts claiming to be 4 mph faster because of their dialing in. So far at best they can claim they built it to run as fast as ours. I predicted before they built any boat that it was guaranteed to be faster just because it was built at Fountain and thats what people want to believe. Other than that, it looks like they did a great job with the boat and the changes they made. I notice the bow rail is different, and the back seat opens different now.

I could blow a gasket covering this subject. :mad:

Just waiting on someone to give me the green light or get me liquored up and tell some stories! :eek::drink:

green light granted.

Double Green! Love testing R&D info!

When was a 26 blue printed? Don't remember that. So they got a couple MPH on the top end. What's it like getting on plane? Midrange pull? If its just a raised x, those are probably in the crapper. Hope not, but...

Teambaja- do it to it, there are a few destruction pix that can go with the story!

Hopefully it's better than Reggie's stunt called Cat Killer :party-smiley-004:

Speed-trials downriver with the current would add a few MPH

Reggie needs a hair cut or needs to get ride of the cap. He looks like the guy on the right in this picture!

You are correct. In Jacksonville we found 3 MPH with the current!

Well it looks like Reggie is a better dialer inner then you my friend!:rolleyes:

I'll see you next Thursday!

I vomited a little in my mouth seeing the pictures of Reg behind the wheel of a Baja. 2 years ago he wouldn't have been caught dead in one.

Love him or hate him, Reggie knows how to make a V-hull run and market boats. Can not deny he will continue the image and only improve the Baja name. Something to think about before bashing Fountain, what if they did not purchase Baja and Brunswick shuttered the doors? Do you think that would have an adverse effect on the resale value of existing Baja boats? Would you rather have the parent company be the manufacturer of the worlds fastest and best selling high performance V-hulls or Brunswick the manufacturer of Sea-Rays and Bayliners?

As far as mass produced (not custom or completely hand built) boats are concerned, is there an issue with Sea Ray that Im not aware of?

Build quality is OK for Sea Ray. I do not think Brunwick hearts lies in performance boats. Reggie bleeds racing oil. My point stands.

Yes, I agree. I still think its a shame there will be no Skater 399 based Baja though...

No ****,I was thinking the same thing.

i think you are right on the money. im not a big fan of fountain.( just dont like the boats). and im not at all a reggie fan. but the man knows what hes doin. i think it could really be a good thing for baja. im gonna give the guy a chance and see what he does. and you are also correct. i rather have baja owned by fountain then no baja at all.

I agree......why bash Reggie when Brunswick is the real enemy here....they are the ones that chit-canned all the great people of Baja( Ohio) because of their "corporate greed". It's great to see a new Baja debut, no matter who is behind the wheel....or whether or not it has a Fountain emblem on the passenger storage box....at least it doesn't have one on the hull.

Hats off to Fountain for making a great brand even better...
Standard Hyd steering and tabs, Bonded deck to hull and real stringers are a must for offshore boats.
Your going to see a lot of those Blue motors in them now.

Dont forget all the new colors of the 700s! :drink:

Did you use to be a Baja guy? 32 maybe?

Reggie canned a lot more people that Brunswick did...

Had a 1993 32 Magnum and a 1996 272...both were great boats.

This is exactly what Brunswick wanted the public to think by selling and letting the new owner "can" the workers....happens all the time with greedy corporations.

So he didnt have the option of leaving the plant open in Bucyrus so we could all keep our jobs? Yes, he did have that option and even mentioned it publicly when he knew from the start that it would all be moved to NC.

Well said Brad.

As TeamBaja stated, no one had a gun to Reggie's head to close down Bucyrus.

Brunswick has done a lot wrong, but they did NOT close down Baja Ohio...

Remember, it was Brunswick /Mercury Marine that bailed Reggies butt out a few years back; and selling/pawning off Baja to him allowed Reggie to increase the value of his company and not default on loans, etc.

Now destroying a perfectly good Skater 399 mold/hull, now Im still waiting to hear the details on that madness...

Editor of Powerboat magazine (Gregg Mansfield) is off to NC tomorrow to get a detailed look at the newest Baja off the line and to interview Reggie. Should be a good read.

At least the jobs stayed in the US, my companies goal is to transfer 50% of our engineering to China and India in the next 3 to 5 years.

Greed sucks.

Did anyone get an offer to move to NC?

Not that Im aware of, Im sure TeamBaja or one of the other Baja guys can tell you more.

Keep in mind Fountain has also pulled the Baja line from a number of "Baja" dealerships, because they either dont sell Fountain or they sell a major competing brand to Fountain. Everyone can try to glorify Reggie all they want, I dont buy it. Ill save my comments for a few years down the road when this all plays out.

I'm not a huge Reggie or Rountain fan, nor really a huge Baja fan either, so this is a pretty "unbiased" opinion.

My understanding is that Fountain owed Mercury/Brunswick considerable liabilities. Meanwhile, Baja was a money loser for them with negative cashflows and little sign of changing. They then agreed to "sell" it to Fountain for basically nothing in exchange for reducing some of Fountains liabilities to them.

Therefore, Fountain was basically told to take Baja, and he's trying to make the best of it.

The fact it was not making money at all currently, means that to continue to produce in Ohio would be foolish, to basically expect a better return with the same operation. The only way to save Baja and try and return it to profitability is to maximize economies of scale. This means one factory, mostly redundant employees, etc.

To continue operating Baja as it had been would have put both under.

Just my opinion looking at the outside of this deal, and I clearly could be very wrong. I hope both can recover and grow, but that is definitely a challenge in this economy.

Well stated!

Exactly