42 Lightning (Ebay)
 

Anyone familiar with this particular boat?

I'm starting to get down into the real world in my search. I came across this boat and had some questions from the people in the "know".
I've contacted the seller with some of these questions, but figured I would ask the gurus here also.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...180983183&rd=1

1) The pics of the engine compartment........ Not sure what to say about it, why would it be SO dirty?
2) The engine compartment rigging also appears to be a hot mess, thoughts on the process involved in cleaning that up?
3)Recent Re-power: Where 502's black back in the Early 90's? They look about identical my '88 454's?
4) 502/Bravo 1's pushing a 42' boat, is this a delicate set-up, or one that can last a while if taken easy.
4) Non-stepped hull, I know there have been huge strides in design since then, would one be buying something that is going to be harder and harder to sell in the future?
5) Price. This seems to be a fairly reasonably priced boat, without a trailer I will looking to high and dry it, which will cost a small fortune where it is currently kept (or where I assume it is). Do a lot of people trailer boats this size? I would be interested in doing so for multitude of reasons.

I'm not your average ocean going hot rodder, I am more looking for something that we can overnight on a little more comfortably, run out to get some lunch at local restaurants, raft up, etc. Basically, things we do on our current boat, just with more room and style.
I generally take it easy, not in a huge hurry to get anywhere or necessarily show off. (lame, I know)

Thanks in advance for any help or insight you guys can provide.

Phil

your so lucky your both in Maryland........you should go check it out.......go for a ride if possible

if being the fastest guy out there isnt your biggest concern a non step Fountain is a great choice

as far as the dirt the motors probably leak oil but the bilge coat Fountain used in that era was notoriously bad and pourous and seemed to suck in and hold any oil that ever hit it at any time in its life......bet way to fix it is pull the motors and re do with modern stuff like bilgecoat

as far as the wiring looking messy I assume your talking about the jumble of wires showing in the back left corner of the bilge opening.......thats the main wire harness showing......Fountain used heavy nylon ty wraps in that era to hold the harness up under the deck and they dry out and break and let the harness fall down where you can see it.......more than likely you replace the ty wraps and pull the harness back up out of sight

same old same old with the rest of it.......ask for bills to prove everything stated otherwise assume it hasnt been done and bid accordingly.......ask for a complete hull survey with moisture readings and hull soundings......not just a "walk around" survey I know my insurance co wont touch a boat that old without one.......doug

oh and people trailer 42s all the time usaually with a dually

What are you looking to spend for an almost mint, turn key, needs nothing 1993 42 that does 90+mph on a new trailer?

The fiberglass fairing is cool. Get it cheap and it looks like it could be a nice older boat.

Well, that is kind of a trick question. I'm looking to spend as little as possible of course:cool-smiley-011:

I have the slight issue of getting rid of my current boat here, market is pretty much crap at this point, so I am in the same situation as most as far as that goes.......

What range (ball park) are you thinking (just wondering)

What power/drives to push that speed??

What would you consider cheap? I am really looking to spend a little less that what his starting bid is/was.

No way that boat does 76 with those engines in it. We have a 38' (same hull) with those engines in it and it is lucky to se the 60" on a good day.

You would need at least 600 hp a side to see the 70's with that boat. We also have a 42 triple that is the same hull and it has triple 650hp engines in it and it has seen 88 one time. It might get into the 90's with bigger props.

Use thaose number for reference.

Also, if that is the original exhaust and it is going on 15 years old, get ready to fork out for that.

Chances are he blew the old engines because of a leaky manifold after he spent all of that money making it look pretty.

Just my.02

By it as cheap as possible. I would say that his opening bid is all of the money for that boat with those little engines in it. It's pretty, but look out. Go drive the piss out of it before you think about buying it or getting a survey.

Thanks Jeff, some of what you are saying was what I was thinking. His motors (if those are the current ones) are an embarrassment to the boat. When I hear "new" 502's for some reason I envision the NEW ones with the large plastic covers, modern style spark arrestors and maybe something other than those manifolds.

Dunno, I contacted the guy with some questions, he got back to me with most of the answers, told me to call him. I am really close to boat itself (-10 minutes) I am definitely going to try to take a look . If it is in as good of shape (minus motors and engine compartment) It seems to be a decent deal considering it comes with a trailer and all. Opening bid is about my price range at this point, which may or probably may NOT work for him anyway.

Hey, thanks for all the tips! Anyone else have any thought, questions, concerns?

I hear the b1s are a little lite on stamina on that size boat.
I would do a search on that subject, see what you find.

Be sure to get a history on the drives and their service. If they haven't had a thorough service recently, including disassembly and inspection I would be very careful. Also when was all of the rubber on the transom replaced, boots, bellows, hoses etc. If this stuff isn't up to date, and by that I mean within the last 2 years you could spend $5K or more on the service for the drives and rubber, alot more of there is anything going south inside the drives.

Last year I bought my 35 with 190 hours on it. Looked like new, ran like new. I spent $8K getting everything up to snuff and there really wasn't any major problems. But now I know where I am at.

That looks like a very nice boat, just do your homework.
You will love the ride and handling of a Fountain, plus you do get the looks from everyone.
David

HP500's would push it to 68-70...stock with HP525SC's ours ran 74-75 on a light load...with those 502's it might run 60.
I'm running 800's with Bmax drives....$95K takes it.

Whats next?

I can imagine they would be. My current boat is 12 feet shorter, probably 6K lbs. lighter with about 150 Less total HP with the same drives. I know they still spec big boats with Bravo 1's, but I also read a lot of stories about failure too.

Just keep the B1's serviced and don't drive it like you stole it and you will be OK. We run 6 -750 hp engines on triple engine boats that size down here and don't break them very often. We have to poor boy it down here a lot, so we know what these things will take.

If you decide to change engines, give me a call. I give good credit on trades like yours.

You know that bilge looks strangely like one that used to have a triple engine set p. All those wires hanging that you are talking about could be the old harness. THe fact that the dash has been upgraded could be a clue. Lok for extra stuff behind the dash. Look for a transom repair in the center of the boat.

If you are going to buy and re rig, you have a great oportunity to build a staggard set up.

Let us know how the test ride goes.

I was thinking staggered, the engine bay seems HUGE, plenty of room .
I am on kind of a budget (does that even make sense in boating?). So, I would probably be looking to keep the motors that are in (supposedly only 5 hours on them with warranties) for a few seasons minimum. The exhaust could use some help though.;)
I think what is going to happen here is that he is going to get no bids, I will stay in contact with him, try to set up a test ride (its COLD up here) and look into financing. This is all of course dependent on what he is really expecting out of the boat price wise.

P.J. looks like a pretty nice boat , check it out and does'nt look like there fightin over it yet . send him an emai if it does'nt sell on ebay you'll give him 45,000.00 and to keep your # ..worse he'll do is counter offer
good luck

Damn, your up early for new years day? :cool-smiley-027:

This is probably the way it will go (unless someone else picks it up on EBAY). He doesn't seem real worried about selling it, his first response to me asking about how I can go about viewing it was "The marina is closed for the winter and no one is there". Kind of caught me off guard with that one, I was thinking, well then, how do you propose to SELL the thing?
I told him I am neighbors of one of the mechanics there and as long as he could arrange access and permission to inspect it, I'm sure I could get someone there to point me towards the boat and accompany me.
A potential problem with boats up here is that they like to rack them, then jam 10 big boat on the floor of the high and dry, effectively causing the stored boats to be STUCK where they are.
Not sure if this is the case here, just saying......

That boat doesnt look to have ever been a triple....center stringer would be alot shorter.

Here is a quote from an e-mail he sent me regarding the old and new motors:

The current engines are rebuilt Twin 502 Mercruiser engines.

According to the marine survey of the old engines EACH engine was rated at 445 hp.

The rebuilt engines have not been pushed to top speed because they are still being broken in. They only have about 5 hours. I would expect them to exceed the old top speed of 70mph.


Not sure where the 76MPH speed he mentions in the listing came from?

Jeff Early ?????????? no sleep around here , with the 4 kidz, 3 friggin dogz, and wife with 2 g/fs not happening , a lil rest after we get back home and they go back to skool on the 8th and then the real fun in Vegas for the AVN party/conv next week :cool-smiley-027:

I looked at that after I posted also and was having second thought on my opinion. Wouldn't it be cool to shorten the swim pad and add an extra row of seats in that boat.

No way that boat even smelled 70 with less than 900 total hp.

Uh, the swim pad is AT LEAST 2.5' too long.....:(

Another Fountain.

Alrighty, I finally got a chance to ride down and take a look at this boat. Looks nice from the outside, some caulk that needs attention, some other minor stuff. Kinda disappointed to see the "scum" line still on it from the last time it was in the water last year, but whatever I guess.

Heres the thing (and shame on me for not already knowing this). It is SMALL inside! I mean, like not at all what I was expecting to see. I took the wife and kid with me to check it out and that was the absolute first thing we were all saying about it. Honestly, it is very, very close to my current boat in overall cabin height. Also, it feels like the windshield is at about waist height when standing at the helm. You'd have to be about 4'2" to be able to use the head without being a contortionist.
Whats the deal there? Friends of ours have a 1995 38, I was expecting something somewhat similar to that. I can just about stand up straight in their boat.

Thoughts, insight..............?

Was it a lighning or a fever? I think there is a major difference size n the cabin between those 2 models.

There was only one 42 back then, and even on the newer ones there isnt really any difference. Your friends 38 must be a SC since Fountains dont have tall cabins.

Lightning, but fountain40icbm is right, there is only one 42 listed for that year.

I'll have to ask what model our friends is, I can tell you, the deck is super high in center, like an 8" ridge where the isle is.

Even the cockpit sits deep in the hull, like upper chest high at the front.

It has to be an SC. The only other 38 was the fever which is not anything you described.

Okay, as you can tell, I am a little slow here......

They DO have a sport cruiser, I guess I should have picked up on the context clues (vacuflush, shower, water heater, genny, etc).

Schew, they command a price too, a quick search is showing a few mid 90's models in the $105K range....

No wonder the wife likes our boat so much....she's only 5':p

and we all know how tall Reggie is........:party-smiley-004:

and BTW "the wife'' is looking quite gorgeous there B4M......my compliments to your "captain"

The engines are definitly 502's, you can tell by the valve covers and they have the fuel pumps mounted on the sea pump. A 502's don't have a spot on the block for a fuel pump.

The cabin on a 42 is generally the same size as a 38 as far as the length and none of them are really known to have any head room. If you want head room look for a Cig, Black Thunder , Active Thunder, Donzi, to name a few.

The speed thing I wouldn't go by what anyone says till you see it for yourself , people are always going to tell you what it did one that perfect day , not the average. You don't seem to be concerned with that so it is a moot point. My 38 I have the performance report from Fountain and it was 68.5mph at 5250 rpm and that had 420's and TRS drives so 70 was possible nut 76 I wouldn't really think so.

Just my input and I'm no Expert just been around all different types for alot of years, I started young.

Bow tie 502 has the fuel pump boss on the block. :D:evilb:

Crate motors wouldn't be Bow ties and who would waste the time building a 502 bow tie anyhow.

Don't get offended. I was just bustin your chops. The bow tie I have was actually a 502 before I got it. Go figure.

Well, I have looked at a few BT's. Actually started this search pretty much fixed on Black Thunder. Once I started to get the feeling that anything worth having was going to be in the high $100's, low $200's range, (as in, twice what I paid for our first house), my search was cut short. Prices start to get out of my desired range also with Cig's. Truth is, I am going to have to wait until at least this time next year to get more serious. :o

Don't give up , its kinda like dating you'll find something when you least expect it. The Active Thunders are really a great value for what you get, nice amount of room, great styling and performance