another new guy
 

i recently bought my buddies fever 27 "29" actual length i`ve been reeding and talking to alot of people i`m running twin 350 sb and alpha drives she is a 88 and it runs 67mph i get mixed comments about my speed but i`ve seen it and so have the first three owners i know two of them the said that it sounds about right to them

Congrats, and welcome to the Fountain family.

welcome abord:evilb:

welcome! Even in a Fountain!:D

Welcome and enjoy the Fountain :cool-smiley-011:

Welcome....Now due some research and get some prochargers for that boat.......

Welcome, great site to be a part of. Have fun

thanks guys this is a great site i,m doing my homework and saving money for some new motors ,looking at a blueprint 383 or 355 prochargers sound like a good idea i`ll look into that

Look into new drives - alpha's will pop fast with more power.

Congrats and welcome to the family!

i`ve heard alphas will let go its a chunk of change for drives but its on my list of upgrades i`ve got some ideas for set up i found most the pieces here bravo houseing with a set of imco drives, big hit when it`s all done in two

Welcome!:drink:

Welcome and good luck on your project. Just don't forget to enjoy it!

Welcome. I looked at the same boat in a 29 once. That speed sounds about right. Do the cheap stuff first. Keep the load light and balanced, try some props, find out about rotation, tune up the motors. Then set a performance goal. Top end, cruising, hole shot, and go from there. Have fun that's a good boat.
c

i`ve heard the key to fast old school fountain non stepped in a 29 is to run some nasty small blocks to keep the weight down i just finished my new dash with new autometer gauges when i get back from miami boat show going to up date my rub rail and stripes i`ll get some pics on here soon i`m a small town boat builder so i plan on alot of time to enjoy my ride

Don't be ridiculous, you will twist alphas with any reasonable power. Even if you go with conservative big block power, you need bravos at least. With small blocks, bravos would be a better choice as well, simply for durability. I've only owned one Fountain, a 47 Sport Cruiser, with triple 502 EFI's which has been a bulletproof setup. It's not blazingly fast (Low 70's GPS) but it is a phenomenal boat witH 6'3" CABIN HEADROOM and ability to cruise faster than in a car on the interstate, and more room in the cabin than my first apartment.

AZZHAT:D

FIRST OFF THE WORD "BOAT" MEANS ALOT OF MONEY :cool-smiley-027: BUT IF YOURE INTO IT , AND BUYING A 88 INDICATES THAT YOURE NOT AFFRAID TO GET YOURE HANDS DIRTY , MINUS THE MONEY PIT THING .ITS A LOT OF FUN FIQURING OUT HOW THEESE FLOATING DEVICES ARE PUT TOGETHER ! THERE QUITE BASIC AND MANY THINGS CAN BE DONE IN HOUSE , WITCH WHEN FINISHED ARE SELF SATISFYING IN YOURE RETURN ON YOURE MILLION DOLLARS YOU WILL SPEND :evilb: GOOD LUCK AND HAVE A GREAT ADVENTURE ROB :hitfan:

Just don't mismatch power to components, or you will be disgusted with the consequences, especially in a climate like mine where you have only a few months to enjoy and the rest of the year to dream.

RESEARCH , ITS ALL RIGHT HERE ! ALL YOU NEED AT THE PRESS OF A FINGER . OSO BEST BOOK EVER READ !! :cool-smiley-027:

heard that i think back in #11 i said i`m looking at drive upgrades my plans are 383 blueprint motors 400+or -hp along with some nice drives i found some teagues but not sure may look at some bravo xr to keep simple going to stick with small blocks to keep down on weight it may take a couple summers but its all mine clear and free and turn key just going to clean up and update and as for oso best how to book around two thumbs up thanks for input

welcome
 

welcome to the family.as said before,ditch the alpha drives and go w/bravo.a plus side to having alpha drives is the take less h/p to drive them compared to other drives...bravo,trs,speedmaster.down side as you know is the weakness of the alpha.i have been told that the alpha takes about 35hp to run,the bravo around 50-60hp and the trs almost 100.i do not know if thease numbers are true.just my 2cents.good luck w/your fountain

when i change to bravo drives other than a bigger hole do i need to change my engine beds higher i`ve seen some bravo xr drives would these be good drives for my rig when complete 400hp hopefully per motor

If you are spending money just buy a CAT.Ha ha just kidding D-mull rocks we both bought our new to us boats at the same time. we work together and are always racing.please don 't give him too much info or I will be getting spanked again ,his hydrasteam would knock the stink off my blown excalibur.I can only hope my eliminator will hold him off,wow bet this will start a race.love OSO and all the people on it. lew

thanks lew best boss ever buy a cat ha and the old excalibur, puppy may take me this summer but it going to get tight

I'll be putting just over 400 dyno tested ft/lbs through my alphas this year......we'll see how they hold up......if you search there are many many alpha threads on this site .......theres a member on this site that has an 18ft Powerplay and puts over 500hp through his alpha.......theres a guy at my old Marina that has an 87 32 Pachanga (not a small boat) with 330 hp bigs that still has the original alphas......his theroy.....ez up on plane but once on plane .....punch it!......has worked for 20 yrs.

me......Im keeping the alphas......its a twin engine boat not a single......most if not all the stories Ive read on here about blowing alphas are/were single applications........usaually somebody tries to put a 450/500 hp bb with a 25/27 pitch prop in front of an alpha in a 25 - 27 ft single......you can kill a Bravo doing that........ put a good shower on them and changethe oil every 10 hours.......if one blows they are dirt cheap to fix or replace.......bravos blow too.......two bravos, transom assys and labour is not cheap.......see "have you priced your boat out of the market thread" in GD:D......and you will go slower.......if you do the swap I'll buy your old alphas off you!!:D......later.....doug

sorry for the rambling:(:cool-smiley-011:

hey trigger...
your 20 year thing's true! 21years in front of a pair of 350 mags (i know not 330 hp)..but still going strong spinning 23" 4 blades...btw amsoil's full synth gear lube beats merc hipo...and, i agree, if you see chalk, it needs a shower...
c

......yeah,I had one failure.....stripped the top gearset......i was their when the mech. popped the top off the drive......definately heat related......stunk the whole shop out with the smell of burnt oil......guy says he sees this all the time......after that I put the showers on and change my oil every 10 hrs instead of every year.......

hey thanks guys that`s great to hear i`ve heard that from several people and is good to hear from others i`m ruuning twins and they new out of the box just put on last week i`ll have to get some drive showers thanks,
love the good info . Donnie

reading some threds on alphas i read that a guy has imco shortys for his alpha? anyone heard of such a thing and if so would they help mine also heard that thier is a alpha ss doing some homework

Merc did have an Alpha SS drive years ago, not sure if you can still get them. I think the SS was a different style lower. I had a 32 Pachanga years ago with the 454/330hp and the Alphas, switched the one to be counter rotated as part of the deal, never had any trouble in the 6 years & 550 hours I owned it. Didn't beat the chit out of it but I ran it, did some poker runs and never a drive problem. The Pachanga would be a heavier boat than your Fountain. I wouldn't be all that worried, just keep them serviced and use quality lube. The drive showers are a smart choice, they do help.

drives
 

If you use bravos,the plates fit in the same holes in the transom just need to drill two more bolt holes.And your stringer hight will be fine. But with small blocks and the fact that you have twins,both drives to share the load Fountain is not a heavy boat,you should be fine.Changing to bravos$$$$$. Im runnin a alpha with about 400 hp was good for a lot of hours.Broke it this year but was my fault.John

D. Mull you will be spanked by the Excalibur this summer and summers to come. Ha never will you beat me. And who's the jerk with the Cat? Haha!

I would wait until something breaks (which may not happen) rather than investing a lot of time and money on a perfectly good boat. Enjoy the season and address problems when necessary. If you find repeated problems, then change. You may find that you are happy with the present setup and speed.

thanks i think i may run the alphas untill they go and just replace my mototrs