Fountain 38 Lightning
 

Hello
I have been thinking of buying 38 Lightning.I have small kids and would like to overnight some times in the boat with my family.The cabin is not very roomy and there is not much room for things or food,no normal refrigerator etc.So is there any real possibilities for this kind of boating with family or am I determined to buy some dull cruiser?

Yea, but not in a Fountain. Look at Black Thunder or a Donzi ZX for example.

There are choices in Fountain as well as Black Thunder but they are generally very large boats to trailer, much larger than the 38 lightning

Forget the 38 lightning - that is not a family boat. My friend bought a new 35 lightning for his family and sold it 5 months later. Look at the 38 sport cruiser. Pair of 496s it will run 60+ and cruise at 45 - 50 mph. Much more suited to kids, wifes and overnights. Forget the trailer - rent a lift slip, save yourself a lot of headaches.

In a nutshell. Although I went for a 400SS. :p

Indeed, the 38SC sounds like it would suit your needs. It is far from a dull cruiser, actually quite sporty! A set of 502's will push it close to 70 MPH.

I recently looked at a 42 Lightning and was very displeased with the cabin space.

How about a nor tech or an AT.....? They have quite a bit more room and stand up than a fountain....and they are real sport boats compared to a SC...... 39 nor, or 37 at is the way to go.

38 is pretty small for a family to overnight. Active Thunder and Sonic, have all the aminities you need and still run faster than a Sport Crusier. Check them out as well as above mentioned.

Be sure to look at them in person. I was interested in a sonic because they advertised "stand-up" cabin. Then I got in one. The only true stand up cabins that I've seen are the 46 Black Thunder and the Fountain sport cruisers. The express cruisers which replaced the sport cruisers are not trailable (too wide). I bought a used Fountain 47 sport cruiser which was in the showroom right next to a Black Thunder. They had very similar cabins. The only thing is that I wanted a trailable boat because where I live there are several choices for boating on any given weekend. It has been a great boat. There are drawbacks. Insurance is dramatically higher than a traditional cruiser and if you choose to get a slip, they usually charge by the foot so you'll pay as much as a 47 Azimut or similar which are like a house inside in comparison.

Fortius,

I am going to look at a 38SC this weekend for many of the same reasons as you (except my kids are grown). The wife wants more of the creature comforts. It seems the Sport Cruisers have features while still holding onto some of the performace aspects as well.

Glad to hear your input 35 Fountain.

The new Fountain 38 Express Cruiser is a much larger boat than the older 38 Sport Cruiser. I think the cabin on the old model has 5'10" headroom. The new one is really the size of a cruiser and has the performance of a mildly powered performance boat. If trailering isn't important, it would be a much better choice for a family and overnights; however, with the larger beam it isn't practical to trailer.

A friend of mine has a 2003 38 EC he is considering selling, let me know if that would be of interest and I can get you some contact info.

Thanks for offer RaggedEdge. Right now I think I'm going to see what this 38SC is like. A few years older, but quite a price difference I would imagine. As well as the trailering aspect. Not that it would be trailered much, but maybe to Florida for a trip or two. I let you know how the visit on the 38 goes.

Any updates?

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o16571-en.html
New or used? I have seen this one in person. They are great boats and the way I would go if moving from a less family friendly go fast.

Still trying to get arrangements made with the guy for this weekend. There is one in New Jersey and another out in Ohio to look at.

Excalibur, were you linking to a boat? The link is for power only.

If anyone knows of other 38 Sport Cruisers that are available, let me know. Thanks. :D

Fixed, not sure what happened.

good deal if you want a cruiser with some performance and don't want to trailer

Where are you located? I have someone here locally that will be selling their 1995 as soon as the weather breaks (soon).

I can put you in contact with them, it is high and dry stored, they are supposedly going to fix a small laundry list of things before attempting to market it.

Nice looking boat though, 500EFI's if I'm not mistaken.

Oh, and of course there is that absolute horridly colored one in the classifieds too.

THAT one is in my price range, looks like a nice boat other than needing $15K in new vinyl and all the stripes taken off of it.

Seems like you are on the right track now - good luck and happy hunting.

That is the niceset gift anyone has ever bought my wife. She is very excited and told me she will be moving out on the 11th - her suitcases are packed and she has wiped the word Fountain from her vocabulary. Sal - help me here buddy

37 Active Thunder 1st choice Black Thunder next. Both have the cabin and good freeboard for safty for the kids.

37 at cabin is still pretty small

37 active way too small

PJ, have any pics? How many hours on the 500's. I'm up in Baltimore.

I don't have any pics. I know they had new (more modern) Fountain graphics put on it a few years ago, then left the boat winterized over an entire season. They had it out with us about 4 times this past summer, I'm not sure of the hours on the motors, I can find this out for you.

Boat is located at Triton Marina, Elkton, MD.

NICE sc, much too new for me though:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1998-...em130202961330

About the boat an acquaintance of mine has, not trying to scare you away, but from what I remember, it had 800 or so hours on it when he bought it back in 2002 or so. I know they blew one of the motors, had them both redone with Arizona speed kits (?) It was only used 5 times this year, plus the wife is in the Real Estate industry, so they are trying to cut some overhead here soon.

Pj I am interested in that boat also, if you could get more info.
Treads will have first dibs on it. I looked at the sc at Boat boys in Ohio not bad but when I looked at it in the beginning of winter they where asking $89k not worth it trailer rusty. It is a repo and they would not entertain offers less. There getting closer, Shogrens just sold a real nice one for $49k.

The one at Boat Boys is down much lower now, I think $69K if I'm not mistaken (maybe still not worth it?)

Anyway, I talked to the dudes wife last Friday, she mentioned something about selling it under market value. That may not mean much though, considering what their perspective of the market it.

I should have drove my stupid azz out to Chicago to buy the one Shogrens had, they made a REALLY fair deal on that boat. If I didn't have one to sell, it would have been as good as sold. I spoke with Scott about it, sounded like a solid boat with a decent, documented history.

I'll get back to you guys on the 95 SC. I should be seeing him in the next few days.

I am getting a bid board with my 06 35L. Same old haul ass ,great handling, good looks and reliabilty. In other words I love the boat but she is truly one dementional. Regarding the 38EC, In 2006 they removed the wall seperating the v-birth from the cabin and it greatly increased the room/space. The
later model 38EC perfroms better than their older siblings. Myself, as stated love my 35L but I am tired of sunstroke in July - Sept down here in Tejas. would like a little more comfort but still want some performance. The 496s in my opinion are a beter combo than the 525. Not to metnion less costly to insure. about 2500 a year agreed upon value at 250K including windstrom. I am looking at a new 08 but I will proably wait and see how the economy shakes out, not to mention the price of motion lotion, in the hopes of striking a better deal. However, if you speak with the boat sales folks they closing more deals than they can handle>> yea right.

Fountain pilot forever

Realtors and Lenders here are still talking the same game. It's like some kind of lame positive reenforcement or something. They must be living in a fantasy world.

Can't fool me, things STINK.:cool-smiley-011:

I spoke with the guy at Boatboys about that repo. How did the boat look overall? Putting the trailer aside, because I wouldn't need it except to get the boat to my marina, how was the boat overall. The guy told me the bank was holding a note at $103k, had turned down offers previously at $65k. Give it another month or two, and I bet it'll go for lower $60's.

From what I remember the boat wasn't bad, needed a good detailing. upholstery was good, cabin good, hull had a few dings.

Boat boys web page shows the 38 as sale pending.

It's like they believe there own bull$hit. Like they havent been to the gas pump for the last 7 years.

Or bought groceries. :p How can anyone in the real estate mbusiness think its not in the tank. HELLOOOO. :Whatever:

Get this - I just went to Home Depot and bought 1 bag of fertilizer - You know, the Scotts stuff to keep the crab grass from comming up. I paid $46.04 for the stuff - what the F _ _ _ !!! But hey - there really not sure about weather or not this is a recession. Neither of the 3 idiots running for office is talking about the $105 a barrel oil prices - they are all brain dead. And hilary and Obama want to raise my taxes to pay for someone elses health care!!! Again - What the F _ _ _ !!!

Yeah, "Halts". I used to buy enough to do most of the yard we kept cut (like, 3 acres). That was back when it was a bargain @ $34.00 per bag:rolleyes: They've gone off the deep end at this point.

I'll be getting the Bayer branded stuff this year. :(