---Anybody here have experience in late 90's Fountains, Donzis and Formulas???

I guess the Fountains were also pretty early with stepped hulls.

---So compared to Formulas and Donzis, do they have sturdy, foolproof hulls for a 50-mile offshore cruise???

Talking about the 33-38ft range below 70k $.

Anybody?

If you are asking about the quality of a Fountain hull for offshore usage, they are very well built. My 1990 38 doesnt have any stress cracks, or anything like that. built very solid. They are true offshore boats.

I will also add that my 93 42 has been though some snotty s h I t and held up well. The only thing that ever came loose in 13 seasons was the mounting of the water tank. They should have used 1/2" longer screws.

My boat is pretty much an offshore only boat -- very little on smooth water, the original owner did a lot of offshore fishing near the NC Banks, and I've cruised all over the Pacific coast.

Its a tough boat!

The only structural issue is the plywood in the transom. Of course it started to get soggy, so its been replaced. The problem was not noticeable until I had the engines out and outdrives off.

The multi-axial knotted glass, vinyl ester, and quality foam cores is a really good thing, and very unusual even in "custom" boats.