Ride difference between 38 to 42
 

I have heard different answers from people. Just wondering if there is a major difference in rough water between. Been looking at 42's but found a really nice 38 but want everyone opinion before I maek the trip to look at it.

Search in the Fountain section, there was a post about this a few months ago. Scott Shogren had some great comments about how much bigger the 42 was than the 38. Whole 'nother animal.

I looked around before I posted but I will look more thanks for the info!!!!

This is the one I was talking about. Lots of good info. Was surprised about the weight difference between the 38 and 42.

having rigged a few of these animals pretty much it comes down to 2 things. 1- what kinda boating , 2- how much money you have.
many people speak of big water and doin a 100 but realisticly many avid boaters run less than 100 and definaately not big water(5-7 footers on a constant). and then there are those who do and break alot of stuff and are a marinas/ technicians best friend.
the 38 with some punch like say 6-700 hp is a really fun boat. handles well. turns sharp. planes easily. is easier to dock and trailer and per foot to hour cost is , well friendly.
the 42 with enough punch to make it exciting say 700-800 hp is an awesome big water, rough water boat. there is less back pain. more room downstairs, and is just one fast machine for that power and its size. it just takes more money to operate at this level than say both boats with 525's.
if your going 525-600/ bravo id say 38.

either way good luck in your search and have a good season.

having rigged a few of these animals pretty much it comes down to 2 things. 1- what kinda boating , 2- how much money you have.
many people speak of big water and doin a 100 but realisticly many avid boaters run less than 100 and definaately not big water(5-7 footers on a constant). and then there are those who do and break alot of stuff and are a marinas/ technicians best friend.
the 38 with some punch like say 6-700 hp is a really fun boat. handles well. turns sharp. planes easily. is easier to dock and trailer and per foot to hour cost is , well friendly.
the 42 with enough punch to make it exciting say 700-800 hp is an awesome big water, rough water boat. there is less back pain. more room downstairs, and is just one fast machine for that power and its size. it just takes more money to operate at this level than say both boats with 525's.
if your going 525-600/ bravo id say 38.

either way good luck in your search and have a good season.

common sense tells me that bigger boat cost more money, heavier, sucks more fuel, can take bigger water, hold more people.

Smaller boat turns better, cheaper and maybe faster. But I could be wrong.

It all depends on what you want and the money and where you go. I mean for most people I dont know what you would do with a 38-42 to begin with unless your on open water constantly. I mean even If I had the most money in the world for the areas I boat I would probably stay under 40 ft.

Come down to Lake of the Ozarks and boat a Saturday afternoon between the 7mm and 31mm and it's clear what you do with a big Fountain, what ever you want :evilb:

or Lake Erie on a normal day:grinser010:

I own a 38' Lightning, and I came from a 38' Scarab AVS. I've never owned a 42' Fountain, but I can make one statement. I love my Fountain to death, it rides excellent, and it's capabilities far far exceed my needs and abilities. However... my first impression after buying my Fountain is that the boat does feel "light". It just doesn't have the mass that my Scarab did, so crashing through some nasty stuff definitely can jar you a bit.

Again... I'm sure there are some setup things I could do to make the boat ride even better in less than favorable conditions, however, I can see the added weight of the 42' alone as being beneficial in the snotty water. No matter how bad it's gotten, I never felt like I was in too small of a boat though.

Just my 2 cents.

my triple 42 fountain is the best riding boat I have owned....loved the way it rode....never got wet

Just be sure whatever one you buy has staggered engines. That pretty much means a 42. Thats the difference you'll notice every time you service, repair, or enhance your boat.

a staggard is also a better balance , lower center of gravity and faster

Went from a 27' Mirage to a 38' Fountain. The ride in the 27 was way better! The 38 has never scared me. Or does that mean the 38 rides better?

When I launch the 27 I'm scared I'll die. When I launch the 38 I'm scared my drive will die.

Tied up at the dock the 27 would move all over. The 38 stays steady during a ride.

i would have to agree anything that large is not going to get up and go as fast as a smaller boat, but then again top end might different. But I cant imagine a stock 38 is that much faster than or faster than a stock 27 with a 502

38 w 525 early to mid 90's

Race boat not with a cabin?

My 2007 38 Lightning w/525's ran 93 at the factory bone stock.
BTW: 38's have been available with full stagger since the 2007model year. The stagger does make a significant difference in overal performance

John

no full cabin. the later 38's come out of the factory between 90-93. i have a couple of changes i make to get them to runbe tween 96 and 99. i havent been able to break the 100 barrier yet.

I dont understand.

Are you saying the 27FT rides better than your 38FT? What do you mean when tied up at the dock?

John, I'm far more affected by the much higher service costs of non-staggered engines, than a small speed or handling difference.

For example, my boat has twin side-by-side engines. I've owned it for 8 years. During that time, I've spent far more in maintenance than the boat cost, because I only use highly respected mechanics.

When I pulled the engines out a couple of months ago, I found that the mechanics had consistently ripped me off by charging me for work they never performed.

I of course take responsibility for getting ripped off, but the reason I was ripped off was because its simply impossible to service the boat myself, and its impossible to inspect what the mechanics claimed they did.

Yes, I **could** get hoists and cranes to take engines in and out, to remove and replace outdrives. I fooled myself thinking, since I make much more per hour than mechanic shop time, its cheaper to pay them instead of doing it myself (which I can easily do, and usually did before buying this twin). But the fact is that such physical plant is expensive, I don't have room for it at my house, and at least one guy (good mechanic!) who pulled an engine on my boat was so badly injured he is still on disability 6 years later.

So never again will I own a side-by-side boat. Absolutely no way.

In fact, I've pulled the drive train out of my boat, filled in the transom, and I'm installing a single. Can't sell it anyway, might as well make it into a boat that I actually want to own again.

Mine are staggard , still no room to work in the engine compartment . I think the header needs to come off to change one of the spark plugs . :angry-smiley-038:

False. The stagger makes a huge diff when you are running hard/fast. The cg change is important.

Think he changed his post to remove the "not".

Fore/Aft balance is much improved so flies more level.
Center of Gravity being lower and narrower greatly improves stability when crossing wakes, etc. and makes it track straighter.
Serviceability is so much better, especially since I have no fresh water or waste water holding tanks cluttering up the outer sides of the engine compartment.

This is my second staggard boat . After you drive one , you won't want another side by side .

Looks like rain this weekend