Possibly Looking to Buy Fountain Next Summer--Advice?
 

After a few prior family-style boats, I finally got my 'starter' powerboat I've been looking for this summer. It is a 2002 Rinker Captiva SS with a 496HO, and I love it. The problem is I now want something a little faster, LOL.

I've always been intrigued by the Fountain boats and just started looking around for a possible purchase next summer. Would only be looking for a 27', and would want something with more power than my current 496. I know NOTHING about motors, so me keeping up or fixing something is out of the question---what motor/boat combo provides the most power, but has the most reliability? I want power, but NOT at the cost of being broke down on the lake every other run.

I'm HUGE on maintenance, so if I can get a solid boat, I'm sure I can keep it that way. I'd like to stay in the $25k range, so any suggestions are appreciated.

prob going to have to get an early -mid 90's 27 to stay in that budget.

The 29s are faster than the 27s with the same power. I would get the 29 if the price was right. A 29 with a 496HO/502mag would probably put you at the 70mph mark with the family, tank of gas, and all your gear.

Single 496's generally run 67-68, 500HPs usually low 70's on a 29 from most reports here. About the same for the 27.

My guess is you are running low 60's with your current boat?

The 27 has a pretty small cabin, probably not much more than your current boat.

Spend a few $$ more and go for the 29 over the 27. Also regardless go for a blue motor. 29 is faster, holds a lot more fuel and a little more space in cabin. I had a 27 with a 454mag and it was a bear to get on plane with full fuel and 4 people and the 60ish gallon tank went real fast. It would however run 67 light on fuel and 1 person which was pretty respectable.

Yep, around 63-64 depending on the water/load. I could live with a mid-70's boat, but will not trade out of my current boat for just a couple MPH gain (I love my boat--just want something a bit faster).

I saw a couple on here that were not much more than $25k, were nice boats, and were at least late-90s. And although Ebay gets a bad rap on here, there have been quite a few on there around the same price.

I'm pretty new at Fountains/power boats, but what do you all mean by 'blue motor'?? Also, I have no interest in staying in a 496 since that is what is in my current boat---if I'm going to trade-out, then I want something with more power, and about 10MPH more speed.

I would think I could find something nice within that $25-$28K budget?

You need to spend around 35k to get into a 29 with an HP500.

You can get a nice older 29 with twins for 25-28.

Blue motors are Mercury racing engines, i.e. HP 500, 525EFI, 575

If you are going with a Blue motor, plan on spending a little more money down the road on maint/tune-up alot sooner than you would with a black motor. In general the Blue motors require the top end done at 250 hrs vs 500 for the black motors. Same goes for supercharged black motors like mine. You will need to do your maint at sooner intervals. Nothing wrong at all with the blue motors they are great packages but I think you can get more for your money (more HP) with a black motor that has had some slight custom work done on it. Remember though, as you go up in HP your maint costs come quicker and for the most part are done at closer (hours on motor) intervals to keep things running smooth.
If you find a boat with a blue motor that has around 200 hrs or more that has not been freshend up/top end checked, plan on about 5k in your budget to get it done unless you can do it yourself.