27 Fever
 

I am new to offshoreonly.com, but am looking at buying a 27 fountain! I have a friend with a 29, but after considering where i boat and the extra weight, length and twins vs single i really think the 27 is where i want to be! Can people give me the pros and cons to a 1992 27 fever? 454 mild build IMCO drive, in great shape!
Thanks

Pawdog, Welcome to OSO!

What are you looking to spend?

27 is a great boat, we owned a 97 with a 500 h.p. Depending on where you boat they can get very small in a hurry. Great on lakes and intercoastal stuff. Not all 29's are twins. Fountain made a single engine 29 that was as fast as the 27 and had more cockpit space. 2 feet may not sound like it sould make a big difference, but it will. Just depends on what you want to spend. The single 29's are worth looking into.
Their are a couple in the classifed's this was the first one I came too
http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o40325-en.html

I have also looked at some single 29's but my buddy has a 96 29' with twin stock 454mags with under 300 original hrs. for a great price. I boat at Norris lake in tennessee and on the ohio river! River is no problem but getting to the ramps at norris is not for the faint of heart, plus there are few ramps that are good enough! 27 would be one of the bigger boats on Norris as it is a big time ski lake

Fountain Family, it really depends on what i find as to the amount but im thinking i would rather be in the 25-35 range on a early to mid 90's boat. Cause im sure it will lead to wanting more?

You will need more motor . I think. They are around this site. I have a 92. w about a 600 CSI. Or real close. I use it to ski and It hits 77 on GPS.Same prop. If you have a 454 . It might plane real slow and no skiing I'm pretty sure. Top speed might be 65 GPS.. You are gonna have to drive it first. 500 plus HP 27 is a fun boat and you can get to the the water ski lakes. You may need 4 wheel drive to pull it out of the water.

Will not be using the boat for skiing at all! boat im looking at says 68 with the 24p bravo prop, would probably look to change props right away to see if i can get to 70?? and i do have a 4x4 to pull with! not worried about the 27, but the 29 is quite a bit bigger and heavier on a trailer

Do you have a link for the boat you are looking at? Im not looking to buy.

http://www.powerboatlistings.com/view/9997
This is one of the boats have not gone to see it in person yet, looking to buy at the end of August, but might wait till September if the boat prices start to come down as it will be close to the end of the season here!!

If you have a 1/2 ton 4x4 it will work but a 3/4 ton is lots better. especially the brakes. I see this one on here.. It looks like it may need a little but the price is right. Just don't think that a 454 is what you want. But that is me Cheers :)

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o40792-en.html

MCPRO i have seen that one as well, looks like more work than i want as well as the hidious teal!!! The motor might be a 509 but it looks like ****! I definitly dont want a boat im having to work on every week, or a project!

Pawdog. I sent you a PM.

It's a buyers market and you would be wise to reconsider the 29 with a single. The 29 has too many advantages over the 27 to overcome the extra size and weight penalty which is minor. It is better balanced and has 3X the fuel capacity which are critical in a performance boat.

Take your time and look at all the inventory. Buyers remorse is scarce is this market so don't let it happen!

I agree Techman, I have been looking for a year and have not 100%ruled it out being that i have a buddy with a 9.5 outta 10 29' for the right price!!!

What is your buddy trying to get for his 29'? Is it listed in the classifieds?

39900 but come this fall im pretty sure 35k will be the number! Since he has already bought a 32 and the 29 is sitting

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o40906-en.html
Anyone know anything about this fountain?

I havea 29 and not going to convince you into it, as I dont think the 2ft does a whole lot personally. And with a 27 with a single screw you will be fine towing with a half ton gasser. My twin 29 is just on the cusp of what a half ton would tow, and to be honest I almost thinking about selling boat and truck and getting a 27 with a half ton truck. To be honest with you I am fine with getting crappy mileage while towing, but geting crappy mileage all the time as my truck is primary driver I am not fine with.

But one postive is the fuel tank in the 29, think mine is a 113, 27 is like 40 i beleive but you half half the engines

my '97 could be had around that price. Send me an email if you may be interested

[email protected]

Soldier4402, what your saying is my exact concern! I have a 4door ford f150 4x4 with the 5.4 so im not worried with either boat i just think the 27 will be so much more friendly to pull! since i will be towing the boat often 240 miles to and 240 miles home over the summer!!

27 fever mid cabin
 

http://youtu.be/tOpa0YqC2c8 This is mine yesterday had a great time

With the same power a 29 will be faster than a 27. The was much more design and R&D to the 29 hull from the racing circuit. Call Fountain if you do not believe me but it is true.

I believe you 100% RGRGOOD I have been on and driven a 29 w/twin 454mag, 32 w/twin 502mag, and 38 w/525's!! The 27 is the only one i have never ridden on nor driven...

i just sold my 04 27 fever and it was a great boat but the cockpit is small and honestly the 29 is a better balanced boat. I have rode in and drove numerous single engine Fountains. Get what works best for you but there are deals out there for sure!

all good answers and replies. But get what makes sense for you. Yes for the 29 is probably better but you are not talking complete apples and oranges between two. 27 will make more sense for towing, fuel, and maint cost. You can always say the next model up is better, for guys that want the 29 people will say get the 32 and on and on.

I disagree ... having had 6 different Fountains: 2 - 27's, 3 - 29's, a 35 Lightning twin step, ... and a 292 Formula FasTech (for kicks and grins just to see what a Formula was like). The 29 is MUCH better than the 27 and is insignificantly different towing, fuel or maintenance, if you get a single engine 29. Its ~ 500 lbs heavier, so no big deal for towing, the cockpit is one of the largest of the Fountain sportboats, except for a 47', and it is quite noticable ... just for comparison, a 27 cockpit is the same as the 32's cockpit and the Lightning series cockpits are all narrower than the Fevers', so big benefit there, and fuel is pretty much a wash, if you drive a 27 and 29 the same. Both get right at 2.0 mpg at cruise. The 29 has a 113 gallon gas tank, so you're not screwed, half way across Lake Cumberland or any other significant body of water. Both being single engine boats, there is NO difference in maintenance. You won't notice the difference in length, towing, unless you have a 28' garage :D. And, as almost everyone has already said, the 29 will run nearly the same top end, and sometimes a tad faster than a 27 with equal power, as long as you are not comparing a 27 with 375 hp 496 to a 29 with a 375 hp 496.

Once you get beyond the 29' single Fountain, ie, a 32/ 35/38/42 Fountain, you enter a completely different ballgame regarding fuel cost, maintenance cost, tow vehicle requirements, storage, insurance, size of the lake or river or bay you routinely run it in, etc, and for a lot of people, that jump doesn't make sense, nor do they necessarily say "wow, I wish I had a 35/38/42 or whatever".

If you are worried about pulling a 29, compared to a 27, with your truck, you are already probably over it's towing capacity. A 27, empty weighs 4700 - 5200 lb (depending on specific model year), add 350lb for gas, and 1500 - 2000 lb for a trailer (depending upon whether it is aluminum or steel). Percentage-wise, another 500 lbs is not much - at that weight (6500 - 7500 lb, for the 27) you are over, or close to the max limit for a 1/2 ton truck (unless maybe you get a Ford 1/2 ton with Max-tow, which will put you right at, or close to its rated limit with a 27 behind it).

One thing you are wrong on is towing. Dry weight of my 29 is 7k 800lbs for fuel, 2500 for a steel trailer plus gear puts me way over 10k thats to much for any 1/2 to safely tow. Now 7500 lbs for the 27 is well within limits for just about any half ton these days. New hemi can pull 10.3k I beleive, the ford and chevy are both close to 10k as well. With the chevy max trailering being able to do 10,700lbs. You make some valid points but bumping up to 3/4 ton whether it be diesel or gas is a big cost in intial investment and upkeep. So you can tow safely a 27 with a 1/2 ton.

What a lot of you are missing is people make certain money or are on certain budgets. Just because something is better and might only cost you a little more it migh very vell put somebody out of budget. Face it owning a 29 is going to substancially cost you more, initial cost will probably be more, tow vehicle will have to be bigger which means more money to operate, insurance on the boat will cost more, gas in the boat, maint is double. Like I said not everybody has the same budget or priorites. Depending on where you live boating is a 3 maybe 4 month event. Some people have lots of money on here and buy what they want, some people dont have money but sign their life way to loans for these boats, then there is the rest of us. Who either decide that is going to be the only family activity and spend all assests available on that. Or there are others like my self who have a multiple activities and dont necessarily have new or big everything. But my idea is I would rather be able to cample, snowmobile, boat and have a sports car then just one very new or big expensive boat.

How big is the fuel tank for the 27 ?

60gal

You can easily tow a 29 with any newer 1/2 ton truck. Wouldn't even work it hard. anything more then a 1/2 ton for that size/weight of boat is unnecessary unless you already own a larger truck.

How do you figure. Like I said my boat dry is 7k, trailer weighs 2.5k. Thats 9.5k 113 gallons of fuel is about 850lbs, plus another 50lbs for other lubricants boat is now at 10k. Add anchors, ropes, lines, jackets, coolers, etc, boat probably weighs between 10.5-11k on a full tank of fuel. Dont know what 1/2 can safely tow that, and if it can you are on the limits. Hemi is 10,300 or 4 like I like said, standard chevy and ford are both at the 9k to high 9 range. OF course you have the chevy max and eco boost but thats not a standard half ton and your still going to be at its max level for towing. Now if you are going 5-10miles then I would agree with you.

heres a point few people think about,its not about pullig your boat and traylor,its about stopping.my 07 ram is a 1/2ton pick-up,5.7hemi.plenty of power to pull the 27,but whem i bought my 10meter fountain last fall,i found out how well my dodge stoped it.....not well.its all about stopping it guys,think about it.you can get yourself in a bad jam quick.as far as your choise on 27 or 29.go with you can afford.if your like most people,in 3-4yrs you will be looking for a bigger/faster boat.

Everything I was talking about was referring to the single engine 29's not the twin engine 29's. 7K lb is probably correct for the older 29's with BBC, but after ~ 1997, most 29's were single engine boats that weighed 5200 - 5850 lb depending upon specific year (new deck vs old deck). After the deck change, they didn't offer the 29 with twin BBC's, only single or twin 6.2's (those twins are real dogs for performance), although a couple were produced with the blue 377 Scorpion engines. Even a 27 puts you real close on most 1/2 ton trucks towing capacity.

Bingo,,,,,,,,,, I would much rather have more truck then I need. If you ever get into a accident a lawyer will find out real quick.

If you have a surge trailer ( not electric brakes) It needs a jar to enguage. If you have a 1/2 ton and you want to slow down Just a little.. It will melt your rear brales and the trailer brakes will do nothing. I got a 3/4 ton .. that is the only way to go . Unledd you are 2 miles from the lake :D My Diesel pussher works great too :D

yeah you may be right on that point. I dont know about the 454 being dogs, they arent not FI or502's but mine has still does 72-73 i think if you have the 95ish or better they do a little more. Thats pretty good for a 29 with stock BBC in

My point being and you will agree is that you dont want to get not enough truck. If you start entering the high 20's low 30's boats in ft you better start thinking HD and not half ton. I would trust any half ton to tow up to 8k or so and feel fine with it.

How water logged is your 29 hull if it weighs 7k? Like Bob said the newer ones with a single BBC do not weigh more then 6k. If you have an aluminum trailer you are not 2.5k either.
2010 F150 Max tow rating when equiped properly= Maximum towing capacity is 11,300 lb.
Most trailers this size have surge brakes, I have towed much larger without having any issue stopping! Do not see what the problem would be here! But do what ya gotta do! :lolhit:

Mines a 91 and has twins. Weighs 7k from everything I've seen. Buddy has a 25ft stingray that weighs 5k and I've pulled that and its lighter than mine so I know mine weighs more than 5-6k. My trailer is steel and weighs 2500-2700lbs I forget. I dont know what F150 can pull over 11k safely and by the time you spend the money on an F150 to do it, youd be better off bumping up anyways.

I am pretty sure my 97 29 with twins weighs in around 7k as well. I am going to weigh it and the trailer this Friday. My trailer is Aluminum and only weighs about 1k though. I am weighing it to see if I need to get a bigger trailer (more GVWR capability).

I pull my boat with my 2010 Ram Cummins Crew cab 4x4. I have done some mods to the engine so pulling it is no issue. Stopping power is very good with my truck and this boat/trailer (I have hydraulic disc surge brakes on my rear axles - twin alxe trailer).

I think you are right. A single 29 maybe is in the low six range. But I can not beleive that a 29ft boat with twin engines weighs only five . heck the drives and engine combos got to be 1000lbs a peice at least.