38 Fever questions
 

Like the lines of the 38 Fever, seen a few that look really clean late 90's models. Pros/cons to the 38? Seen a lot with 502's which strikes me odd that there aren't more 500 boats out there. How does it run with that power? There is what looks to be a clean one on LOTO, 390 hrs. on 502's. Just tire kicking and doing all my homework till a few more things firm up, just don't know if I want something older and clean to get the length or a little smaller and newer. Just have a hard time swallowing some of the older graphics on boats...teals, pinks, checkers (wife hates checkers but I tell her there is always paint for the right boat down the line).

Pros- the fever is wider than the lighting models. The day room and cabin room are about 1.5 ft wider, which doesn't sound like much, but it makes a big difference. It's one of the roomiest Fountian models. it's a fountain :) so everything you know about fountains applies. Fast and handles rough water

Cons- the 38 lighting model will be faster with the same power and steps. The lightning models have a walk around that the fever does not. I can not confirm, but I have heard that the lighting model works better, again I don't have any experience with a fever.

Personally, search 38 2000-2001 small step, and 2002 big step models. If you are even close to the same price range you would be crazy to not go newer

Nice thing about the Fever is the cockpit room. Very roomy for a fountain. Late 90's model with 502 mags, I'd guess it run low 70s. Mines a 1990, and still a very solid hull. Mike Tkach on here has a 99 38 Fever with 1200's and #6 dry sumps. Runs very well!

I have had my 1990 38 fever for about 15 years. Boat does 80. Check it out in the classifies.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I would love to go newer but going newer even by a few years the prices jump into another bracket with the 38's where I could step back (size wise) to say a 35 Lightning which my wife really likes too...but that is a totally different boat then the 38. Been in quite a few 42's and 47's but none of the mid-size models really.

I have a '98 Fever, race fairing, HP500's and it will run right at 81 mph. My dad has a 35 Lightning that is a sweet boat but they are tiny compared to the 38. As previously mentioned, the Fever has the biggest cockpit of just about anything Reginald built and that is what drew me to the boat. I mention the race fairing because they don't have a walk-around, you (or, more to the point, people you are with or "helpers") wind up grabbing the top of it all the time either from the dockside or going over the top to get on the bow. I looked at a number of 38 Fevers with the plexi windscreen and they had all either been replaced or needed to be! I drove a 502 efi boat before I bought mine and simply had to have the blue power. I also looked at plenty of 42's and I don't see a huge difference in the ride- further, the newer they get the more cockpit room is eaten away with short and then full stagger engine installations. Finally, be aware that with the props turning in per factory recommendation, a 38 Fever with steps cannot be twin screwed like a side-by-side 35 can around the docks ... its an acquired combination of working the drives almost like a big single. Bottom line is that a newer 35 would be a total hoot and a true driver's boat, but they are not nearly as big as a 38 Fever in any dimension. Irrespective of Fountain's financial condition, I am a true believer in the build quality of the product and would not be afraid of an older boat that had been taken care of. Hope to see a 35, 38, 42 in your slip soon!

I was looking at a 2000 38 lightning with 500's and about 250 hours. It was very well maintained by a single owner and was in excellent shape. I was going to buy it but then decided I wanted newer and ended up with a 2005 that I got a few weeks ago. The moral of this story is that I would have bought the 2000 and if you're interested you could have this boat for $55-60K with the trailer assuming it has not been sold yet. If interested, PM me and I can put you in touch with the seller. The boat is located in Long Island, NY.

I managed to dig up a few pics of the 2000

[ATTACH=CONFIG]502521[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]502522[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]502523[/ATTACH]

I had a 35 ex and then sold it and moved up to a 38 Fever. Both are great boats but the 38 is in a different league in terms of ride and room vs the 35s. The 38 Lightnings and Fevers have the same hull up until late 2002 when Reggie came out with the bigger steps in the lightnings. The 2002 to 2006 Lightnings with the bigger steps are about 3 mph faster than the Fevers but about 5 times more likely to swap ends in a sharp turn. The 38 Fevers can be turned hard, really hard. In fact I spoke with several Fountain racers who hung on to their Fevers for a few years after the bigger stepped 38's came out because while the newer hulls were faster in a straight line, the turning advantage of the older 38's was so great that they were still competitive on the race course.

As others have said the cockpit room in it is huge for a performance boat. One time we had 11 adults in ours to go to a party on the other end of the lake. The Fevers have a much better view for passengers in the back seat but in very rough water the lack of freeboard in the rear is a potential safety negative, especially if your passengers are standing. The other con for some is that you need to go thru the cabin to access the bow of the boat. That never bugged me though. Overall for the 7 years that I owned mine I thought it was an awesome boat. I finally sold mine because I wanted a dedicated poker run boat.

I have a '98 Fever, race fairing, HP500's and it will run right at 81 mph. My dad has a 35 Lightning that is a sweet boat but they are tiny compared to the 38. As previously mentioned, the Fever has the biggest cockpit of just about anything Reginald built and that is what drew me to the boat. I mention the race fairing because they don't have a walk-around, you (or, more to the point, people you are with or "helpers") wind up grabbing the top of it all the time either from the dockside or going over the top to get on the bow. I looked at a number of 38 Fevers with the plexi windscreen and they had all either been replaced or needed to be! I drove a 502 efi boat before I bought mine and simply had to have the blue power. I also looked at plenty of 42's and I don't see a huge difference in the ride- further, the newer they get the more cockpit room is eaten away with short and then full stagger engine installations. Finally, be aware that with the props turning in per factory recommendation, a 38 Fever with steps cannot be twin screwed like a side-by-side 35 can around the docks ... its an acquired combination of working the drives almost like a big single. I would also point out that a non-race build (i.e., production boat) 38 Fever was, at one time, the F-2 champ with HP500's, and I will concur with Margimn that they will truly turn like nobody's business. Bottom line is that a newer 35 would be a total hoot and a true driver's boat, but they are not nearly as big as a 38 Fever in any dimension. Irrespective of Fountain's financial condition, I am a true believer in the build quality of the product and would not be afraid of an older boat that had been taken care of. Hope to see a 35, 38, 42 in your slip soon!