27 & 29 Fever Top Speeds
 

Hi - I am looking closely at the 27 fever and possibly the 29. Most likely new, or nearly new. I have demo'd the 27 with the 496HO, and was surprised to see the GPS go past 70 (~72). Test conditions were in the Pacific - sheltered, dead calm (unfortunately) Tacoma, WA., 3 adults and full tank of gas. Can anyone tell me top speeds for the 27 with any of the bigger engines, and for the 29 with twin 350 Mag MPI's? Looking at the current hull design and current engines. Thanks!

I have a 27 with Procharged 502, Stainless Marine exhaust runs low 80's . I agree with 105, if you can go for the 29. The thing I really don't like with my boat is the small fuel tank. The 29 has a much larger tank and a couple more feet of boat of course. I suggest looking at a 29 with 500 or 525 single much better balanced boat than twins and faster. Good luck I'm very happy with the performance and quality of my 27.

I have a 27 Fountain with 496 HO Mag and will never see 70 with three adults and a full tank of gas. Not even close! Have anymore info on this 27? I would say 62 at best!

I'd say get the single if you go for a 29. My 1996 29 w/HP500 runs in the mid to high 60's with a full tank in Houston summer and handles great. The new ones should be a bit faster.

I'm with Alli..
 

A 496 ho loaded with gas and people 72 on gps?
Please give me more info on this freak.
Mine ran 69, (67gps) the other day.
I lose a mph for every body.
I would agree, 29, 525, you get the closed cooling
an extra foot in the cockpit, Between the bolsters
and the back seat, And an extra foot in the cabin.
The 27 is small, my 25'6" Advantage was bigger
in the cabin and cockpit, I still like the Fountain
better. good hunting,JC

Even though I sold my 29 I would still recommend it to anyone. I had a 1998 with a 500. I would see low 70s with the occaisonal 73-74. They glide so well in the water. Just spend some time shopping and you'll find a 29' at a 27' price.

Thanks for all the feedback - I know the numbers I stated for the 27 seem too good to be true, but I assure you I had my eyes on the guages (with the company's claims in mind...) and I saw what I saw. Having said that, the dealer told be that he was getting lower speeds on fresh water lakes further inland at higher elevations (and lower air density). I recall reading an article about differences in top speed - had to do with temperature, air density, water density etc., so perhaps these are factors that can explain some differences, especially since I am in the Pacific Northwest - the test day was clear, high pressure, cool, maybe 55 deg F, however I am by no means an expert on this. Secondly, the dealer mentioned he had been experimenting with different props - so who knows the reasons. By the way the dealer is Powerboats Northwest -www.powerboatsnw.com. I also met the Fountain rep. both at the Vancouver Boat Show and later at the dealership- I think his name was Monty??? and had a very good impression of Fountain overall. By the way, I will be keeping whatever I get on a trailer - so any comments on towing/tow-rig issues would be appreciated as well. Cheers!

Fever Mike (Nice Name!) - Thanks for the offer, but the low windscreen is unfortunately out. I must have the full wind-shield - besides the cooler weather and rain we get around here in the winter especially, it's also a condition imposed by my wife. Incidently, it was the Fountain 27 test-drive with the full windshield that solidly converted her to the merits of offshore performance boating in the first place. :=) She was a bit skeptical when she saw a lot boats with the low profile set-ups. I still am taking my time on the research though. My post on Hot Boat's forum has led to a ton of leads on some indie custom builders on the west coast to check out - which further complicate things, but given the money involved, worth looking into. I also am looking at the 28 Donzi and 27 Formula, FYI. I also think patience might yield some other benefits - especially now that the US gov't is indicating it wants a lower $US moving forward (read lower cost to me in the exchange rate), and the pricing on new (especially big-ticket) items is getting fairly competative. due to the slowing US economy. Fountain in particular seems to be very aggressive right now with new boat prices... M.

I love my 27 with the full windshield. Its a '99 and has a one year windshield I think. The newer ones are more rounded in the middle. Mine is flat across the top in the center of the boat. At first it didnt look as sleek from the side as the ones with the plastic windshield. But now I think it looks great. Its great to be able to get out of the wind or rain on long trips. You can stand up and look over the windshield, sit down and look through it or, my favorite position, put your feet foward and lean back into the bolster and position your head so that you can just see over the windshield while all the wind goes over your head. Its great to be able to carry on a conversation while going flat out.

As for the speed. Mine has a Mag MPI 415 and will do 65 GPS with a full tank and two people. Burn some gas and it will go faster. I have seen 67 GPS but I am prop testing and the 24" Bravo porpoises above 64 GPS so Im sure I am scrubbing off speed. Put CMI's on it this spring and it feels stronger but I havent put the Hydro prop back on for top speed testing. The Bravo planes so much better and has a much better cruise speed so its hard to go back to the Hydro. It was tough to plane the boat with 4 adults and a full tank with the Hydro. The Bravo does it in half the time.

another pic

more

from inside

Our two year old standing in the bolster through an idle zone.

RJ,
Check this out! Just took delivery Sat. I have the low windshield! Picked up from Pier 57.

ditto re: the single engine 29 - I ran a few 29's before purchasing mine - ended up with a 98 with a single 525SC. Still dialing in the prop; however, with a 24P labbed Bravo, I am seeing 74 mph. The performance report that came from the factory saw 77.8 radar with Reggie behind the wheel and a 27P Hydromotive (30 gal of fuel, no passengers). I tried the 27P hydro but found it took too long to plane.

The only down side to the 29 is that it does not immediately jump on a plane - you have to use a lot of tab and power of of the hole; however, once on a plane, this boat screams......

good luck - you can't go wrong with either choice.

The 27 takes awhile also, tabs must be down.
I didn't know the 27 was getting the low shield
looks good, but does it block the wind?
Matching graphics?

Alli-runner, aren't you supposed to be cleaning on your boat??

Remember...I have a better than new 32 I'll sell when your ready.

Help
 

Anyone know why only half of my pictures
will come up? I have posted these same pics before
and the worked. Thanks ,JC

Thanks Mike - looking forward to trying it. From what I have determined, either a 25 or 26 hydro, labbed, will be the call.

Looking forward to seeing your 36 Concept - sounds like its going to be one bad ride......

I pretty much agree with everyone here, here is my report
2001 Fever Classic
500efi w/ XZ drive 17 1/2" X dim
5250rpm Salt 75mph freash 74mph (gps)
25 RH Hydro
Both w/ half tank of gas (30Gallons)

The 27 and 29 are great boats, If I had it to do all over I would get the 29 with the new 525efi w/ cooling or 575:p

I love my 27 and it kicks ass, but as stated earlier the 27 can only hold 60-62 gallons, and a 500 can burn that pretty fast.;)

Hope this helps:p

Oh yea, my 27 has serious problems planing off with more than 7 people in it, I have had up to 12 and had to put some up in the cabin to get up:eek:

WILL

Hey 27Fountain,

I just had to remove and reseal the fuel pick up in my 27. I was shocked to see that the tank in my boat is only 51 gallons. Thats right, stamped into the tank along with some other info was Capacity 51 Gallons. My owners manual says 62 but the tank says 51.

Ron

51 gallons?
 

Mine is supposed to be 61, I wonder.
51 is an afternoon.

RJCardinal :rolleyes:

51 Gallons WOW, I am pretty sure mine has at least 60, I have put 50 Gallons in it before, But maybe I was on fumes and didn't know it. Where did you find the capacity on the tank??? I would like to look myself and let you all know tomarrow.

Will

I am one of the few who has a 29 w/ twin 350's. I'm using labbed hydromotive props (I think they are 23p) and I hit 70mph on the speedo with full fuel and two people on a hot sunny day in Florida. The benefit with the twin is it's manueverability around the docks. It would be nice to run 4mph faster, but I don't want to give up the manueverability.

Lefty

The capacity info was stamped into the tank along with the date of mfg. wall thickness and other info right near the fuel pick-up and sending unit. There is an inspection plate under the rear seat on the floor. Remove this plate (4 screws) and its right there. I was shocked also. I put 48 galons in one day and figured I had a decent saftey margin. Guess not!

Ron

Here's my old girl looks pretty good for a '97.

What year is yours - are the 350's 300HP or the older 260's? Did you consider twin 6.2L's? Also, do you know what the weight is with the twins? MM.

It's a 2002 and the motors are 300HP. According to the mercury marine website, a 525 weighs 1201 lbs, a 500 weighs 1113 lbs and a 350 weighs 993 lbs (making it 1986 lbs for the pair). My dealer orders most of his 29's with twins and I picked mine up off the showroom floor. Therefore, since I didn't special order the boat, I couldn't go with the 6.2L's. Hope that helps.

Lefty

Mate, that looks good. You towing with a trailblazer?
Just wondered, my wife has one.
I'm checking my 51 gal tank today. It's finnally warm.
Trailer shot. JC

27 HO, towing with Grand Cherokee V-8. Has 6500lb tow rating which I think is more than the Trailbalzer. This area is pretty flat so hills aren't a problem, I wouldn't want to tow with it in hilly area. Your boat looks great like the graphics.

A possible reason for this might be the fuel tank is stamped in Imperial gallons while the manual is quoting US gallons. An Imp. gal. is a larger quantity than the US measure for some reason. I believe the ratio is 0.83, and 51/62 is 0.82 - might explain the difference. The brochure for 2003 states a 58 gallon/220 Litre capacity.

DB at fountain told me my 95 had a 63 gallon tank after I filled it up one day and it took 61 to fill up when the gauge said 1/4 full. I almost had run out that day and didn't know it. I don't know if it varies by hear of boat

According to Reggie in his owners video when the gas gauge reads 1/2 there is approx. a quarter tank left and when it reads 1/4 there is only 5 gallons left in the tank. I never go below 1/2 tank on my 27.

I have a 1991 27 with a new 502/435 (25 hours). Installed Gil Offshore exhaust. The boat came with a Hydromotive RH 21 that had been worked to a 23. Got 62 mph at 4700 - 4800 rpms. Tried a Bravo 24 RH and got 63 mph at 4600 -4700 rpms. Tried a Mach 24 LH, got 64 mph at 4600 rpms. Then I tried a Hydromotive 23 LH... got 62 mph at 4600 rpms. So now I have ordered a Hydromotive LH22, hoping to get the rpms and speed up!

Sure would like to know what you have to do to hit 70... even near 70!

JCE

I agree with Fever Mike, w/ 435hp you should be at 68-70mph, you may need to lower your X dim to 17" or 17 1/2 to get up there. My old 1998 27 fever 415hp had a Hydro 24 Left on it and would do right at 70mph.

WILL;)

Mike,
I have a 2001 29 Fountain with a HP 500 EFI with 19.8 hours and it runs 84+ on GPS that is for sale. Its all stock from the factory and built lighter than most. The average 29 wieght is 5500 lbs. My boats wieght is 4650lbs. The set up is also inportant if your looking for speed. But if your looking for a performace boat and your only seeing 65-70 mph you are going to get board fast and want to move up. Its nice to have the speed even if you don't want to run 85 MPH.
If you have any questions about the 27 or the 29 you can e-mail me at [email protected]

Fever Mike,
Thats what this is,
The good thing about this boat is with the wieght of the cabin is not that much plus this boat runs 87 with a 1/2 X-dim. chance.
The boat is also dailed in. We ran a kilo speed run at Fountain with 250 lbs. of exta wieght and still ran 83.986mph in a foot chop. Benny R. ran a 89+mph 2 years ago in there 29 in a kilo run.

Will, I'd like to know the secret to getting 70 out of your boat. I bought a Hydro 23 LH and my boat would only do 62 at 4600 rpms. I sent it back and got a hydro 22 LH and tried it last night. 64 at 4900 rpms. Do you have a step bottom? My boat is a 1991.

JCE, have my "Official" Fountain test report here. 1997 27 (stepped) 78*, 10-12mph wind, 1' chop, stock 502mag, 14.5X24 prop, 35gal fuel, Test Driver "Reggie". RPM, 5050, 71mph WOT, tabs 3.0, drive 5.5.
Remember, your hull wont be as fast due to non step design. Plus wasn't that Pablo's boat?? He ran all the speed out of it.
Put a Procharger on it and you'll blow right by 70.

Hey Mike,
Benny's old boat is running up in the Great Lakes series under the name Mutual Fond. I had one built in 2001. A good boat. Good luck with the sale.