need some help here!! Which boat?
 

Hello everyone, I have been lurking here for some time....

Need a little advice. Through all of my seaches it seems you guys are an extremely knowledgable group.


I am looking at two boats:

a 38' Fountain fever and a 38' KV scarab

Assuming both are in good shape (according to survey)...

Which would be the better boat mainly in terms of seaworthiness.

I will be using her mainly on the western side of lake michigan, however if I do someday choose to make that cross lake journey I want to know I'm covered.

Thanks for your replies!

The KV Scarab will be heavier and ride better and is a few feet longer. The Fountain will be faster with like power. If you are asking about similar year boats with similar options and prices, you will need to post some more info about each boat to get good answers.

Lake Michigan! Go with the 45 Apache in the classifieds. :D

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o14820-en.html

Some info on the two boats:

1987 kv 38' scarab Twin 454's rebuilt(under 100 hrs)- Hull and boat are in good shape

1991 38' fountain fever twin 500 hp mercruisers, rebuilt (
~150 hrs). Hull an boat are in good shape

I like both paint jobs... the scarab would definitely take a little more work to get it ready for the season (installation of cosmetic, saftey and creature comfort parts).

As far as price, I feel that I can get a good deal (on account of the market) on either one of them.

hope this helps.
thanks!!

IMO, if you haven't crossed a lake yet.... you are probably a newer boater. I think that the Scarab would be a more forgiving platform to learn on. All things being equal. The Fountain would be less forgiving when you get to the edge of the control envelope. (Also why it would be faster)

Be very careful with inspection of stringers, transom, tabbing on an older wellcraft. An 87 wellcraft hull in great shape would be something possibly to snag. They are getting rare.

Griff hit it on the head. Both good boats but personally, I'm drawn to the classic lines of the 38KV. Think of it in car terms, the KV Scarab is like a '69 Mach 1 Mustang, looks cool as hell. The 38 Fountain is like a 5.0 Mustang. The 5.0 will probably be faster but the old Mach 1 will draw all the attention. :cool-smiley-027:

Also, does the Scarab have TRS or Bravo's? And what about the Fountain? I personally like TRS but are somewhat of a bugger to find parts for now a days.:D

-Not really the case here, newer to the larger offshore boats, not new to boating... I grew up boating on the eastern side of lake michigan (Muskegon) and now have a place on the western side of the lake (Racine). Aside from a 26' sailboat we owned, I've never really had the proper boat to do a lake crossing...21' four winns, 26' baja CD (the baja will be for sale soon). All the trips I've done have been costal cruises with overnight stays. FINALLY, now I'm in a position to make the jump to a little larger boat, and have a little more "fun". Thanks for the responses guys, keep them coming!!

Yup I agree totaly. You might see a KV every now and then but the Fountian will be everywhere, and the KV will have more room all the way around. :D

Without a doubt I'd go with the KV if it's in good shape.
Classic lines, crusher of a hull.

I own a 38 fever and have been on a 38 Scarab. There is no comparison. The fountain, esp a 91, will out perform the scarab in all conditions. The scarab will have to be trimmed out to the max to get any decent speed and the rides goes down hill. You will be able to run the fountain with litlle or no trim in rough water and it will still be faster & ride better

It depends what your after. There are many good points listed. I personally agree with LPBoater. My interests may be different then yours. What drives are on the boat? Do you intend to use it the way it is? Do you expect to want to make it go faster?

LPBoater summed it up well........the Fountain in this case, 4 years newer and the rebuilds have close to the same hours as well. Be sure to take the advice of the surveyor though, even though the Fountain is newer does not usually mean anything, its how it was cared for as well. Don't buy if it does not check out decent.

To say the Fountain will out perform the KV in all conditions is a bit of a stretch.

In the late 80's, early 90's there was no better ride than an Apache, Cigarette or the KV Scarab. the 91 Fountain was not stepped at this point and it took many versions of Fountains step to get it to the point its at now.

Also, the performance of the KV Scarabs of the late 80's/early 90's is what drove the competition between Fountain and Scarab for the speed record (Scarab held it as well several times while duking it out with Fountain).

The Larry Smith KV Scarab was a WELL proven machine by the late 80's. Fountain was just getting started.

I've been in both boats (90's stepped Fountain/late 80's KV). I'd take a KV Scarab over most boats of its time all day long...Cigarette and Apache excluded. But then again, it does depend on the over all condition of both these particular boat and which boat you're going to get more bang for the buck out of.

Didn't mean to make you defend your experience. Lots of guys who are experienced boaters post threads like this. My bad. Sorry.

Scarab. Thye hull was one of the winningest boats in offshore for alot of years.

A survey is a must. Having it done by someone other than a known high-performance specialist is a waste of money.

[QUOTE=Chris Sunkin;2396176]Scarab. Thye hull was one of the winningest boats in offshore for alot of years.

What years were those? There are nice and won races but winningest is a stretch.

38' fever fountain
 

I have this 1994 38' Fountain Fever for sale!! 220 original hours and has been updated. 502 Mercury 415hp.

more pictures
 

more pictures...........................

Ditto

I know there are some serious scarab lovers on this board, but every wellcraft I've ever been on has been a piece of crap.

I have not been on a 38 scarab though, maybe they paid better attention when they built them?

The Apache is a good pick if your loaded. It will cost 3 or 5 times more to maintain.

One of, not THE. Not only did they win races, they won championships.

Mid-70's thru early 80's, they were very succesful.

I'd go with the KV, much nicer looking with classic lines. Apache priced too high and will cost alot to maintain IMO, even though it also has great lines.

My 1979 Wellcraft was a tank. Still being used on the Georgian Bay. The current owner sends pics.

Something about the mid-late eighties and boats that were glassed in Florida. Too much powder and too many guys who didn't care. A guy who worked at Chris Craft at the time said that the molds were great, getting good glass crews to stay on a tab until it was completely glassed was another thing altogether.

Sorry, I should have quantified that with a year range. mid 80's through ? maybe early 90's even...

I agree with the year range that you suggest.
I think that you really need to triple check glass, transom, stringers and tabbing on anything from like 83 to 93.

Not that a person wouldn't have a boat surveyed anyway, but I think those were bad years for glass work.

Maybe you can help me out.
I am not sure whether I want to buy the Hunter 31, or the Catalina 30. This will be my first big sailboat.