Shogren/Baja
 

I saw a 30+ Baja on a trailer at Ben Watts Marina at the Chain Of Lakes (Illinois) with an advertisement stating Shogren is the newest Baja dealer.

I thought the Fountain dealers would get the Baja line, but was sad for Grand Sports Center who representated the line for MANY years and did a good job.

Good luck to both Shogren and Grand Sports!

Yep,NIOC held a poker run yesterday and saw it out there.

I hope Shogren realizes the differences between a Fountain and a Baja customer, and doesnt chase the common man away, :)

As awesome a job as team Shogren has been doing I think he will do great.

Don

Shogren / Baja
 

We are cery excited about the opportunity to represent Baja Boats. Mark Miller and his entire team at Grand Sport are a class act and we know they will continue to do well with the other lines they represent. Reggie plans to build 11 of the 26 current Baja models and improve the quality of an already good boat. The boats are now being hand laid just like Fountains vs chopper gun and there are no plans to step the boats just improve set up and performance. The first 26 is done and ran 4mph faster than previous model while weighing in 200 pounds heavier. This is a gret mix for the Fountain line and allows to hit price points we either did not have or dis-continued with the Fountain brand.

Our new website will be up within 30 days and we plan to campaign both Fountains and Bajas on this years poker run circuit

Regards,

Team Shogren

www.chicagofountain.com

Seriously...you think Fountain owners are not "common?" Gimme a break, dude! One of the greatest things I've found with 98% of offshore boat owners is that they are all, for the most part, "common men."

Good luck to Scott.

Are you stating something from a past experience or are making a stupid statement? I can not find any info on who you are. What do you race. Boats????

I don't think that will be a problem. As a past repeat Baja owner and boater in general I consider myself pretty much a good ole boy or common man. I have always been treated very well by the folks at Shogren even given the fact I am hundreds of miles away. I did work a deal with them on a boat they had and even though we could not quite make the deal work, they were very pleasant and patient and I felt very comfortable working with them.

I would not hesitate to call them again for a future purchase.

Wow, I tried to make a funny statement in regards to the price point difference between a Fountain and a Baja and people get bent out of shape. I meant no disrespect to Shogren, it was more of a reference to the difference between a Baja and Fountain buyer. Shogren themselves commented the Baja line allows them to hit price points they couldnt with the Fountain lineup. Yikes...

I will ask though, how did a Baja that weights 200 lbs more run 4 mph quicker? Let me clarify, Im not doubting Shogren or Fountain or their claims, or trying to stir the pot, Im just curious as to what changed. Higher X dimension? Do you know which 11 boats Fountain will end up building? Is the new Hammer X one of them? Once last question, when do you expect to have the Bajas in?

And no, I dont race boats. "Tristar Racing" started when I needed a company name to do some business with racing contacts I still had in motorsports after I left Goodyear's racing division, its not much more than a forum name at this point. Not trying to pretend Im something that I am not, although I do enjoy track days and autocross when I find the time :)

Common men cannot drop over 200k or more on a go fast boat, that was all I meant.

Please check your info out 1st thank you.:D
Even early BAJA's like my 88 were NOT CHOPPER GUN MADE:mad: please get your story straight, its a fact in the POWERBOAT MAGs that BAJA NEVER USED CHOPPER GUNS AND DID COLORS OUT OF GEL.[ there are some late model custom painted boats I know] I know from my friends BAJA dealership there NEVER was a a gun in BAJA's shop they boasted about being hand layed up boat:D. plus the colors were in the gel not taped or paint like early fountains were and baja always had a deep ex on there drives , mine was raised with a shortie picked up 4mph also ,mine runs mid 80s should break a 100 next spring,What sux now is the colors are painted :rolleyes:, you don't get 20yrs out of a paint job:rolleyes:, gel you do, so please get your facts right about the boats you sell thank you oh also the 25ol 05 with a box with a 3'' raised x with stock 525 will do 81 gps, thats faster than a 27 fountain 525. and the baja is a bigger boat. yES I KNOW HIGH END CUSTOM BOATS LIKE OUTERLIMITS PAINTS THERE BOATS, but a painted boat you can only buff so many times until you run out of paint. If fountain wants to show up the old co, then vacumbag the boats they will be 200lbs LIGHTER , STRONGER and instead of heavyer thats the extra PAINT they use on top of the gel. artie

I think what he meant was, that most of the powerboaters we know are common guys, not multimillionairs like a handful of people that can drop a million on a boat and not have it effect their lifestyle.

And good luck to Scott, Kelly and Team Shogren.

I would take paint over gel coat any day

a good painted boat with clear coat on it will need less buffing than a gel coat boat less often and will be able to shine longer than a gel coated boat they dull down and are difficult to bring back to life for any length of time

If i went out and bought a new sea ray i would first have it shipped to a painter to clear coat it so it looked better
longer

Sorry Artie No contest with durability of a in the gel paint versus a clear coated custom paint job

[QUOTE=sommerfliesby;2643604]Seriously...you think Fountain owners are not "common?" Gimme a break, dude! One of the greatest things I've found with 98% of offshore boat owners is that they are all, for the most part, "common men."

Not U, U R a Perv!!!!:evilb:

Yes the custom 50,000 paint job looks nice for 5 years or 6, I posted pics of my boat 2yrs ago and the gel looks great after 18yrs, at the marina where a friend paints they get 250 ft for algrip and a lot of new boats come in and get it its good for 10yrs no wax but a solid color and special booth to paint in. I am thinking of painting mine cause its been 20yrs with the same color and I plan on keeping it for another 5 it looks, going to a 572 1000hp this winter and keeping the 509 670hp motor as back up. So yes a 50,000 dollar paint job looks nicer than a gel but factory paint no extra charge is chit, to in the color gel!

I wouldn't have guessed that. Mine is 8 years old and still looks brand new but I guess it is how you take care of it. I just figured that the "in gel" graphics wouldn't fade as easy as paint. What about a little scratch that you would get in the boat? Isn't it easier to mix a little gel with the right color to fix rather then painting it.

Good luck Shogren! Glad to see a fine dealership take on the Baja line

He is talking 50,000 and up custom paint:rolleyes:verus factory paint and gel fixing the gel is simple, I have seen 5yr old OLs with custom paint and looked like chit not all but was at the factory a few times saw boats getting new paint from new owners old paint stratched up and fading:eek:. but put a a wheel tomy red gel and it looks good to go for the yr:grinser010:after 20yrs now.

our Donzi is 18 years old and has the color in the gel
we keep it looking great but is much more work than it was to keep my Black Thunder paint looking good ($15,000 Paint job )

Both work, just a matter of how you take care of em

White gel with some clear would be much easier to take care of on a big boat in my opinion

But what do i know i been married 4 times, I am just not right

Good luck to the shogren gang

wow 4 times:eek::D yeah like I said if I have some cash this winter I might paint it to make it look newer :cool:

Grand Sport Center
 

Grand Sport Center, Inc has represented the Baja brand for over 35 years, and have won numerous awards for sales and CSI achievements. We are saddened to see the Baja line go; as some of you may know, this was a corporate decision by Fountain. We wish the Shogren team the best with their new line.

We will continue our tradition of full service, parts and sales at our 2 locations, along with stepping up our inventory of Donzi and Cigarette, along with our preowned and consignment selctions.


Regards,
Team GSC


View us online at: www.GrandSportCenter.com

I have had many dealings with Grand Sport over the years. Mark and his crew are good people as is Scott and crew at Shogren.
Both have great reputations in the boat community

This kind of thing is tough no matter how you slice it

+1 having recently been a "walk-in" at both GSC locations, and having had some preliminary emails/conversations with people at Shogren about a year ago, I can say both companies are class acts. We in the Chicago area are lucky to have a couple of quality dealers like this close by. Would not hesitate to buy a boat from either. Both companies are much more straight up with a potential buyer than many of the other dealers in the area who trade in production boats.

Thank you for kind comment
 

Thank you for nice comment, I am sure Mark would appreciate as well.

Good points, thanks for the opinions and questions.
 

Good points.

1) RE: Price points. What I mean is our current line starts with the new 33 which retails just over 200K on a trailer. Baja has several smaller boats that will allow us to meet another audience of customers that we are very excited about.

2) 200 pounds comes from construction, steering and k-planes.

3) The boat is afster becasue that's what Reggie is good at.

4) Our first 26 will be here next week and the new 35 will follow shortly.

5) OUr new site will be up soon and will display all finalized model selections. I do not know of the Hammer is in the cards.

Regards,

Team Shogren

www.chicagofountain.com

I´ve seen every hidden corner on my ´03 25OL in the process of upgrading and modifying it. I don´t see any chopper gun layup anywhere. The layup is heavy and solid. The only areas where I would have liked to see improvement is how the hull and deck are bonded together. More lamination and less bonding resin, please!
Thru bolting with backing plates/washers on a couple more fittings would be good, too.
However, the "entry level powerboat" 25 has handled everything I´ve thrown at it just fine, and works great with an 800 Nm 600HP blower motor.

My boat was delivered from GSC in July 2002, to a customer in Ill. , who only put 5 hours on it and sold it after a year.

Its faster cause of the new ex on the drive height/labbed prop, which anyone can do with last years model:rolleyes: like I said NO CHOPPERGUNS USED in baja boats,always handlayed up. just like fountains, not vac bagged like skater or OL were:ernaehrung004:, now that would be a improvement and baja did sell boats with k planes and steering as a extra:cool:. if they are a stock item now that would be great. I could see 200lbs for the 3# paint/k planes /steering.

Come on Shogren,I dont mean to bust your chops,But,,,first you make a comment about the chopper gun and now you say the boat is heavier because of the Kplanes,the boat in the video has Lenco tabs.
and as far as the steering,their really isnt that much of a weight difference if any at all between the single ram hydraulic system and the mechanical cable system which includes the rotary assembly,helm assembly,cable,and hydraulic rack that bolts on to the transom.
I understand your job is to push your NEW product,just trying to keep it fair.

Baja In good hands with Reggie the common man :rolleyes:

Tabs, Steering, lay Up All Factor Weight Increase.
 

Lay up has certainly effected the weight as well as, tabs, steering & lay up, roughly 200 pounds heavier. weight does not matter as much as quality. Fountain will nothing more than take Baja to the next level. This is a win/win for all involved and all boats now being manufactured by Fountain.

Baja is a very tough boat to beat for the money, it has alot of value and we said that before we were a Baja dealer so our position is the same now as it was prior to representing baja.

Regards,

Team Shogren

It will be interesting to see it evolve Shogren. I've been looking at the 272 Performance for a few reasons. It fit the budget bill, it had the size, love the Vee, and it comes with a single engine that pushes it fine for me.

I'm not a potential Fountain buyer, and suspect many Baja owners might not be either. I hope Reggie has the sense to know this move could Expand his market, not just refocus it around what he wants. Time will tell.

I know Baja Is a great boat and a tough boat to beat period.I have had a couple of them myself so I know 1st hand that they build a good boat.
Just correcting you on your comment about the kplanes,the video shows Lenco Tabs.