29 Scarrab vs 29 Fountain
 

Looking at upgrading to a 29' boat . Found a very nice 29' Scarrab 502 XR drive . other boat is a 29' Fountain same power . Fountain is a 97' for 67k and Scarrab is a 95' for 45K .
Fountain needs some minor interior repair , Scarrab has new everything . How do these boats compare for handling , top speed , and quality of construction ?

The 97 Fountain sounds overpriced. There is a 2002 29' Fountain with upgraded 575 in OSO classifieds for 65k. I owned that boat a couple of years ago and it was like brand new when I had it. Next owner did some engine upgrades and added some bling to the boat. A 29' anything with single 502 (415 hp) is going to be a lackluster performer, maybe reaching 70 mph (gps, not the pitot tube happymeter) on a really good day. I have had 4 different 29' Fountains, the quickest to plane, and fastest, was one with a 575 SCi in it. The slowest to plane was one with a single 500EFI - it ran ~73 mph gps, and the slowest was one with twin 6.2's. Our current 29 with a 525 EFI isn't the fastest to get on plane, but is acceptable IMO, and it runs close to the same top end as the 575 boat (within 2-3 mph on gps). Can't speak for the Scarab, but the overall quality of the Fountain is good and comes with a lot of nice equipment like K-planes, mechanical drive and tab indicators, and plenty of gauges. Handling and speed of the later 29's, with the taller step has never been an issue, in my opinion. If you get crazy power in one, they will want to chine walk in upper 80's mph. I personally like the later single engine 29 Fevers, but not with anything less than a 525 EFI.

Fountain is definitely overpriced. My brother has a 29 Fountain w/525...definitely has good and bad points. It's actually a 26 foot boat and it does not handle the rough all that great, but not terrible either. It is painful gettting on plane due to the high X dimension as well.

We had a 22 Scarab before our current boats. I really liked that boat for what it was.

I would not upgrade from a 27 Fountain to a 29 Fountain. You are hardly going to notice any difference.

That said, wait one more year, and upgrade to a 31-35 foot boat.

Great point. I didn't notice that.

Me either. Not that much difference between a 27 and 29, although I would choose the 29 over the 27. I had a 35 Lightning twin step amongst the 29's and I would take another 35 twin step in a heartbeat, given the right circumstances ... those being not having to tow it 50+ miles everytime I wanted to use it, and a nice 4 door dually to pull it with, and a 40 X 60 pole barn, or other reasonable storage to keep it. I loved the 35. Right boat, wrong time and place. For now, another 29 meets my "needs" ... but I would much rather have a 35 :D

Ditto.....and IMO, BOTH are overpriced in todays market. Heck, I'd think about selling you my 1997 32AT for 67k and its about 6feet longer that a 29 Fountain.

If you want to stick with a single, check out a 28 Pantera ot 28 AT. Both are a lot bigger than a 29 Fountain.

I have a 94 Scarab with twin 350,s I have had great luck with this boat! Its for sale for 31k.

Go with the Fountain drive both!

I had a 29 scarab for 11 years and my buddy had a 29 fountain I took many rides in. My 29 scarab had a 509cid whipple motor and his 29 fountain had a 502efi. The scarab has more free board and handled the gulf of mexico way better than his fountain did. He even admitted it, but his fountain would take my scarab out of the hole big time, but I would eventually catch him. The fountain just felt shorter in the rough stuff. There is a board memeber on here who bought my scarab that could shed some more light on the scarab.

There both great boats, but personelly I felt safer in my boat with the free board. Good luck on what ever choice turns out to be.

It all depends on what your looking for. The Scarab with the stock 502 will not be very fast, mid 60's in perfect conditions, probably a few mph less than the Fountain. The Scarab is awsome in the rough. I've been in both in rough conditions, never driven a Fountain but I have ridden in one. They just seem to get real small the rougher it gets. Not knocking a Fountain cause it will be much faster with the same power but the ride is much differant. I bought 29scarab's boat and I love it, give them a little HP and it rolls.
Scott

A 29 Scarab with a stock 502 will barely touch 60 on GPS but it will ride a little better than the Fountain. The hull doesn't have a very sharp deadrise but the Fountain has the pad on it with a little less running surface. Just my opinion but I have been in both.

I have a 2004 FOUNTAIN 29' TWIN SCORPION 377. Boat is clean. 72 hours on it. cusom paint and loaded. Monster gauges...ect. Runs 84mph. With trailer for 72,900.

Oh yes, there is quite a bit more room in the 29. At least another foot of room behind the bolsters and another foot in the cabin. The ride is similar in both, but the 29 tends to be a close to the same speed or a little faster than the 29. You cannot/could not equip a 27 with anything bigger than a 500efi, so the 29 is your only single engine fountain to run 80+mph.


Agreed.

27vs29
 

how come you cannot put anything bigger than a 500efi in a 27?there is a guy on here that has a 27 w/i think a 598 or a 605 and runs in the mid 90,s.just wondering

This is what I would get.

P-29 Scarab

Upper 70's with stock twin 350 mags.

AND let not forget the biggest difference in the world....gas tank. 27 is like a 12gallon or something stupid. 29 is 120.

I have a scarab 29 with a -08 496mag ho 65mph+ (a little bit to weak ) But in the rough sea it will outperform fountain 29 everyday of the week ! ( i think the scarab is much better lookin Fountain 29 are to "short" for her wide hull )

Blackhawk drives :eek:

never said you couldnt put it in there....just said they didnt equip them with that kinda power. Most buyers, as usual, are buying boats with stock power.

mine was 58 gallons if im not mistaken......and the gas gauge was the worst part. It would sit on full all day then magically start bouncing around 1/8 - 1/2 tank when underway.

I owned a 29 Fountain w/ twin 502's great boat would handle the rough stuff fine....Would also run 77MPH all day long. I misss that rig .....

8luglogic , since you're a local I assume you know the resident Fountains around here. My friend has a 1998 35
with twin 600SC's and it's a fine boat. However, if you ask him what he prefers for the general local water conditions ,
that black 42 with the cobra painted on its side gets his vote!
i find the 35 still needs the tabs down to smooth out our confused choppy conditions.The 29 Scarab vs 29 Fountain would be a more comfortable ride IMHO. Jamie Ubell [ Harrison Lake poker run organizer] has a nice 29 Scarab with S/C for sale if you want to check it out.

This local 47 you probably know would go just about anywhere , eh.

http://www3.telus.net/spectrasonly/K...047%20Fountain

Blackhawk drives! :D

From what I've read here, they are a perfect match for the Scarab 29 and the small block power.

Sounds like I might be money ahead to just hang on to what I've got . If the there's not much difference between the 27' & 29' Fountains . I use my boat on freshwater lakes ,so I'm not looking to go to a 35' or bigger twin engine . I find it interesting seeing all the different view points . Im thinking that my buddy's Scarrab is a little pricey for what it is . The main reasons I was considering the Scarrab was for more interior room ,better looking ,and it has a decent stereo .
Got any pictures of the Scarrab for sale at Harrison Lake ?

If a person was to put a Whipple supercharger on the 502 , what kind of top speeds could I expect in a 27' Fountain . As is the boat is stock and can barely manage 68mph with a tailwind . It will hit 65 mph consistantly no matter the conditions .

My '94 27' had a 63 gal tank. That's a little bigger than a 12 gal. :) I agree it is too small.

The motor was an HP465 (502) with a BM250 blower. It'd run 83mph and was a blast to drive. W/O the blower installed, it was a 70-72MPH boat.

Sold the 27 and stepped up to my current 32. The 32 has bigger hatch pad and quite abit in the cabin. Cockpit is a hair bigger, but nothing to write home about. I think you'll appreciate the bigger cockpit in a 29 over your 27 though. The extra 1' space, is behind the bolster seats, where the extra room is really nice. My 32 will be for sale in the spring. I have no issues trailering it.

YEAH I WAS JOKING ABOUT THE 12 GALLONS. I had a 27 with an hp500. Wish they would have put a little bigger gas tank in it. It sucked bad.

I figured as much, hence the smiley. With the blower, I was always looking for gas.

Jamie's 29 scarab http://www.harrisonlakepokerrun.com/...hp?fn=big2.jpg
http://www.harrisonlakepokerrun.com/...hp?fn=big5.jpg

I 've got a Whipple on a efi 509" in my Scarab. Its making about 630hp. I still am working on propping and x-dim but as it sits it'll run 70 with a full boat( coolers and people) and 73+ witha light load. Like I said earlier, the Fountain will be faster with equal power but the Scarab is better than most when it gets rough. The Fountains are awsome boats, I have a buddy that has 1998 29' Fountain its got a nasty blown 540" in it and puttin the smack down on the smaller cats around here is a blast:evilb: I'm sure you've heard it a thousands times but its all in what your looking for. Good luck with the purchase.
Scott

:bsflag:

upper 70's
 

I was thinking the same thing , not!!!

Go ask the guys in the Scarab forum who own them. Don't take my word for it, don't just assume it's not correct - do your own research.

If that statement is not correct, I'll retract it. But, show me some data to the contrary. :drink:

I have a 1998 29' with twin 454's stock that runs mid 70's for sale. If you are planning on towing your boat anything over 30' becomes a pain in the arse and you have to have the right vehicle to tow it. That is why I wanted the 29' over the 35. Just my 2 cents........

That boat will run 77 GPS stock.

On its best days this is true. Powerboat Mag tested it for a best of 76.7 in 1996.

If the boat is now running Bravo drives in lieu of Blackhawks it will not likely run those speeds. The P-29s are about 700 lbs lighter than a convential 29 due to it being laid up with kevlar.

Nice

i have a very good friend that has a p29 and he runs 74.7 in freshwater no gas and just him.gps and radar verified

Look @ my AT 28 in the classifieds....a true offshore performer-twin sbs runs low 70's, Bravos and mint condition. Oh yeah; did I tell ya about the ride in the rough!!???j/k
I would love to keep tis boat, but a new baby has changed things and I will buy again in a few yrs. For now, New Moon must go-MAKE OFFER!!!

wide hull???huh-8' beam...