I apologize & misread his post the first time. I assumed when he mentioned the 292, that he was referring to the 292-SR1. I had forgotten that Formula built a newer version of the 292 with a FasTec bottom. Sorry about that.

no, no apologies needed at all. What I was getting at, in a very round about way, is you raised the great question as to what the heck we are talking about. I assumed one way, you assumed another, but either could be what the original poster is talking about... and there are major differences between the two

In a way that's a lot more boat than a 29 Formula.

Towing/Handling/Hauling/Budget.....

Hahaha, no kidding. I'm pretty confused myself at this point!

There are definitely HUGE differences between the two boats. I'd probably go for the Fountain if it's a Lightning. Formula builds a great quality boat, and the FasTec bottom runs really well, but the Fountain is just more of a "hard core" performance boat in my opinion. The Lightning's looks, & obviously stellar performance, make it the more appealing boat to me of THOSE two choices

I will have a clean 1988 ,33 Fountain for sale in the late winter to early spring. Already has up dated cockpit and cabin interior. Motors and drives will also be freshened . PM me for more info. Tom

You are correct, but not that much bigger than a 33 Fountain, so it's all relative.
Not knowing how much cash we're talking about or other factors, such as trailering and such, my .02 was just to jump right to the bigger boat and maybe save an additional upgrade in two years.
There's a lot of deals on boats out there now, it's definitely a buyers market.

In 97 I bought a 272 and within the year was sorry and by the end of that Summer it was up for sale and I had a 312 Formula, just sharing my experiences and the 312 only lasted three years until I ended up with the 353.

Agree there - I am glad I bought the biggest I could afford out of the gate because it has warded off 2ft-itis.... Of course that may not always be the most responsible decision depending on the person.

Haha, I did the same thing, and its a great time to do it- I was looking for a 30-33 footer, for about 20% more than i wanted to spend I got a 38 ZR that will take care of another purchase desire in 2 more years. My advice- look around, there is a lot more out there at some unbelievable $$

I did the 4 boats in 6 year thing from 96 to 2002 and that got old doing the paperwork, but I didn't get tired of the same boat.

24' Baja
27' Baja
312 Formula
353 Formula

Looking to go to a 42 Tiger soon, can't just sit around.

I really like my 292 FasTech. Small blocks are easier on the gas and with the twin stepped hull she will run right at 70 mph. Handles the rough really well being a heavy V with a 24° deadrise. We overnight in it a lot too. The 292 is kind of a mini-offshore rig and that works good for us!

I ordered it with hydraulic steering and added 280S K-Planes. Both upgrades I highly recommend.