Tell me about 32' Fountains (the good and bad)
 

Other than the bad of "well it's a fountain" or the good of "hey, it's a fountain" what can you tell me.

I will be the first to say i am not a big Fountain fan but one has came up that would be dumb for me not too look at being it's just a short drive away from where I will already be this weekend and priced low compaired to other 32' Fountains of it's same year and power.

It's a 2000
Single step
twin 502's (rebuilt with sheets)
Bravo 1's (rebuilt with sheets)

What's the pros and cons of this boat.

At a glance to me......The Bad

*They seem short for a 32 when sitting in the water

* HATE that the water line covers the exhaust and I know it has tunnels for it but I have to think that will really muffle the sound and i really don't like that idea one bit.

* The cockpit seems very small too from looking at them (I have never been on one though)

* Never a fan of the left handed controls.


The Good

Fast haul that for a 32' will be one of the quickest I find for all factory power just about

Light so easy to tow with little worry as i have ZERO plans to upgrade my truck.

Nice berth layout and lines on the boat.


What else can you tell me. I was told buy the guy I would be using for a survey to look for stress cracks near the step as some were built with short stringers in that year/era....anything else.

The stern of the 32's sit so low in the water that if you own the boat for 10 years probably 400 people will tell you that your boat is taking on water. Because it sits so low in the water some of the 32's actually do take on water thru the vents - and via the rub rail.

The engines are really tight - hard to work on.

Other than that it's a great boat but soon you will wish you had bought a 35 - which is a much better boat and is just as fast with the same power.

Nate-

A friend of mine had one here in Cape Coral and spent many hours on the boat and next to him. Boat ran well, took the waves nice would make a good all around boat.

Don

my friend has a 32. nice boat. supposedly the 35's are faster hulls than 32's same power kinda like 29 singles are faster than 27's. his sits really low in the back and if your standing behind it or sitting on the platform the slightest ripple in the water makes the platform splash in your face cus of the air escaping. other than that he loves his boat. runs nice. handles nice. a little small in the cockpit tho compared to other boats

lol at that first part....just from the looks I can see that already.

I had heard of the "taking on water issue" but thought it was mostly reserved to the 29 with twins.

As far as a 35' goes.....while i would love the idea. I have things I want/don't want and when I get into that size boat at my price I am only at early 90's with a lot of things I just wont/cant have. Every 1998+ years boat is about $10k more than I am willing to spend at this time.

Ya it would be a Gulf boat so the handling would be a factor. The small cockpit has me worried though.

The other boat that is actually less than 10min away is the 32 Hustler I posted a while back that appears to have a much large water stance and bigger cockpit area.

Have to narrow it down though. Don't feel like paying for 2 $1000+ surveys lol.

I have a 32 that has been docked in a marina for a number of years. I have a sign I leave in the side window saying " If the swim platform is above water it's not sinking". The marina staff knows the drill and tells me about all the concerned people reporting my boat sinking.
My only fear is one day it could be sinking and no one will report it.
ed

32 active thunder is another option. the 32 fountain is a small boat. my 28 pantera was a way bigger boat than my friends 32 fountain when you line up the transoms. his fountain was faster by 2-3 mph but my pantera took the rough water better with the same power(502/415hp). his is a straight bottom 32

I would much rather have the hustler, especially if I were boating in the ocean.

Nate i haven't owned either boat but came very close to pulling the trigger on a 32 Hustler. For the same money the Hustler is a bigger boat ( no integrated swim platform, or beak ) and I believe it has a bigger cockpit. They are both well made , the Foutain with same power would be faster. But as an all around ocean boat to be enjoyed with family and friends I think the hustler would probably better suit your needs.