Reggie speaks out
 

Reggie Fountain: “I’m glad they got it,” were the first words Reggie expressed regarding the event. He went on to say, “If I had to buy a vee-bottom today, I would buy it from Mike Fiore.”

Simply a classy response right there! I never owned a Fountain (looked at a 35 Executioner in 2004, met Reggie in person) but he is exactly what is missing in the go fast marketplace today......the passion for building fast boats and the respect for others that are building them when they hit milestones like this.

first class

Pure respect !!!!

It took a hell of a man to say what he did considering their past history . Very classy move !

I had a great conversation with Reggie Sr today.

You got that right Randy, "Pure respect"

Man I wish Fountain was still going, and building new boats.

Couldn't agree more, the industry needs a Reggie Fountain. Never owned a Fountain but sure have respect for what they did for the sport. Say what you want about the brand but they had one hell of a value proposition. Sure miss his competitive spirit at poker run and race events.

Always loved their tag line "race on Saturday so you can enjoy on Sunday" or something like that.

Can you imagine Reggie sitting in his back yard in his jump suit enjoying a cup of coffee watching his record get broken 10 F"n years later.....

+1

What the view would look like from his top floor:

http://sharkeyimages.zenfolio.com/im...88505992-4.jpg

Amazing speeds!

Just wondering, the article says the sv29 was running a 525 GM vortech motor. I thot it had a Merc 525? Not trying to start any debates but just something I noticed.

Wasn't the GM vortec engine in the previous record holder boat?

Makes you like Reggie even if you don't like the guy!

Great interview thanks for sharing!

Reggie Fountain left a huge, positive, impact on powerboating. He's a good man.

Now the king has a reason for a comeback !

They just accomplished what he did 10, count them, 10 years ago. This is just me but i don't think he has anything to prove.

Remember the last few years in the powerboat business wasn't great, no extra money laying around to break records with! OL has been building cutting edge stuff for years, if the record breaking cash was there they would have done this years ago. Look at what they have accomplished on the race course in the last 5 years!

Im not knocking OL. They're an awesome boat. I don't even own a Fountain. Id be interested to see the new 1650 qc4v technology in the Fountain though

Just wanted to save these nice quotes from a Cig owner...may need to bring this up down the road....:)

^^^ beat me to it

1 non super vee light racing super vee light and the 43 races Keywest every year and never makes the podium. Alot accomlished! I will agree boats looked great Tuesday morning.

FuK! You heartless bastards. Now I have to call the ASPCA! Who would ever think of killing a cat?

Never said he did , just would be great to see him and the boys at REAL FAST make another come back

I agree, but if they use an original fountain hull are they helping fountain or themselves?

I would like to see it done the RF marine 43 prototype we have seen renderings of :)

that would be bad azz

They could really mess with peoples minds by building a new fountain without a beak.

^^^:ban?:^^^

Btw your avatar is awesome! I hope you personally took it!

Noooooooo Shut your mouth with that talk :D

Good point & while I'm shooting my big mouth off anyway about what Reggie should do ..... I might as well throw in that him & the boys should just buy the Fountain name & the factory back also . The king is far from dead & although he is a first class act & what he has done done for the sport has spoken for itself in an incredibly positive way , I'm one of his biggest fans & thinking him sitting in his castle watching that go on in his back yard has gotta make the racer in him think twice about busting that record one more time !!!! No disrespect intended Mr. Fountain if yer listening & if you decide to sit on the castle porch and enjoy the show then I'm rooting for ya as I have done each race I saw you run ! Nobody can ever say you have something to prove that you haven't already written in the history books & just like Elvis the king of rock you earned the right to be the king of offshore . But there is sure a bunch of us fans behind you if you decide to whoop some ass one more time !!!!!! Long live da KING

Fountain did that a few years ago with their first SVL so it would "fit" the class.

You have to hand it to Reggie...He does nothing but watch an attempt funded by other peoples money, utters a few platitudes that cost him nothing, and gets more publicity and adulation from his "fan club" than the actual record breakers received. Next he will auction off his old bed sheets and you folks will enshrine them beside the Shroud of Turin.

Somewhere PT Barnum is pumping his fists.and laughing.

And some people can see right through this post..........

I hope so because I can't.

By the way, this isn't Reggie's fault...he didn't ask you all to kiss his feet ( or any other part of his anatomy for that matter).

Pretty sure Mike Fiore is both happy with the record and the fact Reggie said, "if I was looking to buy a vee bottom today, it would be from Mike Fiore!"

I also think your point is off base, if Reggie said something ugly he would have gotten even more press so obviously free press wasn't his intention. Imagine if he accused them of cheating, made a comment about the 10 years that have elapsed since the record, etc.

Was Reggie's Record actually broken ???


After a quick search, it appears Reggie's Record still stands as his record was not a "Special Event Sanction" :



"The legendary boat manufacturer, Reggie Fountain from Washington, North Carolina, took the throttles and equally legendary racer, Ben Robertson from Jacksonboro, South Carolina stood at the helm of a brand new Fountain as they set an equally new record for the APBA Offshore Performance Extreme Vee Class with their # PV-76 Fountain.


The team, who joined APBA Offshore at the event, brought their Pier 57 –Fountain/Mercury raceboat hit a home run with an overall average of 171.004 miles per hour, slamming out a blistering 176.553 miles per hour on the return run.


Under the A.P.B.A. – U.I.M. sanctioning rules, each boat must make two total runs, one coming from the start to finish and the other back. Speeds are then averaged based with an intricate scoring system that records the actual start and finish times as they cross the beginning and ending points of the Kilo course on each run. "

Source: http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/2097/1/

well going with speculation like that you could also speculate that if Reggie stayed competitive he would have set the bar much higher along the way and everyone would be still chasing his newer records :)


but you didn't hear it from me cause I aint one to gossip :)

Except Reggie's boats weren't changing even when he had money to spend. The 42 Lightning hull dates to the 90's, he altered the steps and finally in 2008/09 they re-did the cabin interior. The 42 Poker Run was about the most performance oriented boat he made in the last 10 years of him running the company and it was basically a sit down/no cabin 42. OL on the other hand has been non-stop with changes from whole boats, to quad step bottoms with all sorts of configurations (sit down, open bow, etc).

Maybe someone else can chime in on the exact timeline but I think the twin step 42 dates to about 1994/1995? If 94, that is a 20 year old design! To put that in perspective, it is about the same amount of time OL has been in business! OL's 37 Stilleto was a great boat but is long gone from production by 15 years? OL is constantly improving, Reggie was tweaking the 42 but you honestly can't say he was improving the design by much......

He didn't need to.