Foutain vs Formula
 

Not sure if this is even the right place to post this. I didn't want to post in Fountain or Formula spots for fear of any bias. Looking for a 27' performance boat with a single engine. Not twins ( not ready for the added cost of maintenance/fuel ) Which do you think is a better boat. Power being equal. Ride, handling, ease of use etc... I don't know all that much about the Fountain Fever 27, but I do like the look. I keep hearing that the Formula may be stern heavy. Is there a discerning difference between the two? Sorry if this has been covered. Thanks!!! P.S. Being a Formula owner I am aware of the fit and finish of Formula

2 completely different boats. Fountain is light, fast, and smaller. Formula is heavier, bigger, slower but has a better ride. Depends what's important to you. Resale is probably a wash

Agreed, the Formula will have more cockpit / cabin room also.

I have always like a Formula, just wish they would update their boats, maybe stagger the 38's. Same look for last 10 years.

If you are open to more options you could also look at the 28 zx. Roomy good speed and good ride. But not sure if it came in a single. I road in one before getting my 33. Not tryin to start anything just throwing out another option

I would like to stay single. Even though I'm married. Thanks...

X 2 per jbraun - Also if you wanna nice ride that handles the rough water look around for any single engine 28 saber. Extremely well built. Plus you get an honest 28' boat. Not trying to stir anything up as there are numerous options for you and from looking last night online I noticed there are a ton of boats on the market with very fair prices.

Not bashing the 27 fountain, but you might want to consider a 29 instead.. I have the 29 and they measured me at 26'10" of actual boat(minus beak and swim platform).. There are plenty of singles out there and they run great... The Formula is awesome as well.. You cant go wrong with either

My coworker was looking at the 27 fever but after researching it found the 29 hull is faster than the 27 hull he tells me and he wants the 525 if anyone knows of one

Which company is still in business....that should tell you something, :)

Have a look at both, I think you'll find the interior of the Fountain will seem tight compared to the Formula. Don't discount the 29 Fountain with a single, by most accounts, it performs as well as the 27 with the same power. (Personally, I'd include Sunsation on my short list too)

Both boats have a good following and pedigree, can't imagine either boat would disappoint.

Welcome to the forum!

RR

The sunsation is a grate boat. There is a lot of choices in the size you r looking at. Just keep an open mind and u will get all the info you need right here and then pic the best fit for you.

Pretty sure they did singles. When I was looking all of these were in my list. Don't forget formula counts the swim also so a 271 is a smaller boat also.

What I noticed was the Formula seemed to hold the width further forward making the cabin seem bigger. Like others I would look for a single 29 if going fountain.

All 3 seemed to have about the same quality material with formulas cabin being the nicest. Donzi ZX is big in each size comparably. (26ZX, 28ZX).

The one thing I did notice is that most fountains had mechanical trim tab indicators, Full gauges. Hydraulic steering , and nice trim tabs.
The formulas I looked at May or may not have hydraulic steering, and a lot had Bennet tabs.

To tell you the truth I wanted a a Donzi 33ZX but couldn't find a clean one in my price at the time. Like other have said lots in this size range, myself I went for the cleanest I could find. Looked at a couple SCARAB's and susation 288's as well.

Just another option, the Baja 272 is a good bang for the buck. If you're looking for speed- Fountian or best ride- Formula, which i think was already mention.

Many good options already mentioned, but one thing I would focus on isoverall condition. I'd strongly consider the best condition boat that you can afford out of the ones mentioned above.

Also if you could fill everyone in on a budget we would know better where you want to be. For me I wanted to say around 50 but to get what we wanted ended up at 60 and then put 20 into the motors.

I use to think so too, but when buying used, I don't value this much anymore.

2nd. owners don't get much warranty help anyway, and most of the builders still in business have changed hands once or twice so even many origional owners are left out as well.

If the point of the post was to indicate which boat was well liked and sold enough boats to stay in business ? Well Fountain is not dead because they didn't sell any boats or were not well liked.

Now if you happen to be looking for a 2 year old boat, well then your choices are narrowed.

Go with a Formula but a great option for a bullet proof, true 27' boat is this Progression. Its in NYS and will out perform a 27 Formula or 27 Fountain with equal power.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...on-o64546.html

Good luck.

The Fountain and the Formula are great boats and quite different too.

Fountain,.... perfect boat for the guy looking for something a little lighter... wants some performance out on the water with his buddies and a couple of strippers!

Formula..... perfect boat for the Dad taking his wife and 2 kids for a spirited ride and wants some extra luxury yet still looks looks totally cool and appears to be traveling fast on the water!

LOL, appears to be traveling fast :drink:

The 29' Fountain with 525 is a great boat - and likely fastest and most efficient in it's class.

Sorry..........I disagree. Factory support for a "2nd" Fountain owner is non existent, and a "2nd" Formula owner..........well the factory it has all records, build specs and normally spare parts or solutions for repairs. :D:D

So......"Well Fountain is not dead because they didn't sell any boats or were not well liked." I guess they sold so many boats that they went out of business?

Sure and Formula will likely also totally restore your boat if you bring it to them. But do you use that support. Don't you just gets the local marina to work on or update your old boat or better still one of the better shops that are well known for doing repairs/restorations/updates?

I'm not a Fountain guy, I don't know or care who sold more boats Fountain or Formula but I know there are tons of Fountains out there and their owners like them for a number of good reasons, Further the boats complete construction is well known enough that you don't need factory support to repair one.

Fountain factory is still in business and still has all the records. Parts can still be ordered through them. Happens all the time. Also another thing is everyone says fountains are light. I'd love to see data on this as they aren't as light as some of you make them out to be.

On another note fountain actually glasses the deck and hull. Formula doesn't. Screws, thru bolts every 4th or so and "caulk" or plexus. Fountain is a much better riding hull and I've owned a formula and only ridden in fountains.

nonsense,a good strong bond between deck and hull is overrated,lol

I do not know your budget, but you can get a Nice 271 Sr1 (pre Fastech stepped hull) for a good price.

My Formula 271 93 uppgraded with a 2009 496 HO so far 61 mph, I am sure there are a couple of mph more to gain when
I got BBlades to dial in my prop. If you can live with 63 - 65 mph top speed go for the 271 ;-)

If you buy a 271 Fastech with a Merc 525 does 72 gps mph

Fountain will be faster even the 29 with 525 out run the Formula, so if speed is your priority no 1, go with the beak ;-)

If you want a real boat. 28 PANTERA. theres a nice black one in the OSO classifieds

Ps Mine is not for sale, happy owner and would stick with this boat for a while ;-) ;-)

I was in the same situation . I limited myself to a Fountain or Formula 27. I found a dealer that had both side by side and compared . The Formula is a much larger boat. The outside cockpit size of a 27 Fountain is ridiculously small. If you have any size to you, getting behind the wheel is tight. A 27 fountain was out of the question. The Formula 271 is equal to the size of a 29 Fountain actually may be slightly larger. If you are actually going to use your boat get the Formula or 29 Fountain. A big plus for the Formula is that the only thing that is wood in the boat is the transom. Fountain is all wood construction. A fountain is roughly 3-4 miles per hour faster with the same power. Not a big deal. I don't know what you are looking to spend but I am thinking of selling my Formula Fastech 27. It is a true 85mph boat full of fuel and passengers (715hp). Boat is beyond mint condition with a bunch of custom stuff. Send me a PM if interested. Jeff Wurl

Formula customer service is fantastic.

Get the one that makes you smile the most :)

aaahhhh sorry,I dont blame you for sticking up for the brand you own but keep it real,,Fountain did foam core their boats,(depending on model years),and your 3-4 MPH faster statement is silly!!!
does Formula use a rubber ruler to measure the length of their boats? 27 feet when measured from tip to tip is 27 feet on any boat,swim plat form is included in length in both,so the cock pit is bigger on the Formula but the nose/deck is longer on the Fountain, neither one is going to be a wave crusher,

as far as customer service goes,both company's will answer the phone if you call, and will be more than happy to take your money.

so the answer to the OP questionis ,buy the one you like and go have fun with it.

Both boats have their merits and faults. What bullet points are important to you and the people that will be on the boat the most? Speed, overnight, cockpit seating, stowage of gear, materials used to build the boat...? What trailers are under them also will make your ownership smooth or a PIA. YOU must compare them back to back with no prejudice and it will be easy to make a decision.

I boat nearly ever weekend with my two buddies with 27 fountains . One is a 99 with a 500 carb and the other is a 2002 with a 496. I know exactly the speeds and size. I have no brand loyalty to either one. I just state honest facts . I know I could get 69 gps out of a box stock 502 mag fastech with a 28 pitch labbed prop. My buddies 99 fountain runs 73 . 27 fountain hold like 65 gallons of fuel and the formula holds 110 gallons . Jeff Wurl

Just to make things clear when I am referring to size I am talking about USABLE SPACE not the length of the boat . Jeff Wurl

Great set up and numbers you have :-)
According to your statement, I should be able to tweak som more speed out of mine. The 61 mph is with stock 24 bravo1 and Bravo1 XR Drive 1.5 :-) please tell me how :-)

27,1 feet ;-)

When I switched to xr drive I lost 5 mph and also had to switch to the 24 pitch prop. The straight cut gears and the 1.50 ratio hurts with that little power. The original 502 Mag set up has a 1.65 ratio drive. Best I could do was around 64 gps with the stock power and xr drive . I now have a 713 hp Holley efi 540 engine and lots of other stuff . Took 650 hp to get the boat over 80 on gps . This is also a fastech with stepped hull not a straight bottom 271 . Jeff Wurl

jwurl - I wish I had known you when I was looking to buy a new Fastec 271. Maybe I would have a different boat now. From the research I did and the dealer I talked to
as well as the printouts of boat test I have your top speed numbers are much higher than anything I have even seen. Even with an HP525 the 271 was going to be
slower than I am already going with a stock 502 MPI in my Cobalt. This really swayed my decision.

There are plenty of posts on here about fastech 271 speeds. Almost everyone on here gets a least 65 with the stock 26p prop with any of the stock big blocks with the 1.65 drive. Jeff Wurl

yep,I would thing that is why its called a 271;-)