Cig-Fountain-Apache
 

Honestly, not trying to start a rumble, just trying to get a little educated before the purchase. I've read volumes about the veracity of Cigarette and Apache in the rough stuff....and the speed of Fountain hulls.....however, I haven't seen much about how well Fountains handle rough water. Any imput about how well Fountains can play in rough water along side the other two?

Tick...tick... tick... :D

Oh boy what a can of worms this is going to turn into but what the hell here it goes.

I have sold all 3 brands for years

Fountain definitely faster of the 3 but take it out in the rough you better bring some tools with you to tighten up the fluff in the cabin. It rides a little rougher due to the pad and 23 degree dead rise. I personally liked the quality of the product in the late eighties and upto the mid nineties. Since then it really has become more of a production line boat and some of the QA may have slipped a bit but still alot of bang for the buck. On a lake they will perform very, very good take them out into 6' + stuff and you will definitely feel the difference it also has a lot less freeboard than the other two.

Apache.....enough said I am very partial to them.

Cigarette....enough said great boats watch the TS in the turns.

Sean

Ok I am ready for the onslaught I have my battle gear on ( rain slickers ) for the sh** that is about to come. Sorry bros I still think the F-Boat is great!!!!!

Apache--well built,very heavy,need lots of power to move,that's why they are great in rough water-WEIGHT!!

Cigarette--great in rough water,not that heavy but still needs good power or go to stepped-bottom for speed but you may loss it in the rough water

Fountain--stepped-bottom great in calm water and fast,but not the first choice in rough water

i too have sold all three boats since the mid 80's
i agree with sean 100 per cent. and just to add
i like the older non stepped cigs the best. he is
right about the high speed turns. i think the
quality was better pre 2001. powerplay is a
good boat as well and is in that league.:cool:

I have a 33 Donzi center console and it rides very well i 4 footers....I am looking to move to a different category boat and considering the three in 38-41 length. I do not read much about durability of the Fountain or how it handle rough stuff. Just looking to get informed.

donz i will stop by say hi next week.

cya lucy..........

lookin' forward to it lucy, also waiting to see who shows up on the 15th!

Sometimes a rumble can be started without trying. For real, it's a vast subject but I think Fountains handle the rough stuff admirably well. This sort of thread was discussed hundreds of times on OSO and it always resulted in pretty much the same conclusion: every boat is a compromise in some way. So maybe a Fountain is more speed-oriented, a bit lighter and with more aggressive hull design parameters than the other two which means that in exchange it has to be a bit less comfy in the rough stuff. But from my experience, I can tell you that we're far from being able to say that a Fountain is all speed and no rough water handling. It is perfectly capable in the rough. And if you want my opinion, I think that a Fountain will be just as capable as the other two and that the difference will be in terms of how the boat "feels" in the rough. And we all know that this "feeling" is a very subjective thing. The best advice anybody can give is to go and test all three manufacturers' products and judge whose "feeling" and dynamic behaviour you really like. However, I feel that an important point is linked to your question: never test a boat in flat water conditions, that will not tell you much at all.