Fountain or Baja is the question
 

Guys please help out here.. Any advice and input is greatly appreciated here.. Iam torn between what boat to purchase.. I am looking at a 2003 29 ft fountain fever with the 500 hp blue merc motor with 300 hours... Also i am looking at a 2008 26 ft Baja outlaw with the 496 HO motor with 50 hours... I am just wanting a family performance boat to go to the lake with... Just something to cruise up and down the lake and river in and maybe do some tubing and knee boarding behind... I would like to down the road to purchase some mods to increase speed on both boats a lil bit but nothing major:evilb::evilb:.. Im new to these types of boat so i dont know if these 2 boats are a fair comparison which is why im asking for input.. If you had the choice which of the 2 would you purchase.. Thanks and i look forward to everyones response here

the baja probably is a bigger boat with more useable space and less time on the motor.

By the info you have given I would lean towards the Baja. The 496ho with proper maintenance should last & perform well for a long time & is generally a turn key & go setup. The 500 blue merc as I read on these forums will need freshening up sooner or later if it hasnt been done already & with that many hrs there is usually something that the boat will need. If in doubt about anything get a survey done. Good luck, Randy

Thanks guys... very good input so far for me to take into consideration and Randy i was thinking the same thing as you about that 500.. Is the Baja 26 as big and roomy as the 29 even tho the fountain is longer in length.. I was told a 33 outlaw dwarfs a 35 fountain.. so are fountains typically smaller boats than bajas... Thanks again and Keep the comments coming please...

fountain, all beak jokes aside, adds a 'beak' (extended pointy bow) and the swim platiform into there overall measurement. This means you can subtract 3~4 feet from the length of one when comparing boat sizes. Fountains are also built weight conciously and with higher x-dimensions (drive height loosely translated) to get the most top speed possible. I believe that for tubing etc, you would want the lower X of a baja to help with planing under load as well as the added weight of the heavier baja to make the ride a little nicer.

Very interesting... I did not know that Phragle.. Thanks for the advice... Very well noted and taken into consideration...

I would agree with Phragle on all of the above, plus as a former Baja owner I would buy one again if I were looking just because of the performance & ride quality. Randy

I owned a 2006 25' Outlaw for a few years and the ride was excellent in 2-3' chop. Speed was decent with the 496HO. I topped out at about 69 with a labbed prop. The only complaint I had was that the cockpit was a bit cramped. Not sure if the Fountain has any more room or not?

If anything, the 26 Outlaw cockpit is roomier than the 29 Fountain.

The Hyundia Sante Fe has more room inside than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, doesn't make it a nice car

Something else you may want to consider, is the bottom and the ride. This diffference of cutting through a wave, flying straight, and landing like a pillow (vs) jumping out of the water with just a little wave. The fountain bottom is worlds over any of the Baja's. I have owned a 24, 29 and 36 outlaw.

The Baja's are roomier, but so are cruisers.


FYI everyone with a molded swim platform in the past 20 years counts it as LOA, this was not fountain's idea.....but a coast guard mandate! The Baja outlaw line does not count the platform because it is a bolt on, but that doesn't make that 26 ft a bigger boat.

And yes a 33 outlaw and 36 outlaw are bigger inside than a 35 fountain and 38 fountain ( My summer boating group has all) On the dock, with platforms the fountains are longer. On the water when it gets choppy no comparison, the fountains are just stable and walk the Baja's every time. Top speed....:D

There is a reason Reggie is a legend, and it is not cabin or cockpit space. That 29 will be faster than the 26 baja with the same power, and feel locked in, and handle waves and chop better.

And if you do want to mess around in the future like you mention, the 500 engine has good internals, the 496ho is a cast truck engine that may not be friendly to some of the mods you are considering.

Lastley do not let 300 hrs scare you. First, some believe that 250 hrs is the mark for valve springs (mainly on this site) however others will argue that....even on this site. If you ran that engine to 500 hr you would not be the first. Also you may want to have it scanned and check the hrs against the rpm to see how it was really ran. You may have 125 idle hrs.

Good luck