Hello fellow boaters,
I need some help in deciding on a boat and a recommendation on a boat manufacturer. I was a boater in my youth days (13 to 21yrs old). Now I am 40. I have been out of the boating world for almost twenty years. I have lost touch with the quality boat mfg's and the (stay away from ) boat mfg's. The Chicago boat show was here over the weekend. I viewed many boats but I need advice on selecting the best boat. I prefer a gofast boat (Donzi 38ZR or Fountain 38 LIghtning) but my wife is looking for a boat that we can entertain on (Formula 33 Sun Sport or 37 Super Sport). We saw Fountains 38 Express Cruiser. Does anyone know of a boat similar to the Fountain Express Cruiser that we should look at. I prefer speed and my wife wants comfort convinence.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Cant beat formula for resale and quality.
You might look at Sunseeker also for something thats a cross between speed and a cruiser.

get a new wife


I personally like Sea Ray

I personally like a 44 magnum for the best of both worlds...
i don't know why no one on these boards talks about them much, especially since it was one of Dons companies.
Could it be cuz a 44mag cost 4-5-6x as much as the other boats mentioned here?

Thank you for the recommendation. Very nice boat and very expensive. Any other ideas?

Does anyone have an opinion on the Fountain 38 Express Cruiser? Is this boat a gas hog? Can you even trailer the boat? Does anyone have a Formula 33SS or 37SS they can share their experience?

My folks had a 370ss that I used from time to time. It was an excellent boat all the way around. The boat would run 55mph consistently with 496's.

One of their best friends is on his 3rd 33 and keeps ordering a new one every year. Formula builds some of the best express cruisers for quality, style, and performance all in one.

The Fountain SC's are really cool as well. I've been on/partied on a few of them. All of them will burn up the gas.

Formula's are nice.
I kinda like the new Chris Crafts.
A 33 w/ 496s would move pretty good.



The 36 is nice too... talk about passenger capacity!

Did you look at the 343 Cobalt? I understand it runs nice with twin 525s. It is an interesting combination of decent speed and some cabin.

I like the Formulas the best... happy wife=happy life!

Where do you boat? How fast do you want to go? How big of a boat do you want? This might get a few more ideas to fit your needs.