Looking at purchasing either a 33 or 35 Baja or a 35 or 38 Fountain. How do they compare and what is the best boat?

I think I prefer one with 496's. The boat will be mainly used to run at a decent cruise speed.

Cockpit and cabin the Baja will be bigger. Fountain for speed and resale.IMO

Baja's will have way more useable room, so keep that in mind if you have a family or a lot of friends. The Baja's have a nice ride, but will be slower than comparable boats same size. The Fountains are faster, but no room. I have a 36 Outlaw and would love a 38 Cig, but then I remember how much we love the huge cockpit we have and how many people we can have on board ans still have room to move around.

There are always trade offs !!!

Good Luck

Two entirely different build qualities, and prices to match. Fountian is better built, but Baja is well built. Just need to find what fits your needs best.

The 33 and 35 outlaw are known to be the best hulls Baja made. They are VERY good boat. Tons of room. Great ride and handling. Plenty fast. Great looking. More modern style compared to the same year fountain.

Now a 42 fountain will satisfy you nut the 35 and 38 will make you wisj you had more.

The 33 and 35 (35ft and 38ft overall) will easily satisfy you especially at cruise speed.

Enjoy

The Baja cockpit and cabin are way bigger in the same size boat. Fountain is faster due to layup, size of freeboard, and length of running surface(it's alot smaller). The resale of a fountain isn't any better than a Baja anymore due to the flooded market of fountains for sale (just look at the classified section and compare same year and sizes). If your not into top end speed IMO Baja.

Agreed, there used to be a SIGNIFICANT difference in price between Bajas and comparable Fountains, now, the gap has closed up and in some cases the Fountains are actually cheaper.

Another difference is the Baja is a straight hull and the Fountain is stepped, which will be faster, but, sometimes a little more difficult to drive.

KUDOS! To ALL posters on this thread, it was Pleasant surprise to open this thread and NOT read a bunch of BS posts like: "Baja sucks" or "fountains are over rated" etc.

No wonder I love this site (-:

It's only had 7 posts, just wait.

what he said!!

I owned a 2005 33 Outlaw for almost two years, and replaced it with a 2005 42 Fountain in 2006. Both were one year used when purchased and had been extremely well cared for and in top condition.

We still have the Fountain.

My experience:

33 Baja Twin 496 HO
Cost 3/4 of the Fountain. Sold for 10% less than purchase.
Good ride. A little unsteady at high speed and passengers noticed this. Stable in turns. Could not get "on top" of rougher water (2'-3' chop).
Great looking boat with fine graphics.
Top speed 72 with labbed 28 Bravo 1's.
Planes easily even when loaded. Very easy to dock.
Huge cockpit. Excellent storage.
NO anchor locker.
Fair quality vinyl and fair comfortable seats. Cabin seats UNcomfortable.
496's no problems at all in 150hrs. Changed oil every 25 hrs with Merc 25W-40. Trim/tilt cylinder failed at 100hrs.
Overall build quality, fit and finish: Fair to good.
The optional "premium" Polk/MOMO stereo was wired wrong from the factory and I had to fix it.
Final Comment -GREAT beginner twin boat.


42 Fountain Twin 525
Excellent, stable, predictable, confidence-inducing ride. Turns great. Gets "on top" of rougher water (2'-3' chop) and feels "hooked up" and ride smooths out. Passengers do not seem concerned.
Great looking boat with fine graphics.
Top speed 87 with non-labbed 28 Maximus'.
Planes fair when loaded. More difficult docking with closely spaced staggered engines.
Large cockpit. Good storage.
Nice anchor locker. Enough space for an additional 10" dia. fender.
Good quality vinyl and comfortable seats. Cabin seats very nice.
525's no problems at all in 350hrs. Changed oil every 25 hrs with Merc 25W-40. No mechanical failures of any kind so far.
Overall build quality, fit and finish: Excellent.
Final Comment -GREAT intermediate twin boat