I've been off the grid here for awhile, sold my 10 Meter a couple years ago after my daughter was born because we were spending a lot more time at beaches than bars...for some reason. The 10M wasn't very practical. Always liked the idea of the 38EC but had no idea if/how I would ever have one. I don't have the mental capacity to cruise at 20 knots in a normal cruiser, so wasn't sure what my boating future would hold...

Well a 2006 Express Cruiser showed up locally with some really nice options, low hours, some new equipment, good price, dry transom.

So here we are. I have a few questions for those familiar with these boats:

The first is the anchor. We had already committed to it before I read here that the anchor sucks. One of the requirements of a new boat was that it had to have remote windlass control from the helm so my wife doesn't have to deal with the anchor. So how bad is it? Does it drag in high winds, not hook on certain bottom types, never set all all...? We will be anchoring a lot and I need to trust that it will stay, so if it's really that terrible I'll need to figure something out. Windlass is a must. I've seen some new Formulas with a through-the-hull anchor like the EC, I wonder if these work better...? Curious what makes this anchor so bad and if anyone has been able to make it work.

2nd question (for now) is the gold in the cabin. It's tacky as hell. Does anyone know where to source new hardware for the cabin? Specifically the cabinet knobs, lights, and flush-mount light bezels. Maybe faucets...? Thanks

One more thing..... The boat has some stress cracks here and there, more than I expected. Is that typical? Has 187 hours and I really don't think it has been abused, but I hammered my 10 Meter and it didn't have any to speak of. Surveyor didn't seem too concerned about them, they seem to be cosmetic only. Im not sure what to think about them.

I had a 38 ec and it was a great boat cruise at 40 mph all day long in 4 footers with little kids on the boat comfortably , top out about 58 to 60 mph .
Yes the anchor that comes on the boat look's nice but dragged, I had to use a dan forth style

Welcome to the club. I have an 06 with 496's. Love the boat. Yes, the anchor is/was a challenge. I tried sharpening the edge, but had a really hard time getting it set. Once set, it worked well. I ended up installing a anchor holder for a Danforth over the stock anchor assembly. Been using the Danforth for about 6 years now. I replaced all the "gold" with silver, glass door hinges, door handle, outlet plates, push button door locks, lights, etc. Wife hated the gold. Found everything on-line or on e-bay and it actually wasn't that expensive to do. We also replaced the comforters with "non-gold" ones. I'll try and get you all the companies, next week. Taking it to southwest florida for thanksgiving week. You will enjoy the boat. I also recently replaced my bravo 3's with bravo 1's and five blade maximus props. One of my uppers crapped out and split the case when the gears went. The bravo 3's are hard on the upper gears as the props are solid hubs. Also, my thinking is the number of props puts a lot of stress on the upper gears. Boat runs the same, but is a little harder to dock.

As far as stress cracks, I have a few small ones under the windshield on the port side. I also have some spider cracking on the inner side of the dash, adjacent to the cabin door, but that's kind of non-structural IMHO. I would look to the type of anchor that formula uses. It may not be flush with your hull, but should fit with a little modification to the anchor holder in the anchor locker. I though about welding the pivot on mine, but doubt that will make a difference. I anchor and wife drives when anchoring.

38fountainecman, I was hoping you would speak up, I've read a lot of your posts before buying the boat. I'm going to look into Formula's anchors I guess. I was hoping some people would speak up and say "no the anchor is fine most of the time, carry a spare just in case." But it seems like they pretty much don't work at all.

I will look into the cabin hardware when I get a minute, it would be cool to see yours so I can show my wife that the gold isn't the end of the world. It definitely took some of the appeal out of the boat for her. If you have any pics and wouldn't mind, post them here or send to [email protected]

This boat has new X3s on it, so hopefully won't need to worry about them for awhile. I'm pretty pumped about the options on this boat, it has bow thruster, new generator, auto pilot, dual screen Simrad radar/nav, teak inside and out, extended platform etc.

Thanks for the input

10M Will definitely send you some pics of the cabin. I also have a couple of other modifications I'll include that may make stowing the camper canvas and isinglass easier. You will definitely enjoy the bow thruster. That is one option I wish I had. Maybe a project for next year. We have the teak and holly floor inside, need to upgrade the cockpit floor for sure. I'll be in touch with some of the web-sites that have the chrome interior hardware. I'm actually replacing my exhaust manifolds after 10 years, that's right, 10 years of service. Had an exhaust leak on the port inside manifold due to corrosion and decided to replace all four. Figured I got my good out of the exhaust system. The risers are stainless, so they don't need replacing yet.

Awesome thank you! Looking forward to seeing your stuff, I was curious about where to stow the camper canvas. I plan on just using the roof most days, but wasn't sure what do about storing the rest in case of bad weather.

On the anchor topic... I have seen some of the Formula SS (the 40SS and newer FX models) with an anchor very similar to ours, except it has different wings..it might be a standard Bruce/Claw... It comes out of the front of the bow like the EC and nests on a stainless plate just like ours. Was wondering if one of these could be substituted? I haven't read about any Formula anchor problems, so I'm assuming it works better than the Fountain one. I'd like to find one of those boats locally and check it out. The anchor situation is definitely going to need to be addressed, i'm hoping I might be able to make one of these work with the stock location and windlass.
I have also seen some smaller Formulas and a Cobalt that have the same anchor location (out the front, not on top) and they use a delta-type anchor with a little perch welded on the front for it to rest against. Not as clean looking as the EC/SS method, but would be worth it for me to make something like that if it solved the problem.

Congrats on the new Fountain Craig ! Glad you got back on the water. I miss going shopping at Hunters with Paul, always fun visiting you guys.

Thanks Kevin. I saw your boat for sale, what are you up to this time?? Sold your sled I assume?