I bought a 42 Fountain Lightning

[45calibur]

I recently bought a 42 Lightning , it was a very clean fresh water boat with low hours (at least that's what they led me to believe)

it has some stripes on the hull that I don't like and I will be removing them over the winter

it also has some stripes on the interior that I hate but I already have that being addressed

I haven't been on this site in a while but I figured I would come back and chat about boats

 

[45calibur]

I already started having the interior re-done


before and after sunpad , from stripes to all white

 

[45calibur]

.


getting rid of that ugly purplish color

 

[45calibur]

the interior and the hull will be all white for spring , 100% white , all white err thang

 

[fund razor]

Sweet. Congrats!

 

[Ratickle]

Cool, what power and drives?

 

[old377guy]

Nice boat - congrats!

 

[fund razor]

I'm not a fan of the style and weight distribution/attitude of the shorter Fountains, but when you take that design out to 42 feet, it really works.

 

[45calibur]

Cool, what power and drives?

it has very WEAK engines and drives

it isn't fast by any stretch of the imagination , it just touches 80

it has stock 502 carbureted blue motors and bravo one drives , probably the weakest package available

my last boat was a 45 Excalibur that barely broke 50 so having a boat that barely breaks 80 isn't so bad for me

 

[45calibur]

.

it has a nice comfy useable cabin that I have "used" a bunch of times already

 

[45calibur]

I'm not a fan of the style and weight distribution/attitude of the shorter Fountains, but when you take that design out to 42 feet, it really works.

it might not be a great boat but it is a good boat

I only had the boat since the weekend before labor day but I managed to put over 50 hours on it

the boat isn't fast but it handles ruff water nicely

I do a lot of runs where I go out of one inlet into the ocean and go about 10 or 15 miles to the next inlet and it rips over sloppy 4 to 5 foot mess varying speed from 50 to 75 + like nothing

it also runs over nasty wind blown bay chop mixed with boat wakes with ease

its a good boat IMHO

 

[Ratickle]

It should be a really good boat. I believe the 42 and the 35 were the two best Fountains built.

It must seem a tad bit shallow after your Excalibur....

 

[cdail28590]

80 mph seems like a nice number with 2 reliable 502 500hp motors. I know everyone is used to hearing 150 mph cat speeds and 100-120 mph v hull speeds but 80 is still plenty fast especially in the wave conditions you are describing.

 

[Buoy]

80 mph seems like a nice number with 2 reliable 502 500hp motors. I know everyone is used to hearing 150 mph cat speeds and 100-120 mph v hull speeds but 80 is still plenty fast especially in the wave conditions you are describing.

I agree.
I really think the "100+" club in a pleasure boat is a bit much.
There is only a percentage of drivers that know how to SAFELY operate a boat at those speeds.

 

[Ratickle]

I kind of see your point, but I have this unwritten "Man" rule that says you have to own a car that goes over 200 and a boat that goes over 100 sometime in your life. Preferably both at the same time.....

 

[45calibur]

It must seem a tad bit shallow after your Excalibur....

it is definitely a step down , my last boat had 2 bedrooms and a full shower and I could stay on it for days , but after having it for 5 years its a nice change to have this fountain

I plan on keeping it for at least 5 years

 

[45calibur]

80 mph seems like a nice number with 2 reliable 502 500hp motors. I know everyone is used to hearing 150 mph cat speeds and 100-120 mph v hull speeds but 80 is still plenty fast especially in the wave conditions you are describing.

when I was shopping I came across much faster 42's for good prices but this boat is easy to insure and I want reliability , the season is too short here in NY to be waiting for repairs all of the time

 

[45calibur]

I kind of see your point, but I have this unwritten "Man" rule that says you have to own a car that goes over 200 and a boat that goes over 100 sometime in your life. Preferably both at the same time.....

also a lot of people have things just as a status and never even use it to its potential , I use my stuff and I get real used to it quickly and would want more no matter what , so I don't worry about it too much and try to make the best of it

a few boats ago I had a 23 cougar cat that ran 115 on gps but after a few rides I was used to that speed and it was boring , if a boat goes 60 , 100 or 160 I am going to get used to it and get bored with it pretty quickly anyway , its all a matter of perception

more speed would be great but you gotta go with what works for you , price , reliability , able to insure it etc etc

whatever power my fountain could have I would get used to it and be bored with it very quickly lol

I had a turbo hayabusa that pulled from 60 mph to 200 mph so quickly that it makes any pleasure boat feel boring to me , I can usually get more thrill running my 300 hp jetski into the wind over a close 2 foot bay chop than any boat I have been in

basically what I am saying is , yes I get bored riding this boat at cruising speeds varying from 50 to 70 mph the whole time but even if I could cruise it at 100 , I would be used to that speed/feel so fast that it would be boring too

 

[Ratickle]

Of all our current boats, the 24 is definitely the most fun, even though it only goes in the low 80's. If that 115 mph cat had been a 23' Vee, you'd not have gotten bored. I'll modify my car rule to include bikes. When I used to race bikes, I had a KZ 1100 with a 1300 kit, kerker exhaust, 42's, etc. 184 was the best I saw on it, but that was in 1981. Killer bike for back then. Lost too many friends, got out of bikes. Had the vette modified to go over 200, it shifts into 4th over at 167 and pulls hard, but I've never pushed it past that (173 is what it hits when you lift immediately after the shift). I'm positive it will hit the 200, but that's not the point.

I think a 70mph cruise in a comfortable boat like your 42 is the perfect answer. You can actually relax and have fun, but get everywhere as fast as if you were in your car.

Your jetski has to be a blast. Our XP's used to be a blast when we lived on Gun Lake, but when we moved over to the big lake we sold them.

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get bored in a 160mph boat though, unless it was a mystic or something else over 50'.

 

[45calibur]

I feel like the smaller boats are more fun anyway

I am goanna buy a small hydrostream or stv or something similar soon and make it run over 100 just to blast around on a few times a week and get the speed trill and not spend too much on gas