First Fountain Dual Console Delivers Performance And Aesthetics – Speed on the Water
A Fountain Powerboats man from the earliest days of the Washington, N.C., company, Jeff Harris knows Fountain history. That’s because Harris, the current chief of operating officer of the high-performance center console and sportboat builder, was there for much of it. From the earliest days, he worked alongside company founder Reggie Fountain, Jr. He saw many of the highs and even a few of the lows.
The 39DX isn’t just Fountain’s first dual-console—it’s a true performance oriented dual console. Photos by Mark Spencer copyright Fountain Powerboats.
“Fountain has a long history of trend-setting,” said Harris in reference to the 39DX—the company’s first dual-console model—which will debut for the public next week at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. “In 2000, Fountain created the first world-class, high-performance offshore tournament fishing center console with triple outboards on the transom. It literally ran circles around everything else.
“Nobody has done a true high-performance dual-console boat,” he added. “Until now.”
For the uninitiated, a dual-console is a hybrid of sorts. Blend a bowrider that has a walk-through between two consoles with a traditional center console and you have a dual-console.
The layout is far from new. Builders from Grady-White to Robalo have offered dual-console models for decades. But the have leaned more toward utilitarian and functional rather than spirited and sporty.
Fountain has not abandoned dual-console utility with its 39-footer, Harris emphasized, far from it in fact. The company has simply injected performance and style into the equation.
“Our buyer is that Mid-Atlantic customer, say from Jacksonville, Fla., to Baltimore, Md., who wants to boat year-round,” Harris said. “A center console in the winter there doesn’t make for a fun boating day because there’s no place you can truly get out of the elements. With a dual-console, you have easy access to the open-bow area but you can close that off completely. The glass in the 39DX goes all the way to the top and you can completely close off the cockpit. One console holds a complete cabin, the other holds a complete head locker. The cockpit even has as 16,000 BTU heat and air-conditioning system.
“We’re not looking for the ‘ultimate speed’ with it either—it’s designed to be a family boat,” he continued. “With triple Mercury Marine 400 Verado outboards you can cruise at 44 mph and get one mile per gallon. That means you can go darn near 380 miles on a tank of gas.”
Enjoy more images of the new Fountain 39DX.
But the 39DX is no slouch either. The boat tops 70 mph with the aforementioned power.
“That’s a lot of speed for that big of a boat with that power,” Harris said.
The 39-foot, stepped-hull model also will be offered with everything from triple Mercury Racing V-8 300R outboards, V-10 400R outboards and even V-8 500R outboards. One buyer, in fact, has already ordered a 39DX with a triple 500R propulsion package.
Harris asked the customer if he really “wanted to go that fast.” It was a reasonable question.
“He told me, ‘No, not at all, I just to hear what people say when I pull up to the dock with 1,500 hp on the transom,’” Harris recalled, then chuckled.
Fountain spent two years developing the 39DX, which is available with several seating configurations. The boat’s hard-top has a power sunroof and its “glass goes all the way to the top,” Harris said. Fountain will offer the same range of customization for the dual-console performers and it does for all of its models.
He described boat’s exterior styling right out of the factory as “second to none.”
“Our list of options is voluminous,” he said. “”Fountain offers a level of customization that you simply cannot get from any other major builder. And from the right-sized cabin to the C-Zone switching system at the helm, our designers did a remarkable job.”
Harris paused, then smiled.
“Just this morning, a customer who owns one of our center consoles called me,” he said, then chuckled. “He said, ‘Dude, if that thing is under a million dollars, I want one.’”
And just like that, some four days before its unveiling next week in Fort Lauderdale, another 39DX is sold.
Night or day, the 39DX is a dual-console beauty.
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