Fountain 47 Lightning Reborn At Waves And Wheels – Speed on the Water
The annual Waves And Wheels End-Of-Summer Fun Run at the Lake of the Ozarks is casual by design. Justin Wagner, the owner of Osage Beach, Mo., company—a full-service renovation outfit, custom stereo builder and Doug Wright Designs catamaran dealer—organizes and sponsors the event after the crowds are long gone from the popular waterway.
Thanks to the team at Waves And Wheels, this 17-year-old Fountain Lightning looks like a brand new boat.
And that was how Wagner and company came to reinvent a 2006 model-year 47 Lightning V-bottom powered by a pair of Sterling Performance engines in the 1,200-hp range. The owner hauled the boat across the country from to participate in the 2022 Waves and Wheels happening. It was the beginning of what would become a deep friendship between Wagner and his client.
When the weekend was finished, the customer headed home minus his boat.
“I think he had heard about the work we do through Speed On The Water website and our social media,” Wagner explained. “The boat had stock Sterlings and low operating hours, maybe 50 or so 60 hours. Nothing had been done to it and Jared was ready to have it updated.”
Before—client’s 47-footer in 2022.
Wagner and his crew came up with a simple plan—gut the 47-footer from stem to stern, inside and out, and bring it into modern era of high-performance. The team stripped off the boat’s, tore out its exterior and went to work.
Also based in Osage Beach, the Graphics 1 graphics shop Wagner co-owns with Maryland Offshore Performance Marine Center principal Andy Imhoff handled the paint work.
“We put together a nice rendering and design, did a few minor fiberglass repairs and went to work painting it,” said Wagner. “Tony Buechter, our paint shop manager, and painters Mark Jordan and Cale Jones did an amazing job. They painted all the brackets and trim in the engine compartment. They even painted the hull silver.
“They also painted the trailer to match the boat,” he added.
After— client’s 47-footer today.
Waves And Wheels also swapped out the 47-footer’s external and internal hardware such as its original grab handles, and had the windshield frame stripped and re-powder-coat coated. For cleats, they went with modern products from Shaun Torrente Racing. They installed a new LED lighting system in the cockpit as was as underwater lights.
“The owner didn’t want us to change the basic interior layout, but we did add a couple of rear-facing seats with coolers underneath them when we completely reupholstered it,” Wagner explained. “We got rid of all the ‘old’ accents at the dash like the compass and converted gauges from analog to digital. We also installed a really nice Bluave sound system.
At present, the engines are being converted for E-90 fuel use at Sterling Performance headquarters in Milford, Mich. New horsepower numbers are not yet available.
Wagner joking calls the client his “cousin from New England.”
“The last time he came out, he brought us four coolers of lobster,” he said. “He’s just an awesome, awesome customer. We talked a lot that night shucking lobster meet and drinking beer till 2 a.m. and became great friends.
“He’s planning on coming to the Lake of the Ozarks more often,” Wagner added. “And he’s already talking about doing a new project with us.”
The Waves And Wheels team outdid itself with its latest Fountain renovation.
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