Fountain-Certified Program Launches – Speed on the Water

Not even Reggie Fountain, Jr., himself, the founder of the Washington, N.C., company that bears his name, can tell you how many Fountain sportboats and early-generation center consoles there are on waterways of the United States and beyond. But the answer surely lies in the thousands, which is one of the many excellent reasons the company has launched a new program dubbed “Fountain Certified.”

Fountain Powerboats has built thousands of sportboats and center consoles since its namesake founded the company in 1980. Photos by Mark Spencer copyright Fountain Powerboats.

The goal of the program is to “change the market for pre-owned Fountains, providing added value for sellers and peace-of-mind for buyers,” according the Fred Ross, the owner of Fountain Powerboats as well as Big Thunder Marine, the brand’s No. 1 dealer with locations at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri and Florida.

“Fountain Certified is a two-pronged attack,” Ross explained. “First, we now have the capability to rebuild any aspect of any Fountain, no matter what the model year. In addition to refurbishing, we will also provide a worldwide platform to organize and encourage buying and selling any of our pre-owned boats.”

Housed in a new satellite facility, the Fountain Certified program’s Factory Service Center will offer an array of updating and renovation services such as upholstery replacement and updates, fiberglass repair and paint, engine rebuilding and repowering, stern-drive repair and replacement mechanical system upgrades, rewiring and re-rigging.

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The in-house restoration/renovation services available through the new Fountain Certified program are unmatched.

The Fountain Certified program also will offer a series of “Performance Packages.” That will enable owners of classic Fountains to integrate new technologies with the end-goals of improving top-end acceleration, overall handling and efficiency.

Working alongside now company chief operating officer Jeff Harris, Fountain built his first Executioner V-bottom in 1980. Earlier this year when he began heading down the restoration path with the vintage offering, he learned firsthand about the challenges of outsourcing the work.

“When I refurbished hull No. 1 and relied on the expertise of various resources for the upholstery, engine installation, rigging and graphics,” he said. “With the new Service Center buyers can get everything done in one place, at one time and know the job is done right.”

Reggie Fountain, Jr., had the first boat he built under the brand restored this year.

“Let’s face it, outboards dominate the new boat market,” he continued. “But there’s a huge group of passionate boaters who want the numbers and image only a stern-drive delivers.”

Ready to roll now through the Fountain Certified website, the program will follow a simple process. In step No. 1, would-be clients will created a detailed project accompanied by photos and videos, “the more detailed the better,” said Harris. Next, the client will log onto the website, complete a detail form and upload the images. A Fountain Certified representative will follow-up to schedule a deeper project review or “Facetime survey.”

“Customers can expect reply within two business days,” said Harris. “However, there may be slight delays because of the holiday season and larger-than-anticipated initial response.”

With the Fountain Certified program, pre-owned builds can look as if they just came out of the factory for the first time.

In addition to “bow-eye to prop-nuts” restoration services, Fountain is providing an online clearing house for buying and selling pre-owned Fountain models on the Fountain Certified website. The listings, which will include a detailed description and up to 25 photos of each boat for sale, are scheduled to start in March 2024. A price for the listings has not been established.

An experience high-performance performance powerboat operator and former world-class offshore racer, Harris will steer the Fountain Certified program.

In the eye of Reggie Fountain, Jr., Fred Ross and Jeff Harris, now is the perfect time for the Fountain Certified program.

“My wife likes to say my native language is English, but my real language is high-performance boating,” he said. “We’re excited and uniquely qualified to bring a new level of professionalism and value to the pre-owned Fountain market.”

Added Fountain, “With our new Fountain Certified Service Center the glory days of high-performance boating are not only alive, but better than ever before.”