Fountain’s Harris To Lead Third Season Of ‘In The Lead’ Video Series

For fans of the Scrapyard Media/Speed On The Water “In The Lead” video series, the wait for season No. 3 is almost over. In The Lead with Jeff Harris, the chief operating officer of Fountain Powerboats in Washington, N.C., will air Wednesday, June 14, on the Speed On The Water YouTube channel.

No one knows the current Fountain Powerboats line of center consoles and sportboats, as well the ins and out of the company, better than Jeff Harris. Photos by Mark Spencer copyright Fountain Powerboats.

A soft-spoken North Carolina gentleman, Harris doesn’t call attention to himself. High-performance marine industry veterans know him as a longtime Fountain man. In offshore racing circles, he’s known—most recently at least—for sharing the cockpit with John Tomlinson as part of Bob Bull’s two-boat, world-championship-winning, Unlimited-class CMS team from 2014 through 2016. His resume also includes throttling for the Team CRC and Wake Effects teams.

Harris eventually went to work for Bull and his CMS air-conditioning-and-heating company. But following the death of Joe Curran, then the company’s chief executive officer, Harris took over that leadership role in 2019. He was recruited by Fred Ross of Iconic Marine Group, which owns the Fountain, Donzi Marine and Baja Marine powerboat brands.

Harris has enjoyed speed on the water since he was teenager racing up and down his local North Carolina rivers.

A devoted family man and bonafide outdoorsman, Harris also is a pilot, a fine singer and a strong leader with an unmatched understanding of the Fountain brand and its legacy. He was recently featured in Mercury Racing’s “Water Street Confidential” alongside former Fountain employee Geoff Tomlinson, who is the dealer manager for Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats in Fort Myers, Fla.

Get to know Jeff Harris on Wednesday, June 14.

In The Lead With Steve Curtis, a veteran offshore racer and current throttleman for the Class 1 Huski Ice Spritz team, will follow the Harris episode. It is scheduled to air Wednesday, July 26.