Craig, do your self a favor take up golf instead of boating!! J/K!
First of all, what is your $$ range?? That is a huge determining factor.
Fountains are excellents boat, one of the best out there. 27' fever is an awesome boat. I know a number of people with them, and have rigged a couple.
As far as water skiing or wakeboarding with a boat of that type, the larger boats 26' and over, dont get up an plane as fast as a smaller lighter boat. I know water ski boats usually need to jump on plane pretty fast. A problem like that might be remedied with prop changes for different conditions.
If you plan on doing alot of ocean running,(which i'm not sure what you meen)I wouldnt go with anything under 26' That size up to 28 ft you will want at least 500 hp to run over 60. For example a 27' Fever with a Mercruiser hp500 will consistantly run 70 mph.
Each brand has its own goods and bad qualities. I agree with Charles, with the Fountain throttle setup. It takes alot to get used to. But the reason for the left side throttles was for racing.
Another brand I would look into is Pantera. They make an awesome 26 and 28 footer. Superb offshore running boats. Plenty of them around for under 60k.
Feel free to pm me if you want to talk more about it. I could go on for hours about this subject!