Four Winns
R Kuhl
decent money on this boat I have some questions someone might have insight
on:
1) Reliability of the Volvo Penta vs Mercruiser
2) How much should I care about the "Deadrise" specification?
3) How much can you reasonably expect to get the dealer to take off the list
price
Any other comments about Four Winns would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Bob Kuhl
Alan
>I have been looking at buying a Four Winns 19' Horizon.
>
>Any other comments about Four Winns would be appreciated.
>
>Bob Kuhl
>
Bob,
I spent most of last November crawling over 8 or 9 different
brands of 18-20 foot bow-riders. I took notes and made a spreadsheet
listing those features and options, which mattered to me. When I'd
finished adding pros & cons the Chaparral was on top of my list
followed closely by the Four Winns. Eventually I bought a leftover
1999 Horizon 190. I spent a lot of time digging up magazine articles
and asking opinions from others (try www.boattalk.com). I remain
convinced it was the best value of all those I'd examined.
If you are looking at a 2000 model Horizon there are several
improvements over my 1999 model. The trailer tongue is a swing away
rather the older detachable type. The drum brakes have been replaced
with disk breaks and the surge brakes disengage when you put your tow
vehicle into reverse. The boat has an advanced hull design that got
rave reviews in the March issue of Trailer Boats Magazine (a 21 foot
Horizon was tested). Another big plus is the VDO instrument panel.
It's an auto-like panel powered by a single wiring harness that runs
through a pvc conduit. It has a paddle wheel speedometer (instead of
the much less accurate pressure tube), a through hull depth meter,
water temp gage, odometer, clock, hour meter and a few other bells and
whistles that many manufacturers would charge extra for.
All things considered, I think it's a great boat and a
terrific value. Good luck.
Alan
P.S. I wouldn't worry about the Volvo outdrive. From What I've read
(no personal experience here) it is easily a match for the Alpha one.
Anyway the warrenty is twice as long.
bajaman
this: the "shallower" the deadrise angle the more speed the hull is likely
to have but will ride rougher, conversely the "deeper" the angle the
smoother the ride but sacrifice some speed.
"R Kuhl" <rk...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:GHEu4.10259$W92.2...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net...
> I have been looking at buying a Four Winns 19' Horizon. Before I drop
some
> decent money on this boat I have some questions someone might have insight
> on:
>
> 1) Reliability of the Volvo Penta vs Mercruiser
> 2) How much should I care about the "Deadrise" specification?
> 3) How much can you reasonably expect to get the dealer to take off the
list
> price
>
>
>
> Bob Kuhl
>
>
wgmoore
have volvo problems, be prepared to PAY.- Mercrusier had a better tilt
controll system- Volvo was all electric and lost slolnoids and limit
switiches and was very hard to remove the entire tilt system for service.
Merc was electro hydro. nothing some fluid and a small hammer couldn't fix.
Some volvo problems were the coolant water manifold on the pivot pin would
spring a leak and suck air when up on plane. The gimbal bearing took some
talent to remove if it had bathed in salt for any length of time. the
U-joint were cheap though.Oh I could go on and on but just don't have the
time.
bajaman <wol...@hit.net> wrote in message
news:DISu4.79976$ox5.21...@tw11.nn.bcandid.com...
Ed
wrote:
>the volvo is superior to mercrusier except for low speed controll. If you do
>have volvo problems, be prepared to PAY.- Mercrusier had a better tilt
>controll system- Volvo was all electric and lost slolnoids and limit
>switiches and was very hard to remove the entire tilt system for service.
>Merc was electro hydro. nothing some fluid and a small hammer couldn't fix.
>Some volvo problems were the coolant water manifold on the pivot pin would
>spring a leak and suck air when up on plane. The gimbal bearing took some
>talent to remove if it had bathed in salt for any length of time. the
>U-joint were cheap though.Oh I could go on and on but just don't have the
>time.
We've had a Volvo DP for a couple of years now. On the maintenance
issue, the dealer charges the same hourly rate for Mercruiser and
Volvo work. Other than filters and impellers, I haven't needed any
parts, so cannot speak from experience there.
From what I understand, the trim limiter box is gone on new
installations. It isn't on my boat, and I've seen comments to that
affect here in the newsgroup.
The "consensus" in the group (as close as I've ever seen one here) is
that they are both good drives. Volvo may have an edge in reliability
and longevity. Mercruiser has a decided edge in the number of service
locations and parts availability.
-Ed G
Will Poirier
I own a 1995 Four Winns 190 Horizon. I bought it brand new in 96 and have
the 5.0 Liter Ford EFI 215 HP. It has been an excellent boat for us. I am
now in the market for a larger boat, but let me share my experience with our
boat. We are weekend boaters and went almost every weekend in the summer
(we live in Michigan) for the first 3 years of ownership. Took it on small
lakes and big alike, however, would recommend against bigger lakes unless
you're brave (or stupid, however you look at it, I guess). The engine has
performed flawlessly and I love the EFI. I have the Volvo Penta and I think
that's what I would recommend. The 95 and earlier have velcro center seat
cushions which you can VERY easily remove to access storage under the seats
(none of that "splitting the seat" half way to access that area. We also
have 2 large golden retrievers, who are hard on the boat. But you can't
even tell - the seats and carpet are in perfect condition. I do have some
mintor complaints. One is performance (about 53 mph top end when empty -
not wonderful but not bad, I guess - with an aluminum prop - ss might help
this). Another is the high effort on the throttle mechanism. Perhaps this
is intentional, to avoid vibration out of it's location. Since we have the
190, the anchor storage isn't in the center of the front, but, rather, under
one of the bow cushions on the side - MAJOR pain in the butt. Definitely
look to the 200 or larger for that nice anchor storage. Another
disadvantage to our boat is that it's only 7'3" wide. Perhaps the new
models are wider. They hold their values nicely.
If I were to do it over again, I would have looked more seriously at
Chaparral. You see, Chaparral is the world's largest independent boat
manufacturer. Independent is a key word here. Four Winns is owned by a
larger conglomerate (sp?) as is Sea Ray, Bayliner, etc, etc. The Four Winns
was a fantastic boat in the late 80's and early 90's, when the Winn family
was still involved in the business. Since being brought under OMC (I
think?), their quality has suffered as the boat-building business looked
toward comonality. Companies like Bayliner benefited, and Four Winns
didn't. Chaparral has always been a good quality boat, second (of course)
only to Cobalt, from what I can find. Four Winns is the Chevrolet of boats,
though - good quality for the money.
Good Luck with your Purchase!
Will Poirier
Phoenix
Chaparral is a good boat, but there are many other boats that are equal or
better than Chap. It sounds like Chaparral has an excellent dealer in your
area, which could elevate Chaparral to the number 2 spot for you.
--
Jim
"Will Poirier" <wpoi...@rust.net> wrote in message
news:EEDA4.676$ZE4....@ord-read.news.verio.net...
Alan
wrote:
>I own a 1995 Four Winns 190 Horizon.
I just bought a leftover 1999 Horizon 190 - we pick it up the end of
this month.
> The 95 and earlier have velcro center seat cushions which you can VERY easily remove to access storage under the seats
The newer models have plastic seat frames rather than wood. I suspect
that robs the space what would have been available under the seats
> Since we have the 190, the anchor storage isn't in the center of the front, but, rather, under
>one of the bow cushions on the side - MAJOR pain in the butt.
I anguished over that. No doubt I'll be complaining about that under
seat placement before my first season is up. Oh well - it's something
to insist on for the next boat.
> Another disadvantage to our boat is that it's only 7'3" wide. Perhaps the new
>models are wider.
They are - 96 inch beam on 18 and 19 footers
> I would have looked more seriously at Chaparral.
I looked hard at the Chaparral and it was my first choice by a small
margin over the Four Winns. A $3k premium and a 90mile drive to the
nearest dealer steered me to the Four Winns.
I'm glad to hear you've been happy with your Horizon. Like you, I'm a
heavy weekend boater and I like reading good reports on the brand.
Makes me feel that all my homework was worthwhile.
Alan
Michael J. Holst
the 1995 200 beam is 7' 4", but not sure when they redesigned to the 8' 1" dimension. Does anyone know or know where I
could find dimensions on the web?