www.iFourWinns.com

I am taking my 1897 Horizon 170 out for the first time tomorrow. The closest manual I can find for the boat only has information on the 180 Horizon tank - which is 28 gallons. The boat has a Chevy 350 Engine in it.

Tomorrow we won't be towing tubes or skiers. Just testing the boat out and maybe swimming in the lake.

Due to the boats age, there is the possibility that the fuel gauge won't work. What would the approximate run time be for this engine? I don't know what to expect. Do most people take this type of boat out all day without refueling?

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-Brent
1987 Horizon 170
Mercruiser 350

Wow, an 1897! Is it steam powered! Just kidding ya, you should be able to go an entire day regardless of how fast you go. With mixed use, I'd say 80-100 miles easily.
This chart will help:

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2013 H190 RS
VP 225 V6

Thanks for the helpful information and laugh. My two girls laugh sometimes when they see it compared to some of the beauties around town. I tell them I am teaching them not to be spoiled.

My 10 year old asked me last night when I was born. She was trying to determine if the boat or I was older.

It was cheap, with a rebuilt engine and in good shape. I like the retro style too. I figure that it will be a good way to see if my girls like boating (I already know I do). Even if I had to junk it after a season or two, I wouldn't be out much and can upgrade to something more modern.

_________________
-Brent
1987 Horizon 170
Mercruiser 350

No problem, sounds like you are being pretty smart about it. Everyone says "buy your second boat first", but the exception is an old reliable boat that you can sell for about what you paid for it when (and if) you are ready to upgrade.
Have fun!

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2013 H190 RS
VP 225 V6

Does you 1897 boat look like this?

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

LOL. Yes, I told you it was stylish. But I have yet to find out if it will float as well...

_________________
-Brent
1987 Horizon 170
Mercruiser 350

As far as fuel consumption goes, unless you know how many miles you traveled, a more useful measure is average gallons per hr. So for a boat like yours let's say you may average 6-8 gallons per hr, of running on plane. That gives you 2.5-3 hrs about of running time. My boat generally averages about 6 gallons per hr, because I can run it just on the primary barrels of the Q-Jet carb and it gets excellent fuel economy that way. So I run at about 3300 rpm and a tank lasts a long time because on the H-200 the tank is 44 gallons. I think yours is 27. Before you hit the water, have you checked fluid levels (engine oil , drive oil, trim fluid, power steering fluid)? Very important. Have you test run it on the water muffs? Normal temp/oil pressure/charging volts? Charged battery? All these things should be tested before you head out.
All we know is that its a V8, what drive system? Merc or OMC?
If you've never had it in the water, make sure to run it after backing down the ramp and check the bilge, to make sure its not taking on water from something like a failed bellows.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Louc,

Thank you for the helpful information. I had a mechanic do some work on it and he changed the engine oil and drive oil. I don't know about trim fluid. I am ignorant about where to find that and how to check it. I will look in the manual. Does anyone know where the trim control is on this old boat? The manual says it has power trim, but I don't recall seeing that control on the panel. I boated a lot growing up and I don't recall there being trim on our boat. Either I was ignorant of it, or it was even older than the boat I own now. Adjusting trim will be new to me.

Also, I don't think I have power steering fluid. I thought this boat just used the torque of the cable and not hydraulics. But I am a lawyer by trade, and obviously know little of mechanics. I just have the steering cable replaced and the steering is working great. Am I wrong about the fluid?

Battery is freshly charged and holding a charge.

It has been test run on water muffs by the mechanic who replaced the distributor for me. It was overheating due to the water pump (forgot its real name) not working right. That has been fixed and the engine is now running well.

Merc drive.

Thanks for the advice on the bilge check after first putting it in the water. I have an extra bilge pump with alligator clips that I plan to take a long as back up too.

_________________
-Brent
1987 Horizon 170
Mercruiser 350

Trim switch should be on the top of the throttle control...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I think you keep reading past your own typo. lol. A 1897 Horizon would be 118 years old!

Is your boat a 1997 or a 1987?

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Holly cow, you are right. 1987. I just skimmed the responses and they still made sense given the boat is over 20 years old.

The first day on the lake was mostly a sucess. The bilge stayed dry. The engine ran well out in the open. There are two issues (which may be connected)- 1) the boat won't idle. I have to start it and then give it some gas to keep it running. This was frustrating given we just payed to replace the distributor and assumed they had it ideling well before given it back to us. 2) Shifting is messed up, I can't seem to get it in nuetral. I either have to have it in forward or reverse. And getting to reverse took some messing around; it had some tension on the cable and didn't want to move easily into reverse.

I will be taking it to a mechanic today to look at.

_________________
-Brent
1987 Horizon 170
Mercruiser 350