www.iFourWinns.com

Hi all, I am looking at a 2001 214 Funship powered by a recent Volvo 5.0. We boat on Winni in NH. Anyone have any experience with this boat? we will usually have 3 kids and several adults aboard. How will this boat handle and pull for water sports?

Thanks

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1998 Vista 238 w/150 hours
2004 yamaha kodiak 450 4x4 w/plow
1996 Harley Davidson Lowrider
3 "little" atv's for the brats
24' x 8' enclosed trailer to stuff it all into
Pulled by my 2006 GMC 2500HD extra cab...SLE

I really need a garage...

I've been very happy with mine. Havent had any real issues at all. It's great for towing, and has a good amount of space for the number of people. You'll like it. Besides, we just came from the boat show, and there is nothing in the class that has any better fit and finish. Four Winns is tops!

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2008 Four Winns F224
5.0 Volvo Penta
Towing with Audi Q7 4.2 V8

Several previous posts about the same topic has suggested that most would steer you towards a 5.7 (as I would) but you really need to try it out.
What kind of watersports? Tubing is probably fine, but I'd be concerned about skiing with a load like that....

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

I have the 5.0 Volvo, and find it to have plenty of power. Sure, the larger motor would be nice, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra money. Since you are looking at a used one, you don't have a choice, but mine runs great.

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2008 Four Winns F224
5.0 Volvo Penta
Towing with Audi Q7 4.2 V8

I have a 2007 f224 with the 5.0 Volvo and we find it to be plenty of power! Great ride, great boat.

I own a 205 214 with a Volvo 5.0 GXI 270hp single prop FunShip and have enjoyed the boat. We purchased the boat, used and when we sea trailed it, I was most concern about top end. I never thought about slower speeds for water sports.

I’m old school and use the boat for skiing and tubing. The boat has plenty of power to pull me out of the water on a slalom ski and if your running over 28 mph, it seems to maintain its speed. The surprising issue we found with our boat is running at slower speeds. I love to tick ski with two skies and it hard for my wife to maintain a consult speed under 25 mph while pulling me. My kids also knees boards and at the slower speed, it hard to maintain a consult speed. The boat starts to slow down and then you must pick up the speed to maintain plane.

This was the first summer we owned the boat and as we became more familiar with the handling of the boat, we were able to control a smoother consult speed, but you must work the throttle.

The rest of the features of the boat we love and we can’t wait for summer to get here in 2010.