RotaryRacer wrote:
I've been away from the forum for a while. Anyone who remembers me will remember that I am big fan of outboard engines.
I'm curious if any of you have had an opportunity to see any of the new Four Winns with outboard power options.
I'm particularly interested in opinions on the V255, H290 or H350.
What is your impression?
What do you like?
What do you not like?
I continue to see some major benefits to using outboards on this class of boats and what to know what others think of them.
I had the opportunity to ride on and drive all three of these at the dealer meeting in Michigan back in September -- and to speak with a couple of the engineers and designers.
My general thoughts and impressions are:
V255 - is really a solution looking for a problem to solve. The design really doesn't take advantage of the "unused" engine compartment and the
low speed handling (with an OB on a bracket on an extended swim platform) was interesting. The V255 (actually I believe it was the Glastron 259) had a bow thruster that would probably be useful on a lot of occassions. On the other hand - I am more comfortable driving the V275 with a duo-prop around the docks than I am any other boat, really miss the twin props when you have the OB. It was really wierd running this boat (and to some extent all three of these OB powered boats). Usually you have tons of input from three senses - sight, touch or feel, and sound. The sound part was missing - because with the V255/Glastron and tp some extent others, the OBs were so quiet, until you really got into the throttle it was almost like you had an electric OB. With the V255/Glastron you needed over 4K rpms to get or stay on plane. The performance report I;ve read showed a top speed of 43 - but I didn't get anywhere near that #.
H-350 - simply a great bad-ass boat. Great combination of a platform big enough to bring the whole neighborhood and yet still have workable overnight capabilities. Sensitive to trim. If you wanted a deal on a H-350 you should have come to our display at the Annapolis boat show. We had a 2018 with twin 350's and joystick - loaded with generator, retractable arch, AC/Heat, windlass - just about everything, with 50 hours sold as a factory demo with new boat and engine warranties. It was used over the summer by the CEO of Beneteau. List was over $350K if I recall right and it sold for $226.
H- 290 The only I/O powered 290's I've driven have had twin Volvo 300 dp's. Great combination but the boat really acted like a big 260 (i.e. literally jumped on plane). I appreciated how much quieter the OB pwered 290 seemed. I don't remember the top end but it was kind of windy on Lake Michigan that day and I don't remember what the performance reports showed. Hard to argue with the joystick convenience on this boat. The only proble with the H-290 OB is that by the time you do one pass through the option sheet you are near $200K for a boat with no generator and no AC.
I'm a fan of the H-350 and H-290 but I think the jury is still out on the V-255. What I would really wish FW would come out with is an OB powered H-260. We picked up another line this past off-season (rhymes with *inker) and they have two new OB powered bow riders (not deck boats) and we've sold more of their 25 foot models this year than the whole FW line.
If you have any particular questions -- fire away and I'll try to remember each of these demo rides.