www.iFourWinns.com

A very, very long wire, I'd have to put the drive in reverse every now and again to unwind it.

I suppose I could fill the holes in the props with bits of zinc !

Graham

Really this question is equivalent to "Ford or Chevy?" You're going to find people who say great things about theirs if they've had no problems and you'll hear horror stories about both having problems.

The most important thing is to know how easy it is to get service for one or the other in your area. As 230Mike has said on more than one occasion, here in Western Missouri/Eastern Kansas it can at times be a little more difficult to get Volvo service than Merc service. Other than that, I think the use/maintenance by a previous owner is the biggest factor.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Hey guys, thanks to all who have commented so far. It helps me try to make an informed decision as we proceed to locate and purchase our next boat.

My concern was if the majority of boaters had a negative view of the Bravo 3's then to a certain degree this must effect resale of your boat if there are plenty of 328's to chose from that have VP's?

In addition if the cost of the Bravo 3's and VP's were close to the same when new and if the VP's failed less frequently then again resale with Bravo 3's I would think would be compromised.

If the VP/Bravo 3 was truly comparable to the Ford/Chevy senario, I would find my decision easier. Maybe I should look at it this way.....

Regarding serviceabilty, I called our local marina and they felt they could obtain parts equally for either drive.They felt the Volvo DuoProp would be a slightly preferred drive but the Bravo 3 would be acceptable. They felt both drives were good.

I agree with either drive, the overall condition and maintence history is extremely important.

Again thanks for the comments, I appreciate reading each one.

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

I know I said it before but on a boat that big why deal with sterndrives at all...they add a lot of complication at some benefit to speed and economy....I'd never take a boat with sterndrives in that size range only straight inboards...they cheaper to repair and there is much less to go wrong with them....the only drawbacks are not being able to trim up in shallow water and the loss of speed and economy compared to sterndrives....

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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

All good points Lou, but the OP has his heart set on a 328 Vista, and Four Winns did not offer inboards on any year of that model. Sterndrives are a bit more maintenance intensive than inboards for sure, but not really bad at all in fresh water where he will be using the boat. If it was to be used in a salty environment, then inboards would be less for upkeep.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

agree!


who care what truck tows the boat to the ramp and what drive/power plant is in the boat. Most important, your looking at the right brand of boat!!!!

we have had merc, omc, and now volvo. all work. in the garage we have a ford, chevy and dodge, they all work as well.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
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