Trade my H180 for a 195 Sundowner??

ric · **Posted:** Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:37 pm

I'm trying to see if a local seller will trade his 1996 195 Sundowner for my 2000 Horizon 180. The guy states it has a fuel injected 4.3, full maint done, camper top, porta poty (did 195's have those? didn't see in four winns site) and claims it's in real good condition.

Would that be worth a trade for my 2000 3.0 in near showroom mint condition with new trailer? I always wanted a cuddy.. and one with a head. I'm nearly 6'2, will I even be able to sleep/fit in the cabin? As far as I can tell it looks exactly like my boat, just an enclosed bow.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Dec 18, 2011 10:03 pm

That boat is a bit bigger than the 180, not as big as my 200 (the older 200s were actually longer than 20', at 20'9"). Make sure you check carefully for rot because they still used a plywood cored deck, even with the fiberglass liner. If it has carpeted decks be real careful, rot is likely unless it was stored in a dry climate or inside. The engines then, were the joint venture OMC/Volvos, which is good in that the drive is a Volvo SX in OMC paint, but the engines can be Fords, which are not bad, but some parts may hard to find. Chevy engines are easier to deal with on older boats. Find out what year the engine is (sometimes a 96 boat has a 95 power package) and make sure things like exhaust manifolds, and fuel system and ignition parts are available. These items can be very hard to find for older OMCs.

powellcrazy · **Posted:** Sun Dec 18, 2011 11:01 pm

As for a 6'2" person "fitting" into a 195 sundowner. What is your idea of 'fit'?

Sure you will 'fit' just like your current boat. As for head or cabin...... I dont know, I am 5'7" and it was a tight fit for me in our '95 245 sundowner. All I can say, go crawl in cabin and see if you can really spend time in cabin.

good luck

Mark T · **Posted:** Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:15 am

I have a 1994 235 sundowner and measured the longest part of the sleeping berth at 76" last night. Not sure of size of a 195, but doubt you are going to stretch out, unless your feet are in the doorway into the cuddy ( LOL).

ric · **Posted:** Tue Dec 20, 2011 10:37 am

Mark T wrote:

I have a 1994 235 sundowner and measured the longest part of the sleeping berth at 76" last night. Not sure of size of a 195, but doubt you are going to stretch out, unless your feet are in the doorway into the cuddy ( LOL).

haha, that could work. I don't sleep like a mummy.

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Dec 20, 2011 4:11 pm

Do you want the cuddy for better rough water performance? Because if not, you might do better sticking with a bowrider in Fla, a cuddy has to get really hot down there. Here I'd consider a cuddy because we get water rough enough in LI sound to make a bowrider dangerous, and the weather really cools off in Sept so the cuddy could be used both in the beginning and end of the season.
Overall a bow rider gives more usable seating space than a cuddy, but the cuddy has a safer set up for rough water due to the closed bow.

ric · **Posted:** Tue Dec 20, 2011 4:53 pm

I want a cuddy for the cabin. Somewhere to chill out, smoke, watch tv, take a dump, get "dirty" with the ladies, stay out overnight on the water, a place to eat after I cooked off the grill, etc. I have no issue installing a marinair micra A/C system that runs off a 800w inverter and a 2nd AGM deep cycle.

I never have more then 4 people on my boat, and the bow is nice, but it's not something that I'd miss (since I drive!! haha). I really think the covered cockpit would really make a good spot to get sun on and fish off too.

I can pull my friends wakeboarding/tubing exactly the same with the sundowner vs horizon

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

I personally would want a bigger cuddy for over nighters. I guess there is a boat for every person so this is a question for you to answer.

powellcrazy · **Posted:** Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:08 am

ric wrote:

I want a cuddy for the cabin. Somewhere to chill out, smoke, watch tv, take a dump, get "dirty" with the ladies, stay out overnight on the water, a place to eat after I cooked off the grill, etc.

With your description of use, I am going to say that the 195 is going to be way to small for you. No way can you sit up comfortably in that small cabin as tall as you are.
Our first boat was a Reneil 197, very similar (infact, had a bigger cabin than the FW 195) I could not sit up in cabin, yes ok for taking a nap. We found it to be too small for overnighting and let us to the 1995 sundowner 245, which had a much larger cabin that we could truly sit up. I also noticed that in 96 or '97, Four Winns changed the sundowner design to greatly reduce cabin size for a much larger cockpit, said that is what the consumer wanted. When they did this, totally turned me off of the Sundowner model and forced me to look at the Vistas.
The under 21' cabins have very little head room, again this is what I have experienced.

You have a thread in the vista section that we have discussed the 238 from back in September, what has changed your mind to considering a little sundowner? IMHO, the Vista would be a much better fit, but really this is only something that you can answer after sitting / sleeping in either cabin.

ric · **Posted:** Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:38 am

I guess I really just have to sit in a few to see what I like huh?

If I can't sit up in a 195/205 sundowner's seat inside the cabin without hitting my head that's a decision killer.

aguyindallas · **Posted:** Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:43 am

I agree. I really think that a small Sundowner is just a band aid for what you really want...something like a 238 or maybe a 245 sundowner might work. Even in our 298, it's still tight in the cabin if two or more people are trying to move around. It's great relaxing, sleeping, or eating size of course, but even that can be tight.

If its about money...hold off and get what you want. You got a heck of a deal on your current boat and it's in great shape. Get what you really want and I promise you will be happy.

www.iFourWinns.com

Trade my H180 for a 195 Sundowner??

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