www.iFourWinns.com

Making the first overnight weekend trip to South Haven, MI this weekend. Any tips?

Have Fun!

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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

Watch the weather and lake as both can rapidly change. And don't get lost... lol

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2006 H190 4.3L
2009 GMC Acadia
Michigan

bring extra beer

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2005 vista 288

Anchoring out? Read up on anchoring techniques and watch the wind when choosing a spot. I did and it sure helps me sleep At night. For every foot between the anchor roller and the bottom of the lake, let out 5 to 7 times that amount of rope/rode... The longer the better.

Bring more spare rope than you think you will ever need... Might have the opportunity to anchor stern in and tie off to shore. That is what we like to do. Than we blow up our little rafts and tie them off to the boat and to shore so we can pull the kids, ourselves, and our stuff back and forth. At this point I am at about 150' of rope and thinking I could use more....

Make sure the beer and food you bring is cold before packing coolers and fridge. Will save on ice and power used for the fridge. We keep out little fridge set at about 3 with nothing in the freezer and it does not draw much power at all.

When you get pumped out at the end of the weekend put 2 full toilet bowls of water into the tank and have them pump that out. It will help get the solids left behind. We started this 2 weeks ago after developing a stink and it cleared it up with this technique.

We just started anchoring this year and we love it. Enjoy!

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2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

Awesome little beach town! Hope everything goes smooth and you guys have a great time

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
Previous:
2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"

A couple practical suggestions:
Think about who sleeps where in terms of who might use the head and have to get up at night and crawl over others to get there (often the case if using the aft cabin) . Related to this is decide if using the vacuuflush at night is disturbing sleep or best left to someone in the morning.

I open the cover to the upstairs fridge at night as it heats up and makes the fridge work harder - it's great for preventing sunlight in the daytime from hitting the fridge, but unnecessary at night.

Check your faucets for even small leaks as you can lose valuable water at night, or shut off water if not required.
I keep a small number of necessary items nearby at night "just in case " - water, flashlight, portable VHF and radio for weather. Lastly, prepare the coffee maker to prevent noise in the morning and put the cereal bowls in the fridge to keep the cereal milk cold. Cover the ports where sunrise will occur.

A couple good ghost stories committed to memory come in handy to keep the kids entertained.

Have fun.

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Ernie Follis
It'll Do II
Four Winns 348 (2005)

Now I'm getting boat envy, when you start talking about the upstairs refrigerator on a boat....lol

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2001 Four Winns Vista 248 by rick2752, on Flickr

Coffee at sunrise...sounds great.

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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

Just got back and everything went well. Weather got bad on the way back and started to pour as we got into Holland so everything is soaked. South Haven is a great boating town and lots to do with in walking distance. Thanks for the tips now its time to clean up!

Glad you had a great trip! We enjoyed South Haven when we were there last month but loved Grand Haven!



When we went from the 268 to the 318...we ditched the cooler. So much nicer to just stock the fridge and night and have ice cold drinks all day long...without being dripping wet from ice!

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225