www.iFourWinns.com

A question that has probably been asked... but spinning off a comment from another thread - this is a value question for all those lurkers that check out the forum. This is also a great type of thread for perspective Four Winns owners to read.

For those of us who are loud and opinionated - chime in here.

What are the top 3-5 reasons that you bought a Four Winns? What made it that perfect boat for you?

Thinking about all the competition - there's so much out there. What drew you to the BRAND? Not - why you picked a 22 footer over a 20 footer. But - why the Four Winns brand.

Keep the posts on track. let's try not to thread hijack. Just personal comments.

Try to keep it to 3-5 basic reasons.

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

I grew up going on my Grandpa's Four Winns Sundowner at family vacations up in the UP of MI. When I bought my first boat I looked into Four Winns but ended up with a Sea Ray. When we moved up to a cuddy cabin, there was a big quality difference between FW and all other brands. So much so I drove 500 miles to pickup the boat we bought. Now that we are in the market for a cruiser, we've looked at all brands and are sticking with FW. The styling is what we like, and the build quality is there. There is no better boat.

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

I'd say:

1. Reputation (and actions) of dealer
2. Price relative to other similar boats (Cobalt,etc)
3. Design and style
4. Word of mouth influence from current or former owners

Lots to choose from out there, especially when you're spending this kind of $$$ on a discretionary purchase, but I don't regret going with this brand one bit.

I will be honest here. I bought my 2000 298 Vista cruiser because of it's looks. I remember going to an "in-water" boat show up on Lake Lanier in Georgia and seeing a late 1990's model Four Winns cruiser. Even though I was not impressed with the cockpit layout, I was awed by the interior cosmetics and it's arrangement. Once the 2000 models came out with the improved cockpit layout, sloped bow and other curvitures (that have been copied by most other manufacturers), I was sold and closed the deal. IMHO, Four Winns is why we no longer see the "boxy" type cruisers on the water. Beautiful boat, inside and out.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

My neighbor up the river bought a 05 H170, and I remember thinking this is the perfect boat for what I intend to use it for, but wasn't in the market for a new boat then. While at the boat show two years ago, I looked at the bayliner175, at the boat show and quite liked it . It was fairly light on as far as features go, but seemed quite adequate and thought this boat would suit our needs well.
About a year ago I started seriously researching and I remember someone saying on a forum that the bayliner was a good boat BUT when he bumped into a pier or something with a screw sticking out and it went through the fibreglass and was astonished how thin the glass was , I had serious reservations about the bayliner. Anyway here was my findings
1)The FW is wider than the equivalent B/L,the Maxum and the Searay
2)I could get the color I wanted
3)THE Crownline was well optioned but looked a bit narrow at the front and was a few $K dearer
4) The quality of the FW product was good
5) The steering wheel obscures the veiw of the guages in the Maxum
5A) My neighbor graciously took me for a drive and a ski in his which alleviated any power concerns I had about the 3.0 merc
5B) The dealer was the closest and I have been very impressed with the service
5C) I like the look of the FW better.
5D)FW has the seating arrangement that I like
5E) I cant fault the handling of the FW
Good thing I Only mentioned five things ,but to be fair I think there is room for improvement as the ski locker needs to be bigger but apart from that my only other issue is I'm not using it RIGHT NOW!!!

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Ardy
Adelaide South Australia
Red H180 3.0 Merc

1.) options that came standard. We were considering a sea ray and a stingray but every option was additional and the price grew quickly.
2.) weight and hull design. We ocean boat and needed every advantage we could get to handle the surf in such a small boat
3.) style

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2007 H210
2011 Chevrolet Tahoe LT

1. Value for the Dollar
2. Quality of workmanship and materials
3. Quality of my dealer and their service

I can't wait to take my new boat for a ride and am very curious how people will react when they see this SL model because there has not been one around where I do a lot of my boating. This is my third four winns and I can attest that they have it all over many other companies...especially Regal (I've owned as well) when it comes to boats in this class.

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2009 SL262, Merc 8.1L HO 425 HP With
Bravo III "X" Drive and DTS Smart Tow

Ardy I am with you.The wife and I starting looking at new boats and the 175 Bayliner looked pretty good.
But we decided to purchase the Four Winns(H180)
1-Finish,the 180 has a very appealing interior fit and finish of seats,carpet,trim and compartments.The bayliner (175) has NO trim,snap in carpets expensive option,seats are poor quality.
2-Handling-the FW is superior in handling
3-Engine and Drive -The Bayliner is much louder then the FW and the VP in not an option
4-If you want to upgrade to Bayliner 185 and add options to match the FW H180 your the same price as a FW and quality is still not there.And the options on Bayliner are standard on FW.
5-FW I think is a nicer looking boat.
I did look at Glastron-prefered the FW,looked at Chapparral very nice boat but I think Four Winns is as nice and price is better.
I have friends and neighbors with FW,Chaparral and Glastron.Glastron guy likes my boat better,Chapparall guy was I think surprise at price and quality.FW people are very Satisfied!
I could go on but I am tried of typing.
To be fair to Bayliner I do believe they are equal, 175 to H180.The Bayliner is priced a far bit less (in Canada)and it is more of an entry level boat.

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Andrew
07 H180
2000 Buell X-1
Stouffville Ontario
Canada

Pretty much in this order:

Build quality
Materials used
Layout and amenities
Handling
Value for the dollar

The local dealer, however, sucks ass. Fortunately it's a very well made boat that's needed little or no warranty attention. What little is has needed was inflicted due to dealer incompetence.

Everything is assembled very well. Reflecting a really good basic design and thoughtful planning (easy to service stuff). The quality of materials is noticeably better than other boats (cabinet, counters, seating, etc). We greatly prefer how FW lays out both the cockpit and the cabin. Compared to some other boats we trialed, the 348 had a noticeably better ride. Taking all that into account and then being about $40k less expensive than something like a SeaRay (while being pretty much the same quality) made it a no-brainer. If I were buying the same boat again I'd definitely look at a FW again, dealer be damned.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

1. Value/ options!
2. had the perfect boat in-stock
3. location of dealer

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H210SS 6.2
F150 Platinum

1. best bang for buck, lots of standards
2. quality of the boat
3. look
4. resell (here in Miami, it seems you have 1 FW to every 50 sea rays)

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Walter

2003 248 Vista - VP 5.0 GXi
2009 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L 4x4

1. Reputation
2. Fit and finish
3. Quality
4. Standard items vs. options
5. Bang for the buck

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2001 Sundowner 235

Friend of mine had one that I drooled over for many a year, so I had first hand knowledge of build quality features, and handling long before I was in the market. In fact, he was going to trade it in on a new model every couple years, and I was going to buy his old boat. But he still has his original 2000 Horizon LE 190, so I finally decided to go out and buy my own.

Another factor/feature important to me was the ability to fit it in my garage for storage. I thought that there was no way I could get a 20' boat in there, but that folding tongue on the trailer sealed the deal.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

1. Value vs cometition such as Sea Ray, Crownline
2. Old/trusted name in the boat business
3. Dealer is long time in the business
4. The boat fitting in my garage with standard 7ft door.

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

For us it was the fit and finish compared to SR, Regal and Rinker in our area FW is just better. Like others have said the options compared to standard the FW beat the others easily but part of that was the way the deal orders them and the last thing was the dealer. Having purchased two Key West boats from them previously made it feel comfortable but what sealed the deal for us on a FW was on our sea trial the captian was the owner of the dealership George Winn of the Four Winns family. His knowledge of how the boats were built and the people on the line putting them together gave us the confindence that we were buying the right boat.

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2008 318 Vista "Ka-wai-ola"
350 MPI/BravoIII DTS Seacore
2006 1500 Key West -70 Yamaha
Previous Boats
Key West 2300CC
Pacemaker 270 Sport Fish
290 Sea Ray