www.iFourWinns.com

I was forced into building my daughter a play structure that is now almost complete



While I was surfing Ebay looking for some extra rocks for the rock wall.... I "tripped" across this beauty


A consignor guy that had it listed (for the owner) didn't do a very good job with the listing. It started at $200 with NO RESERVE. I took my chances based on the few photos and the written blurb and placed my maximum bid. I won !!! (really cheap ) I sent my Father and Brother down to Manchester, MA to pick it up with my trailer and she arrived Sunday September 13, 2009.

She's a 1993 FW 245 Vista equipped with the following:
-5.8 HO with King Cobra drive (the good one that is the predecessor to the VP unts)
-Full Camper Canvas
-Tonneau Cover
-Two new batteries and Guest Battery charger
-Porcelain head, holding tank and optional overboard discharge pump
-Shower power
-VHF radio with large antenna
-Hot and cold swimplatform shower

The condition cosmetically I would rate at about an 8.5 (the gelcoat is flawless although it is chalky and has one small area that will require repair) Generally it needs a good cleanup but the underlying components are solid and workable. Mechanically....that's another story (or maybe later).

I am a two boat owner again !!!

Oh yeah I was able to find some extra rocks and hopefully will get them installed this weekend. The wife might think twice before forcing me into building something again

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

Ok...but since you are telling us what a deal you got...you gotta spill the beans on this...how much?

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

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

I paid about the equivalent to 75 cases of American Bud light (30 can case) !!!!

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

Holy crap...are you serious? About $2000?

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

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

WOW ... very cool!

But, umm ..........

How the heck did you find this ..... searching for ROCKS?!?!?

_________________
Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

Unbelievable!

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Yep! even less!



A.D.D. Well not really I just happened to do one of my "Four Winns" searches while I was there. And the auction happened to be closing 15 minutes later. I couldn't resist There is some poor soul awefully pissed at me since I scooped it from him!

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

Nice Find!! Wish I could find a deal like that for my buddy. He wants a cruiser in a bad way, but he can't seem to justify the expense. Hes a numbers guy. You going to keep it or turn around and sell?

_________________
1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

Right now I am going to keep it and try hard to sell my bowrider. I'm a numbers guy too! And I am finding it harder and harder to justify having $30 K tied up in a boat that we only use 20-30 hours a year plus spend $75-100 per hour for fuel, insurance and maintenance costs. I still want a boat but have to keep the investment low in order to justify it in my mind.

I am still assessing the mechanical end of this purchase and will know better by the weekend. I know the outdrive needs a trim cylinder, the drive engages, the trim tabs don't work, the oil looks good and the starter is only "clicking"..... On the list is to pull all the plugs and do a compression test plus check the drive oil.

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

Check the transom and stringers to make sure that you have a solid hull before you put a lot of money into it. If you need to bail you could probably get your money back on the trailer alone. Nice catch.

_________________
Martin
04 268 Vista - Knot Again
08 Boston Whaler 130 Sport - Double Good
Previous Boat:
97 278 Vista - Buoy Howdy

Check back in a year and tell us if you got a deal or not. I did that ONCE, bought a cruiser sight unseen. It looked like a good deal on paper, but it was a beast to sell. I wish you luck hope you got a diamond in the rough.

_________________

Transom and stringers are in excellent shape. The trailer is mine from my H260 bowrider.



No immediate plans to sell it (as stated above, I want to sell my big bowrider). I believe the engine and outdrive are going to be the deciding factor on how good of a "deal" I got. If I have to do major work to one or the other i'm still in the "excellent" category, if I have to do major work on both then i'm probably "break even" (assuming an approximate selling price of 10K)

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

That's a great find...even if the mechanicals need some work which is to be expected on a boat that's 16 years old....the main thing is the hull/wood structure condition...those kind of problems are much more difficult to fix than mechanical ones...
That's a Ford engine with the dog clutch Cobra drive....I'd check around to see if you can find a shop that works on OMC Cobras...they are a good drive when set up right but the shift linkage adjustment is critical and not that many mechanics are familar with them...I have one and luckily my local mechanic went to the OMC schools and he is great with them...
The other thing is parts availability....it's tough to get some parts although most are out there...either OE...after market (Sierra) or e-bay...to see what's available check on
http://www.dougrussell.com look in the OMC parts section or
http://www.crowleymarine.com
Crowley Marine also has some of the maintenance procedures on line on their site (R+R'ing the drive...changing the drive oil)
and there is a 1990 shop manual on line at http://www.iboats.com look in the I/O forum "adults only"...the drive information is probably the same as for your year....
When set up right...a Cobra should shift with 2 fingers...

I have the same thought about a lot of money tied up in a boat...that's why I have kept our old bowrider....it's been reliable and I replaced the deck and interior over the years...sure it'd be nice to have a bigger newer boat but then all the other costs would go up...more to maintain...can't store it at home in the drive way like the little 200...hard to handle by yourself...would have to get a bigger tow vehicle (oh...that one I took care of see my sig....)...etc....we live right by the water but even then our season is only from May to Oct...and we moor the boat in salt water so a nice new boat would get old looking fast...this one is already seasoned LOL!

_________________
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

Awesome find! Even if you have to put a motor and outdrive in there, I think you could probably pull that off for 6k and still be a tad ahead of the game for value. Glad I didn't run across that one, my wife already yells at me for the 'good deals' that I find all the time

_________________
'99 Horizon 200

Good snag on the boat!! I built the same play structure for our boys and you probably have the same amount of money in that as you do the new boat??

I love impulse buying!!! I might have to go looking for some rock......................