www.iFourWinns.com

My last boat was a bowrider with 120hrs on it when I bought it, and it was 5 years old. Sold it just about a year later with 150 on it. My current cuddy cabin was bought last year with 85 hours (3 years old) and now has 105. We've spent more time on the current boat, but at anchor without running the motor.

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

Hours on a boat are nice to have as reference; they are there so you can perform routine maintenance at specified intervals because unlike a car they do not have an odometer. The maintenance records and general condition/upkeep of the boat is more important than how many hours are on it. I have heard of guys with cruisers that have 1400 hours on the original motors and others that have had to do overhauls at 300. There seems to be no set standard.

The 2001 H260 I bought in the Fall of 2007 had 180 hours on it (30 hours/year). The maintenance records were available and the condition of the boat was "acceptable" I found out through discussions with the broker when I picked it up that my boat was used as a sort of "home base" for a party cove. The previous owners would drive it out about 1/2 an hour each way and then others would raft up to my boat. As I got more intimate with my boat I found this quite true...the refrigerator door was broken, the carpet is pretty much shot, the gel is scratched profusely along the both sides (so bad that I had to remove the decals), the bimini poles are bent and have been previously repaired etc....
So eventhough it only had 180 hours of engine run time on it, the boat has been well used and enjoyed. The price I paid also reflected this! so I am slowly regaining as much of the conditions as I can.

I currently have 212 hours on it after a single season.

Any boat you are considering needs to have a personal inspection and your gut needs to tell you if this is the right boat for you or not...

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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 good point Millhaven. I think I've narrowed down my choices to a Four Winns 210 Horizon or a Chaparral 210 SSI. I am told the 2002 Four Winns 210 I am looking at was the only year that it was built at another factory (Glastron)? It was another type of molding process that Four Winns had tried but discontinued after that year? Should this be a concern, should I walk away or is this salesman hype?

I live on the northeast side of Houston around murky Lake Houston.

I have 300+ hours on my boat. It went into the water in the fall of '05 so it has 3 full season plus another month or so. I know that's higher than what seems to be average but I can't imagine not putting a 100 hours on it a year. When I go to sell it I suppose that number may turn some people off but if they looked at my boat they would think it came off the showroom floor so it would be crazy to have that as a deciding factor. Especially when every signal maintenance item is documented to be done.

Bottom line for me is that 300 hours means that my boat is my life and I treat it that way. I hope my next boat is loved and even used like mine has been.

I think its pretty easy to tell if a boat has been taken care of regardless of hours. That should be the deciding factor.

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Former owner of:
1996 Four Winns Horizon 200 5.8L VP
2006 Four Winns Horizon 260 8.1L VP
2007 Sea Ray 290 Sundancer

Current boat
2004 Sea Ray 290 Sun Sport Twin 350 Mags

I put about 15 or 20 hours a year on mine. Sometimes less. This will be our 5th season. I have 72 hours on the motor. I have probably spent a couple hundred hours aboard or on a float near it.

We typically cruise to a cove(maybe an hour one way) on whatever lake we go to inflate the floaties, pour some lemonade and spend the day in and out of the water. In the next couple of years we will be upgrading to a cruiser for that reason alone.

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2005 Four Winns Horizon 200