www.iFourWinns.com

If ( I mean when) you get the Cobalt, post a couple pics!

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2002 Horizon 190 5.0gl

As far as the seating, I have the sunsport seating on my old 88, when I re-did the interior back in 05 as part of a deck replacement I considered keeping the helm buckets and changing the big bench seat to 2 jump seats on either side of the engine, but that would have been a lot of fabrication with a different sun pad design, motor box, having it all upholstered, etc. It would have given a lot more floor space for fishing though and I rarely have more than 3 people one the boat anyway. Stuck with the sunsport, but made it more maintenance friendly---used 2 bench seats for a pontoon boat that matched my helm seats, that allows removing one side at t time for minor work on the engine, or both for major. Then I made the bulkhead between the engine and seats in 2 pieces so it could also be removed in halves to get at the engine.

The sunsport design gives more seating but less floor space. It also gives more storage. OK on bigger boats, but on a small boat I think 2 helm seats and 2 jump seats make the best use of space.

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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

Well, I made the decision to go with the Cobalt 200. Thank you for all of your insight. Four Winns definitely has a great offering, but I just fell in love with the Cobalt.

The layout of the C200 is quite simply... sexual

If you get a choice go with the VP/oceanx outdrive. They're just plain better, and have all sorts of sensors to let you know if it has water intrusion and or low oil. They're not just for salt water use.

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

The look/fit/finish of the boat sold me. The layout is what my wife fell in love with, but she also was very impressed by the quality level.

Also, because of the layout, It truly feels like a much larger boat (it has an 8'4" beam). The swim platform is also huge and has that cool swing out step as opposed to a ladder.

The engine is the VP 4.3L with the duo prop outdrive. During our test drive, with 3 adults (and we are not skinny), it was up on plane in ~3-3.5 seconds. And the bow rise was virtually non-existent. It shot up and on plane super quickly.

Top speed is ~50, which is way more than enough for me (especially coming from a cruiser that took an eternity to get up on plane, maybe 15 seconds or longer, and had a top speed of ~35).

I'm really excited about it. Pick it up tomorrow, and it's supposed to be 85-90 over the next 5-6 days. Of course, I live in Upstate NY, so that can change on a dime!

1 complaint...there doesn't seem to be an online Cobalt community, so I may still hang out here if that's ok!?!?

Congrats!
I think we're gonna have that good weekend.
Followed by a short week with hopefully the same weather.
Are you mostly in Lake Ontario?
Who's the dealer out that way?

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2002 Horizon 190 5.0gl

4.3/duo.. nice combo it will hold a nice 50mph top end, 30mph cruise. Personally I would have went with the 5.0Gxi. 50 more hp and almost no difference in fuel consumption

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

I live about 3 miles from Lake Ontario, and plan to use the boat there, Irondequoit Bay, Sodus Bay, Canandaigua Lake, and Conesus Lake most often.

For the next several weeks I will be using the boat out on Canandaigua Lake while my trailer is being customized. I decided to upgrade the trailer (dual axle, chrome wheels, painted/branded), so it will take 2-3 weeks. The dealer is going to store the boat and launch for us until the trailer is ready.

The dealer is German Brothers. So far they've been just fantastic in terms of customer service, answering questions, taking us out on tests, etc.



Well of course, there's "no replacement for displacement". But my experience on the test was more than satisfying.