www.iFourWinns.com

The wife and I had thought about getting a boat for the past couple of months now and really started to think about it recently. I told her if we pick one up near the end of the season, we should be able to get one relatively cheap (at least cheaper than at the beginning of the season).

So I was previously looking at the Sea-Doo 180 Challenger and my brother-in-law suggested I looked at Four Winns. So I hoped on their website and found the 180. Hopped on Boats.com and found some great reviews about the 180. Did a search of nearby dealerships to see if any had a 180 and the closest dealer that had a 180 was two hours away and wanted $26,000 for the Volvo 190hp and towers. I really don't need the towers so I continued my search and found a Marina 3.5 hours away that was selling exactly what I wanted......

Volvo Penta 190hp
Bolster Seats
Snap-In Carpeting
Bow Seat Fill-In
Covers
Sunsport Seating
Graphics

So I tell the wife and she didn't want to deal with it since she was on her way to England the next day. So a few days go by and I put a deposit on it without telling the wife. So she calls one day and asks what have I done so far and I told her. So she asks are we getting it? I say yes. So then she asks, when are we going to pick it up. I replied this Saturday. She says....

What? Your telling me I will get back from England and there will be a boat in our garage?

I said..... Yes. So...... she's alittle pissed. BUT I went and picked it up this past Saturday and took her out Saturday night, Sunday, and Monday after work and LOVE IT. Being my first boat its perfect and I already want a bigger one...... but this is all I can handle at the moment.

So the wife gets back tomorrow and hopefully I will still have my arms to go boating this weekend.

Here are the pics, sorry I don't have any that I have taken since the wife has my camera at the moment. But here are pictures the dealer had up on their website.

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2006 Yamaha R6S
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon with Volvo Penta 4.3
2010 GMC Sierra 1500

Good looking boat!!! I hope your wife likes boating as much as my wife does.

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Troy
2008 Centurion Avalanche
1994 Four Winns Horizon 180 SE 5.0L OMC Cobra (Sold)
2002 Ford F150 Harley Davidson Edition (http://www.nhtoc.com) 378 hp & 465 tq at rear wheels
2008 Honda Accord EX-L w/Nav

Great looking boat. You'll like the 4.3 in an 18' boat.

See if your wife ever leaves you home with the checkbook again

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-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX

Oh I already do...... on Sunday and Monday I get her up to and maybe alittle past 55 mph. Wasn't really concentrating on the speedometer so I'm not exactly sure.

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2006 Yamaha R6S
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon with Volvo Penta 4.3
2010 GMC Sierra 1500

Best thing to do to determine your actual speed is have someone hold a GPS and track your MPH that way since the speedometers are notoriously inaccurate.

The most fun I had this spring was seeing how fast I could get up to while feeling comfortable with handling.

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-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX

Nice looking boat. You will enjoy everything about it. My 180 performs well with the 3.0 i would love to drive one with the 4.3 must be awesome. I'm very impressed with how these small boat take rough water they handle it great. Enjoy!

Congrats and welcome!

We have had a great summer with ours so far, we're pleased as can be.... I'm sure you will be too!

Cheers

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

Great boat! You'll be glad you went with the Four Winns. We bought the Challenger 180 last summer and just traded it for a Four Winns. There are having a lot of issues with the super chargers on the 215hp. It was a fun boat and there were some positives, but we had I/O's in the past and never felt comfortable with the jet drive. We're happy to be with Four Winns!

Yeah, I was alittle apprehensive about the Jet Drive too. They must work since Sea-Doo uses them but I guess there is a reason most boat manufacters use the prop system instead...... I dunno.

I love my 180, only problem now is I want a bigger boat. Maybe in five to ten years I can upgrade to the Vista series.

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2006 Yamaha R6S
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon with Volvo Penta 4.3
2010 GMC Sierra 1500

Yes, most people wish for a larger boat. We bought the 220 and the extra 4 feet is unbelivable! I could not comfortably handle a larger boat due to my parking area and driveway. We've had 9 on our boat a couple of times and did not feel crowded at all. You've got a great boat and I'm sure you'll be happy until it's time to bite the bigger bullet!