Official H440 Walkthrough Video

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:15 am

JeffLW wrote:

I can just picture taking one over the bow in rough conditions on lake Michigan and turning that bow seating area into a bath tub.

Not sure about the rest of you but every female that has stepped foot on my boat grabs a beach towel and heads to the bow to lay in the sun. I think they would miss that real estate to stretch out on, and I would miss the view from the captains seat. :wink:

I can confirm that there is a lot of room in the bow area. See my pics on the Toronto boat show thread. Ample room for 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 peeps to lay about. With such a large freeboard I don't think any small to moderate waves would do anything on the 440. Now obviously large waves might be a problem, but hopefully one would be cognizant of the conditions before heading out.

Vintage Beauty · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:18 pm

NiagaraChillin wrote:

I can confirm that there is a lot of room in the bow area. See my pics on the Toronto boat show thread. Ample room for 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 peeps to lay about. With such a large freeboard I don't think any small to moderate waves would do anything on the 440. Now obviously large waves might be a problem, but hopefully one would be cognizant of the conditions before heading out.

I'm sure this may be able to handle larger waves than my Sundowner, but there have been a few times when I've traveled up or down the shore of lake Michigan with a reasonable wave forecast expected later in the day, only to find the waves are a foot or two larger than anticipated, and a 10+ mile run back home. Those were times I was happy to have chosen an enclosed cuddy vs. an open bow!
On a larger cruiser like this, I don't really get the appeal of the open bow seating. I personally would prefer the enclosed bow with a couple sunpads, and plenty of cockpit space for entertaining, and living space below deck.

ric · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 1:12 pm

I think you guys are missing something important. This is a closed bow boat. It's front seating section is not connected to the bilge of the boat in any way and simply drains overboard. There is no passthrough to the cockpit for water/waves to come into the cockpit like a bowrider. From an ocean going standpoint this is a standard 44ft cruiser. Walking up and over to the "bowrider" section is no different than walking up and over to set the anchor of a normal cruiser. Just on the H440 you can step back down into the hot tub lol

Vintage Beauty · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 1:53 pm

ric wrote:

I think you guys are missing something important. This is a closed bow boat. It's front seating section is not connected to the bilge of the boat in any way and simply drains overboard. There is no passthrough to the cockpit for water/waves to come into the cockpit like a bowrider. From an ocean going standpoint this is a standard 44ft cruiser. Walking up and over to the "bowrider" section is no different than walking up and over to set the anchor of a normal cruiser. Just on the H440 you can step back down into the hot tub lol

How fast will it drain though? I assume it must have some drain lines running from the seating area through the boat and out the hull? It may be a "worst case" scenario, but I wouldn't want to take a wave or two over the bow and have several hundred pounds of dynamic weight in the bow slowly draining out...

ric · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:05 pm

I can't see the size of the drains in the video but I'm guessing they'd be 1", and two of them. Without getting crazy in the maths, that's about 1200gph with no water pressure.

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:08 pm

Geez... ok, I get it. Some of you just hate the boat and will look for a problem with it, even if it doesn't exist. I'll admit, I didn't like it either, at first. But after crawling all over it in person, I think it is a great layout. Down below is enormous, plenty of room. Same with cockpit and the front open bow. You really have to be up next to this thing to appreciate how large and in charge it is. I have every confidence it could handle some rough wave action.

ric · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:26 pm

NiagaraChillin wrote:

Geez... ok, I get it. Some of you just hate the boat and will look for a problem with it, even if it doesn't exist. I'll admit, I didn't like it either, at first. But after crawling all over it in person, I think it is a great layout. Down below is enormous, plenty of room. Same with cockpit and the front open bow. You really have to be up next to this thing to appreciate how large and in charge it is. I have every confidence it could handle some rough wave action.

I agree, I don't think they quite get the scale of this vessel. Let me put this in perspective.. While the H440 is in the water, you can stack two H180's on top of each other and they'd be level with the deck in front of the windshield. While sitting in the front, your eye line is about 9ft off the water.

This is a BIG boat.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:49 pm

I don't think there are many people that "get the appeal" of the open bow seating, a niche market, and not intended to be the next
craze in cruiser boating. It's something FW could try on an existing hull, make some modifications and come up with this.....thing they call H440.

FW has done it before with the V365 and Hot Tub option.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Uvnc6HNDM

They did not sell many of them, and they did not even care. Same here with the H440.

ric · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:29 pm

Wow, someone really took good care of that old boat!!!

As far as the H440 goes, they're built on order from the hull of a V435 with honestly not many modifications from the original V435 design. The cockpit is identical, and the cabin aside the front bunk area is pretty much untouched. The sell of two H440s pays for it's R&D and tooling. It's a fun project, good job guys. Only wish I could afford one.

JeffLW · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:31 pm

Never said I hated it. I think it is awesome! Nice to see FW coming up with something new.
If I boated on a smaller lake it would be the perfect day boat/ stabbin-cabin on the water. :wink:

ric · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:42 pm

JeffLW wrote:

Never said I hated it. I think it is awesome! Nice to see FW coming up with something new.
If I boated on a smaller lake it would be the perfect day boat/ stabbin-cabin on the water. :wink:

You do understand it's a V435 right? They moved the v-berth master bed from the front, made it two bunks to accommodate the lower roof of the bow seats, and turned the rear sofa area into the master bed. It actually has a bigger head than the V435 (due to lack of washer/dryer) and master bed is much bigger than a V435 since it's not in the v-berth. For a family of 4, the H440 has a better sleeping layout than a V435, and can sleep 6 comfortably with two on the pull out sofa.

fi.na.tine · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:31 pm

I have seen lots of "niche" boats.

You have the people that have lots of money - who find it hard to decide between a cuddy and a bowrider.

BOOM. Marry the two and you will get buyers. Simple as that. 2 sales in short order - and those are only the ones we have heard of.

I think it's a great boat, and would love to have the money to dump on one someday.

firecadet613 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 8:54 pm

JeffLW wrote:

Never said I hated it. I think it is awesome! Nice to see FW coming up with something new.
If I boated on a smaller lake it would be the perfect day boat/ stabbin-cabin on the water. :wink:

Amen to that! I think it's a great boat, but just not for the big lake. Inland lakes it would be bad@$$.

RotaryRacer · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 10:22 pm

firecadet613 wrote:

JeffLW wrote:

Never said I hated it. I think it is awesome! Nice to see FW coming up with something new.
If I boated on a smaller lake it would be the perfect day boat/ stabbin-cabin on the water. :wink:

Amen to that! I think it's a great boat, but just not for the big lake. Inland lakes it would be bad@$$.

How many times have you had a substantial wave/water come over the bow of your 31' boat?

Do you consider your 31' boat to be a "big lake" boat?

How is a bigger, taller boat less worthy of use on a "big lake"? Would a V435 be acceptable to use on a "big lake"?

On a "big lake" when the waves get above 5' should anyone in a recreational boat be out there?

What wave height would cause you to seek shelter in your 31' boat? Would you seek shelter sooner in a 43' boat if it had a bathtub in the bow?

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2015 12:42 am

BTW, the one at the Toronto show sold on the last day of the show. They posted a pic on the FW's Facebook page of the new owner.

www.iFourWinns.com

Official H440 Walkthrough Video

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