www.iFourWinns.com

Hi all,
I am a newby to this forum and was wanting to know how the Four Winns H210 & H220 handle rough seas.
I live on a large bay that is prone to chop up and need to know how they handle prior to making my purchase.
Your advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Craig

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2007 H220 5.7 MAG

Since they are a pretty deep vee design they usually do well in chop; but open bow boats are vunerable to taking a wave over the bow in rough conditions. Are either of these boats self bailing? If not then you really have to be careful. I keep the bow cover on my boat whenever I'm in rough water especially going into LI Sound. I'd build a strong support (maybe even 2) for the bow cover. Then take a good look at the bilge pump. If it is a puny 500 gph unit replace that with at least a 1100 gph and add an auto switch. I also carry a big 2000 gph unit that I can drop in the bilge and hook up to the battery in an emergency. If the boats you are considering don't have dual battery system get it installed or do it yourself if you can. Back ups for batt power and bilge pumps are VERY important.

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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

Welcome Craig. Typically, open bow designs aren't preferred in rough seas, unless they have scuppers or self-bailing cockpits (think center console fishing boats). If ya go head-on into a good size swell, it could swamp your boat in seconds. So, to answer your question, there are a couple of options:

1. Learn to master rough sea navigating, quarter the waves, beware a following sea and yo ho ho, and a deadmans chest.
2. Get a Sundowner (I'm a little biased there).
3. Avoid the chop of the bay you boat on. Sound simple, but I do the same thing where I boat. If its rough on Lake Ontario, I retreat to the safety of the river.

I'm sure some actual H210/220 owners will jump in with advice (hopefully better than mine). Again welcome, BTW, where is the bay ya boat at?

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

I wouldn't dare own a bowrider in an area known for rough water. That's asking to sink.

You're better off stepping into a 22-24ft cuddy cabin. Most all have self bailing cockpits and with the closed bow they handle rough water MUCH MUCH better. If a wave crashes over the bow it just goes over the side, not INSIDE the boat. If water does get inside the cockpit, it just goes back over the side via the self bailing hull if the boat is such equipped (do not buy one without).

My Chaparral 215 has a self bailing cockpit and other nice rough water features exactly like an offshore fishing boat. It's not shy in rough water, it's built to cruise. I'm pretty sure the 2003+ Sundowner Four Winns also have self bailing cockpits, when looking to purchase one I remember seeing scuppers.

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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

Believe it or not Niagara, one of the projects in my mind that's been swirling around for a while is this:
We like bowriders but worry about the sea-worthy-ness.
At one time FW built something called the 200-H Convertible. It was the same as my boat, but without bow seating (storage) and a center section of the front deck lifted up to give you access to the bow for anchoring. Same windshield. Only sold it a few years.
So, I wanted to ask my fiberglass guy if he could make a removable three piece rigid bow cover, that could be folded up or taken apart and stored on the boat. It could be done, but the problems would be storage and cost. Probably have to use foam cores to keep the weight reasonable.

In the meantime, what I am doing is building a couple of strong supports for the bow canvas. I have used the adjustable pole and the triangular plastic piece used to support boat covers for all these years. But over the years the plastic flexes and cracks etc. So I am going to copy the plastic in 1/2" plywood, with a 4"x4" base in wood for the adjustable pole. Two of these, would support the cover as well as is possible.

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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

Hi Craig - Where are you planning on boating? Folks on the forum can help out better of we know what kind of water you're talking about. I don't put chop and rough seas in the same category....

Erik

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Thanks to everyone for your kind welcomes and quick responses.
I live by Port Phillip Bay which is below Melbourne Victoria Australia. Although it isn't open water as such, it is a very large bay and prone to sudden squalls.

My reference to rough seas would be more chop than swells.

We are looking at two different boats. One being a Searay 220 Sundeck, and the other the Four Winns either in the H210 or H220. We are favouring the Four Winns as we don't need the sink and toilet, however we have been told that the Searay handles the chop really well. Any thoughts on this?

Also have another query.......one boat that we have our eye on is a Four Winns H210 with a 270Hp 5 Litre Volvo Penta. Will this motor be sufficient for this boat??????

Our use for the boat is mainly wakeboarding, towing sea biskets, pulling up on beaches and general cruising of which most will be in calm conditions, however we have a holiday home that is on the other side of the bay (about 30 Klm's) and need to be assured that we can get home safely if the bay roughs up.

Being a newby, I'll probably have several more questions.

Thanks again for your advice.

Cheers, Craig

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2007 H220 5.7 MAG

he said sea biscuits

_________________
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

Yeah, that one.
Is was not much after 5.00am our time when I sent the post

Cheers, Craig

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2007 H220 5.7 MAG

At least us Aussies can spell doughnut!

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2011 Four Winns H180 SS.
Aussie built Mustang 2800.
SOLD - 1997 Four Winns Horizon RS

The 210 handles the chop fine as any and better than most bowriders I've been on. The stable v design does well cutting the chop.

However I will add the bowriders are not the best for rough water, which I refer to as big water. A single wave over the bow will have you ankle deep in a second. I've done this on my prior boat by not paying attention and dumping the throttle as a wake was approaching the bow head on.

Rough conditions can happen in big lakes too. I've gotten caught in a sudden storm in a closed bow sea ray and almost didn't make it back. Had I been in the h210 I wouldn't have. Waves steady coming over bow will swamp the bowrider quick...with or without the upgraded bilge pump.

If your talking 2 foot chop your OK...bigger than that on regular basis then you need self bailing system.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

I have to agree even my H180 was exceptional in rough water. Been in some nasty wind chop with the added benefit of big wakes and other than maybe a drink spilling it made me lose no confidence in it's ability. The Stingray I owned would put me in fear of my life in a 2in wind chop. The Chap 215 ssi is on a whole other level compared to Four Winns though, built from the ground up for open water stability and survivability. I love Four Winns and my next "upgrade" will be a Vista, but I can't deny the fact that Chaparral's hull design in all their models (especially the Signature cruisers) are far superior in rough water.

All that being said, if I knew I was going to boat in waters that could potentially get rough on a daily basis... there are bowriders designed for such a case but they're not made by Four Winns. Example:
http://www.seafoxboats.com/boats.php?id=44

SeaFox sucks don't buy one but you get the idea

_________________
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

Any of the dual console boats designed for salt water would be better rough water boats because of self bailing design, but also outboard power where the power head is well above the water.
Not only that, but boats like Key West, Boston Whaler and Everglades are fully foamed inside, even up in the gunnels. They have full floatation and basically cannot sink. They can capsize yes but they cannot sink. Most other mass market boats have flotation under the sole but thats not the same thing. Boats that are fully foamed are in another level of safety, from basic boats like FWs and the rest.

I said this before and I'll say it again, do not depend on only those two little scuppers to save you. They will let rain water drain off the deck but you really need to take a good look at your bilge pump(s) even with a brand new boats. In most cases other than boats designed for off shore use they are inadequate. A 20' boat, with a 500 gph bilge pump...is not safe....what you should have...is 2 1100-1500 gph pumps.
I found this out...not from a wave over the bow, but from a cooling hose that popped off the PS cooler. It filled the bilge up with water faster than you can say Oh Sh!t. Fortunately I shut off the engine and then the water stopped coming in so I could figure out what happened. It took about 10 min for the one 1100 gph pump I had, to pump out the water up to the bottom of the engine. That's why I say you should have 2.

_________________
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

Hi Craig - not too many of us have boated on Port Phillip Bay, so it's tough to get a sense of what the conditions typically are....What boats are popular out there? If bow riders are popular, then a H210 may well be a good call. If everyone else are on Grady-Whites and Boston Whalers, then there's probably a reason for that.

Oh, and on the 5.0 question, there are differing opinions as to whether that is enough for that size boat. You can do some searching on the forum to see some of the discussion, but most tend to agree that more engine is better. Also depends somewhat on whether you are looking at a DP or not.

Erik

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

I have a 2005 210 horizon (now called the h220) with the 5.0 gxi (270 hp). I use it for water sports most of the time. It works great for us. I spent a week down at Smith Mountain Lake in VA this summer and we had 10 people on board regularly (6 adults and 4 kids) and it worked great. I do plan to upgrade to a 5-blade prop which should given even better performance, but overall I am very happy with the engine.

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Seth




2005 210 Horizon
5.0L GXi
"Don't Think Twice"