First boat purchase

ejjones55 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 30, 2015 10:26 am

New member and potentially first time boat purchaser here.

Thinking of purchasing a 1995 FW Horizon 200 with trailer. asking price is $6000. No problems (allegedly), lower unit was done last year. v8 engine and about 300 hrs.

My question to Horizon owners...what should I be looking for as far as major issues?

Any help very much appreciated

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Jun 30, 2015 10:34 am

Its a 20 year old boat, the likelihood of problems is directly related to how it was maintained and stored. The most serious issues are wood rot in the transom core, deck and stringers. If you're not familiar with fiberglass boat construction get someone who is to look at it. You're looking for:
Cracks in the 'glass round the transom mount, lose seat mounts, soft spongy flexy deck, engine mount beds that have cracks in the 'glass, etc.
If the interior is all mildewed, the boat was stored damp and rot is a much higher likelihood.
Check the underside of the hull, look for gouges, cracks and holes along the keel and strakes.

If the lower unit was replaced, ask what happened. Did if fail from wear and tear or was it an impact damage issue. If the latter look very carefully at the transom for cracks and the transom mount.
Its an old boat don't rush into it.

Check the fiberglass/wood structure first, if it passes then look at the mechanical.

afw200 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 30, 2015 10:44 am

major issues ???

1.) Overall age and condition, this is an old boat
2.) VDO gauge cluster, junk and costly to fix/replace
3.) Small cockpit compared to most 20 footers.

ejjones55 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 30, 2015 12:23 pm

]Thanks for responses. I have some pictures of the boat and the interior and exterior look to be in great shape for a '95. I can't quite figure out how to post them on here quite yet, but will keep trying.

brentm77 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 30, 2015 1:58 pm

Post pictures by uploading them to a site such as Village.Photos. Make sure they are in a public folder. Click on the properties of the picture you want to upload, copy the URL. Then use the "Img" button above the reply box and insert the URL between the two tags it places in the box. Example {img}http://www.thisisyourphoturl.com{/img}

Only difference is the above tags will use [ instead of {

rpengr · **Posted:** Tue Jun 30, 2015 2:20 pm

Good suggestions above. Also check the condition of the trailer. Four Winns provides Painted Steel Trailers (mostly) that tend to rust from the inside out. If you see rusty looking weak spots, it is probably much worse than it looks because it starts from the inside. FW had galvanized trailers as an option, but not many of them out there.

The Horizon 200 could be a very good choice for a first boat if it's in good condition.
- Big enough to handle more passengers and rougher waters than a 17' or 18'.
.....(17-18 foot is comfortable with up to 4 adults only, 20' is comfortable with up to 6)
- Not too big. Very trailerable and not to hard to dock, etc.

Good luck.

ejjones55 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 02, 2015 1:39 pm

[imghttp://village.photos/images/user/b3a58aa4-d05a-416e-b4e1-8af0f8730c2c/tn_d882a091-b612-4599-b0a4-d6ac7122bbf0.jpg][/img]

trying to let everyone see the pics of the boat, please let me know if this works

thanks again everyone

ejjones55 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 02, 2015 1:47 pm

rpengr · **Posted:** Thu Jul 02, 2015 1:55 pm

Good pics. Looks great.

LouC · **Posted:** Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:11 pm

Looks great. Now stomp around on that deck, to make sure there's no rot under the carpet. As everyone here knows, I do NOT like carpet in open boats, that are stored in any kind of a moist or coastal environment.
From the pix, it looks like it was taken care of well. That's important.

Does the boat have EFI or a carb?

ejjones55 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:27 am

Going today to look at the boat. Talked to the owner a bit over the phone. Nothing major wrong with the boat. Everything works except hour meter, he guesses about 300-350 hrs currently. Had the lower unit done about 4 years ago because he hit a rock on a lake and bent something on it. He took it to the shop and they tried to heat it and bent it straight, but ended up cracking it. They replaced the whole lower end. Other than that, he hasn't had any issues in the 5 years he has owned it.

It's 5.0L EFI to answer LouC.

try this link to see it listed on CL

https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/boa/5107115776.html

feedback is greatly appreciated again

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:13 am

Only other issue I might have,is the age of the boat and the availability of certain parts for the EFI system such as the ECM for the injection and ignition sys. Sometimes these parts get discontinued and if you have a problem you can be SOL. With old boats that age you are better off with carbs and old school ignition systems, because those are out there in the aftermarket.

ridepate · **Joined:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:56 pm **Posts:** 220

I see a carb. Lou.

zims1993 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:32 am

Yep, that's a carb for sure not EFI.

rpengr · **Posted:** Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:40 am

ejjones55 wrote:

Thinking of purchasing a 1995 FW Horizon 200 with trailer. asking price is $6000. No problems (allegedly), lower unit was done last year. v8 engine and about 300 hrs.
My question to Horizon owners...what should I be looking for as far as major issues?

Make sure you read this one (rot in transom):
http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14218

www.iFourWinns.com

First boat purchase

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