www.iFourWinns.com

Hi everyone! My name is Marc and last year I decided to finally buy a boat because I have lived within walking distance to Lake Ontario in Millhaven, Ontario, Canada (near Kingston) for the past ten years. I bought a 1998 H200 from our local Four Winns dealer (the largest in the world!) and it is in pristine condition. We thoroughly enjoyed the boating experience but found the space a bit too cramped when we had another couple and some extra kids on the boat. Soooo!! I searched the worldwide web thoroughly and found a 2001 H260 with 180 hrs on a 7.4 Gi with entertainment centre, extended swim platform and a large bimini that I bought and imported in mid October. I have used it only a couple of hours but I am very pleased with the upgrade so far!

We use the boat for day trips through the thousand islands near Gananoque, ON and I like to have all our gear stowed away neat and tidy with everything having a place. For this reason, I want to move the batteries to the top of the outdrive transom hump. Has anybody done this? I only expect to put the batteries in and out twice a year. I think this will help balance the boat out also. I also want to move the trim pump up here too.

Another reason I want to move the batteries is because I want to add through the hull side exhaust (for when i'm playing with the boys!) Can anybody provide me with pictures of the routing the tubes take? Also a picture from the exterior where they go through the hull. I will be fabricating my own system out of stainless tubing but want an idea of what the OEM units look like. Any year/ model will do.

Could I also get some pictures of docking light locations? I bought a nice pair of polished stainless units off ebay that I want to install but I am not sure exactly where they go. Do they protrude into the anchor locker?

Sorry for the long message but I like to be thorough. I will try and post pictures as I do these mods but first I will need to figure out how!

Marc

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

Welcome to the board Marc. I can't answer all of your ?'s, but there are plenty around who can. From what I've seen/heard around here, moving those batteries might affect your weight distribution negatively, so I would look hard at that before moving those components.

I know nothing about the exhaust, but hopefully someone will help you out there.

As to the docking lights, mine are just far enough back so as to protrude into the bow storage area, just to the stern of the anchor locker. Granted, mine is 4 feet shorter than yours so that might make a difference too. Regardless of length, I wouldn't think you'd want them so close to the bow point, though, as they would be too close together both aesthetically and functionally. On top of that, I wouldn't think you'd want to put another hole in your anchor locker that could potentially allow leakage over time.

I plan to get to my storage unit in the next few weeks, so I'll snap a pic of my docking lights for you if can wait that long.

_________________
Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Thanks for the welcome Pet575! (Paul? I think I recognize the id from other posts)!

A couple of weeks will be OK for the pics of the docking lights. Mine have not arrived yet and I will be very apprehensive about cutting the boat so it will take me a while to get up the courage! it's a shame you have to travel to your boat...I store our two boats in the garage so I can go out and debate/examine any changes I want to do right away. I currently have all the rear seating and fibreglass partitions removed from the boat to get better access for planning/measuring and working. I will be putting the H200 up for sale in the spring so that will give me more room.

I have been debating the batteries for a while now. Other than adding some more weight to the rear of the boat that may hinder it getting on plane I don't see a drawback. I will probably break my back getting them in there though. I will be trimming soem of the fibreglass that is behind the seat also to give me more head room while doing this and any other engine compartment chores. I am going to try driving a screw into the top of the outdrive "hump" and I hope to hit some plywood for the screws to bite into. I will probably be changing the batteries to the closed case gel type (Optima?) sooner than later so I can lay them on their side for easier connections to the terminals. I will also be moving the battery switch ahead about six inchesto make it easier for access, it is really ackward where it currently sits beside the transom steps.
I have removed the potable water tank and pump because the fresh water will not get used often enough and it will just get skunky. It will also eliminate this weight source from affecting the boat. You should have seen the algae in the tank and pre-filter of the pump when I took it out. We will just take a couple of 1 gallon jugs of water for dishes, refill of port-a-potti etc... but, the lake water has been good enough up to this point anyways. We always take bottled water, pop and beer for drinking anyways.

Thanks for now...

Marc

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

Welcome aboard Marc

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Welcome to the board! Let's see some pics!

_________________

2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Marc,
Welcome to the forum!

I can help with a few pic's as well. These are my factory docking lights on my 210SS.




I hope that helps with the lighting issue.

As far as exhaust... I have the CC exhaust, and will need to wait until Hell thaws before I can get you some pics of my routing, etc. It may be warm enough this weekend, I'll just need to wait and see.

I do agree with the battery weight issue. Not from a planing perspective, but when I installed duals on my last boat, it changed the characteristics of the wake, making one side more pronounced than the other. I'm not sure that gel-cells are a good answer for a cranking battery replacement. This is a helpfull place to look...

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... ieldguides

Good luck, we hope to see you on the water soon!

_________________
Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

This isn't much of a picture for the lights, but at the moment it's all I can offer. The pic in my sig is probably more useful. You're more brave than I am if you're willing to install those yourself. Before we bought the current boat we negotiated on a similar one at a different dealer. I wanted the lights and this particular in-stock boat didn't have them. The dealer was VERY hesitant to add them, even when it was clear we'd pay for it to be done.



On the batteries, be aware that with high-deadrise hulls such as FW Horizons, any changes you make to weight & balance near the stern will have a more pronounced effect than you might expect. An example is on the '04+ 240's, many of which came from the factory with a starboard list if equipped with dual batteries. Just moving the weight of two batteries - not that much weight, really - to the other side of the boat fixes the problem.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Thanks for all your responses!

It's -20 C outside this morning and last night it was -14 C when I got home so I didn't feel like starting the wood stove and "playing" in the garage so I wasn't able to take any pictures. First I will need to put some stuff back in place for the before shots! I am new to documenting my projects, usually I just do them and then maybe take a picture in the end.

As for installing the lights, it can't be that big of a deal!? I realize I will be cutting through the hull but I plan on gooping up the exposed hull with epoxy and filing/sanding it for a tight fit and then siliconing the light in place. Plus I am sure it must have a gasket of some kind. I will probably have to remove the backs of the bow seats to install some backing for the screws to grab into and facilitate the wiring. I am hoping that the wires are factory run and are just laying somewhere. I will have to trace them from the fuseblock. By the way, the lights I bought are from Innovative Lighting Inc. and look exactly like the ones on 230 Mike's boat. The picture I am really looking for is from a top angle so I can see the light in relation to the anchor locker. Also can somebody measure from the keel back to the front of the light? This should be the same on all the 230, 240, 260 since I would think the hull is pretty much the same for the first 6 to 8 feet. The lights will be nice when I am coming home late.

As for the batteries, the optima gels come in a deep cycle and cranking style in their marine series. Their website is piss poor as far as available models but, Walmart has the two styles of batteries. I forget the ratings but will try and get them. My boat came with two deep cycles and I didn't have any problem with starting and running the boat the six or so times I had the boat out in the fall. However, the experts say that deep cycles won't last in cranking situations so the #1 battery may not have much life left. The only reason I am thinking of changing to the gel cels is there may not be enough height on top of the transom hump so I will need to lay the batteries on their side for access to the terminals.
Let's think outside the box for a minute. What about putting a battery under each side bow seat? This would add weight to the front and help with getting on plane and the side to side would be balanced. We only use this area for life jacket storage so they can always be compressed slightly to give up some space. What about mounting the batteries on some type of slides and putting them at the front of the ski locker? This again would give some weight to the front and keep it balanced on the keel. Or maybe even the rear of the ski locker side by each? However these options will require a large amount of larger bore wire and will drive up the cost of the project so I think I will stay somewhere in the rear transom area. Maybe just a single battery on each side of the boat tucked way back in deep at the transom wall? But this will probably prevent me from putting in the Thru hull exhaust because I won't be able to lay in there and lift the batteries over the 4" pipes.

The ultimate goal is to create some easy access storage for the barbeque, extra coolers, canvas, sun shelter, tables, chairs etc... You know the every trip out stuff that you need but don't want bouncing around while you are getting there stuff.

Anybody else got any major projects they are thinking about?

Marc

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

The wiring for the docking lights may well already be there; I'm pretty sure I found some unused wires and connectors when I was poking around in the nether regions of my '04 Sundowners anchor locker when I first got it. The wires and connectors for the switch are probably also already in place behind your dash, I remember there being a number of unused wires/ comnnectors behind the dash of my previous '99 Sundowner, which had a similar dash layout to your boats.

There again, my '04 boat had a docking light switch on the dash that was fully connected up, yet has never had docking lights, just a neat way to fill the hole perhaps!

Regards,

Graham

Graham,
I hope you are exactly right. These boats are put together on an assembly line and somebody off site probably makes the wiring harnesses. I noticed on my h200 that the stern light socket wiring had about six feet extra all zip tied together so this leads me to believe that the harnesses are common to all models and sizes of horizon and sundowner. It's cheaper to make a harness that suits the biggest boat and similar models than to have individual ones!

The dash of my H260 has the switches for the exhaust, docking lights and trim tabs already installed also. Again, more than likely these are made "out of house" and they order them fully loaded so they don't have to match a specific dash with each boats options.

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

I'd go with Optima Blue Tops-they are the best- and I'd keep them in the bilge. That is going to be VERY costly to put 40-50' of battery cable in there. On top of that, if the battery ever ruptured in any way or somehow sparked, caught fire, etc., I wouldn't want that to happen anywhere BUT the bilge. I'm willing to bet you can find a solution that allows both the exhaust and batteries back there near the transom.

_________________
Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Welcome to the board! I have a summer house right on St Laurence River in Alexandria Bay, NY and cruise around Thousand Islands whenever we can. We do keep our boat in there for summer months so I hope we bump into each other this summer. I also agree with all for batteries location would change handling of your boat. Although 260 will not be as sensitive as 240 or other smaller boats. You can install trim tabs to fine tune your boat if you need to make up for. For exhaust, I would strongly recommend to install or fabricate something like Captain’s Call which has valve to turn on or off (also some kind of muffler or silencer). It will be way too noisy for what is worth especially for classy Bowrider. See you in water

_________________

08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

On the dual Batt and Captain Call exhaust, I hope these pics are helpful.


The hose is the exhaust going out the stbd side.






I'll be installing my spare in the same compartment, with the disconnect switch and a 3x battery gage just above.

It will be a tight fit, putting my spare batt under my exhaust hose, but should just fit.

_________________
Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Marc,
After looking closely, I decided to keep my #1 batt in the factory location, and place my #2 under the bench seat with my subwoofer. That exhaust would make for a difficult removal/replacement, while under the seat won't require very long cables (about 48"), and would actually be easier to access than my main batt, while keeping everything close to the bilge. I'll just need to cut a hole in the bulkhead to accomidate the cables. It would be simple to move one or both to the opposite side as well, to adjust weight since I lack trim tabs.

_________________
Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Hey, Walt do you have any pics of that subwoofer? I'm thinking of adding one this year, but I'm undecided where to put it. Looking for ideas other than in the wiring access hole under the throttle arm at the helm.

Thanks.

_________________
Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)