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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:40 pm 
Giving some serious thought on a very TLCd for on a '02 Horizon 200 I saw at a dealership today. It had the bench seat and a 5.0L Volvo. Very nice maintained boat. We couldn't find out how to check the hourmeter or if it even had a counter in it. The LCD dash didn't indicate, and nothing that we conveniently saw in the engine compartment. Is there one on this model? Any opinions on this model as a first boat...family of 5, 2 adults 3 kiddos. 60% lake use, 40% Puget sound and mainly family leisure with waterspprts. Thanks in advance.


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:01 am 
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The hour meter displays in small digital display in speedometer...should display when key is turned on if not all the time. That is a good all round boat for water sports and cruising and big enough for your needs assuming you don't plan on heading out in big wave water. Bowriders are like a sports sedan car....rated for UP to 6.5 foot waves but you will never want to be out in such water on this boat.

I'm not aware of the conditions of the SOUND so can't comment. I will say that if you plan on day boating with family on calmer nice days, tubing and boarding, anchoring and swimming and cruising around then it's golden. If you plan on loading the kids and going on a long water water trip or venturing into rough waters then you need a cruiser style boat made for bigger water.

I would suggest a mechanic look at the boat...if not a full survey, I would at least get a compression check done of motor

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 6:44 pm 
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If Puget Sound is like Long Island Sound you may be better off with a walk around/cuddy cabin style boat instead of a bow-rider. I have taken my H-200 out in the Sound but with the bow cover on, windshield closed and an upgraded bilge pump (1100 gph). I also have an emergence back up 2,000 GPH pump I can drop in the bilge and hook up to the battery if needed. I also built a very strong support for the bow cover. You should have a VHF radio hooked up to GPS if needed for a distress call. Don't forget towing insurance...
Only tread in the Sound on calm days and always watch the weather. When it starts to turn out in the Sound it's time to get out of Dodge....
Here in the summer I've found that it's calmest in the morning before the air and water start to heat up, in the afternoon the wind and waves start. Also, if Puget gets tides there is a phenomenon called wind against tide, where the tide can be going out but the wind can be blowing on shore, or vice versa. This can produce very tall waves. And since the Sound is not the ocean, the spacing between the waves can be very tight, making it a lot rougher and more challenging.
In the bow rider, you want to practice taking wakes and waves. The idea is to slow down till it just drops off plane but the bow is still high. This will help you cut through the waves and keep the water out of the boat.

I looked on the F/W website and sadly there is nothing there that interests me. The sterndrive boats are a horror show to work on, with cramped engine compartments to accomodate those silly rear facing seats. The outboards are too big and expensive and I don't like how the engine is tacked onto what looks like an I/O swim platform. Looks like only fishing style boats for me in the future, with either Evinrude or Mercury outboard power.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
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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


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:46 pm 
Thanks. The boat dealer still wasn't able to get me the hour meter reading on the speedo, but I have a sea trial scheduled in the next few days so I'll go see for myself again. I requested a compression check and he will have the data when we go for the test. Visually, the engine is in excellent condition. Oil stick looked fresh, no residue, new oil. As mentioned,the current owner took a lot of pride in it for sure. Any other quirks of this H200 I should key in on when I do the test run?

The Puget Sound can be beautifully calm one moment and then a nasty SOB the next. Just like you mentioned, when the wind blows through some of the narrow passageways it can be white knuckled throttling all the way through. Anything more than that, I'm in the mindset that I'll look for safety first and wait it out especially with no cuddy/cabin.


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:02 am 
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OK the things to check, fall in the categories of mechanical and hull/composites...
Mechanical
With the compression test, you are looking for consistent readings, 150-175 or so across all cyls. While they are at it, make sure they check the cyls and spark plugs for the presence of any water (ie water shoots out of a cyl while doing the comp test, or spark plugs have rust on the electrodes, or the center insulator is an orange color). This would point you toward leaky exhaust riser gaskets (look for rust trails emanating from the joint between the riser and manifold, if you see this on outside, you can guess that its been leaking on the inside too). If this becomes apparent, there is the specter of more expensive repairs in the future, due to corrosion inside the engine (ie wear on cyl walls due to corrosion on them and the piston rings, and sticky exhaust valves which will cause rough running when warming up). I'd also look very carefully at the dipstick for any sign of milky oil, and take off the oil fill cap, look inside the cover for milky oil deposits (looks like mayo) in there. If so, this could be anything from:
leaky exhaust riser gaskets/rusted through exhaust manifolds/risers
blown head gasket
cracked head
cracked block
rusted out intake

Outdrive/transom mount:
mechanic should pull the drain plug and look for water/milky oil coming out, this would point to leaking seals, need for a pressure test and re-sealing the outdrive
ideally, the outdrive should be pulled off and the mechanic should check the bellows for water and cracks in the rubber, smooth movement of the gimble bearing and ujoints, and rust on the ujoints themselves. The gimble should turn very easily when turned by hand with the drive off. This should be done every season on I/Os but a lot of people neglect it, and cost themselves a pile 'o cash when the bellows starts to leak, rusts the gimble, it gets noisy, etc. Or, the drive gets corroded on and becomes a horror show to get it off.
Check trim rams for leaks, proper operation. If one is leaking they can be rebuilt with new seals.

Hull/composite:
I'm not sure when F/W changed from wood cores to full composite, but I bet that boat still has wood stringers, deck, engine mount pads and transom. You want to check for soft spots on the deck (floor), ie springyness when walking on it. Look in the ski locker, for signs of dark colored rotted wood. Engine mount pads, look for cracked fiberglass due to the wood inside rotting. Transom, look for cracks in the gelcoat/'glass suggesting rot inside.
BE VERY CAREFUL looking for rot. Repairing it is not fun, been there done it will never do it again.

Water test: it should start easily and run smoothly. Engine temps should range from 160-175. Oil pressure, from 40-60 at speed, not less than 20 or so at hot slow idle. Drive should shift well, not grind or jump out of gear. Make sure to try reverse. Trim should function well up and down. Engine should pull up to its max rpm (ie about 4800). After you run it on plane, and bring it back to idle, check the oil pressure and temp. Temp should not be over 175, oil press not lower than 20 or so.
Notice if there is flexing in the hull, windshield, etc.
They are good boats, but due to the age of it, there could be a lot of issues. Mainly due to lack of regular maintenance and improper storage.

My next boat will be close to new, and outboard powered. I'm done with the maintenance needs of I/O power in salt water.....
Evinrude has a 10 year warrantee, I might go for this.

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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


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:34 pm 
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LouC wrote:
I'm not sure when F/W changed from wood cores to full composite, but I bet that boat still has wood stringers, deck, engine mount pads and transom.

I recall somewhere being told/heard that Four Winns changed over to full composite decks around 2000.

My '99 H180 has very little wood in it (and I've looked hard to find it!). About the only wood I have in my boat (other that cushion backs) is the wood tray that holds my main battery, trolling motor batteries, and oil tank. It sits under the floor right in front of where the outboard is mounted on the transom.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:52 pm 
Sea trial went great and boat ran like a champ. I did a visual shakedown of everything and it was dry, no leaks, no oils, no smells etc. Still waiting for compression data. I can't be certain what year this boat actually is and what options it has based on the owners manual. The manual lists the VDO but there is no VDO to be found. It has a wood trim cluster gauge and an LCD display made by Faria. The gauges are set in circle patterns, 3 big 2 small. Is it possible to tell what year this cluster was introduced? What is the operation mode of that Faria gauge?


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:01 am 
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The boat year will be the last 2 digits of the hull Id # which is on the starboard transom. The power package could be the same year or a year older, it depends on the model number on the engine. A previous owner may have converted it over to regular gauges from the VDO set up.

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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


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:30 am 
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My 2002 190 has 3 large and 2 small gauges. The small are depth sounder and trim. The hour meter would be incorporated into the depth sounder, if you have one . Mine does not. No hour meter on the boat anywhere.
Wayne

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 11:30 am 
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Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:48 pm
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What’s the asking price?


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:44 am 
Masterplan wrote:
What’s the asking price?
$13.5

Finally picked it up as I let it sit at the dealership until I got back from vacation. I had a mobile detail guy come out to do his thing to it before hauling it home and she looked good! I've fired it up a couple times to turn it over, and am anticipating my maiden voyage with it as soon as the lake opens next week. Can't wait! I'd like to try and post some pics soon.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 8:30 am 
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Congratulations on the new toy!

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1999 180 Horizon OB Fisherman Pkg
San Antonio, TX

Choice of tow vehicle:
'93 Explorer 4x4 (sold)
'05 Grand Cherokee 4x4 w/ 5.7 Hemi (member of the 240k+ mile club!)


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