www.iFourWinns.com

our wet dogggs boat. just trying to get some feed back,


thanks for anyinfo

Guess that depends on what opinions you are looking for?

What sort of boat are you looking for? How will you use it?

Opinions on price? size? performance? FW quality?

In terms of buying from Wet Dogg -- I think he's been around boating-forum-land for quite some time... I would think you can feel comfortable purchasing from him as a seller. Shouldn't be any concerns there.

Best of luck!

Best advice anyone can give you is that it's a buyer's market... LOTS and LOTS of boats available out there. Narrow them down, and find the deal that works for you!

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

Wet Doggg is good people.

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

And a Four Winns 230 Horizon is a great boat!

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

thanks for the feed back.

In terms of boat shopping, I am looking for a good 22-25ft family boat. Is this good all around boat? And will it kill me in gas? Also, is the motor big enough for that boat.

230 is a great boat for family and friends…. And his asking price seems to be good as well… I think 5.7L DP is a perfect for 22’ to 25’ bowrider unless you are power hungry..… then you should not wary about fuel cost……. Based on my personal experience I am not a big fan of single prop boat for this length range so DP or Bravo III is a way to go. I like to have an extended swim platform but for that price you could add one…. Spend a time and get a right boat but 230 with 5.7L DP is a good one. Good Luck!.. Summer is almost here!

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

Can I comment on this thread . First...thanks for the "good people" comments. I am only selling the boat because I do not want to see it sit. In 3 - 4 years we will get another boat for sure.

As far as power...one of my biggest concerns when buying a boat is the power. The 5.7 with the DP does great. 52 mph with just me in the boat. Not a speed demon by any means but Four Winns has never been know for flat out speed. Engine and drive combo can easily pull two skiers or multiple tubes. The hull has a great ride as well. I would agree on the extra swim platform. But for how we boat, anchor the boat outside a beach that can only be accessed by water. The day is spent on the beach and not on the boat...so no need. But I do like them and wish the boat had one.

I didn't reply to the power question because I couldn't remember what WD's boat had in it. If it's got the 5.7, it's good to go. If it has the DP, it has a very thick layer of icing on the cake. You're also seeing a very honest reply from the seller. If you're looking for a rocket ride, Four Winns probably isn't your best choice. If you're looking for a great all-around family boat, it's a top choice and the 230 is great (although I'm a bit biased on that last point ).

Buy with confidence, in my opinion.

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

Josh,

I have the 2001 model of the boat you are looking at and I love the layout. I bought mine used back in Nov. of 2007 and couldn’t be happier. I have found myself many times thinking that it was the perfect boat for us. I have a family of 4 (Wife, Son 10, and Daughter 5). We typically go out and invite another family of 3-5 people and have plenty of room. I am frequently pulling two large tubes with 4-5 riders between them. For a 6-7 hour day on the lake, we generally burn 20-30 gallons, but we are moving quite a bit (floating and swimming some). I have the 5.7L DP and have never felt lacking in power.

I would agree with the comments on the swim platform. I like the extended one, but as Mike mentioned, for what appears to be a great price for the quality of boat Wet Doggg is selling, you could add one later if you want and still have a good deal. FYI: You will see from my picture, my swim platform is different that most of the H230s. Mine is sitting on top of the existing one (rather than behind and lower). I’m not sure if they added it later or just wanted it that way. I believe mine is the swim platform made for the H200 (I looked at the H200 originally and it looks identical).

If you have any other questions, let me know.

John

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John
2001 Four Winns Horizon 230
VP 5.7 GSi / DP
2007 Ford Expedition EL

Thanks for all the feed back guys. The boat sound like a great family boat with plenty power. I'm pretty new to this boat shopping thing; anyways i went to the bank today and they said that the boat can not be NADA it needs marinesurvey. I thought buying a boat was like buying a car.
This is what my loan officer sent me.

"Josh,



Unfortunately this boat is a customer built yacht and is not able to be booked out. I have copied what the NADA has printed on the Horizons.



HORIZON YACHTS

THESE ARE CUSTOM MADE-TO-ORDER HOUSEBOATS. VALUES NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO LIMITED RESALE ACTIVITY. NADA RECOMMENDS A MARINE SURVEY TO OBTAIN AN ACCURATE VALUE.




Because of this we would need a marine survey to book it out and I understand these are costly and time consuming.



These are two links sent to me by our underwriters regarding marine surveys. Not sure how helpful they are.

http://www.marinesurvey.org http://www.nams-cms.org/contact.htm"


so, i don't know what to do? Thanks for all the feed back.

I think im going to go check out another bank tomorrow.

Personally, I think you'll love the 230. I believe that year of 230 is more like the current 240. We just picked up a 200 and love it. We rarely have others on the boat so it is fine for us (family of 4). It can handle an additional 4 people with no problems. We have the 5.7 with a single prop and pushes our boat just fine. I think the 5.7 with DP will do great on the 230. As far as buying from another forum member, I think it's a great idea. Typically people that are involved in forums have a geniune interest in that activity and care about things. I would think you would end up with a more cared for boat than the average person. I'm sure you will be doing some inspection on the boat, heck even ask if you can take a sea trial to see if you enjoy the boat and make sure there are no issues. It's certainly a big purchase and you want to make sure that you are comfortable making it. Just my .02. Good luck!

Edit on your last post:
Your bank is way off. This is not a Horizon Yacht (note the word Yacht). They are a custom yacht builder. You need to make sure they look up Four Winns with the model Horizon 230. It will be a factory made boat and fall under NADA.

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'99 Horizon 200

NADA will look something like this. It looks like the boat has a 'low retail' of 14,370 and an average retail of 16,330. Your bank will probably not want to see a purchase price greater than the average retail - so take that into consideration. Doesn't mean you should or will pay any more or any less - it's just going to be the marker that your bank uses. Plus, different banks have all the different down payment requirements.


Not sure if this is everything that Wet Doggg has on his boat... you can go to http://www.nadaguide.com and build it out for yourself

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

thanks for the fast response, i'm going to go to a different bank tomorrow.

I can't say enough about the 230!!! We love ours the 5.7 DP is great with plenty of power ours has 428 hours and still running strong just do your routine maintance and it will be a great boat for a long time!!!!! DREW

They obviously don't know what they are talking about. They think you are asking to buy a custom built house boat!!!


Good choice on looking elsewhere for a loan.

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2008 Horizon 260 VP 8.1 Gi