www.iFourWinns.com

Hey Everybody!

First off I just want to say what a great resource this forum is for Four Winns owners.

About a month ago I purchased my first Four Winns and have been very pleased with it so far. My boat is a 2000 Horizon 180 LS with the Volvo Penta 4.3GL engine. (see picture below of our most recent outing on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN).

I purchased it used (obviously) with only 190 hours on it and in excellent condition for 10k. My only complaint so far with this boat is with the poorly constructed VDO gauge cluster where my speedometer works intermittently and and temp warning goes off on first start until the temp sender unit in the thermostat warms up a bit. I am heavily considering replacing the whole gauge cluster to fix these issues.

Other than the gauges the only other minor issue Ive had is that the engine idles a little high at about 850-900 RPM. I know that the idle RPMs should be around 650 so I tried a slight carb adjustment this weekend and was able to actually drop it down to about the 850 mark from 1000. I wasnt able to drop it any lower than that without the engine running pretty rough and eventually dying. I am planning on having it tuned professionaly to fix this as I would imagine the real danger of having higher RPMs is that it would be hard on the transmission when shifting it in gear.

Anyway I just wanted to introduce myself as I have been visiting this forum pretty frequently for the past couple of weeks. Thanks to all who contribute to this forum!

Welcome! Great looking boat and family!

Probably a great idea to have a good boat mechanic tune it up and give it a general check. If you aren't 100% certain when the impeller was last changed, have it done or do it yourself. Make sure the anodes on the drive are in very good shape; if questionable at all, replace them.

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

NICE LOOKING BOAT! But I am biased!



Mines a 2003 Freedom 180. From everything I can find, the Horizon and Freedom are almost exactly the same. One is 4 inches longer the other is a bit wider.

No issues with my gauges, but mine might be a different brand. Here is a picture of them:



Welcome to the Board. I have found tons of answers from the fellow FW enthusiasts!

Do you have a chartplotter? I have been trying to find a good place to mount it that does not look "added on."

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2010 Sea Hunt Triton 220 "Big Whiskey"
2003 FW Freedom 180 Volvo Penta 4.3GL/SX-M "It'll Do Four Now" (Sold)
2012 Avalanche LTZ 4X4

Welcome aboard! Do some searching and you'll find a lot of info regarding the VDO cluster. If you're only having issues with the speedo, I wouldn't sweat it too much. There is a full cluster replacement that you can DIY if you want though. I was talking to some friends in MN recently and they mentioned that there is a lot of dock space or at least lake front homes available on minnetonka. You might want to see if there are some rack storage deals over there. Would save you the hassle of towing on the 494/694.

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'99 Horizon 200

Welcome! Nice boat.

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Troy
2008 Centurion Avalanche
1994 Four Winns Horizon 180 SE 5.0L OMC Cobra (Sold)
2002 Ford F150 Harley Davidson Edition (http://www.nhtoc.com) 378 hp & 465 tq at rear wheels
2008 Honda Accord EX-L w/Nav

Thanks for the welcome everybody!

Before I bought it I confirmed that the impeller was replaced at the start of this season, so I should be good for a year or two? The thing I REALLY like about this Volvo Penta is that the water pump is right up front on the engine making it easy for me to replace the impeller myself, thereby saving a couple hundred dollars in mechanic labor. In Minnesota I obviously have to worry about properly winterizing the boat, so that is the next thing I am researching. I intend to do the winterization myself, again, in an effort to save some cash.

As far as the intermittent speedo gauge is concerned, Ive largely been making due by using my GPS enabled iphone to track my speed (and direction). I have a suction iphone mount that actually fits quite nicely just to the right of the instrument panel. It just bothers me that so many people are having problems with this VDO cluster. It seems like Four Winns should consider subsidizing the cost of the replacement gauge cluster somehow for the fact that many many people are having issues with the poor craftsmanship of it.

Yrless11, Yes! I have heard that there are plenty of people dumping their boat slips on minnetonka for cheap in these hard economic times. We are currently looking at this very idea. We have a lake (Medicine Lake) about 5 miles from where I live that we have traditionally taken our boat on but it is fairly small. Ive never like the idea of fighting traffic on the freeway with my boat, so its nice that I only have to take local roads to get there. Lake Minnetonka is really nice, and big, so that would be our preferred lake however.

PDACPA, I didnt realize how similar looking the Freedom line is to the Horizon line, Nice boat yourself!

Thanks. I know the Horizon and Freedom are so close I do not understand why FW did it that way and not just make one or the other. Take a picture of your iphone in the mount. I do the same thing with the GPS on it as I have not bought a chartplotter yet. Most of the places we have been with the boat I have been previously with friends or my buddy brings his boat and he has a one.

Still trying to figure out a good place for the chartplotter, but like the idea of an iphone mount so I can hear it ring and not have it in the glove box.

Another nice thing on the VP is that you can check the oil on the lower unit easy and has a dipstick.

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2010 Sea Hunt Triton 220 "Big Whiskey"
2003 FW Freedom 180 Volvo Penta 4.3GL/SX-M "It'll Do Four Now" (Sold)
2012 Avalanche LTZ 4X4