www.iFourWinns.com

Alright, I know now that I should have payed more attention to this when we bought the boat. But, I didn't, and I am not to big to admit it.... stupid me! So as you can see from the subject line, I am thinking about converting our boat from the standard seating to the sunsport seating.

We were looking at upgrading to a 180 with the V6 and Sunsport, but the 2009 that our dealer had available sold last week while we were trying to sell our boat. The deals are just not as good (obviously) on the 2010 boats. (not to mention trying to deal when you are upside down on your boat to begin with) To top this all off, my wife is only interested in the change in seating, and nothing else.

So I have a few questions....

First question is: are the back of the boats (molded Fibreglass parts) the same? I have a question in to Four Winns on that one. My previous manufacturing engineering background tells me no, they wouldn't have 2 different deck molds for the same entry level boat. From what I have seen under the hatch they look the same as well. If they are different, then I don't think I will bother even trying this.

The second question is: Can I source some used parts of a wrecked boat and where would I begin to look? That would obviously save me some dollars in trying to do this. If not then I would have to source everything from dealers.

So what do you think guys? Any thoughts as to where I could find parts, or any thoughts in general would be greatly apreciated!

_________________
2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

Chris,
Why would you want to give up all that floor space?

_________________
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

My guess is that you could probably buy all the parts you needed from FW... I doubt this would be an uncommon request.

_________________


Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

I don't mean to answer for Chris because he might have his own reasons, but I can honestly say the extra floor space is no trade-off for the biggest asset of the sunsport seating in a small boat and that's STORAGE.

We use to go crazy in our old boat with standard seating. The only storage you have is under the bow seats and I put my bow and cockpit covers under one of those. With the sunsport seating you have the storage under the long seat and two huge storage bins on either side of the motor. I keep towels, water toys, ski vests, a cooler, cleaning products, extra life vests, first aid kit, a vacuum cleaner, a pump etc.... and we still have tons of room for more stuff. Since we have our boat on a mooring all summer it's nice to be able to leave all this stuff on the boat.

We absolutely love the way the seating and sunpad works for us too, but I really just wanted to mention the storage aspect because in the end...that's what sold us.

_________________
2010 H190 4.3VP
Tow Vehicle:
2007 F150
Previous boats:
2009 H180 3.0VP
1996 Horizon QX 3.0VP

Well, to answer the question about why give up the floor space, the reason is simple... happy wife, happy life!

This all started after a boat ride on our larger local lake (nipissing). After being stuck in the back seat and seeing the sunsport seating in my brothers boat, she was interested in having the same. We did look upgrading to a V6 180, but we are just a bit to far upside down on this boat right now. It would probably be cheaper to buy the parts and do the conversion rather than going even further upside down on a new boat.

So, there you have it. I guess that I have to eat my words or a previous thread about the extra space in the standard seating! I did realize that the storage space is a nice thing to have on the sunsport boat while we were looking at it.

_________________
2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

I bet it could be done. But I don't think it can be done cheaply. If I am reading this right you want to essentially replace ALL the seating in the cockpit of the boat? You will also need to do the carpet which is probably at least $400 right there. I have never even looked into this, but I bet you will be into the "project" for $2,500 - $3,000 and that is if you do your own labor.

Seriously?

_________________


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

Yup.... I know what you are getting at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nipissing



Not all the seating would need to be changed, only swapping the back motor cover, jump inserts & doghouse for the supporting panels, sunpad and bench. I would think that I could have my existing carpet trimmed and re-bound. I do agree though that it won't be cheap, just cheaper than the amount I would loose on trading in my boat. Hopefully I could sell my jumpseats, pad and doghouse to help recoup some cost.

I also wonder if there are any places out there that specialize in salvage/scrapped boat parts as a possible source for some parts. Obviously I wouldn't want bench or sunpad parts that have been submerged, but say a boat that fell of a trailer, maybe??? If anybody knows of such places in the U.S. or Canada, I would appreciate any contact info.

_________________
2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

I basically re-did the interior in my 88 FW Horizon 200 because it was all trashed really...you guys all have immaculate boats by comparison...this thing looked like a beat to hell NYC taxicab. Anyway it came with the sunsoport seating...I replaced all the bow cushions (had they redone by a canvas guy) and replaced the helm seats (got captains chairs from Overtons')...then I was actually thinking of just putting in 2 jump seats on either side of the engine...and building an engine dog house...and cutting the sunpad so it would just cover the area over the engine...but I realized how much stoage space I'd give up and just left it with the traditional sunsport design. My thought was that using the jumpseats and eliminating the big bench seat (I usually go out with just one other person anyway) would give much more room for fishing...but we needed the storage. For the bench seat I got two benches from Overtons that matched the front helm seats. The Overton's stuff matched the OE interior colors perfectly. BUT each helm seat was $250 and the benches were about the same price each...so that's a grand in seating right there...In this case you'd also have to modify the sunpad (much bigger) and make supports that go on either side of the engine to support the sun pad when it's closed. It's going to be pretty expensive unless you can get the parts cheaper from a salvage place. I went with the Overtons' stuff because labor is expensive here and the canvas guy advised me I'd be better off buying new seats instead of re-doing the FW helm seats (which by the way were REALLY nice when new)...
I think you will give up a lot of floor space doing that...I feel that FW should have configured their smaller bowriders with 2 captains chair helm seats and just the jump seats by the engine...that back to back thing leaves no room in the floor on that side...

_________________
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

Extra storage it is then...
Check Great Lakes Skipper on Ebay...
Check with the parts guys at Winnisquam....
Check with your local upholstery guy and see how much he would charge...
I'm betting you could build all the frame work yourself pretty easily (especially since you have your brother's as a reference)

Find the best deal that suits you and get it done now so you won't lose any seat time.


Good Luck and keep us posted.

_________________
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

Is this not what you are looking for?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HORIZON-BOAT-MARINE-SWIM-SUN-DECK-HATCH-MOTOR-COVER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5ad721e65dQQitemZ390156379741QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear

Or this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HORIZON-BOAT-MARINE-SWIM-SUN-DECK-HATCH-MOTOR-COVER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5ad745edaeQQitemZ390158740910QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear
Or maybe this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HORIZON-BOAT-MARINE-SWIM-SUN-DECK-HATCH-MOTOR-COVER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5ad721e926QQitemZ390156380454QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear

_________________
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

Thanks for the link MNG, that looks like the pad. I have a question in to the seller to see if it is in fact for my boat. The price looks a bit high too, as my local dealer mentioned that pad is about $900, that's new from the factory. This looks like a step in the right direction though.

I will check with the guys at Winnisquam as well. From the comments that I have heard here, they seem to be just the right people to help out with something like this. We are going down to Boston to visit relatives in may, so if they had the parts there I could pick them up.

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

Would someone with a H180 with the sunsport seating be able to verify some dimensions for me? The one mentioned in this post on ebay has dimensions, but is not sure what model it is for. It looks like the right one, but I need to verify the dims.

The posted dimensions are 74" wide x 34" long x 12" high (at the front of the pad I am guessing).

Thanks a million.

_________________
2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310