www.iFourWinns.com

i am looking at purchasing my first boat sometime this year and have really been looking at the H203. I understand Four Winns has done away with this model for 2010. does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts on the h203 model.. what options should I look for and is there a better boat out there?? will be mostly 5 or 6 people on boat at a time and do enjoy fishing but also like to tube. would like to stay within 30-38k price range. i am new to boating world so all help is appreciated.

Hi,
I have a 2008 H203 that I bought new and I LOVE it! It has been the perfect boat for our family - 2 kids (9,11) and my wife. In the early spring, it gets fished hard every weekend, then by the summer it turns into the family boat. It has the 4.3 GXI 225 hp, which is plenty of get up and go. Only exception is when it is fully loaded down with people and you are pulling a skier out of the water....gets the job done, but could use a bit more hp.

Top end is faster than I usually want to go, and the fuel efficiency is pretty good too.

As a fishing machine, it does a respectable job. Could use a bigger trolling motor, but that would require an additional battery to go 24V. It only really matters when you are cutting across the mouth of a cove and the wind is going. Usually it's just fine for working the shore line, etc. I'd upgrade the fish finder, too.

Mine has just about every option except the wake tower. Thinking about adding that on later. The extended swim platform is a MUST. it adds a lot of room and gets the kids out over the lower unit when they jump in.

I looked at all the fish and ski options hard for a couple years before I chose this one and am confident I made the right decision. A lot of the others either weren't as wide or were very shallow up in the bow area...kind of like a bass boat. This one is nice and deep to keep the kids from flying out. Hope this helps!! Good luck!

Same here, from what I hear the H183 was outselling the H203 in most markets as there isn't that much demand for the larger fish and ski models. Since I'm on big water it was exactly the boat I was looking for and I knew it would no be kept in production for 2010 so I grabbed the last 2009 I could find.

I have compared (and in some cases tested) similar fish & ski boats from Mariah, Glastron, Stingray and Tahoe, and the H203 was by far the best built and roomiest, (if not the most functional, in that regard the Glastron wins). The only negatives I would say is that a double livewell is an overkill on a boat that is not a purebred fishing machine, personnally I would have done away with the bait well and takle box and put bigger hatches on both the sides of the engine to make it a usable storage space.

Pure speculation on my part but with Glastron production moving to the Four Winns factory I would not be surprised to see a new non-VEC Glastron GT205 Fish & Ski come out looking a lot like the defunct H203.

Hello,

I also have an H203 that I purchased new in 2008. Ordered it with just about every option. What a great boat it has been. I opted for the bigger motor(5.0 gxi) and am happy that I went that route. The extended swim platform is a must. Have used it for fishing quit a bit and am able to unload and load the boat by myself with relative ease. As a previous poster stated, there could be some more storage in the rear if it were more readily accessible. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 9.75.

I like the idea of a fish and ski boat and if this one had been made with an outboard option I'd have bought one...here in salt water fish n ski boats really should be OB only in my opinion...just being able to trim up more than a IO in shallow areas is a big advantage in addition to 400 lbs less weight on the stern and no barnacle growth everywhere....

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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

we really like our 2006 model. It was a good compromise for what I wanted (fish) and what wife wants - fun. Plus the best part is being here! who would have thought. +1 on the trolling motor - a little wind and it is tough. Too bad that FW is eliminating.

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2006 FW 203 FS
2005 Dodge Laramie 1500
2003 CRF 247F SuperMoto racer
2001 CBR1100XX

Not sure what kind of fishing you plan to do, but here are some modifications I made to both my 2007 H180 (sunsport seating) and my current 2007 H210 (standard seating). I like to fish Lake Michigan and troll with lead core, dipsey divers and in-line planner boards. All my conversions can be removed and the boat looks 100% stock. It's a bit of a challenge to get a good set up and avoid drilling holes.... I have a lot of pictures of the 180, but my 210 is still a work in progress and only have a few to show for now. However, I did get it out last weekend for a shake down cruise and threw a couple of lines out. The 210 standard seating worked out great and allows for a ton of room. I replaced the front/back seat with another bolster, which really opened up the cockpit.

I do have to use two heavy duty 30" drift socks to get my speed down to 2.5 mph. Surprisingly, the two bags have the exact result with both boats. Without them, my slowest speed was closer to 4 mph on the GPS.


180 looking from the bow to the stern:



180 bow:



210 in storage this winter:



210 last weekend on lake michigan:

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http://youtu.be/-4ckF7u1iNk
2003 PowerQuest 260 Legend SX
2014 Lund WC 14

2007 H210 Volvo 5.7 Gi/SX (sold in 2012)
2007 H180 Volvo 3.0 (sold in 2009)