www.iFourWinns.com

I'm planning on getting a new boat and I'm intersted to know why you choose to buy a FW over say a Cobalt, Chaparral or Searay? I've read some of the posts regarding the SS and I'm still not completely sold on the brand itself. For those that purchased the 200 do you feel that you should have gone with something bigger like the 210 as my main concern with the 200 is that it might be to small for some bigger lakes. Although I like the price of the 200 better. I would like to hear from both 200 and 210 owners and what they like and don't like about their boat.

For me the main difference, and selling point between the 200 and 210 was the bow ladder. I was sold on the SS in general when I saw one at the boat show in '07. With the low-slung "visor" and eye catching graphics, the growl of the 377 w/ captain's call at WOT about made me wet myself! Compared to other models of other brands, I felt FW had the better balance of quality, and price. I presented pic's of my last three contestants (H210 non-SS, and a comparable Ebbtide) to female friends of mine, and they all agreed the 210SS (with tower) was more likely to get me laid.

Shop around yourself. I personally think Sea Ray would be another very good option; but didn't feel Cobalt, Chap, or Crown had the "Wow" factor for the price. Even going to boat shows today, looking in the helm, I just too often see switches that look left-over from Radio-shack; gages that look like some '70's car dash, and a squared off wind-screen that just doesn't blend with the hull.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Cobalt builds a gorgeous and well-built boat and has for decades. I would still say they have a leg up over FW in terms of build quality. However, the difference isn't nearly what it was even 15 years ago IMO. Cobalt is just as good as ever, but other manufacturers including FW have narrowed the gap tremendously in that time. In addition, I believe other builders (especially FW) have surpassed Cobalt in some less obvious areas like storage space.

Though I'm not an SS owner, I would say their biggest Achilles heel is the graphics themselves; they are decals. Like all decals, they look great new but what about 7-10 years from now? I expect to see a bunch of boats on this site "going naked" or having 3rd party graphics installed as time goes on (mine included, possibly).

Another thing to consider is trailers. FW builds their own frames and uses easily available off the shelf components, so their trailers tend to fit their boats and track down the road very well. Parts are easy to get. But there won't be a single stainless steel fastener on it when new, brake lines will likely not be secured as well as they should be - annoying things like that. I even felt my bunks were a couple inches too short and had them replaced. As I've often said, 90% of the work I've done has been on my trailer, not my boat, and I now have it to the point where everything is up to my standards but it was time consuming and expensive. On the other hand, Cobalt sources trailers from outside trailer builders. The result is that overall, their trailers are probably better - though I've never believed there's nearly as much difference as many would have you believe. IMO any boat trailer is simply going to be a high maintenance item. The trailer everyone really wants would probably have to be custom built, and few want to spend the money or time to do that.

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

Price. Its no secret that in the runabout market, you pay for feet by the thousands. I started with a 17 footer, followed by an 18 footer, followed by a 21 footer. Why didn't I buy a 21 footer to begin with? Because at that time in my life, I couldn't afford one. If you can afford the 21 footer now, then go for it...if a 20' boat can fit into a lake, than so can a 21' boat.

Another price adjustment is the engine. A bigger boat with a smaller engine will probalby cost about the same as a smaller boat with more power. All things being equal, you will probably appreciate the extra power more than the extra 12".

Sitting at the helm, you probably couldn't tell the difference between the two boats, however, the bow ladder addition with the H210 is quite nice (beleive it or not). That has become the primary means for the family to board the boat prior to backing down the ramp.

So - bottom line. If price is an issue for you, then go with the H200, you'll never know the difference. If you can afford the engine upgrade, put the money towards that before you spring for a bigger boat. Lastly, get the H210 with the engine upgrade. Of course, I can give all of this advice after sinking thousands into trading up boats over the years.

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Scott
2008 Horizon 210 Frenzy Edition
Volvo 5.7L Gi

Basically the difference in price between the two is roughly 5k. I'm just trying to decide if that extra foot is worth it especially since I read that some people did not like the way they ran in rough water and wondered if that was due to the 19 degree deadrise. I understand that any boat this size is not going to ride extremely well in any sort of rough water, but I want to know that it will handle some of the larger lakes that tend to get a little rough especially with having young kids.

It also seems like FW seems to sell more boats with the bigger engine package, compared to like Searay, which I find commonly has the 5.0 w/a BIII. I don't see many FW with either the DP or BIII, so are people happy with the SX drive and a SS 3 or 4 blade prop?

I appreciate all the feedback.

What do you consider rough water? Where will you be boating?

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

I would consider 2-3' chop to be pretty rough. I'm in Seattle, so we primarily boat on Lake Washington and if we head east it is the river or Lake Chelan.

2-3' chop is pretty normal around here as well and our H200SS did ok in it if you slowed down. But the rough water was one of the reasons we went to a bigger boat. Our lakes get so rough at times we actually have whitecaps!

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

I just bought a new 2010 HSS at Buzz's Marine in Nebraska for south $40,000 loaded up excluding the tower, he has a red
one left over. He will ship to your location. Call Jeff there, he was great to work with! If you call him tell him the guy who bought the orange 210 sent you, no commish for me just really liked this guy.

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2010 FW H210 SS 5.7 GI
2011 Ford Super Crew

Your comment about FW with upgraded engine packages is a good observation, and one I also made when I was looking for boats last year. I wasn't looking specifically at brands, although there were a couple manufacturers I avoided just out of personal preference. Instead, I was looking for the right power package in the size of boat I was after. I saw more FW on the internet with the setup I was looking for than any other brand other than maybe Cobalt. As Mike said, Cobalts are great boats and I would take one in a heartbeat. But they come with a price premium which put most of them out of my price range unless I would go significantly older. I really did like the FW 2003 and newer H240/H260 layouts when I came across them for the first time, which kind of weighted FW favorably for me. FW just aren't that common of a boat in my area, so I just don't run across many in person. I say that even though I have two H260's sitting in my garage (mine and a buddy's) and my cousin has an older H210. But honestly those are the only three that I recall ever seeing on our pool in the Mississippi.

As far as FW not having DP or BIII drives, I think that is more of the size of boat you are looking at vs. the make. At FW, you will see the DP or BIII drives are much more common on 22' plus boats. I think if you look at other manufacturers you will see a similar breaking point between single or dual prop drives.

Good luck on your search and keep us posted!

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP

I am not a H200 owner nor an H210 owner but i was reading this thread and saw you mentioned something about rough water...I own a 2006 H180 and let me tell you this little boat handles rough water like a much bigger boat. Last season we were boating in Lake Winnipesaukee in NH and had to cross the broads heading into the wind, it was the worst i have ever seen it, we must have been hitting some 6 or 7 foot waves. The boat didn't skip a beat can't say it was fun but was really impressed with the boat. It handled so much better than the 180br Crownline we had in water not as rough. So i guess i am trying to say if my 180 can handle that kind of water then the 200 or 210 should do better.

I also went with a FW because of build quality, options and they just seemed to have a better value. Plus the price already included a trailer so i didn't have to worry about spending more money, though if i had the money you bet i would be looking into getting a cobalt what beautiful boats they are.

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2006 Horizon 180 3.0 Volvo SOLD
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee