www.iFourWinns.com

I am hoping for a little help/advice before I make a purchase. Would like to purchase one of these prior to next weekend, seeing as I sold my 180 yesterday. Neither boat has dual batteries, so that is something I will have to upgrade myself. And advice or things to watch for concerning the motor or anything else to watch for. I am looking at 2 different Four Winns.
1.) 2007 210 SS, Boat is the solid red gel coat, w/ 5.7mag efi w/ alpha 1 outdrive. Has 212 hrs of use on it. Has oem bimini & table, I looked at boat yesterday. It does appear to be in good shape. Engine bay looks great. Interior appears to be flawless. Exterior has a few minor scratches, nothing major; a little scuffing on the bow from trailer roller, and a couple of small scratches around the body. Other than scratches I only noticed 3 things I will be needing for it. It is missing the removable snap on seat bottom cushion for the walk thru. Hopefully it can still be ordered thru a dealer, I am going to check on the price tomorrow. Tires are starting to dryrot and will need replaced probably next spring. And 1 tail light has a cracked lens.

Just wondering, does anyone know how the solid red will hold up over time to the weather? The boat I just sold, prior to me owning it has been docked at a marina for 12 yrs with just the oem snap on covers. And the gel stripe on it was starting to show some fading.

Also, has anyone had any luck buffing scratches out of the type of gel coat?

Anyone have any ideal what the replacement cushion is going to cost? And how many years back the dealer can order replacement parts for?

2.) 2008 200 SS. Boat is white w/ black gel stripe around it. It is powered by the 5.0efi w/alpha 1 outdrive w/54 hrs on it. This boat is 4 hrs away so I haven't made the drive to see it in person. The dealer has 20 pics or so, covering every area. Claims the boat is spotless other than a small cut in the port sde captains chair. This boat also has the tower, with oem kicker speakers & amp, and bimini. It also has the bow fill in cushions, and under swim deck lighting.

I know the total length of the 200 is 1 ft 2 inches shorter than the 210. Has anyone been on both the 200 & 210, how much less cabin room should I expect? I haven't been able to find a 200 in a close enough distance to drive to just look at the interior.

Is there going to be much difference in the ride? I know the 5.0 will have a little less power.

Like I said, any help, advice, or recommendation would be appreciated. Thanks,

All other things being equal (which they usually not) I'd go with the white boat. Especially if you are going to keep it a long time. The colored gel coats are a lot of work to keep them looking good. If you could keep it in the garage out of the sun most of the time it would be OK, but if you have to keep it outside, you do not want a colored gelcoat boat. They fade, oxidize and are a headache in the end. I have one, my 88 had the tricolor gelcoat (burgundy hull, grey strip above rub rail, white topsides) and the burgundy faded so bad no amount of buffing would bring it back. I wound up painting the boat. Next boat will be all white and no tape graphics either.

As far as the difference in size, it's not huge but you will notice it. My old '88 200 is much bigger inside than the modern 200s. It is 20'9" long although the beam is a bit narrower. The seats are mounted higher and there is much more space between the front and rear seats.

Are you a do it yourselfer? If so look at how little room there is around the engine to do routine work. Why oh why, did they put all that non functional fiberglass around the rear of the engine, a starter or manifold change would be a real pain. And anything on the rear of the engine like the steering actuator is not accessible at all. Their modern designs are a real step backward from the mechanic's standpoint. The older ones are much easier to work on.

I am not so much a fan of their modern designs, they look great but there is a lot of wasted space and the engine access is terrible until you get up to the bigger bowriders.

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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

in 07-08, about the only difference between the 200 and the 210 is the bow ladder. However, I would expect the 350 Mag to be turning a B1 drive. The alpha 1 is at the ragged edge of it's rating at the 300 HP the 350 Mag is rated. I did test drive a 21' bowrider with a 5.0, and was quite disapointed. However, I think it was a non-efi (260 HP). If you are looking at 280HP for the 200, you should have about the same HP/weight ratio as that 210.

As far as the cushion, mine is used for access. I keep those stored and got a peice of marine carpet from another boat made up and snaps put in (same for the bow cushion). Cost was about $35 for both from an upholstery automotive shop in town.

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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.

As far as function it seems its the lower powered, smaller boat with usable tower vs larger, more powered non tower ride......easier to add tower than boost power and stretch boat a foot. If price is same and other points equal go bigger with more power.

But...sounds like you may be rushing to buy personally.....maybe look longer and find the one that's perfect for you.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

TX H210SS, You are somewhat right about the rushing but apparently now rushing enough. I done missed out on the 210SS, I called yesterday as soon as I got off work and the boat was already sold. This has happen to me for the past 2 weekends, I have went and looked at a boat, and before I could even think it over a day it was gone. Seems people around here are buying them straight out of the driveway without even taking them out on the water. I personally am not going to do that. The 200SS was at a dealer who was closed yesterday so I want know if its still available until they open today. These boats are kind of hard to find in my area. Local Four Winns/Crownline dealer went out of business a few years back. I sold my 180 on Sat., so now I am on the hunt again.

I was looking for a bit for my boat. When I started looking hard, I was shocked at how hard finding a decent boat in the 18- 21 foot range was. I was calling as soon as I saw them popping on Craigslist, most were already gone. Some wouldn't allow test drives/ rides. Literally they were gone same day, except the way overpriced ones. the one I bought, I called on it within 30 minutes and went over and put a deposit on it immediately. My wife then came down to look at it and try it out with me. While we were there, someone came over and offered him "up to $1000 more" to not sell it to me and sell it to him. I was blown away.

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2002 180 Horizon 4.3- 67 hrs- SOLD
2007 220 Horizon 5.0- ~150 hrs