www.iFourWinns.com

I decided I'm not going to worry about the trim gauge art this point. I picked up a GPS unit, so that will work for speed. I took some time this week and went through everything on the boat. Everything works, I thought maybe the bilge pump might have been broken, but turns out it's just REALLY quiet... So even though it may be under sized, it is operational. This is my first boat, but after crawling around about every square inch of it, it doesn't seem too hard to work on. I have an automotive electrical background, and found the wiring to be relatively straight forward. Can't wait to drop her in the lake tonight after work, come on 4:30!

-Nick

_________________
1996 205 Sundowner
"Comin' in Hot!"

Looks great.. May i suggest that you go with a set from FARIA they carry a great warranty standing behind their product.. they also has a couple of the multiple in one gauges.. aka you could do 2 large to the sides with 1 smalls stacked in the center for digital depth thats it for a super clean dash.

would be a very clean and easy dash.. I have a new set of Faria gauges in my boat that you can view via the link in my signature in this post.. Do not be afraid to ask us questions their is a vast amount of information here.

_________________
Not Penny's Boat

1993 190 Horizon 5.0L EFI
http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11136
1977 14' CMF Skiff SOLD
2015 Emotion Stealth Angler 11

Dude, you have a sick looking boat. I Love those 3 in 1 gauges, I may look into those!

_________________
1996 205 Sundowner
"Comin' in Hot!"

Thank you everyone for your comments! We had a great weekend on the lake. The boat ran flawlessly. The only real issue continues to be the gauge cluster. The temp gauge quit late yesterday, so now I'm down three gauges on the panel. Not a huge deal, I'm planning an upgrade now. The original owner replaced the stereo head unit, but clearly not the speakers, they sound horrible... That'll be an easy upgrade. All in all it was a great weekend! The wife and baby both loved it too!

_________________
1996 205 Sundowner
"Comin' in Hot!"

You have already won the biggest battle of boat ownership right there! Great looking SD, love the boat house ya keep it in too! Wish we could have those here, but the river/lake environment is just to rough for one to last more than a couple of seasons.

_________________

1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

So I've come up with a few more newbie Sundowner questions:

1) What speed should it be planing out at? It seems like the boat plows quite a bit from 8-18mph. I've got the outdrive trimmed all the way down. What should I expect for a top speed with the 5.0l engine an a 19 pitch prop? Getting the boat to plane with the V8 isn't the issue, but on rough days like last weekend, I was constantly adjusting to maintain a slower planing speed. Who knows, it could just be the nature of the beast...

2) I tried to get behind my gauge cluster. I used the search function, but there are just so many threads/posts that I didn't see an answer for my particular set up. I have what looks like a gray plastic trim piece that has a single screw at "12 o'clock". I remove that screw, but nothing budges. I don't see that there's a way to get behind the cluster as it appears to be behind fiberglass under the dash. I want to start working on cluster replacement, but I feel like I'm stuck at step one... Remove bad cluster, LOL.

This is the one I have:


3) Has anyone mounted stereo speakers in the front seat area of the boat? I want to put a switch in for the speakers in the cuddy, since the baby spends a lot of time in there sleeping, but that makes the two rear speakers not loud enough. I would love to see 6.5" enclosures or other ideas for mounting in this location.

-Nick

_________________
1996 205 Sundowner
"Comin' in Hot!"

I usually get on plane at about 20 knots depending on weight, wind, current, and I can maintain plane at about 20-25 knots all day long. You're right tho on the "plowing" effect, mine does it too. As far as top speed, I have topped out at 35 knots.

Never tried removing my cluster before, so can't help ya there.

I think the only way to mount speakers near the helm or the passenger seat is to have them in an enclosure, then mount that along the tray on either side, but then you might loose the drink holders

_________________

1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

Whoa, Whoa Whoa, let's not do anything crazy now!

_________________
1996 205 Sundowner
"Comin' in Hot!"

The two boats I had that were the same size tended to plane out around 18-20MPH. Drop below that and she falls. The "plowing" effect sounds pretty normal to me, and is alleviated with more power applied to the water, due to being able to hop on plane quicker. The high-5 prop I put on my 21' Galaxy cuddy made the 5 liter perform like something much larger. That prop also helped because of the greater stern lift.

RE The Boat House: You really can't build them up here anymore due to environmental issues. This one's been in the family since the 60's and was built in the 20's... She's held up pretty well through 80+ New Hampshire winters!

Home Base


Dusk Cruising


The Boss Approves!


-Nick

_________________
1996 205 Sundowner
"Comin' in Hot!"

Very nice, baby looks very comfy!

_________________
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