www.iFourWinns.com

We've had our 1988 160 Freedoom for 2 years now.

Excellent little boat. Always garaged, it's in great shape.

But... a bit small. Family of 4 in a 7 person capacity means no guests with kids. My kids are 2 and 4 year old.

To my question now. We are considering a S235 to allow for extended day/night at the lake. I'm worried we might miss the bow seating tho. We are also looking at the H230 and the Yamaha SX240. The later can have a head installed, this is a big thing.

Can you share your experience with your Sundowner ?

One nice thing about the bowriders is that is a lot easier to put it on the trailer, or get it on a mooring like I do by yourself. However they are vulnerable in rough water, unless self bailing with 2 bilge pumps. Do you launch and load by yourself? Do you have a dock next to the ramp? We don't have a dock next to the ramp so for me launching and loading the bowrider is much easier than it would be if I had a cuddy because most often I have to do it myself. But the cuddy is great for small children who can get out of the sun and just play in there, take a nap etc. An H-230 would be a big step up, about as big as I want for a trailerable boat. The Yamaha (jet boat) is nice too but if you have a lot of junk in the water (eel grass, other floating stuff) it can be an issue with them clogging the water intake. Safer for kids though for sure.

_________________
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

I love my SD, the cuddy is perfect for kids, and an adult or 2 has been known to take a nap in it as well. Having a head is a must if ya got females in the fam. Even if it is the porta-potty type that most cuddy's have.

Lou brought up some good questions tho, launch/recovery, ramp layout, need to be considered too. Cuddy vs bowrider can depend on what type of water you plan on boating in as well. I sometimes venture out on the big lake and have been in 4-5 footers breaking over bow, so a cuddy is what I want.

As far as room, I prefer the older SD's with U-shaped, or L shaped seating. Much more room than the current SD. Remember, when FW's says SD 235, they include the swim platform in the length.

_________________

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

Good points about docking.

Usually my wife drives the boat on and off the trailer and we meet back at the courtesy dock.

Last weekend we got to test drive a 2015 Yamaha 242 S. Now with an articulated keel (a rudder in my book!) it tracked very well. Fairly quiet, the sound of the twin inline 4 isn't as appealing of a big v8. But, as the official Do Everything Husband, the low maintenance of the jet is very appealing. It has a surprising payload of 2,700lb !

Today we went back to the local dealer to checkout the new 2013 H230 they have there. Merc 350 MPI with Bravo drive, upgraded stereo, mohagany steering wheel. it is very nice ! I'd want to add a second battery and camper top.

I need to find a dealer with a S235 now...

We love having the cuddy, we've had our boat for 6 summers now. My kids used to always go down and take a nap in the shade. They still do sometimes even though they are older.

_________________
Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400

We have days where we have to force the kids to get out of the cuddy and enjoy the day! They love it down there. We've taken on some large waves that a bowrider would not like very much!

_________________
-Andrew

1984 Four Winns 225 Sundowner
5.0L Mercruiser, Alpha 1

My kids and wife love sitting up on the bow as we move along. I can't imagine any of them wanting to sit in a cuddy or behind me - even when stopped. It will be a big challenge when I upgrade.

_________________
2008 Four Winns h180 Bowrider
3.0 Volvo Penta

2013 Dodge Durango HEMI

I couldn't imagine it either, but they do. The two older kids (almost 6 and 3) always hang out there and love riding up there. Its super convenient for naps and protected as others have stated. Plus with my wife and daughter, having a porta potti is ideal.

_________________
1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC

You should skip that and go with a 248 vista. We loved our SD but with a family of 4, you need the extra room. Actually, the 268/278 is really more ideal. The bow on the vista is also much more useful. We have sunpads to lay out on, and sometimes i put a camping chair on the bow to lounge around. There is a ton of space up there and you will not miss having the bow seating anymore. Being in Ohio it is much more important to have a place to get out of the weather and extend your boating season, then to have bow seating. At least it is with my family.

_________________

2006 Vista 278
First Boat:
2005 Sundowner 205
Columbus, OH