www.iFourWinns.com

I use to try to fit 2 in the cabin but now I turn the seats in recliners and put up the camper canvas. My legs get cramped or hang out of the cabin.

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97 205 Sundowner

Sounds like you need a 225

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

Cant aford it right now. I only go out over night a couple times a year. Not too many lakes the allow boats out after dark around me.

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97 205 Sundowner

I realize this is a couple year-old thread, but I thought I would chime in for anyone who researches it in the future.

I have a 245. I made quite a few mods to the boat to really enjoy everything. I added a sink into the stock location with fresh water tank and fill. I also added shore power. I run a battery charger of course. I have a 12 volt real refrigerator cooler made by Waeco/Dometic. I bought the CF-18. It holds half-and-half, milk, food, butter, meats, etc.. This was a must for "living aboard". I would not eat meat from a portable cooler or thermo-electric cooler. Just too dangerous. The boat's lousy built-in cooler makes a good storage sport for all the non-refrigerated foods.

I use a laptop to watch dvd's, and also bought a slingbox to send my home's cable signal to the boat to watch my tv shows and the local sports, Red Sox and Bruins, of course. I bought a long audio cord to plug the sound into the boat's stereo.

I also moved the porta-potti to under the port-side rear seat. I take the cushion off when we go to bed so that the wife can access it without hassle. The canvas enclosure gives enough privacy for her to be quite discreet. In the cabin, I re-rugged the porta potti storage area, and use it for linen storage. The two fill in pieces for the bed actually fit perfectly on top of it, and allow the lift-up cushion to still close. This frees up the shelf area where those two fill-in pieces are normally kept.

I use an airbed on top of the cushions. This makes a huge difference in my sleeping comfort. I leave the screen windows open on the camper canvas, usually have a fan blowing upwards into the cabin, and I have a bug screen for the cabin hatch so I can leave that open when I want to as well. Sounds strange, but I have an electric blanket for us. Nothing nicer than having the blanket warm while the air is cold around us. Sleep like a damn baby.

We sleep on the boat for 5 or 6 days at a time. I must say that we were lucky enough to have a build-out slip, the ones with a deck, so our living space is bigger, but most of our time is spent on the boat. We are comfortable under almost all circumstances, and we love it.

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Gary & Diane
1996 Sundowner 245
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

ONE NIGHT is all we could take in our Sundowner 205. The insulation is not much to protect you from freezing colds waters of the Salish Sea (San Juan Islands), so the cuddy was an ice box. Haven't tried it since. We get a hotel close to the marina. MUCH more comfortable.

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Four Winns 1996 Sundowner 205
5.0fi/SX engine (Volvo Penta)

We have a 255 Sundowner and overnight on it frequently.

Upgrades that I have done to make this possible:
* Converted my all around light to USCG approved LED's
* Also changed all of my cabin/cockpit lights to warm LED's
* Upgraded the porta-potty in the enclosed head to a 5 gallon Dometic.

Future upgrades that I want to do:
* Remove 'icebox' and install a Norcold DC fridge
* Figure out a way to set up a "shower" maybe on the swim platform.

Its not as comfortable as our Vista 258 was, and we did have a guest this past weekend that slept out on the aft deck, which she said it was comfortable enough, but man do I miss having an aft cabin.

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1997 Four Winns Vista 278
T - 4.3l EFI
Kohler 4esz Genset
379 hours as of 8/8/21

I have spent two weeks at a time on mine. Spent alot of time in the straits of Mackinaw area. One year I took my boat on the water from the Detroit River all the way up to Mac City. Then spent 2 weeks cruising around the area visiting charlevoix, Beaver Island, Mac Island,
Drummend Island, went through Indian River and even up into lake superior...then all the way back down to Detroit River and pulled her out.

That was a great vacation. I had installed shore power, and extra battery and switch and an inverter so when staying over while on the hook, I still had AC power...it all worked perfectly...just have to remember your living small as compared to a house. Lots of moving things around. As much as I would love to have a bigger boat with a full galley and a shower...the smaller boat worked out very well and allowed me to get into areas where larger boats could not....

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Tom
Current:
2007 FourWinns 318 Vista
5.7 GI/DP-A 280hp x 2

Previous:
2012 Crownline 260 CR 350 Mag/Bravo III 300hp
1998 FourWinns 245 Sundowner 5.7 GSI/SX 280hp