www.iFourWinns.com

Ive been looking at a newer and larger boat for next summer.

I used to have a 258 Vista and now I have a 255 Sundowner. We live on the lake so we dont really need a Vista anymore and really enjoy the large cockpit of the Sundowner. We hate the head on the Sundowner 255 - its tiny. You have to curl into a fetal position to sit on the can, its completely miserable.

Ive been looking at a 2001-2004 Sundower 285's on the web and really like what they have to offer (twin engines, bigger head, vacu-flush, wet bar in cockpit, etc).

Any people here own a 285 Sundowner? Is the cabin/v-berth large enough for 2 adults for overnighting? What is your cruising speed? Any other comments are welcome. Im going to look at one tomorrow.

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

The trick to using the small head in the 255 is to sit sideways on the toilet seat. That is rotate your body 90 degrees counter clockwise. This puts your legs in a much lower position and further away from you body than sitting normally.

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2006 Sundowner 255, 5.7 GXi, 320 hp
"Simply Irresistible"

The V berth on the 285 is large enough for over nighting two people. Although it is a large boat the cabin is not that big. This boat has a huge cockpit
that I have had 10-12 people on with no problems. This boat is a day cruiser which does its job very well. It has a cruising speed of 25-30 mph, and I have
gotten the boat up to 58 mph with 2 people and 1/2 tank of fuel. I dont really take it past cruising speed often as it is uses 42 gallons per hour at full throttle.
The head is a decent size as I can use it without any special positioning (I am 6'1").

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285 Sundowner w/Twin Mercruiser 5.0L MPI's
Yamaha FX/SVHO Waverunner
Yamaha VX Cruiser Waverunner

I agree with Sea Gar. It's a great boat and we get a LOT of compliments on it. The cabin space is actually a little less than I had in my 2002 245 Sundowner, though. This is due to the enclosed head and the drawer/shelf/microwave cabinet. I'm contemplating taking out the cabinet for a little more leg room while sleeping... But this boat is all about the cockpit and enjoying being out on the water!

Sea Gar -
Wow. Fifty-eight? That's great. I had mine up to 52, but with a full tank. What horsepower are the engines? And do you have single or twin prop stern drives? I had the twin on the 245, but only singles on the 285.

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2005 285 Sundowner w/ twin Volvo Penta 5.0 GXi 270HP SX

The horsepower on my Mercs are similar to your VP's. I also have single props. When I upgraded my props to Mirage Plus Lab Test units,I gained around 5 mph on the top end. Keep in mind that you ran 52 mph with a full tank of gas, so with all things considered, I would say that we are pretty close performance wise.

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285 Sundowner w/Twin Mercruiser 5.0L MPI's
Yamaha FX/SVHO Waverunner
Yamaha VX Cruiser Waverunner