www.iFourWinns.com

Does anyone have experience with the cabin door on the 358 and how much light comes through in the mornings? I would have preferred a solid door rather than opaque.

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2008 Four Winns V358 (T 6.2L Merc Bravo III's with DTS and SeaCore)
2006 Sea Ray 340DA
2006 Sea Ray 320DA
2005 Maxum 3100 SE

I assume you mean the companionway door? If so with just the door pulled shut a fair amount of light comes through. If you also pull the screen door shut it keeps a remarkable amount of the light out. It's not perfectly black but it's pretty good. I've spent a couple of nights on the boat and never been bothered by light in the morning. I'd say that with the screen door closed you get about the same amount of light from the door as through the hatches.

Ben

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2001 Cruisers 4450
Volvo TAMD-74P 480hp Diesels

With the screen slid shut under the hatches they should be pretty close to opaque. When we shut the forward stateroom door, drop the shades and close the hatch shade it's pretty darn near pitch black in the forward berth. I don't know if the 'voting booth' curtain affords the same privacy but I can't imagine it's far off.

But more often than not it's ambient noise that wakes us.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Thank you for the input!

Went down to the dealer today to see the boat, I am having some add-ons done through the dealer and I wanted to check up on progress and really just to see the boat! She is pretty and we can't wait to splash her again and take her home.

Our teak and holly floor in the cabin has some issues that are being addressed. The large access panel in the floor that houses the waste tank squeaks when you step on it, they pulled it up and are going to modify it so it fits better and stops sqeaking.

We were looking all over to find where the sheet set for the V-berth is and finally found it wrapped up in what we thought was a pillow sham. On close inspection, the sheets are labled "Dry Clean Only" that seemed pretty rediculous. We will be washing them, hope they don't shrink.

The FW website and the brochure list an additional sheet set for the mid-cabin, was told it is a misprint.

Couldn't locate the cockpit filler cushion or the pedestal for the galley dining table, FW says they forgot to include them and are shipping them out.

Went through the owners briefcase and could not locate the actual FW manual, had a gazillion other manuals and useless info but no operators manual. Glad I read most of it on line!

Also addressed the curtain issue in the main salon and the V-berth, not enough fabric to prevent light from filtering in. Sine they removed the blinds that we saw on one boatshow boat, they might not have realized that when the curtains are on a track, you need more material to cover the area since the curtains aren't directly against the window. Our SR 340 curtains snapped on against the side of the boat so they completely covered the window. Anxious to see how FW handles this one. I'll keep you posted.

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2008 Four Winns V358 (T 6.2L Merc Bravo III's with DTS and SeaCore)
2006 Sea Ray 340DA
2006 Sea Ray 320DA
2005 Maxum 3100 SE

We've machine-washed the factory sheets and haven't had any problems with them. We've also had the quilt dry cleaned without incident. We purchased a second set of sheets this last winter, from a different supplier. Ouch but they're ridiculously expensive.

The mid-cabin berth (the one under the helm) is a double bed. Regular double bed (full) sheets fit it just fine. When we have an overnight guest I also bring along a foam mattress topper pad for a little added comfort. Works great.

The waste tank lid simply rests on the recessed lip. There's no seal or gasket under that edge. The screws for it are supposed to bite into that lip but sometimes miss. One could argue this isn't an ideal design. But since it doesn't depend on regular access it's not too big of a deal, design-wise.

From the pictures it would appear the 2008 model has yet another variation of electrical panels. Make sure you get ones that match it, I'd imagine they would do this with an addendum.

I'm not sure how worked up I'd get about complete light blocking in the cabin. There's just no way to do it completely, at least not in a way that would ever see actual use by regular boaters. There's also the solution of using a sleep mask. My wife uses one now and then and it seems to work quite well for her.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Not sure what electrical panel you refer to and matching it. I expect some light to filter in, it is afterall a boat. But if I could show you the flimsy 1 panel of curtain that they put there......it is on the chintzy side. I guess you could say I am somewhat bitter since we first saw the boat with those rich luxurious, blinds and now we wont be having them!

The floor update is that when the dealer tried to separate the wood from the fiberglass, he screwed up the wood and now both pieces are on order. Glad it is still a tad cool to boat here, we are ready to go!

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2008 Four Winns V358 (T 6.2L Merc Bravo III's with DTS and SeaCore)
2006 Sea Ray 340DA
2006 Sea Ray 320DA
2005 Maxum 3100 SE

The 348/358 model line has had a number of different electrical panel layouts. There are (up to) three panels. One down in the cabin, one below the helm seat and one in the port-side aft gunwale. All three have seen different layouts across different portions of the production run. It's hard to say "by year" as the limited quantities of these made doesn't really correlate to just a calendar year.


Yes, the wood blinds are a nice option. I don't know if I'd stretch it into "rich and luxurious" but I get your point. It might be worth looking into alternatives. Either more suitable curtains or actual blinds.


I'm guessing the floor issue was one of alignment?

Don't get yourself too worked up. No sense shoveling more stress onto the situation. Trust me on this, it's bad enough when the dealer makes mistakes or the weather doesn't cooperate. You'll be out on the water soon enough, better to get there unstressed. After last season's colossal series of screw-ups on the part of our dealer I can certainly sympathize.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

The wood blinds have been discussed in the other 358 thread. You could order them from Four Winns for a 2007 model, maybe a good dealer would pitch in for them just to smooth the waters, they can't cost that much. If you go to the parts list portion of the main four winns website, you can see the 2007 model with dimensions, so you could buy them at Home Depot cut to fit.

We looked at the curtains that replaced the blind and they are small. Once again, your dealer and/or you could order more panels from FW.

My wife was disappointed with the loss of the blinds as well. Once they start setting up the boat we may look at adding them or other options if needed. The sun comes up pretty early in summer.

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2008 V358 Two-tone Blue V/P Dual Prop 320 HP
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

The deal with the floor is: On the 358 there are two cut outs in the salon floor, one is for the shower sump and the other large one is where the waste tank is located. Well, our wate tank cut out was sqeaking when you stood in front of the sink in the galley. Also, the corner closest to the V-berth on the port side was not flush with the rest of the floor. The dealer removed the whole thing and was going to sand the fiberglass and do whatever else until the floor board got broken in the process of them trying to separate it from the fiberglass cover. So new ones are on the way.

With regard to the curtains, if we get additional ones and don't have to pay for them I will live with them for now and see how the season goes before investing in the blinds. Our parts manager is waiting for an answer from the factory with regard to the availability of them separately from a whole set of curtains which is over 800 bucks to replace.

Stressed? Not me.............kewl as a cucumber.......well one that is on the grill!

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2008 Four Winns V358 (T 6.2L Merc Bravo III's with DTS and SeaCore)
2006 Sea Ray 340DA
2006 Sea Ray 320DA
2005 Maxum 3100 SE

I'll be on our 348 this coming Monday and can measure the blinds if you'd like. I can't imagine spending THAT much even at a custom blinds (next day, to-go, hunter, etc) shop. They're nice, but not THAT nice, yikes!

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

No need to measure, this is from the parts catalog for a 2007 358 main cabin

048-1455 BLINDS CHERRYWOOD L&R 12X37
*Valid for boats produced from 06/01/04 thru today
UOM: PR Qty: 1.00 Contact your dealer for pricing.




And in the foward berth
048-1454 BLINDS CHERRYWOOD L&R 12X32
*Valid for boats produced from 06/01/04 thru today
UOM: PR Qty: 1.00 Contact your dealer for pricing.

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2008 V358 Two-tone Blue V/P Dual Prop 320 HP
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH