www.iFourWinns.com

Congrats Brenden, it looks great. I did notice the picture of the swim plateform that the hing on the port side has lifted and bent a little. Get that replaced under warranty with the new heavier hinge, ours did the same thing. It is the way that the piston lifts the engine cover causes the lighter hing to bend they have changed that with later versions.
Great boat!!!!

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2008 318 Vista "Ka-wai-ola"
350 MPI/BravoIII DTS Seacore
2006 1500 Key West -70 Yamaha
Previous Boats
Key West 2300CC
Pacemaker 270 Sport Fish
290 Sea Ray

Sorry it was a nice bottle of wine, it is the starboard hing

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2008 318 Vista "Ka-wai-ola"
350 MPI/BravoIII DTS Seacore
2006 1500 Key West -70 Yamaha
Previous Boats
Key West 2300CC
Pacemaker 270 Sport Fish
290 Sea Ray

Thank you! She has the flexiteak and the rail obviously. I really wanted the UW lighting (as you know )and she has it from the factory. The other options are the E80, genny (if you consider that an option ) overboard discharge, SS header, sundeck pads, stereo remote @ transom, Cd changer and the aft cabin tv/dvd.


They actually made a few bucks. They really worked FW hard on getting incentives. I gotta admit I was surprised when they came back the "incentive" number then I got them down a little more! They even included bottom painting and shrink wrap

Thanks BL!! And thanks again for the help you've given me on finding a slip. Not only was I able to get a smokin' deal on the boat, I also smoked a deal on the slip. I'll be staying at hope springs. Oddly enough that's where the used 08 338 that I looked at is so we'll likely be slipmates. He's probably going to shed one when I tell him what I paid. Looking foward to a big vista raft up this summer!!!


I'm so happy you pointed that out Dave! I almost said something but the used 338 that I looked at had the exact same issue so I started to think it was normal! They are addressing it. Thanks again man, I owe you one!

Thanks again all for your kind words. I'll be living aboard all summer long while working at Quantico. I think she's going to make for a damn good bachelor pad

The biggest issue I had with the punch list items was the solid cherry steps. Two of the steps appear to have gotten wet or at least held water in the non slip section. There's a few raised streaks in the grain. I asked to have the steps replaced. I used to do a lot of woodworking and I know those can't be cheap! I hope they give me new ones and let me keep the existing ones. I wish I could post pics but I can't since photobucket is blocked at work.

Congratulations Brendan! It's awesome that you found the boat that fit your 'list'.

It's going to be a great summer for you!

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Congrats...that's a sweet vessel!

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2009 SL262, Merc 8.1L HO 425 HP With
Bravo III "X" Drive and DTS Smart Tow

Thanks slman! Your SL is sweet looking!
I bet that thing just flat out hauls ass!

I wouldn't know...it arrived in January and has not been commissioned yet!
However, I am eagerly anticipating the first ride. Even more than that though, I want to break in that engine so I can really see what the HO version of the 8.1L can do!

Thanks!

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2009 SL262, Merc 8.1L HO 425 HP With
Bravo III "X" Drive and DTS Smart Tow

Here's a photo of one of the steps. You can see the streaks mainly near the non slip rubber. The non slip even seems a bit ill-fitting in the routed areas. It's pretty obvious that the non-slip got saturated and the end grain of the wood soaked up the water causing the grain to lift. They have a company refinishing the steps. I don't see how it's possible without removing the non-slip and I've voiced that concern. I told them if they aren't 100% perfect then I want new. And I have a trained eye for cherry as I used to do a lot of wood working in high school and college.


My other main concern that sort of intensified this weekend the more I thought about it is that they don't have the arch cradle. They assured me that they would pad the arch like crazy but I can just see it showing up and having damage on the arch. I DON'T want a repair that's preventative and I'd be ultra pissed off if damage occurred. I'm thinking of emailing them and copying FourWinns. It's and 800+ mile trip and really it's part of the boat, I should have it.

Brenden, just a reminder, this is an '08 with Mercs? Does it have DTS? If so, make sure the recall was performed. It came out last fall!

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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

It is and it does have the Mercs. I actually called mercury direct after I saw your post and they assured me that mine don't need the recall. It does have the DTS. I thought for sure it would need the work done to it!

So when is launch? It will be interesting to compare notes once we are in the water. The end of this week is our new target. I will have to inspect the stairs to see if I see any of the same things.

Did you have the DSM module/Fishfinder installed with your E80? I am a bit disappointed that a shallow depth alarm is not possible without the Raymarine DSM with the correct transducer. Raymarine has not offered any help and I was told the C80 is at the end of its life cycle so there will be no new firmware for that unit.

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Jnizi

2007 Vista 338 "Better Yet"
Previously:
2007 Vista 258 " Just Right"
2005 Horizon 230

The arch cradle is plywood with carpet. They can build one VERY easily. Or, take one from another boat.

I am sure FW can provide the dimensions.

Not having the cradle is just silly.

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

For sure! Make sure you check out the v338 thread I started and put some pics in there! I'm hoping to launch essentially the day it arrives which will likely be next week. I'm trying to push everybody for sooner. The weather for the rest of the week in Daytona should be good for painting. I shouldn't incur any delays at least due to weather. It's killing me to not be down there to oversee some of this stuff since quality control is my bread and butter.

Not sure about the DSM module/Fishfinder. That's a very good question. I guess I'll have to crack open the huge briefcase and see how it's equipped. I thought the sonar display was pretty neat but it didn't occur to me to ask about a shallow water alarm.

Just when I was about to call them they emailed me saying they had a new unwrapped 318 sitting there and they were going to rob them for me. I thanked them then asked for the hook up on the rail accessories! I'll let you know what they come back with

Mine definitely has it - it was sweet to look at the echoes while I was doing the sea trial since we were in a narrow channel in the ICW with oyster bed obstructions to either side. I'm pretty surprised yours doesn't have it!? I was going to pull the c80 for the e80 if I bought a boat with the c80. With the 3D Bathymetry, vid outs and the aerial overlays I think it's worth the extra scratch. You can get one on fleabay for a pretty good deal. I was really surprised how bright and sharp the display was in the blinding florida sun!

Any feedback on my steps?? Has this happened to anybody yet??