www.iFourWinns.com

Anyone out there have a Vista with the metal hubbed steering wheel? This is the one used on inboard engine setups. The I/O setup uses a two different ones.

The finish on ours is chipping. More than I'd think reasonable for a boat that's got only 30 hours on it. I only wear a wedding ring; one with a very smooth profile. So it seems kind of strange to see this wheel showing a BUNCH of chips coming out of it's finish.

I don't really like the wheel as the center hub spokes are very uncomfortable to handle. But in the interest of maintain value I'd like to have the wheel replaced if this isn't common wear.

I have a new 318 Vista with the same problem. I will be contacting Four winns regarding this issue. If you hear anything, please let me know and I will do the same.

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Shane 318 Vista

Hmmm, so it seems we've got defective steering wheels, eh? Might be a run of bad ones from the supplier. Good to know it's not just me. I'll e-mail fourwinns and see what they suggest as a fix.

Just curious... Does it look like this?

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SOLD! 2006 30th Anniversary Vista 278
"Conch'd Out!"

http://vista278.com

No, that looks like the style wheel they use for sterndrives. Our boat has inboards and they use a different style wheel. Inboard wheels don't "center" themselves like I/Os. The hydraulic steering, combined with autopilot setups, doesn't always return to center. Thus they seem to use wheels that don't have a centered orientation. The photo gallery for a 378 vista shows the type of wheel we've got:

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I e-mailed the dealer (riverside in Baltimore) and they said FW is replacing it in warranty. When the new one arrives I'll swap it out. Could be they're just replacing this one or there's been others, dunno.