www.iFourWinns.com

Hi Guys - I'm very excited to introduce myself as a brand new 2008 V358 owner. We haven't yet taken delivery but we saw it today for the first time ... wow, what a beauty. I wasn't able to get many great pics of the exterior but have a few of the interior, helm, transom-area, cabin/salon, etc. I'd be happy to post pics of anything if anyone is interested.

We were in a 280 Sundancer and like Sierra and others, figured a 340DA was our next boat. After careful research and review at the Cleveland boat show, we made the purchase on this baby ... in our mind, clearly the best value in its class.

We opted for the classic color band in blue and added the E-80 upgrade, a bow thruster and a couple of other odds and ends. Going on it today reminded me of how nicely laid out the cockpit is and how nice the fit and finish is below decks. As I said, I haven't had a full delivery yet and there's a few things on it that I actually don't know what they are.

In any case, I'm glad to finally have her and join this group - looking forward to learning and participating.

We're a happy group ... can't wait for spring!

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"Foursome Fun" 2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards
Lake Erie - Ohio

Previous Boat:
2003 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer

Welcome to the family. Where do you do your boating at?

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

Congratulations,

I can't believe the number of former SR owners who make this switch to FW. It makes me feel good that I am making the right move.

Many hours of great fun and good luck..........Your family is adorable!

Steven

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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

YOU MADE IT ! BIG congratulations!! Yes, pictures please. Most importantly, easy to understand why those are some happy looking kids.

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

Yes - the boat is finally in and we're very excited. Now if the weather would just cooperate. We like in Lake County, Ohio, about 30 miles east of Cleveland. We bought the boat from Skipper Buds in Marblehead, OH. We're going to take delivery of it there in a few weeks and keep it there at the Skipper Buds Marina and spend May exploring the islands and Cedar Pt. area. Also, if there are any pesky warranty-type issues, it will be nice to have it right there where the Skipper Buds guys can take care of it. I'll try to pick a nice Saturday in mid May to run it to our home port in Mentor, OH.

Sea Ray is a venerable brand to be sure but it seems they've let the mid-range of their lineup get a little stale. The redesigned 340 will be a beauty I'm sure but I don't think you can beat the design/functionality/price of the FW Vistas.

The galley is very nice ... the head is really nicely designed, the interior touches like the wood panel in the ceiling, the smoked glass doors in the power panel cabinet and other gunnel lockers, the list goes on.

Can't wait to get her out and running and see how she handles.

I've attached a couple of photos ... like I said, I haven't got any good ones yet of the exterior.

I don't know what the left-most antenna is for ... I think it is a Raymarine antenna. Also, I don't remember a polished stainless top (header?) on the windshield on the 358 at the boat show - but ours has it. Maybe I just missed it.

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"Foursome Fun" 2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards
Lake Erie - Ohio

Previous Boat:
2003 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer

CONGRATS, you bought a great boat, did you get v-drives or stern drives? the stainless steel winshield header is a option. Good luck with her. I love the seperate shower in the 358. I am sure you will have a great boating summer with her, take care, Joe.

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"Lady Lexie"
Port of Chester, WV
2000 328 Vista
Towed with a Dodge Cummins!

The left-most antenna is for the GPS.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

As Cattailspa pointed out, the antenna on the starboard side of the arch is for the GPS. The antenna next to the TV antenna to port is for Sirius Weather. Instead of using one antenna for Sirius, there are also two low-profile Sirius radio antennas for the two head units right next to the Weather antenna. If you haven't picked up your Navionics chip for the E80 yet, try to wait. Raymarine is about to issue a software update which will allow the E80 to accommodate the new Platinum 'Plus' chips which offer even greater detail and pilot information integration. If you wind up buying a Platinum chip before the new release, Navionics does have a trade-in program, although I'm not sure what the allowance is. And yes, that stainless steel header is a $1000+ option - nice bonus!

The new Sea Ray 350 is now up on the SR site. They made the expected updates - a walk-through windshield, although it's integrated into the steps which is unfortunate on a boat this size; updated styling in the cabin which appears to be very nice; a hard-top (don't know if it's a delete-option, but I personally don't want a hard-top at this point).
On the down side, a similarly equipped 350 to my V358 retails for about $100K more. Still no port-side lounger (a deal-breaker for me - personal preference). Among the standard Four Winns items that are optional on the 350 - generator, premium sound system, central vac, Sirius satellite radio, spotlight, heck - even the fitted sheets. And unless I missed it on their site, there's still no camper top option, again - standard on the 358. Add to that the elongated hull windows which appear to be differently configured on the port and starboard sides of the hull and I personally find unattractive, my decision to join the FW family has only been reinforced.

Keep us up to date and again, congrats!

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

Sierra,
My friends have a SR 290 and it had the hard top. When under way, the flap that is attached to the hard top that the eisenglass zips onto, flaps in the breeze and is quite annoying. Not sure if that was unique to his boat or it is a general issue with hard tops.

I was on the 350 at the DC boatshow and I looked at it with great interest because it would be a contender for us in the future, even with our bad luck with SR. It was for the most part nicely executed but there is a glaring oops on SR's part....No Cabin door screen that I can recall. that to us is an oops!

Besides that, SR is asking way to much and giving way to little for the price.

FW's build quality seems on par or better, and they certainly give you bang for the buck by comparison. Generators are optional on the 350, there is 11K right there! SR even charges you for the convenience of adding anti-glare material to the dashboard.

I can't believe how far I have fallen from the graces of SR. When we bought our first SR, I thought I had one of the best boats made in mass production boats.........the jury is still out with FW, but so far from what I have gleened there is a ton of quality in FW boats comparitively.

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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

Just did a price comparison of the 350 and the 358. The engines are a bit bigger on the SR but comparably equipt the rest of the way, the SR sticker was 365K. The FW I am getting retailed for a mere 292k. The engines can't be 73k different!

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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

Thanks for the info guys .... I should have realized that antenna was for the GPS. Anyone know how the Sirius weather works? Do you get a subscription for a few months and then have to subscribe? As for the SS windshield header - I didn't order that so I'm not sure how it ended up on our boat? Nice bonus for sure. Anyone know how much anchor rode comes standard? I wasn't able to get into the day hatch by the windlass gypsy to see what it looked like. Mine came with a plow anchor and some chain but I coudn't see much more.

It sure seems to have some kind of sound system in it I'll tell you that ... no fewer than 4 nice speakers in the arch alone, along with a big subwoofer under the aft starboard seat.

Only thing about the boat that I don't like is that they still use the old-style snaps for the canvas rather than having moved to the bungee style hold-ons. Don't understand that one since it seems that everyone else has gone that way.

A very minor complaint drowning in a sea of other great features.

As you've probably gathered already, I'm a relatively new boater and don't know the technical stuff like many of you so I'll be back with plenty of questions for sure.

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"Foursome Fun" 2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards
Lake Erie - Ohio

Previous Boat:
2003 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer

Sirius Weather is $30/month (you can deactivate it in the off-season). Details here: http://www.sirius.com/marineweather
I believe the Sirius radio subscription is complimentary for the first six months with your boat purchase - check with your dealer as they have to fulfill the activation. I have been a Sirius subscriber since they launched - radios in every car/boat/home - big fan. I'm going to do the weather for at least the first season with the 358. I usually have a laptop or my iPhone on board and can get the same info but hey, I like gadgets and it will be cool to have it in the E80 display. I'm looking forward to experimenting with it. I actually bought the weather module for the Northstar display on my last boat but didn't get around to installing it before I traded the boat in.

Whatever the setup with the canvas, I'm told it's more manageable than the canvas was on my 260DA (which wasn't terrible - but not wanting to deal with canvas is the reason my boating friends have ended up getting bridge boats )

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

Tadpole


Snaps are good. Ther are a couple of products you can use to keep them protected and well lubricated which will make them easy to use.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/66407/377%20710/0/stick/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=stick&Ntk=Primary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=stick&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5000&subdeptNum=4&classNum=10891

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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

Thanks for the tip on the snap lubricant. I also picked up a tool designed for snapping vinyl ... the dealer had it (where we bought our SR last summer) and I haven't seen another one since. It works pretty well.

In looking over my sales spec sheet again, I noticed that it said "stainless steel prop standard" ... yet mine seem to be the brass alloy type, along with the rudders. Is this what is meant by "nibral"? Any ideas why the props came this way instead of SS?

Also, does anyone know if I will have any electronic engine monitoring capability? Sierra - if you're reading this, I think you explained this to me a while back and I lost the email and can't remember how it works. I think I remember you planning to add a separate Raymarine display to show that information. When I look at the Raymarine site, it refers to the E-80 being NMEA 2000 compatible and shows a couple of nice engine-monitoring screens. Just curious what I'll have right out of the box.

Thanks guys ....

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"Foursome Fun" 2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards
Lake Erie - Ohio

Previous Boat:
2003 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer

It's interesting to see the leapfrogging back and forth with some features. Overall I believe the 358 is still a better fit for my needs than the SR350 but they did add a couple of very nice features to the 350. I'm thrilled to see SR finally figure out that a walk-through windshield is important to buyers. I agree that steps integrated into the companionway door a kind of poor effort in a boat this size. A few observations making my way through the pictures of the 350...

* The helm still looks kind of dated to me, and on a brand new boat... They've centered the smartcraft display but still leave the plotter well off to the port side.
* The swivel feature on the helm seats is very nice, especially if it works easily. The swil on the port captains chair still isnt' as desirable to me as the port lounger.
* The integrated electric grill option is a very nice one.
* The overall cabin appearance isn't as inviting looking to me as the 358. I haven't seen it in person so this is a judgement made only from the pics.
* The raisable V-berth bed is a nice option. I have no idea how often I would use it.
* The head looks much improved from the 340's awful arrangement. This looks as nice or nicer than the head in the 358. I htink the clear shower door looks a lot nicer than the smoked one on the 358
* The raisable bow pads are a really nice touch and one I really wish was present on the 358.
* I'm really bothered by the lack of symmetry in the window configuration on the hull. Also, though I'm a fan of the three hull windows SR uses on their bigger boats the one window on this boat looks kind of goofy to me.

Overall I think SR has done a nice job on the boat but I don't think they've done enough to leapfrog the competition. They've mostly met where the competition is today with their brand new boat.

Ben

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2001 Cruisers 4450
Volvo TAMD-74P 480hp Diesels