www.iFourWinns.com

Hello all. Our family just closed on a new 2008 Vista 358 this morning. White with silver accent stripe and Crusader V-drives. We're really excited to enjoy this boat. Also looked at/test drove the Crownline 340 and SeaRay 330/350.

Looking forward to joining in the fun...

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Chillaxin'
2008 V358
Lake of the Ozarks

Welcome!

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2001 Horizon 260 - 7.4 Volvo GSI DP

Welcome and good luck. You will love the boat.

So why did you pick the V358 over the Searay and Crownline?

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

Thanks for the welcome. The sales rep at Crownline (at Lake of the Ozarks) couldn't get us one to drive. He apparently didn't think we were serious or the dealer is cutting down on in-stock inventory due to the economy. Either way it was a mistake on their part, as we traded in a five-year-old Crownline 288 that we had been happy with. From what we could tell without driving the 340, the only thing it had that was above and beyond the 358 was a hard top and a better stock warranty. The FW dealer took care of the warranty issue and, in all other areas, the FW stood out the more we researched it.

SR was nice but loud and rougher in ride than the 358. Some of the design features were not very thought out as well. The passerger seat by the helm wasn't nearly as nice as the curved bench in the FW and the fact that SR had the center step integrated as part of the cabin door was pretty inefficient. We have a lot of kids in our family (who'll be using the cabin) and that door will be open most of the time (with or without the screen).

Only other big issue was the cabin TV (which I see has been discussed here at length). Dealer agreed to mount and install a flat screen with pivoting arm in the same location as used in the 338. Motor choices were not an option as this was the only '08 they had in stock and we didn't like the '09 interior color scheme.

Sorry for being long-winded...

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Chillaxin'
2008 V358
Lake of the Ozarks

Welcome you will love that boat.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

Welcome and sounds like a nice ride, now lets see some pics!

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Troy
2008 Centurion Avalanche
1994 Four Winns Horizon 180 SE 5.0L OMC Cobra (Sold)
2002 Ford F150 Harley Davidson Edition (http://www.nhtoc.com) 378 hp & 465 tq at rear wheels
2008 Honda Accord EX-L w/Nav

Will do. It'll be a couple of weeks till we're back at the lake. Our son's birthday with family this weekend and then back down to the boat. Thanks for the welcome.

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Chillaxin'
2008 V358
Lake of the Ozarks

Thanks for the complete (not long winded) reply. We chose the v358 over the Searay 340 for similar reasons. The 350 came out a little later and I always wondered if I should have waited. I never really considered the Crownline, the dealer on our lake doesn't carry big boats.

Search this forum for V 358 and 348 Vista (they are the same boat) there are a few good threads with all the known issues. It might save you time. Like anything else there are a few idiosyncracies that we have found and shared. You may have more fun finding them yourself.

There is at least one other member here with the Crusaders and he loves them. You should be happy with them.

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

Thanks, this site's been fun. I've been checking out the quirks of the boat online (e.g., galley sink drain into shower sump) and that'll allow me to share those types of things with the rest of the family. Good stuff.

Don't second guess yourself on the SR 350. In addition to the $ difference -- a sizeable amount -- it just wasn't set up as well as the FW for our family, anyway. The SR we drove also had a V-drive but the engines in the FW were much smoother and MUCH quieter. Ride was pretty similar in the admittedly limited drive we had. We were in rough water for both drives though, so it was a good comparison.

Thanks again.

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Chillaxin'
2008 V358
Lake of the Ozarks

Welcome Aboard! Congratulations on your new boat!

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Walter

2003 248 Vista - VP 5.0 GXi
2009 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L 4x4

Welcome! I'm writing this from the cockpit of my V358 having my morning coffee after having just returned yesterday from another fantastic V358 journey. Four months and 65 hours in to the season and I couldn't be more pleased with my choice (also over the SR as you probably have read here).

Congratulations!

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

Thanks for the welcome, everyone.

Here's a pic from a couple of weekends ago...

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Chillaxin'
2008 V358
Lake of the Ozarks

All white hull, the only way to go IMO. Beautiful boat !!

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

nice looking boat. It is refreshing to see something other than a SeaRay at LOTO.

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2001 Horizon 260 - 7.4 Volvo GSI DP

Ain't that the truth! We test drove both and asked ourselves, why is everyone actually driving a SeaRay?

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Chillaxin'
2008 V358
Lake of the Ozarks