www.iFourWinns.com

Has anyone had trouble with the maxwell 800 windless jamming? My dealer wants to change out my windless for this reason. I asked what the credit back to me would be and he said none since he never charged me for it to begin with. Sounds like a scam to me but could be legit if their os truly a problem with the windless jamming.

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2008.Fourwinns V358
1999 SeaRay340 Sundancer
1989 SeaRay 260 Cuddy

On the brand new boat? He wants to just take your windlass off, put a new one on and charge you for the new one? I wonder if his interest level would decline at all if you insisted on getting back the one he removed? That sounds like a scam to me as well. I will say that Four Winns has on occasion used hardware known to have issues (see tank monitoring systems) but I've not heard of any problems with windlasses. Also, Four Winns has proven to be extremely responsive to warranty issues. If your windlass has problems they'll fix or replace it. If you think there is a design flaw with the windlass bring it up to Four Winns and ask they replace it with a different one. They've done exactly that with tank monitoring systems.

Personally I'd also take that as an interesting sign about your dealer's approach. This sounds like an attempt to screw the customer instead of giving good customer service. Maybe I'm being too harsh but something just sounds plain wrong with this.

Ben

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2001 Cruisers 4450
Volvo TAMD-74P 480hp Diesels

I am not a fan of the Maxwell Freedom series. They have a very tiny hole that the rode/chain needs to feed through. My Lewmar V700 has a much larger hawse pipe hole in it. Do you have the factory Four Winns (read: Expensive) anchor package? If not, that could be half of your problem.. Windlass's need the best rode/chain packages so they feed correctly. Also you want to pick up a double jointed anchor swivel, they are a MUST for any windlass...

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Brett DiMichele

Unless the boat was free, you paid for it.


Steve
'04 288 Vista

I should add that I've never had any problems with the windlass on my boat. We probably only used it about a dozen or so times last season but the windlass never faultered.

And as Steve pointed out, you paid for everything on the boat. Personally I'd take a very dim view of any dealer that seems to have a hard time with that concept.

Ben

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2001 Cruisers 4450
Volvo TAMD-74P 480hp Diesels

The boat is brand new and I have not even taken posession of it yet. (Scheduled for April 23rd) The dealer simply stated that Fourwinns informed him that the maxwell 800 upgraded windless tends to jam and so he wants to replace the windless with the standard one that comes with the boat. I requested the Maxwell 800 after I ordered the boat and the dealer agreed to add it to the order. Now he claims he never charged me for it so if he changes it out there will not be a credit. If there are no reported issues with the Maxwell 800 then he just wants to save some money by giving me the cheaper one and keeping the more expensive one to sell to someone else. The dealer is Irwin marine in Red Bank NJ.

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2008.Fourwinns V358
1999 SeaRay340 Sundancer
1989 SeaRay 260 Cuddy

The only other issue I have is I ordered the boat with the auto pilot option and it was not installed by the factory. The dealer claims that he will install it with authentic parts supplied by Fourwinns and that it will be covered by warranty as if it were installed by the factory. He thanked me for my patience and had no problem letting me know that other people would have insisted on sending it back to the factory or reordering. I considered this however time is a factor as I do not want to wait until June for another boat. I paid alot of money for this boat and just don't want to be screwed or nickle and dimed.

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2008.Fourwinns V358
1999 SeaRay340 Sundancer
1989 SeaRay 260 Cuddy

On the windlass front that does sound at least a little better than what I was imagining. Were it me I'd stick with what the factory installed. If there's a problem with it I'd pursue it at that point as it's a warrantied item. I might also check with the dealer about how Four Winns communicated this to him, if they said casually, yeah we've had a lot of problems with those, then I'd probably stick with the maxwell. If they sent a recall, a warranty action or some other more formal notice then I'd certainly be willing to defer to that.

On the autopilot. As long as the factory will warrant the items I wouldn't sweat when and where it gets installed. That is a product that is basically made to be installed aftermarket and there should be no difference between the factory installing it and the dealer installing at. As long as the dealer does the install correctly I can't see any downside particularly. The biggest one would typically be that the factory isn't going to stand behind it, but if FW is okay with stepping up then I don't see a problem at all. I would however inspect the work very carefully and make sure your dealer does a top notch install. Make sure all wiring is properly anchored with chafe protection, etc.

Ben

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2001 Cruisers 4450
Volvo TAMD-74P 480hp Diesels

Thanks for all the insight. I decided to call Fourwinns today and ask them myself about both issues. Here is the reponse.

on the widless issue, they have no reports of any problems with the Maxwell 800 and told me that if I have any problems that they would be covered under warranty.

On the Auto Pilot Fourwinns confirmed that the dealer I am working with has an excellent reputation with them and is more than qualified to handle the install. All work will be waranted by Fourwinns.

This all sets me at ease. I already told the dealer to leave the windless as it is.

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2008.Fourwinns V358
1999 SeaRay340 Sundancer
1989 SeaRay 260 Cuddy

That's strange. So what is your theory on the dealer outright lying to you??

I concur. As a dealer, albit a fire truck delaer, this seems alfully strange. Its as if you were trying to be snowed into paying more money for something you have already paid for. Be careful of this guy!!!!

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Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)