www.iFourWinns.com

There's no A/C or gen but besides that what do you think about this era 278? The engine set-up? Price?

Do any of you guys know this boat?

Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 3AIT#v4-39

Have two friends in our marina that have these 278's and a co-worker has one as well. Rare to find one with 5.7's. Most have 4.3L V-6's. AC would be nice to have in this model.
Good solid, roomy boats. Will need a permit to trailer this one any distance. Most are selling for less the $25K. FW needs to make a boat this size with the wide beam again.

I think Beergarita (MIA ?) owned one of these for several years and can elaborate on specifics.

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Nice boat It must fly with those engines. I have 5.0's in mine and it flies. I am in the process of putting AC in mine. should end up costing about 1k. If it is in the condition it looks I would say it is priced a little high this time of the year. In spring it would sell for that price.

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Gibson Lazy Cruz 42
(Exboat)1994 Four Winns 278
2 x 5.0L OMC Cobras SX
2003 Ford F-250 6.0L

What all is involved in getting a permit to trailer? I guess it will not make a good boat for trailering to different lakes.

Not sure what is required in the "Land of Lincoln" for permits, but anything over 8'6" beam will need one. Our neighbors at the marina trailer their 278 about 3 hours north every summer to boat around Traverse City, so it can be done.

Too bad you need a trailer, I have just the boat for you.

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

I have a '98 with 4.3's. This one looks as clean or even cleaner than mine did when I bought it 3 years ago. Too bad it's missing the generator and AC, but for the price, you can deal with it and add AC and even a genset if you do it yourself. This one looks very well taken care of.

A couple things to prepare yourself for if you buy it - The trailer may need a lot of work to get the brakes and bearings up to par. It depends on how well the owner took care of it. If he slips it during the season as it appears he does, the trailer sat a lot with only a few uses in any given season. In my opinion, that trailer was not built heavy enough to trailer that boat regularly, as I do. There was enough flex and/or bend in my trailer that the bunks did not come out to the edge of the transom, which most agree they should. I sold the trailer and had a custom aluminum trailer built for it and it's much better. However, it's still a lot of weight to trailer regularly but in my case, it's stored inside year round so there's the tradeoff - still looks new at 11 years old. With the trailer, mine weighs 11,680lbs, so it's close to what the FW trailer was rated for. There's also 900 lbs of tounge weight, so trailering this boat technically requires a class V hitch. I have a Reese Titan hitch on my truck and there are others with even more rated capacity.

Now for the width issue. The boat as it sits on the trailer does not look wider than 8'6" because it's actually less than that at the trailer fenders. I have not had any issues trailering it in the 3 years I've owned it and have not purchased the over-wide permit. I also don't speed and it's obvious I have an adequate tow setup. I checked into it 3 years ago and at the time it was $120 for the year. You'll have to have the TE plates for the trailer, which are $170 per year so it's a little more expensive. I don't recommend towing without the permit as I've been doing, though, and I plan to research it again for next season. I figure it's not worth the hassle if anything happens and as cash-strapped as our state is, it's only a matter of time before someone figures it out.

Hope this helps...

Joe

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USCG 50 Ton Master Inland/OUPV Endorsement+Towing

1998 278 Vista - Twin 4.3 GLs, Kohler 4KW Gen, AC/Heat.
1999 Yamaha Waverunner SUV
2003 Yamaha Waverunner SUV w/MR-1 HO conversion

Thanks for all the info guys. I offered a lower buy it now price so we wil see what happens.

Dang boat sold for $2,200.00 over the "Buy it now" price! I could have had it on the side for 21K Saturday.

How about a 2000 238 Vista for $14,995 ? It's at a local re-po yard. These boats go real fast, as dealers are snapping them up. I missed a 2005 180SE for $6,995, it was bought buy a dealer over the phone before I could drive the 4 miles to look at it.


Here is the only picture displayed from their website.
5.7L DP, w/trailer. Condition "Average"

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Wow, not bad. I think we need at least a 268 with a trailer.