www.iFourWinns.com

I would like to get everyone's opinions on the differences between the 268/278 Vista and the 260 Searay. I'm sure most people who bought Four Winns also looked at Searay's. Thanks for your help.

Hi Devilray, welcome to the forum.

I do not know anything about either them, but I did a lot of checking Boattest.com for some useful information. Just thought I would pass that website along.

No matter what I think Fourwinns are better, but that is just me!

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2007 200 Horizon- 4.3GXi/SX 225hp
2007 Tahoe LT

Hi Devilray, welcome to the forum.

I do not know anything about either them, but I did a lot of checking Boattest.com for some useful information. Just thought I would pass that website along.

No matter what I think Fourwinns are better, but that is just me!

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2007 200 Horizon- 4.3GXi/SX 225hp
2007 Tahoe LT

Obviously I am biased having owned 2 Four Winns in the last 14 years, and I am sure you will get completely different answers on the Sea Ray forums, but when I purchased my 268 Vista in 2004 at the NY Boat show, I did compare it to the Sea Ray 260! That was 3 years ago, so I do not know if the current models are the same, but based on that experience I can tell you that in 2004 the Four Winns was priced a lot better, and that apples to apples the Four Winns 268Vista was at least $5K less than the Sea Ray 260.

Also, I liked the Four Winns layout much better than the Sea Ray. Everything from the Aft Cabin acess to the Head layout and to the Access to the Deck without having to close the cabin door, and the large flat chart area at the helm. I also liked the Radar Arch and Canvas Options better on the Four Winns.

I think that the Sea Ray had a slightly sharper Deadrise angle at the transom, but I also believe that the bow entry on the Four Winns was deeper and there was more of a bow flare, which keeps me completely dry in some pretty rough conditions. That combined with the StableVee hull design, makes for a great ride and good stability while On the hook.

Also, we like to keep the cabin portholes open with the screens in place while tied up at the dock during the week, and the position of the portholes on the 4 Winns is below the gunwale so that with the big flare, the cabin stays dry even if it rains. The portholes in the Sea Ray were above the gunwale and would need to be kept closed in the event of rain.

Lastly, there are Soooo Many Sea Ray 260's in my neck of the woods, that I thoroughly enjoy having the Four Winns 268 Vista which really stands out from the crowd! I always get a ton of compliments on my 268 Vista from the other boatowners.

Although this info is a bit "Dated", I hope it helps.

Good Luck!

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'04 FW 268Vista "Andiamo"

No this is great information. I just saw the 278 at the boat show in Orlando this past weekend and really liked it, but didn't like the new price. I'm looking for one maybe a few years old. In our neck of the woods a generator is a must and really like the radar arch. Keep the comments coming, it helps when there are so many boats out there in this size range. Thanks

I'm also biased towards Four Winns having just traded up my 268 to a 288. However you may also want to look at the Chapparal 27 foot signature cruiser. I saw these shortly after we got our 268 and the layout and finish is quite impressive.

http://www.chaparralboats.com/containers/chaparral.html

We did look at the searay as well, but concluded you were paying a lot more for the name.

We also got a lot of compliments on our 268. Great running boat with a lot of space for it's size.

Good luck.

I don't know about Chapparal anymore? I used to like the Chapparal myself and looked at it also in 2004, however since then I have heard some issues about quality on the Chap's and have personally known a dockmate with a 2004 Chap Sig 29 who had significant hull cracking issues. There was a thread about this a few months ago on the Boat US Messageboard. Personally, I would steer clear of Chapparal for now.

If you want another comparison, I would look at the Crown Line before I would look at the Chap. Just my 2 cents!

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'04 FW 268Vista "Andiamo"

I would not own a 260 Sea Ray or any other boat that integrates the steps to the bow into the door. We looked at them, with the door opened after someone is on the foredeck there is NO safe way back to the cockpit. During the shows when we were shopping the wife and I went through the motions of what we would actually do on the water to see how usable the designs were. On the 280 Sea Ray (260 same design) Cindy went to the bow as if we were docking. She handles the bow lines and Ben generally will handle the stern or I will grab it depending on the situation. Ben came out of the cabin and left the door open. That's one BIG hole you can't safely get past. Cindy felt that if she needed to get down quickly and someone (a guest or one of the kids) came out of the cabin and left the door open she would be unable to make her way back to the cockpit. A safety issue!

What turned me off, a single seat helm. I like someone at time sitting next to me helping navigate in unfamiliar waters or at night.

Just my observations and opinions.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

I tell you what I was very impressed when I saw the 278 at the show in Orlando. What dealer did you get your through? We have a dealer over my way, but don't care much for them. I have my choices pretty much narrowed down. I just need to find a fairly new/used boat now.

I purchased my last three boats from Five Star marine in Lighthouse Point. They are no longer a FW dealer. The 170 Freedom I have too was purchased from Liquid Sports. It was a used boat they originally sold and then took in as a trade.

What price were they asking for a 278? 20% off a fully loaded boat should be about $96K

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

They had the boat listed for $89k and it seemed like a good price, but can't see myself buying a new boat when it drops big time for a 1 or 2 year old boat. Liquid Sports Marine had the boat listed and seemed like a good company to deal with.

Moe does a great job managing the service department. Donna is tops when it comes to keeping things in order. Yes it does drop a bit but sometimes just knowing how it was taken care of makes a difference. I guess it depends upon how long you intend to keep it. We at 3.5 yrs and can't see selling anytime soon so the amount we would have saved averaged over say a 6 yr period isn't overly painful. I do know my engines were properly broken in, maintain and not had the piss run out of them.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

One thing I noticed about Sea Ray's is the number of them that are ALWAYS for sale. That can say a couple of things. One is people buy them, don't like them, and sell to move to something else (probably a Four Winns) or there are just that many more Sea Rays. Either way, with the high number for sale, simple laws of supply and demand will tell you that it will drive down resale price.

Also, like someone else stated before, it's nice to have a unique boat. I had a 1996 Sundowner before I got my new (used) Vista and I always recieved compliments on it.

But probably my biggest reason for picking a Four Winns over a Sea Ray would have to be the Volvo Penta Drive. Once you own one, you will be hard pressed to go back to Merc's. Personally, I can't even look at a boat anymore that doesn't have the volvo drives. They are constructed so much better and operate so much smoother.

I don't know if I have made any rational arguments here, but I hope it helps.

I agree with many of the above comments and went through a similar decision process to arrive at FW 288. I was originally looking at a 268,
but thought I may end up with 2 foot itis wishing I had the 288. Then
the 278 came out and I thought that may be a good compromise.
I stepped on board a 278 and thought this isn't much bigger than a 268.
Price differential narrows too between a 288 and 278. So then the issue of going for twins on the 288 when I had originally planned to go for a single. Researched mileage and engine longeivty issues etc. Not a big difference in mileage between twin 5 liters and a single 5.7 l. More security and longer life from twins working less than a single working its heart out to get you on plane and keep you there. Last year
was the first year with our 288--whole family loved every minute aboard.
The extra space and versatility of the forward berth were cinchers for my wife. The new 288's have a permanent berth up front and the whole cabin seems to feel closed in as a result. A used 288 may well fit the bill for you even though you are looking at 268/278. Most people can't believe the headroom on our 288.
Finally, I sat in the cockpit of every boat at a show--this is where you are
going to spend most of the time. FW layout works great and is comfortable--this holds true for the 268 as well as the 288. Sea Ray layout doesn't work as well as jvalich noted. Didn't see the value in the Sea Ray although it has an excellent reputation. Went FW and never regretted it Good luck in your decision and enjoy shopping!

We looked at the new 29 foot sea ray prior to buying the 288. Ditto about the cockpit layout, the wrap around lounge in the FW is one of great layout features of all FW cruisers. The sea ray seemed all chopped up and unusable. Don't know if I agree about the 07 - 288 cabin feeling all closed in, we liked the fixed vberth instead of the dual tables. We used the table in the cabin of our 268 exactly once.

We take delivery in May so will let you know if the fixed vberth. If you can afford the difference, twins is the way to go.