www.iFourWinns.com

Hi All,

I am new to this group, but so far lurking I have found it very helpful. I have just recently bought a new 2007 378V and am extremely pleased with the boat. It sleeps two, dines six up top or below or more comfortably and parties a whole bunch.

A few minor issues, though:

refrigerators which go to defrost when not powered up or on shore power

hard steering to port

pathetic excuse for a coffee maker

boat seems to eat fresh water pumps

All of this stuff is under warranty, of course, but the dealer is several hundred kilometers away so we are relying on the service of our own marine mechanic acting with the permission of the Dealer.

Looking forward to gleaning more insight on this forum in the future.

Happy Boating!

Brian

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Brian Cowper
2007 Vista 378
Volvo 8.1 GI

Kanata, Canada
Brian@Marchbrook.com

Pics!!

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V475
Chris Craft Catalina 23 w/ 300 G2
Previously-V338, 248 Vista, H210

I could add some pictures, but can't seem to find any way to upload or copy and paste?

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Brian Cowper
2007 Vista 378
Volvo 8.1 GI

Kanata, Canada
Brian@Marchbrook.com

oh, I use photobucket.com It's real easy, then you just copy and paste the img link directly into the thread and it will appear (hotlink) directly in the message.

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V475
Chris Craft Catalina 23 w/ 300 G2
Previously-V338, 248 Vista, H210

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc17 ... and096.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc17 ... and186.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc179/candaq/323.jpg

Some photos on the Rideau and St. Lawrence.

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Brian Cowper
2007 Vista 378
Volvo 8.1 GI

Kanata, Canada
Brian@Marchbrook.com

Candaq,

Absolutely DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!!!!! me wants!

Sharp pup too!

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Brett DiMichele

Welcome Great looking boat

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

Nice Boat!!!

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

Thanks.

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Betty
Kanata, Ontario

2007 - V378

Hi Brian: Great looking boat. I'm in Toronto and boated up around Ganonoque in late August.
Beautiful area. What dealer did you buy from?
Regards,
Mike288

Beautiful area. What dealer did you buy from?
Regards,
Mike288

Thanks Mike,

Got it from Boat Warehouse in Kingston. I am very pleased with them so far; some minor issues that are being addressed for the most part, but then again we have the whole winter to work them out.

Thousand Islands are great, only the second time I've been, hang out mostly on the Rideau. You should try out the Rideau system sometime, it is really a different experience. Betty and I stay at lock stations with a Parks Canada mooring and lockage pass at a set cost for the season -- the more you use it the less it costs per transit/mooring, etc.

Brian

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Brian Cowper
2007 Vista 378
Volvo 8.1 GI

Kanata, Canada
Brian@Marchbrook.com

We just completed our second summer on our '06 378 and we just love it. We boat primarily on Lake St Clair and Lake Huron but have traveled to the North Channel, northern Lake Michigan and all of Lake Erie.

We have had several Four Winns cruisers and doubt we'd ever purchase another make. We purchased the boat new from Skipper Buds and they have been very responsive to any service/warranty issues.

We opted for the open cabin layout (there are only two of us), hard top and Raymarine radar/navagation package. It is powered by the 8.1 liter Horizon Mercruiser inboards.

One quirk I can't seem to correct is the fact that the transom locker opens from the top and therefore allows water into the locker. I have tried various weather stripping but it is either too thin or too thick to work effectively. Have you had the same experience?

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Lime Cutter
'06 378 Vista
Lake St Clair, MI
Mac Ray Harbor

Hi,

Yes, the accumulation of water is one of the first things we noticed. I'll be checking things out in the spring; I am not sure what the solution will be, I don't really want to have a hole from the outside of the boat to the bilge, if that is where it actually ends up. We've considered augmenting the canvas with a flap to cover the top opening, various kinds of channels. We'll settle on something in the spring.

How's your coffee maker? Can't find one good review for the PoS on the internet. BandD has really put together a crappy product. Apart from that, the boat is a dream, and as you say, the open cabin is great for a one couple [for us too, an 80lb weimaraner], the living space is absolutely astounding for a 38' boat.

Another great thing we love of the boat is because of its height and shape in general, other boaters don't realize the size from a distance until it is pulled up beside them, they stare gaping in surprise. The dimensions throw off their preconceived notions of size. That is nothing compared to when they step inside and see where form and function meet very well in a 'condo-like' environment that you wouldn't expect from the outside. Just a very well thought through boat. There have been countless times where experienced lockmasters have misjudged the dimensions of this boat from relatively close range and had to juggle things around on the fly as they direct us into the locks on the Rideau to try to fit us in. They now know to put us in first. Even then, they compound their mistake in a full lock by asking my wife to wrap around the first cable -- like what are they thinking? Her arms would have to be eight feet long and our bow would be over the sill and through the gate!

Nice chatting,

Brian

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Brian Cowper
2007 Vista 378
Volvo 8.1 GI

Kanata, Canada
Brian@Marchbrook.com

I don't drink coffee and have never used it but my wife makes it occassionally and hasn't mentioned any issues with the unit.

Jim

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Lime Cutter
'06 378 Vista
Lake St Clair, MI
Mac Ray Harbor

I hear you regarding water in the transom locker. I've got the same problem on our 348. I really like being able to open it from the top but there needs to be some way to better deflect the water.

I'm considering the addition of some sort of 'flap'. Perhaps something like the "fin" you'd use to seal the bottom of a door. Mounted either from the transom or the door. Mounting it to the transom side, inside the locker, would probably have more install options. But it'd leave the strip exposed to contact with your arms and the stuff you'd be stowing in the locker. Mounting it on the door would probably require gluing some sort of mounting strips to hold screws for it. I'd rather not have screw heads showing on the outside. I suppose some sort of "channel" mounted on the door could work. Something that worked to 'catch' the water and just redirect it.

The drains in the bottom of the locker seem a bit small. I put a drain into the seat and it was a lot harder than I'd expected. The engine compartment decking is THICK. It took almost 2" of plumbing to get through it. I drilled a hole larger than needed, refilled it with epoxy, and then drilled a hole for the pipe nipple attached to the back of the drain, liberally applying 4200 in the process. Then I put an elbow on the underside and routed tubing to the existing drain for the swim platform lockers. It's worked great at keeping water from standing in the locker. I'm loathe to repeat that effort for the transom locker but may have little choice otherwise. The real bear will be getting all the way back under there, it's tight quarters.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista