www.iFourWinns.com

I went to Riverside today (local FW dealer) and checked out two new 318's they had on their lot. They have an 07 and an 08. I was really planning on picking up a preowned 06 and getting as close as possible to 100K. But I have a big concern about the radar arch since there is a bridge on the river (providing access to the Bay) that has a mean tide clearance of about 11.5'. That's making the 08 look like the one since it has the (new for 08) hinged arch. I can't see stressing about the tides/and bridge opening schedule...waaay too much drama for me! And the last thing in the world I would want is to rip off the arch on a 100K+ boat.. not to mention the electronics. The biggest Vista I've seen in the yacht club next to my marina is a 328. But the 328's have like a 9'2" bridge clearance. The 318 is 10'6" sans electronics.. making it pretty much too close for comfort. I want to talk to the guy with the 328 and see what his experiences are. Anyway, unless it's possible to retrofit an arch to make it hinged (I want to look into) then I'll probably need to get the 08. Their price on the 07 was 179 and 16K more for the 08. That was without me talking them down at all - just feeling them out. I've heard they can be had at around 150 at the shows so I was curious if anyone else had some talked numbers recently? These were pretty nicely equipped - the nav package alone is a 9K option that they both had. I think if I do the 08 I'd drop the nav and entertainment and do them myself to save some bank and create a few improvements as there is some redundancy that I could do away with in a few places. They also said it's a good idea to order one before the new year when the boat shows ramp up and FW's has more and more boats to build, which makes sense but also seemed like the typical salesman schpeel..

new hinge:

Great boat. There was a fully loaded 338 at the Norwalk CT boat show for $209K for comparison's sake. Sounds like schpeel, but It's true about getting your order in sooner rather than later if you're having one built for you. From everything I've learned (from impartial sources) production slots get filled up pretty quickly and I get the sense FW is having a good year. Obviously, you have a little less negotiating leverage if you're not buying from stock, but it seems that you could expect to pay around 20 - 25% below sticker for an '08, although a lot depends on your locale and your dealer's overhead. I don't know if you would consider buying out of your area, but I would be happy to ask my dealer for some numbers on the 318 even if just to give you an idea. Just give me a handle on the configuration.

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

Thanks so much Sierra! pm me your email and I'll send you the configuration. I'd definitely consider buying anywhere.. If I can get my hands on a tri-axle I can trailer it if I had to. Thanks again! Brenden

Where are you from. I think our dealer has a 310. Give Big Bee boats a call if you like. Ask for Rich. Tell him Larry Milliken sent you. There price was a lot better then Riverside when we bought.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

Thanks Larry, I'll give them a call this week. Where is Big Bee located? I'm in Edgewood, Maryland. I really appreciate the help guys, thanks!

Riverside? Is that your most local dealer? Before buying, look very hard at service reliability.

Is a 318 trailerable??

I know my dealer had an alloy I Beam custom fabbed so they can move around up to 358's but I don't know exactly how far they can
move them as height becomes the biggest issue. Overwide is doable with chase cars, flashy lights and permits but 13'6 is all the more overhead you are going to get on major roads. What do all you guys and gals do with your boats at the end of the season, do they just get dry racked or cribbed up at the marina?

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Brett DiMichele

Bill, I know, your favorite dealer... I probably won't go through them after what you have been through but it will most likely ultimately come down to price. I'll still be doing everything myself and if I had a catastrophic failure, I could bring the boat up to either Clews or elsewhere. Main reason for going with the 318 is I can still trailer.

Brett, there's another member on here who bought a 318 from a guy who trailered it. I mean, it will stay in a slip of course but I still want to be able to store the boat on my property in the winter and have the option of bringing it with me if I have a long term project in say.. miami That's the other advantage of the hinging arch - I won't have to sweat the major bridges either when it's on the trailer. The beam on the 318 is 10'9".

BTW, they said that they figure about 750ish for the 458 . Somebody pick one up! I'll take it off your hands in 10-15yrs

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

Oh yeah by the way, are they hiring where you work Brenden?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ya! As much as I love the 318,348, 458 I think my next move is to a flybridge salon!

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Brett DiMichele

Big Bee Boats are located just north of Harrisburg. Here is there web site http://www.bigbeeboats.com/index.html . We got a price from Riverside when we were getting our 268. Big Bee had it beat before we got there. They should be able to get a trailer for your boat also. When we were looking for a trailer theres were just a little to light for us. We had a trailer made in OH by Loadmaster. It is a very well made trailer. We also have a canvas for our 348. That we had made by Fisher Boat Covers. Now we can do ever thing our self.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

Yes indeed that is a NICE trailer! What do you pull the boat with and how far do you have to travel back to the house?

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Brett DiMichele

One of our friends at our dock has a 350 Ford. He pulls our boat and I help him with his boat. He has a 342 Rinker. We have to pull ours about 5 miles to where we store it. The place we store it is a reliable storage place.

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348 Vista ( Last Call )
Raystown PA

That trailer sure is sweet! I guess out there you guys are able to get away with 5 miles without any permit? Thanks for the pic. I saw the other thread about that cover and I almost had one done up for the 248 but I knew I would probably unload it soon so I didn't make the investment. I'll certainly get one for the 318. And Brett, they asked me about the 248 as a possible trade and wanted to know the options. The salesman was going to automatically mark off "no" for the windlass and I almost pulled the pen out of his hand! haha, you should have seen the look they gave me when I told them about the mods I did! Oh and Brett, thanks for the good luck wishes. You should move out here! There is much more open water for that flybridge! I'm just still trying to get over the 318 toping out around 55 mph.

Brenden,

You have to watch them dealers when doing trade-in's What I am doing to my 248 should raise the retail at least 4-6 grand (full flexiteak and windlass) we know what those options cost from the oem. I am so very right side up on my 248 right now, I may be taking on a second job shortly, if the guy is willing to pay what I want an hour, who knows, I may have to look at going BIG too!

You should just keep the 248 and use it as the dinghy for the new monster heh!

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Brett DiMichele

haha.. that's what the 220 is for! I go out for the weekend and my buddy takes the 220 and brings a gaggle of women out saturday then again on sunday. Works for me!

I didn't even want to tell them about the 248, I've got no intentions to trade it - I'd much rather sell it myself with all that's been done. My g/f made the comment when we were looking at the new boats how much cleaner mine was. It really looks brand new. I guess I'll be putting up a few adds soon. Any of your buddy's looking for a 248? I'll even haul it out to the steel city! btw, how are you making out with the windlass? And the Flexiteek is like a $3800 option. Since your going to be the local expert, maybe I should order it aftermarket and we can have a few flexiteek install weekends?!? Oh, and pm sent