new horizon advice?

Gresh24 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 08, 2014 10:53 am

schoolsOut wrote:

jimmythemufflers wrote:

Weve got a house on the chain o lakes in northern illinois so the boat will only be in fresh water. I/O is the most functional boat and make up the majority of boats on the chain. Swim platform, sun deck, easy access ladder, and i love thw flip up seats in the back. Since were right on the water i use the hell out of my boats so I like the idea of an extended warranty. I currently have a small stock of old evinrude parts standing by. Itll be nice not to have to do that. For a while anyways...

19 feet is where i want to be. I am moving up from a 16 foot 1974 glastron carlson. Big enough for the family, looks great, has a powerful engine without breaking the bank at the pump. Anything over 19 feet comes with more weight, bigger motors and a higher price tag.

Sounds to me like you have the perfect boat picked out then. I am sure you will love it for years. Happy boating!

Agreed. It's a sweet boat that will be just fine. Enjoy it.

I have a buddy that lives on the Fox river and have been to the chain o lakes. Cool area.

jimmythemufflers · **Joined:** Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:26 pm **Posts:** 40

I appreciate all the input. My mind is made up on a 19 foot i/o. I was really just looking for tips or things to watch out for with these boats. Anything mechanical is bound to break down eventually. Im glad i found this forum and i think ill stick around. Cheers everybody

ric · **Posted:** Fri Aug 08, 2014 12:00 pm

jimmythemufflers wrote:

I appreciate all the input. My mind is made up on a 19 foot i/o. I was really just looking for tips or things to watch out for with these boats. Anything mechanical is bound to break down eventually. Im glad i found this forum and i think ill stick around. Cheers everybody

Get the extended warranty, and buy Mercruiser not Volvo.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

Get real..the Volvo Mercruiser is a Chevy Ford debate. Like everything else they each have plus and minus issues. I've had a merc (12 years) and VP ( last 4 yrs). I personally prefer the VP.
Regardless, the fuel pumps have been corrected for 4 years...in short, both are fine systems that can be a pain in the ass to work on. Both hate ethanol as do OBs. Make sure to get remote oil filter.

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Aug 08, 2014 9:54 pm

Good point, with some of the newer boats the oil filter will require some real pain to remove. As will the starter, or anything on the rear of the engine. Sadists, that's what they are.
For those who do not like the look of OBs, its interesting to note that you can change a starter, or oil filter while standing up. Imagine that, lol....

rpengr · **Posted:** Sat Aug 09, 2014 8:20 pm

TX H210SS wrote:

Get real..the Volvo Mercruiser is a Chevy Ford debate. Like everything else they each have plus and minus issues. I've had a merc (12 years) and VP ( last 4 yrs). I personally prefer the VP.
Regardless, the fuel pumps have been corrected for 4 years...in short, both are fine systems that can be a pain in the ass to work on. Both hate ethanol as do OBs. Make sure to get remote oil filter.

+1

usje141 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 24, 2010 9:22 am **Posts:** 78

I have a 2006 Horizon 190 with the VP 4.3 190 HP engine and love it! Obviously it's not the largest or fastest boat on the water but it fits our needs perfectly 95% of the time. We boat on an inland lake with usually 2 to 4 adults and a couple of kids. The boat is great for waterskiing, wake boarding and tubing as long as you're not at maximum seating capacity.

We've managed to enjoy eight worry free years of boating so far. I don't want to jinx myself, but other then some trailer issues I'm really satisfied with the quality of our boat. Easy to start, quick on plane and very capable in rough water.

For maintenance, I've been following the manufacturers suggested schedule and that seems to be working just fine. Personally, I removed our snap in carpet several years ago and am glad I did. I was forever taking the carpet out to remove stains and wash it down. Now I just carry a towel on the boat and make quick work of mopping up any spills.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

Good point on the snap in carpet. The backing on mine is starting to give it up. Once it does I'm tossing it and replacing snaps with rounded top stainless screws to avoid toe stumping....then getting a few heavy carpetted mats I can toss in and out.

That's will eliminate one more thing in make ready and cleanup process.

usje141 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 24, 2010 9:22 am **Posts:** 78

I just unscrewed the snaps on the Deck floor and filled the holes with silicone. After several years it's still holding up well and no stubbed toes. If and when I ever go to sell the boat I'll just put the carpet back in for resale purposes.

jimmythemufflers · **Joined:** Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:26 pm **Posts:** 40

8 hours on the boat so far. Im following the book for the break in period. The boat is really the perfect fit for my family. Less than one week is too soon to add any input on the snap in carpet. Personally carpet in a boat never made much sense to me. It holds water, sand, dirt, and anything else you track in.

One thing im not happy about is the boat looses traction and nearly falls off plane on tight turns. Maybe these boats arent meant for quick turns. Other than that ive hit nearly 4000 rpms so far and see no reason it wont hit 50 mph once i can get it wide open. The book says quick full throttle is ok but limit it to 2 minutes after the first 2 hours and after 20 hours youre free to go as fast as you want for as long as you want.

Great boat, im very happy.

jimmythemufflers · **Joined:** Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:26 pm **Posts:** 40

8 hours on the boat so far. Im following the book for the break in period. The boat is really the perfect fit for my family. Less than one week is too soon to add any input on the snap in carpet. Personally carpet in a boat never made much sense to me. It holds water, sand, dirt, and anything else you track in.

One thing im not happy about is the boat looses traction and nearly falls off plane on tight turns. Maybe these boats arent meant for quick turns. Other than that ive hit nearly 4000 rpms so far and see no reason it wont hit 50 mph once i can get it wide open. The book says quick full throttle is ok but limit it to 2 minutes after the first 2 hours and after 20 hours youre free to go as fast as you want for as long as you want.

Great boat, im very happy.

robopath · **Joined:** Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:34 am **Posts:** 35

jimmythemufflers wrote:

One thing im not happy about is the boat looses traction and nearly falls off plane on tight turns. Maybe these boats arent meant for quick turns. Other than that ive hit nearly 4000 rpms so far and see no reason it wont hit 50 mph once i can get it wide open. The book says quick full throttle is ok but limit it to 2 minutes after the first 2 hours and after 20 hours youre free to go as fast as you want for as long as you want.

Great boat, im very happy.

Thats pretty normal at wakeboarding (~20 mph) speed, I usually need to add about 20% additional power to maintain the same pull in a tight turn. I need to add a little less at slalom speeds (~30). One thing that I forgot to mention is that a jump box will add piece of mind when using your "back deck" for hanging out. I looked into a dual battery setup, but for cost and weight considerations I went with this one below.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JFJLP6/ref ... 1_ST1_dp_1

usje141 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 24, 2010 9:22 am **Posts:** 78

I've got over 425 worry free hours on mine. And, acutally I got eight years out of my battery before it died this summer. I should have known better as I knew I was well over the expected life of a battery, but it tested fine this spring and never failed until it did. That's when I could have used one of those boosters or a dual battery system.

After talking to the guy at the Battery Source, I replaced it with the next bigger size and he told me that I should be able to play my radio with 40W RMS amp for many hours before running into a problem. As such, I think I'm going to forgo the back-up and just carry a jumper cable.

meinmelb · **Posted:** Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:17 pm

jimmythemufflers wrote:

One thing im not happy about is the boat looses traction and nearly falls off plane on tight turns. Maybe these boats arent meant for quick turns.

Great boat, im very happy.

Yep, this is the hull design, my boat will take water over the side if you turn hard enough. There are compromises in any design and I think Four Winns opted for a crowd pleasing comfortable ride rather than performance / handling, which is what most buyers in this catagory want anyway. I have had to lower my expectations with regards to handling of the FW hull, it is more Mini-Bus/SUV than Sports car. Drive it like a Ferrari and you will be disappointed, drive it like an SUV and appreciate the space and comfort, and you will be happy.

A Sea-Ray of the same year will turn better than a Four Winns, but the FW has more space, handles the chop better and is much cheaper on the used boat market. ( My mate has a 2004 Sea Ray 205 with the same motor package so I have a direct comparison).

Glad you are enjoying the boat. Life is better in a boat!!!!!

jimmythemufflers · **Joined:** Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:26 pm **Posts:** 40

Good to know about the turns, thank you. I suppose its not that big a deal. Definatly not a deal breaker. Part of the deal i asked for a dual battery with a switch so i turn just one of them on at the sandbar so we can have the stereo on all day long worry free. This one has the speakers on the transom and a subwoofer under the seat so im sure it draws a good amount of power.

Not to drag out this thread but out on the lakes today i killed the engine and drifted for about a half hour. When i started it back up all was well until i throttled up. I got an alarm and lost alot of hp. It wouldnt get on plane. I checked my gauges, turned on the blower, and bilge pump. Still nothing, i got the same beep when i hit the throttle. Than the 4th or 5th try i was under way with no alarm and full power. Im reading the manual now...

www.iFourWinns.com

new horizon advice?

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