www.iFourWinns.com

I made a deal with the guy on the Renkin boat with the soft floor. I haven't purchased it but he's going to take it to the dealer and let them cut into it to see what they can do and I'll be there too. He was open to the thought of getting an estimate and then taking that off the price of the boat or, better yet, have it fixed and the sell it to me and I wont be obligated however I might feel that way. I should be an adventure.

I've found another boat that looks great but needs a little upholstery work. It has the 7.4 engine in it though and I'm not sure I want that. How badly do they consume fuel? Am I going to go through $100 worth of fuel in a few hours with this boat. We're just going to pull a tube around with it. Maybe a wakeboard.

Well here's what you might be up against:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e316zo94sig9y ... 0floor.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pes4wf5zt63mxnv/foam%20in.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dya1kwrl180vx ... unting.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g1rnp0kl1gqpz ... itting.jpg

How it turned out:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ds48pon6ov5tzvw/Boat%201.jpg

Worth it only if you are doing keep it a long time.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

The 454 will consume about the same at normal cruise speeds. Some people claim slightly better consumption from a big block at cruise speeds, and I've seen factory test data that confirms this. Anything above that though and it will consume more for sure. How much more? I don't know. I personally would rather have a big block versus a small block.

Like Lou points out though... if it were me looking for a boat, and it had soft floors, I'd run away quickly.

Yeah. I watch a bunch of videos on Youtube of a fiberglass guy that purchase a nice SeaRay boat and then found a soft spot off in a corner. He's rebuilt many boats but wasn't wanting another project. It was fascinating and scary to see what all he had to do to repair the boat including basically taking the entire floor and transom wood out and replacing it. A LOT of work. I am planning on having the boat a long time however, we all know how that goes.

As for the 7.4 liter engine at cruising speed. Do you mean it gets better mileage that a small block engine while cruising? There isn't much room here to cruise a boat because most of our lakes are reservoirs and are small and tend to have a lot of people on them.

I just picked a random Four Winns model and looked at the "fast facts" pamphlet for it.
2011 SL262, 320HP VP 5.7 GXI/DP
Fuel consumption:


2011 SL262, 375 HP VP 8.1 GI/DP
Fuel Consumption:


So, as you can see, I was wrong indeed. That's with a lighter boat though. There is a negligible advantage of fuel economy the 350 has over the 496, but as you get faster, the gap narrows, and by the time you're just overtaking the 350 powered version, you're burning the same if not slightly less fuel than the small block. The telling difference is the faster top end, if that's what you want.
On a small lake, if all you're doing is putting around with a few people and minimal gear, get the small block. If you like to take several people out and wakeboard/tube all day, then there's no replacement for displacement. I'd imagine that as you load the boat with the 5.7 down, at some point the big block will get better all-around fuel economy.

Let's see what a heavier boat does...

2011 V285, 320 HP VP 5.7 GXI/DP


2011 V285, 375HP VP 8.1GI/DP

Notice something interesting here? The 350 drinks 17 gallons per hour at 35MPH, while the 496 drinks only 16 gallons per hour at the same speed.

Hope this helps

The soft floor more often than not leads to discovery of three times the rot. I ad a soft spot the size of about six inches on my prior boat...It was under rear seat and I figured no problem...I can fix it easy.....NOT......I started cutting and WOW DAMN....all way to stringer and under engine mount.

I sold as is and got the SS...

I would go with big block over small all day long personally. The big boy gets to speed with less effort,,....meaning the engine has less stress and wear. You will not notice fuel difference unless you are sitting at pumps with calculator....if like u most of the time is floating and hanging out or swimming. Maybe 3-4 hours run time during 8 hours on water and that's tubing, boarding with several kids that never wear out....until cleanup time.

_________________
http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

Well then. I'll add the 7.4 liter to my list to see this next week. I'll even lean that way. It's a larger boat too which isn't a bad thing.

I looked at three boat yesterday. Two turned out to be fairly lame with one having the older Cobra outdrive and the other just needed a lot of fixing up. The other was an older 1985 Seaswirl that was in great shape. It sure had the nostalgic feeling with the blue/green seats and upholstery. Floor was solid with no musty smells and it had the 5.7 Merc. I wish it had a better swim deck. Are swim decks that hard to install? I'd like to have one that extends the width of the boat.

What I'd do...
keep saving money...
get a newer all composite boat...
with a 4 stroke outboard....
it will cost more....
but do you really want to do what I did....if you like projects and have a heated shop then that's one thing...if you want to go boating...
get a newer boat (5 years old at most) all composite construction and an OUTBOARD!!!
make your life easy.
BEEN THERE.....DONE THAT.....AINT DOIN' IT AGAIN

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

That'll be on by headstone with a slight modification "D4 WITH EVC, BEEN THERE.....DONE THAT.....AINT DOIN' IT AGAIN". I think the stress has taken me closer to needing a headstone !

Graham, have you looked into the cost of converting it to something a little more sane without the bells & whistles, if it's possible at all?

Ok. I looked at the 7.4 boat, a Bayliner, and it needs upholstery work. Seemed good other than that. Needed a good buff job too. Today I met the guy at the lake and launched it. It ran great and had lots of power and you're right, the boat seemed to be loafing along but we were cruising at 25mph. I think the engine was just above idle. I got looking at the floor while I had lots of light and noticed that it had a wood floor. It appeared to be wood with some sort of sealant over it and then carpet. Does this seam normal for a 1995 boat?

Also, after a little while of running the boat, the engine started to have random stumbles. I'm not sure how else to explain it. It has an Edlebrock carb on it. We would be cruising at around 2300 rpm and the engine would just stop and go... almost like it missed a couple of times all at once. Any ideas? It starts really well and runs very smooth other than the occasional miss. The miss is enough to tip you forward if you're standing. I was a little surprised at how little the bow raised up when accelerating from a stop. Could this be due to the dual prop set up.

It's 19 years old...
Yes the wood cored deck is typical of that era and with carpet on it they are
rot prone . I know you're in a dry climate...but was the boat there all those years?
Carb, could need an adjustment or rebuild.
I still say keep saving money get something newer, like 5 years old max. Trust me you'll be lots better off.

If you want a boat you can own and run without having constant issues, that will be relatively trouble free for years, look at salt water boats such as a Key West 2020 dual console with a Yamaha 4 stroke outboard. These boats are built for salt water and as such are much higher quality than the typical low grade lake style bowriders. They have better quality materials in everything from wiring to upholstery and with outboard power will be safer and less maintenance. I know I'm repeating myself but I hate to see people drawn in by a low price, to what is basically a worthless money pit.
SAVE YOUR MONEY

do you wan to go boating or become a backyard marine mechanic (me) and/or fiberglass repair guy (NOT ME)....if you keep lookin at the crap you are finding...I hate to tell you but its not going to be good.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Lou, I appreciate all the info. you've shared and all the info everyone has shared and I totally agree with you on buying a newer boat. I'd love too. Before I got married I purchased a brand new boat. It was awesome and I loved it. It was the only new vehicle I had ever purchased then and now but now I'm married with children (sounds like a TV show) and money is tight. I doubt I can save up enough money to purchase a newer boat let alone a nice Key West. I looked online and from what I can find, the closest Key West boat I can remotely afford is a 2004 for $8900 and it's in Louisianan. There just isn't any boats like that around here. A 2009 boat around here goes for around $20k which is way out of our price range. Is there anything out there that I can purchase, like a Toyota or Honda version of a boat, that will have minimal work and in my price range? I'm ok with being a back yard mechanic since I fix my own vehicles for the most part and I'm kind of used to it since I can't afford newer vehicles anyway.

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Are you paying cash for the boat or financing it? If youre paying cash consider the cash price as a down payment. And figure 5-10 years of 300 a month payments. A used boat can easily cost you more than that in repairs especially if you have soft wood.

If you want a used boat look for the newest onr you can afford, narrow it down and hire a mechanic to inspect it mechanically and structurally. I have had great luck with used cars. However i have had horrible luck with used boats. Many people do have great luck with used boats i think youre only hearing responses from guys who havent. And im one of them lol!

Its the end of the season and new or used, boat prices will be in your favor. Used, I would choose a boat with engine issues over soft wood any day of the week. Go buy a boat and enjoy it.