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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:58 pm 
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Shark

Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:26 pm
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Location: Waukesha, WI
So we are picking up the boat on friday, is there anything in particular I should be wary of during the inspection and run through?

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:11 pm 
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All Night Long
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A couple things to watch for that really helped me. The dealer will be doing a delivery "orientation" won't he?


1) Take ALOT of pictures... You have no idea how often you will refer back to them while the boat is covered up...

2) Verify that as much as humanly possible works... rado, speakers, lights, trim system, etc. Check out the dual battery setup. Are you doing an inwater delivery, or is the boat winterized? Open every door - latch every latch.. check that all the keys are the right keys for the right stuff.

3) Put the bimini top up - play with it. Make sure you are comfortable with how to put it up and take it down. When I took delivery of my boat, my dealer didn't know that the top on the 240 is a 2 stage - you can open half of it or all of it... pretty cool.

4) Put the covers on and check for any broken or loose snaps

5) Walk the trailer - look for any damage. When you hook it on the tow vehicle, make sure all the lights and stuff are working. Ask the dealer what PSI they set air pressure at. The right answer is not "whatever it came with".

6) Eye every color change on the boat... make sure it's red where it should be and that there's no discoloration, cloudiness, or any scratches that will bother you. I walked and eyed every line on my boat to make sure everything was straight.

7) Accessories -- if you are picking up all your ropes, fenders, safety gear, etc -- make sure you got everything you paid for. I suggest a couple extra drain plugs as well.

8 Make sure you get that full tank of gas. with $4 upon us - that's a nice little bonus!

I am sure there is more.... hopefully others will chime in.

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:21 pm 
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230 Mike
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cougarcruiser wrote:
5) ...Ask the dealer what PSI they set air pressure at. The right answer is not "whatever it came with".


Cougar's list is excellent. On the tire pressure - FW boats are delivered to the dealer already on the trailer with tires inflated. So unless you ask them at delivery to check the tires, it's likely they haven't even been checked. The correct answer is whatever the max. pressure stated on the tires is. Trailer tires are meant to run at full max cold pressure. Check them often. Mine are rated at 65 lbs. If I find them at 64, I top them off. It's a PITA, but not nearly as much so as a shredded tire (and possibly a ruined wheel) on the side of the highway.

On the bimini, take careful note of how it's stowed as you deploy it the first time. Otherwise, you may never get it stowed the way it's supposed to be again - they can be deceivingly complicated. I'm certain mine has never been stowed correctly since delivery day :? .

As always before towing, check your bow & transom straps to be sure they're tight enough (they don't need to be Superman tight, but they should be firm). Make sure your drive is up before towing!

If you are taking a water delivery (or whenever your boat is operated for the first time), have the dealer bring along an extra bottle of power steering fluid, and check it a couple of times during the check ride, especially after about the first 10 minutes of running. I found out the hard way that they fill the reservoir at the factory but they don't always (or maybe never) exercise the steering system before shipping the boat. So then you get it out on the water, run the steering back and forth a few times, the pump fills the empty hydraulic lines, and the reservoir goes dry. I've heard from several people saying they experienced the same thing. GM p/s pumps are strong as long as they have plenty of fluid, but they have valves in them that are susceptible to damage if they run dry. Fortunately I heard (and was familiar with) the signature groan of a GM pump low on fluid, and I was able to add fluid before any damage could be done. Your dealer should throw in a bottle just for good will.

If you have the chance to check the engine oil before the first startup, do so - probably unnecessary, but I don't trust anyone else to make sure the oil didn't get missed somewhere along the line. Most likely it'll be too late anyway if that's the case; your dealer will probably have test-run the engine before delivery. By the same token, you could pull the dip stick on the drive and make sure it has fluid in it. I didn't do that, but probably should have. :|

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:05 am 
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I'm with Mike on checking the fluids. My dealer had a bottle of steering fluid in the info packet bag.... It turned out I was right at the bottom of the fill line after taking delivery of the boat.

Also, verify that the anodes on your boat are the right ones for the water you will be playing in!!!!!

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:44 am 
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Excellent tips so far, guys. A few more to add:

1. Tie-down straps- don't forget about ALL of them. My delivery captain forgot the bow tie-down, and if I hadn't asked it wouldn't have been included. They forgot it on my brother's delivery (also a 220H that he picked up 2 days later), too, and when he called the dealer, they tried to tell him the bow strap wasn't included with the boat and he'd have to get his own. :cry:

2. Along with eyeballing everything on the gelcoat, do the same with the interior. I found 2 cushions that had stains on them. They tried right then and there to clean it off, and it wouldn't come off, so we went into the service office and ordered replacements right then. It was pollen, and we tried all summer to get the stains off (we kept the old ones even after getting the replacments) and it never came off.

3. Double-check that the trailer winch is tight (if you are not doing an on-water delivery). My delivery captain failed to do this. (Lake of the Ozarks is a common on-water delivery lake and I wasn't doing an on-water delivery because I don't boat there. From watching him retrieve the boat, I don't think the guy had much experience putting a boat on a trailer. I almost told him to get out of the way and I'd do it, but resisted that urge. :D )

4. Don't leave until ANY concerns you have about ANYTHING are addressed and, if they can't be solved on the spot, are documented IN WRITING. Don't let something slide in order to avoid "being a difficult customer" or trying to be a nice guy or give them a break. You are paying a LOT of your good money for it, and EVERYTHING should be perfect or promised to be made right if it isn't.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:05 am 
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All Night Long
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Just to echo what Paul said above...

The most valuable thing of all.... If you find ANYTHING wrong or missing... don't just take the dealers word for it (unless you are related to or the best friend of the owner of the dealership).

Get it in writing... when you buy a car - they have those "I owe you" documents... the boat dealer should do the same. Or - an order invoice of some sort that says balance due is zero or the "paid in full" stamp of some sort.

When you ask for documentation... if the dealer seems put off by "why do you want it documented"... The answer is simple...

"Because I have a horrible memory and this is proof that we both agree that X needs to be taken care of post delivery".

Besides - somehow, the dealer's memory is ALWAYS worse than the buyers memory :lol:

I have always found that rather than getting mad if something is wrong/broken/missing... Just say "I know you guys will take care of me" or "that's just something we need to take care of". The dealer rarely has intentions of being an a$$ or making mistakes (hopefully). But we all need to understand that sh*t happens and things get overlooked.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:10 am 
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Excellent points, cougar. The old "catch more flies with honey" approach.

I would avoid any "aggressive negotiations" with light sabers, too.

One other thing I liked that our captain did for us, was he showed us how to drain the water out of the engine for brief cold storage (but warned that it did NOT replace winterizing!!!) using the air pump feature.

Obviously, I don't know your engine/drive setup. However, you could ask your deliver captain if the engine or drive have any special features that you should be aware of if all they do is pop the engine cover and give you a very general once-over.

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2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:34 pm 
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Man this is a good thread I'm taking notes for when I pick up my new baby
THANKS
Ardy
South Australia

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:09 pm 
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Shark

Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:26 pm
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Location: Waukesha, WI
Great notes so far.

I would be more excited about the pickup tomorrow, but re-organizing the garage to fit the boat tomorrow has exhausted me. Yikes what a mess.

Since we are still expected to see some freezing weather, i would expect that the boat should be in winterized condition. Never buying a new boat before I would suspect that the dealer has run the engine in test - will they re-winterize?

Pet 575 metnions the dealer missing a part then saying its not included, how do i know specifically that its all there? the only options were bow plate, bow and cockpit covers, 5.0 Fuel injected. The bow plate and engine are easy but whats part of the covers? Any tie downs, bows or poles?

Thanks Again!

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:10 pm 
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All Night Long
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C5er --- what did you do about dock lines, fenders, anchor, safety gear and all that stuff? Did you work it into the deal?

If you worked it into the deal - make sure they give you the premium ones and not the el cheapo deluxe.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:27 pm 
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All Night Long
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Depending on your dealer - they may or may not winterize the boat for you. If you are going to park it in the garage tomorrow, you are probably fine though. If you are storing it outside - I would very politely make sure they drained the block (at the very least).

So much of your experience will depend on how prepared you are. If you worked a bunch of stuff into the deal (which it sounds like you didn't) - then it could get to be a long checklist.

At the end of the day - just make sure you check everything out... tip to tip - and that you are satisfied. Now is your time to be anal. Open all the hatches, check keys.. make sure the bow& cockpit covers fit and that you have the support poles. I believe your boat comes standard with a bimini -- install it, fit it, take it down, put it back up.

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:07 am 
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You're right, it is hard to know what should be in there. They stowed away a TON of stuff for our delivery, so what did I do? I emptied every storage hatch until I could see it completely empty-then I looked at everything I had taken out. Filler cushions, table, stand, BOOT FOR THE BIMINI, tie-down straps, spare tire (wasn't in boat-just checked to make sure it was mounted on the trailer :mrgreen: ), extra table mount, throttle lanyard, two sets of keys, safety chains on trailer, etc. Really it comes down to anything you can think of that you saw in/on it when you either looked at it on the showroom floor or test drove it. If you don't see it out in the open-find it.

Did you get a ski arch or a wakeboard tower? If so, did you get board racks? If so, make sure they're on there somewhere. Someone previously suggested getting pics in and out-this would be good so that in the event both you and the dealer miss something and you discover it later, the picture may be helpful in proving that the missing thing was, in fact, not present when you took delivery.

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2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
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Last edited by pet575 on Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:23 pm 
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Location: Corinth, TX
Man am I glad I checked the site today. This post is priceless and oh so timely. We are picking up our boat today also. This is our first boat and I'm sure with all the excitement I would have forgotten to check 90% of the stuff you guys are mentioning. I am bringing a camara and was going to take pic's and after reading all of this I'll be taking alot more pictures of the inside of the boat as well. I'll post some pic's when I get some time, probably next week, cause I know how much I love to see everyone elses pictures. Thanks to everyone that has posted on this forum. You've been a huge help so far and I know you'll continue to be.

David

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:38 pm 
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c5er - you ended up with a great day for pickup, the roads aren't too messy. If they tested the motor, I would expect that it at least be drained, since WI weather can and will freeze at any time.

Looking forward to the pictures.

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:05 pm 
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Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:15 pm
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Hey Impulse...I'm assuming you bought your boat from Phil Dill since you're in Corinth. Thats where I bought mine from last year and let me assure you they are great when it comes to delivery. When I did the walk through on mine I missed a nick in the gelcoat on the hull that my salesman saw. He immediately brought it to my attention and we scheduled a day to get it fixed. They are great to work with...btw expect Phil himself to come congratulate you on the purchase.

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