www.iFourWinns.com

My wife and I are looking at a 08 258 Vista with 300 hp volvo dp. Our conerns are how the boat rides in rough water and is the 300 hp volvo dp enough power to get up and go with 4 adults on the boat. Does anyone have any advice on the boat we are looking to buy.

We are also thinking of Rinker 260 but leaning towards the 258 V

You will be much happier with the 258 Four Winns. ESPECIALLY at resale time. I have the 248 and I think the boat handles GREAT in rough chop. I am not sure the HP rating, but we have the 5.0 GXI Volvo DP and it works just fine. Under full passenger load, I need the tabs to get out of the water, but it aint bad.

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"Where Da Go"
2002 248 Vista
Lafayette, IN
http://blueoceanlife.worldventures.biz

the new 258 is very simmilar to the older 248, as far as weight and size. We have a 280 HP volvo DP (5.7L) it does ok at the elevations we boat at 3500 to 6500 ft. But I wish I had the 8.1L

What elevation will you be using the boat at, the higher you go the more power you need.

As far as rough water handling, we have been in some 3-5 ft. chop at lake powell with the vista, handles/rides very nice compaired to what we moved up from (1995 245 sundowner, which handle very well also compaired to a 19') What are you used to now? How do you plan on using the boat, cruising? towing? camping? just make sure you prop it accordingly

Make your dealer take you out on the water for a test drive, see for yourself if you will be happy.

Good luck

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

We recently purchased our '07 258 Vista after narrowing our choices to the 258 and the
Rinker 260. We flew to Phoenix to see the Rinker and saw the Vista in Pueblo, Colorado.

We have only used the boat twice(14 days) at Lake Havasu in AZ ( 680' above sea level). It has the 320 HP Volvo DP. The main reasons we chose Four Winns over Rinker-

Rinker Positives- Rinker Cons
Port side seating Cant stand up straight in head
Larger waste and water tanks More Claustrophobic mid berth
Shorter forward v-berth

Vista Positives Vista Cons
Close to 6' headroom in head No port side seating
Nicer fabrics, finishes(IMHO)
More open easier to access mid berth
Wide helm seat for Captain and Admiral

Also, we like the sunsport seating that easily folds flat in the rear for sunbathing or napping. Two of us can stretch out and get comfortable -something we couldnt do with the fiberglass bunk at the rear of the boat in the other configuration.With full water and fuel, captain at the helm and three adults in the rear, trim tabs were used to plane adequately quickly. Moving the admiral next to the captain at the helm made a big difference. Based on our short use, the ride and power was great and will be fine when it moves to the bigger higher altitude waves at Lake Powell in the spring- Good Luck- Both craft are very nice - you will surely enjoy whichever you choose-but do listen to powellcrazy- a test drive would be well worth the effort- the "get up and go" is something you need to judge for yourself.

Thank You all for your input. We will be boating on Long Island Sound Connecticut River and Block Island .
We have a Stingray 200cs now and it is a rough riding boat. Ride is a concern. Cannot demo the boat till April when many of the rebates end.

We too boat in Long Island Sound and started on the CT River. We just traded in our 220CS Stingray for a new V248; should be in any day. We would take the little cuddy from Clinton to Newport RI, Block Island RI, Greenport L.I. and Bridgeport to name a few overnight destinations. We would take a beating!! From all the feed back that we received the FW was the boat of choice for us. We have a new slip this year located in Mystic CT and have already started planning our summer trips. I assume you are dealing with Brian at G&R? We bought the Stingray and the new FW from them and they have always treated us GREAT!
Good Luck and see you on the water!

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“Growing Older, But Not Up”
[

2008 Four Winns V248
2004 Stingray 220CS

I went from a Stingray 230SX (which has 20 degrees of deadrise and is fairly hefty with a big block) to a 248 Vista and the ride is in no way comprable. The Vista glides on the water as if on a pillow.. The 230SX shook my teeth out.

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Brett DiMichele

As a very happy 2007 Vista 258 owner, I would recommend you consider this craft. We ordered ours with the Volvo 320hp with the OSXi drive. We did re-prop it to a F3 from the F4 at the end of last season to help our hole shot when pulling a wake boarder. At present the 320hp is the largest engine you can get and I have never had any problems. With the tabs, you should have no issues.

We are normally river boaters but have been out on Lake Michigan and the 258 handled chop just fine. However, I would not be interested to be out in 3'-5' seas. Most of the time it is just the Admiral and myself but we have had as many as 7 onboard. 4 adults should be just fine. At around 3500-4000 rpm we are slightly over 2 mpg. The wake board tower does slightly change the center of gravity but we really enjoy having it for the teenagers.

We are very comfortable in the 258 and the fact that we can tow it makes it even better. We can shave over 8 hours off our time getting out to Lake Michigan by driving it to a Chicago slip.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. We logged almost 100 hours on the engine last season, had the boat in the water until November 1st and did a 3 day trip down the Illinois River all with no issues.

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Jnizi

2007 Vista 338 "Better Yet"
Previously:
2007 Vista 258 " Just Right"
2005 Horizon 230