www.iFourWinns.com

Are they impressed?

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Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

The folks at Four Winns are lurkers.

They'd be crazy to not use us as market research.

I'd love to try to get out to the factory in the spring (might fit in with a trip to Chicago I have planned in April).

If so - you bet I'm going to push this forum around a bit.

2nd to boat shows - we are probably the most powerful marketing tool that Four Winns could dream of.

FW loves us. Dealers hate us because we drive pricing down!

Maybe it's because NONE of us are opinionated at all!

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

St Louis Dave,
You may be right that your 2001 H260 has a bit more room seating wise but its probably closer than you think. However, I moved out of a 2005 H260 and the amount of room in my old one vs the SL262 is extremely close. Plus, your 2001 has a transom walkthru which the 2005 did not have but the SL262 does (I just grew tired of climbing over and into the boat). The 2001 H260 is a great model and has a great layout...I wish they would have kept it more of the same when they redesigned. Anyway, I am quite happy with the SL262 mostly because of the ride. It rides like a totally different animal and fits my needs a bit better.
No doubt they are both GREAT boats though! Here's to an early summer!

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2009 SL262, Merc 8.1L HO 425 HP With
Bravo III "X" Drive and DTS Smart Tow

Since the topic has shifted a bit, I'll continue with the trend, and maybe start a new thread later about boat shopping.

The GR Show:
Much smaller than in past years, and a small attendance. It was nice because you could ask questions, and inspect the boats without any lines to wait in.
I did not recall seeing a 248 there, however there was a new 278 displayed with black hull and the tan striping. Nice looking boat, but priced high for a 28 foot boat.
SL222 was a bit small inside, and the use of some black materials on the dash made it look cheap.
Sea Ray "why buy used, when you can buy new" sales campaign was a complete joke. Prices were ridiculous for everything they displayed.
Dave, I'm surprised you did not like the Formula 260BR, I thought it was very nice, and congrats by the way, on your new job, I hope all goes well and you can buy that 310 Horizon you have been wanting.
Overall, I had a fun time looking at all the boats, and spent some time chatting with sales people from Tiara, Four Winns and others.

Now, off to look at a boat in storage I may make an offer on. And check out that 530 .

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Cap'n -- so what's the scoop on the FW you are looking at today?

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Since this thread has turned into a boat show thread I will add my take since I was there with Capn Morgan.

LOVE the Formula 350 SS...what an amazing craft. But at $300k...little steep at this point.

Really liked the SLs from Four Winns, but did not like the head door on the 242. When opened fully...it slammed into the helm console. There was already a little mark on the dark gray fiberglass just from a day and a half of the show. Also found out that our local Four Winns dealer is only buying five 2009 boats in total, no cruisers, all bowriders. Rumor is Four Winns will launch the 2010 line early this year and they don't want a bunch of 2009s hanging around. So most of the boats were 2008s.

The head on the Cobalt 242 was enormous...I liked that boat a lot.

Sea Ray bowriders are just ugly. Have some bad design flaws like the swim platform wash down nozzles are right in a major tripping spot and are not covered at all. It was on all their models...not just one. And their prices were crazy. Capn and I went to look because we both have received calls how Skipper Buds bought some distressed inventory and you could get a new boat for a used price. Is $55k for a 2008 220 Sundeck a USED price . Plus...I hate how just to talk into their booth you need to fill out all your info. I have talked to that place so many times...so I went ahead and put my name, email, number and the boat I currently own - a 2008 Four Winns 458

Regal display - do not like their bowriders either. A lot of flashy plastic pieces that look like they could break easily and just looked cheap. I had known that in the past 60 days, used boat values have dropped about 25%. I saw a current NADA book sitting on one of the swim platforms of the Regal I was looking at. So I opened it up and looked up my boat. A Regal sales woman came up to me, closed the book and said,' this is for the sales staff only"...real snooty. I was shocked...not even a hello, can I help you, or what boat are you looking up. Really nice way to drive business away.

Crownline - hate the cheap plastic emblems on the back of their seats. Azure is the same way...you can tell Crownline's head designer now works for Azure...the boat screamed Crownline all the way down to the color plastic piece that cover the blower exhaust on the side of the boat.

Larson - cheap, cheap, cheap.

Pontoons - man are some of these NICE.

I have always loved Tiaras...will own one someday. I am sure used...but man do they make a sweet boat. They only had a 3600 Open, 3600 Sovren and 3900 Sovren at the show.

The boating market is very bad. You would think salesmen would be grabbing for everything they could get their hands on. I must look like I am broke, only sales guy that said hello to me was from our local Four Winns dealer as he is a personal friend. This was shocking...I am in sales and have always been told to treat every potential customer as a repeat customer. If I was a sales manager at one of these dealers...I would be finding a new crop for my sales staff.

Well, In my experience, boat salesman are about as bright as the gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. I have never been treated well at a boat show by salesman. Being in sales myself, I guess I can see thier perpective a bit from the standpoint of about 10% of the people walking through your boats are even a suspect, however, if you truely enjoyed boating (like myself), I would talk to everyone just because I am passionate about boats.

But that's just me.

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

It was a 1999 328 Vista, had every option except a genset, which I DO NOT want.
Nice looking boat for it's age, price is too high. It's a brokered boat, so it's hard to say at this point if there is any room to move on the price. I'll know more later.

Looked at a 2007 318 Vista also. Still not impressed with the salon layout, storage and available space for moving about. When compared to a 328, it just does not do it for me. Price was 88K, which is a decent price, and that is why I at least looked at it.

No hurry to get into long range payments with the economy like it is, so I have plenty of time to look at what is out there. If the right boat at the right price presents itself, I will know it. Until then, I'll just look.

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

cap'n - I'd love to hear more about your gripes on the 318 layout.

The layout is actually why my wife and I love that boat so much. We've packed it full of stuff (crap), and I still have storage left over.

318 is a great boat... at 88k - it's an AMAZING boat.

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

yeah, that sounds like a hell of a deal. Hours?

Cap'n,

Why no Gen Set? Do you spend more time at the docks than on the hook?

I am just always curious to hear people who want to get into a 30 something cruiser but don't want the means to generate AC to run everything while away from the docks. I guess a lot of people don't use a boat like I do. I don't spend time at the docks, I launch and leave and come back the next day or two days later. I want a gen set so bad... As well as my Honda 2000i works, I hate carrying it around on the boat. It's not the best setup, we know that! But it's my only choice right now.

I am kinda ticked I missed that 08 Doral Venezia, that would have been the perfect boat for me, more beam, little bit longer (2' most of which is platform) has an arch/hard top, a gen set and a table up front.

I too, like you, will keep looking.


I wish you the best of luck in your search!

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Brett DiMichele

A genset for us would just be extra weight. We don't spend all our time at the marina, mostly just overnight. Our boating lifestyle consists of cruises to other lakes via Lake Michigan,anchoring and spending the day in coves or inside the channel arms, and anchoring and spending time on our beautiful beaches. I guess you could say we use the boat quite a bit as a water taxi, to get to different locations on the water. We use the boat to get away from many of the conveniences that shore life provides. We spend our time enjoying the outdoors, not being in the cabin, with AC, TV and such being used. I know many people with genset's on their boats, and they use them maybe once or twice per season. That is a waste in my opinion. If our next boat happens to have one, then so be it, but it is not on my list as a must have.

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Cap'n,

Makes sense! I am a river rat, I have no clue what a beach is I can't island hop either. I can certainly understand your usage and it does sound like a gen would be extra weight for your use.

I guess if I ever want to use a boat like that, I have to move!

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Brett DiMichele

I know for many people, where they boat certainly dictates what they need to have as equipment on their boat. But with the numerous choices of locations we have to go here, and that we are "beach bums", we just have to take advantage of the area. I know these have been posted before, but it's snowing here, and I could use a little perk to remember what we have to look forward to in a few months. So here are a few pics over the last few years of some of the area's we frequent.

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Man, I wish it was summer.

AND - I wish we had beaches like that here in Seattle. We do not.

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA