www.iFourWinns.com

Our gut feeling is that a 288 is too much for us also, but we need to look at one to decide.

_________________
Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400

Update ????? What have you found ????

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

We were off on vacation giving Mickey Mouse some money in Florida. We did get in some boating, 17' Boston Whaler that we rented for about an hour. We had fun but the 9.9hp Mercury didn't even get it up on plane.

As far as a real boat, we've been running through numbers trying to figure out if we want to do this upgrade. The admiral still hasn't set foot on one so we need to find one local to get us all aboard and check out the space. We are leaning towards a 268, the 288 would be nice but storage, maintenance, etc starts to get much bigger. I priced a slip and storage for both and a 268 is only slightly more than our 245. The 288 is more than double the cost.

Still thinking about the one from the private seller in PA. Another one popped up on Allentown PA on boattrader but it was soon gone. It was a big block 496/B3, no gen, $37k.

If we don't decide soon all the good deals will be gone.

Anybody want to buy a 1997 245 Sundowner????

_________________
Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400

Thanks for the update. There are quite a few 268's still available on the west side of Michigan.
If that is your boat of choice, that's great. Only advice I will give, is don't limit yourself to just Four Winns. Take a look at what is available in the size you want, you might be suprised what you can find.

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

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Good luck on selling you boat, we finally found someone that would take our 255 on trade.

_________________
2006 300 Sundancer
2007 Trailblazer LT V8
2004 Grand Prix GTP Comp G (For Sale)
Previous Boats:
2006 255 Sundowner 5.7GXI-G
2000 CrownLine 202BR
1994 Baja 180 Islander
1980 Galaxy 18' BR

We went boat shopping this last weekend. Saw an '00 268 at a local dealer, also had some Sea Rays and a Monterey in similar sizes.

The 268 was a little rough, but the admiral liked the layout. They also had three Sea Ray's, a 260, 270 and 280. All were late 90's to early 2000's. The 260 was nice but nothing stands out different from the 268. The 270 was older and had 3 "bumps" in the cockpit floor. I think we'd all trip every time in the boat and we would hate it. The 280 was an '01. Very nice, single engine big block. We like the layout with the extra dinette compared to the smaller boats.

The Monterey was a new, over our price range, but we liked it in general.

The one thing that we decided we liked on the Four Winns was the double wide helm seat and cabin enty to port. This makes the "tall" part of the mid-berth the larger part and also puts the opening in the middle of the boat. The Sea Rays and the Montery had a chaise lounge seat to port and this is the "tall" part of the midberth. The rest is lower and makes the berth seem more cave-like.

Also, the Sea Rays all had a "well" in the cockpit floor to step down into the cabin. I'm afraid we'd fall into that all the time.

We then drove to see this 288 http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2004-Four-Winns-288-Vista-93619893 This is an absolutely beautiful boat. We loved the layout. The cabin seems open and airy, very bright. This boat also has a custom made Eagle trailer. It's virtually spotless. But it's out of our price range.

Anyway, we've pretty much decided that were focusing on the 268 size boat with single engine. We love the 288 but we'd have an entire year of entertainment budget spent on a 6 month a year toy (at least in Michigan). We're also considering other brands besides Four Winns but we really like their layout and that's our benchmark.

I'll keep posting on what's going on.

_________________
Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400

When we decided to look for a boat, we spent about 8 months researching and stepping foot on every possible make and model in our size and price range. I believe we were on 13 different boats and we felt that, hands down, the FW 268 was by far the best layout for convenience and comfort. We actually bought out boat after only seeing pictures online since it was a leftover and we had been on the exact same boat (2 yrs in salt w/140hrs) that a guy was selling for 2K more (and not willing to budge) than we got ours for!
We were thrilled with the deal and she has been good to us every year!

_________________
2005 Vista 268 "ALTEAN"