sl06 wrote:
It also seems like FW seems to sell more boats with the bigger engine package, compared to like Searay, which I find commonly has the 5.0 w/a BIII. I don't see many FW with either the DP or BIII, so are people happy with the SX drive and a SS 3 or 4 blade prop?
Your comment about FW with upgraded engine packages is a good observation, and one I also made when I was looking for boats last year. I wasn't looking specifically at brands, although there were a couple manufacturers I avoided just out of personal preference. Instead, I was looking for the right power package in the size of boat I was after. I saw more FW on the internet with the setup I was looking for than any other brand other than maybe Cobalt. As Mike said, Cobalts are great boats and I would take one in a heartbeat. But they come with a price premium which put most of them out of my price range unless I would go significantly older. I really did like the FW 2003 and newer H240/H260 layouts when I came across them for the first time, which kind of weighted FW favorably for me. FW just aren't that common of a boat in my area, so I just don't run across many in person. I say that even though I have two H260's sitting in my garage (mine and a buddy's) and my cousin has an older H210. But honestly those are the only three that I recall ever seeing on our pool in the Mississippi.
As far as FW not having DP or BIII drives, I think that is more of the size of boat you are looking at vs. the make. At FW, you will see the DP or BIII drives are much more common on 22' plus boats. I think if you look at other manufacturers you will see a similar breaking point between single or dual prop drives.
Good luck on your search and keep us posted!