www.iFourWinns.com

I thought I would share this with all of you. Below are some before/after pictures of the 2005 Horizon 210 I purchased last October. The inside of the boat and the motor were in good to excellent condition but as you can see, the exterior of the boat and trailer didn't look very good. I hired out the surface work on the boat but did the work on the trailer myself by temporarily turning my garage into a workshop/spray booth. The trailer is galvanized but had severe "oxidation" (if that is the correct term) of the galvanized finish and all of the bolts were severely rusted (I had to cut most of them off as I couldn't get a socket or wrench to fit on them). Why they don't use galvanized bolts on a galvanized trailer is beyond me. Below is what I did to the boat and trailer during the offseason. The pics really don't do an adequate job of capturing the transformation of the boat and the trailer. We've taken it out a few times this season (between my son's baseball tournaments) and the kids have been having a great time.

Boat
bottom paint removed
outdrive anti-foul paint removed
decals removed
gelcoat refurbished
outdrive repainted and new decals applied
new decals (the new decals were made for a Horizon 240 but I think they look fine on my 210. Picked them up on eBay)
replaced the aftermarket Sony radio with a Clarion CMD6 (still have to figure out how to get it to fit properly in the glove compartment...may be my next offseason project)
replaced the original Clarion remote with a Clarion MW1 remote (original remote wouldn't work with the CMD6)
replaced the (cracked) Ritchie compass (for appearances only. I don't have any intention of using the compass for navigation)
replaced the rear ladder (original one was bent)
purchased bow filler cushions (my kids love these)
new bimini clips
new 4-blade stainless prop
new Sunbrella (Westland) trailering cover
new anodes
lined ski locker and all storage areas with Duragrid cross-rib matting (link here: http://www.bigfloors.com/Cross-Rib-Matting-P10.aspx)
(soon - new batteries)
amp? (maybe in the future)


Trailer
completely disassembled
all surfaces ground with an angle grinder and wire cup brush
primed with self-etching primer
topcoated with textured bedliner paint (tinted to match my boat and truck). I used a bedliner product called "Raptor" from an automotive paint supply store
replaced springs, bearings, hubs, brakes, brake lines, and all bolts on the trailer (using stainless or galvanized bolts)
Bearing Buddies (realized after I had purchased these that I had the flow-thru hubs but put them on anyway)
replaced all lighting with LED lighting
replaced and recarpeted the bunks and guides
new tires (Carlisle)
new rims (found these trailer rims used at the place that did the work on my boat and picked them up cheaply)
new lug nuts (aluminum from eBay)

Before



After

Nice work...sound like the previous owner had never heard of this great new invention called wax . Oh...and how the hell do you bend a LADDER???

It's like a new boat!! AwESOME!

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

No kidding on the wax. The previous owner kept the boat in the water so it got direct sun as well as the sun's reflection off of the water. Thankfully, he had bow and cockpit covers which preserved the interior of the boat pretty well. As far as bending the ladder, he said he had the bow tied up along the river bank with the ladder down during an outing and the current or a wake pushed the rear of the boat into the shallow water, bending the ladder at the brackets.

Wow...I have that same ladder and can't imagine the force it took to bend it. Shocked it bent before being ripped off the transom. Sweet boat and congrats. Here is to many years of use for you and family.

How did you get off the bottom paint? Can you tell it was there or not now? Looks great

Boat looks great! Hope you get some fun out of all that hard work. Now that you have the gelcoat looking new get a full cover to avoid the hull getting any sun on it that is what I have or better yet a nice garage that she can fit it into. Nice job!

Impressive transformation!!! Never knew you could take the bottom paint off. Enjoy your new boat!

_________________
1996 4 Winns Horizon 170 SOLD
1997 4 Winns Sundowner 205 SOLD
2000 4 Winns Horizon 230 CURRENT
Tow Vehicle: 2007 Toyota Tundra Limited SOLD
1999 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 SOLD
2003 GMC Yukon XL 2500 6.0

Looks great! Great job.

As far as the ladder goes, I had that happen 3 times on 2 different boats. Where we anchor its slightly to deep to not use a ladder but to shallow for the ladder to be down all the way. So my wife and I leave the last section folded up and be careful that the last section doesnt unfold while climbing it. (not the best i know) The problem is seems like our boat is the "go to boat" and If Im not right there someone will put the ladder down all the way and if there is any waves it doesnt take much and you have a bent ladder!

_________________
Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

I don't know how the bottom paint was removed (or what kind it was) since I hired that out. I didn't have a way to get the boat off of the trailer and put it on a stand to try to do it myself (nor the time to do it). I can tell you that it was not inexpensive to get it done. I cannot tell where the bottom paint used to be on the boat.

I did purchase a full cover for it and keep it on the boat when not in use (see my thread on the full cover here: http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8527). I will keep it stored outside during boating season. During off-season, I will likely have it stored indoors.

How did that sun fade come off? Was that buffed by you or an actual gel coat repair? I have seen a few boats covered and clean on the inside but a little faded from a lift over water. Wondered if that is an easy or expensive fix?

That's unbelievable I scrolled over the pictures again and the sun fade was really bad! I have detailed my boat without any fade and it's a pain I can't imagine what it would be on that amount of fade. Awesome before and after if you did the work yourself you should advertise because those were professional results you achieved.

Wow! Nice job and nice boat!!! Just curious, after all of that work what do you think you have invested in the boat?

I just read you have Aluminum lug nuts!! They are very dangerous. The treads rip out. I've been passenger in car turning a hard corner at 25-30mph watching the tire pass us as we do a 360. Swap them out ASAP!!!

Aluminum lug nuts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4m41viy4I

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread