Should I buy this boat? Four winns 200

[briangcc]

I had a newer version of what you're looking at - 2005 Four Winns Horizon 200Le with the 5.0L MPI (270HP) Volvo SX. I ran around 55mph at WOT. And I could run 55mph carrying 2 or full compliment which I think was 9 - it wasn't phased at all by how many I had on board. This year was supposedly wood free per their advertising brochures. I say supposedly as when I added (4) cleats I definitely drilled through wood on the cap - I sealed the holes with epoxy before mounting the cleats permanently. I have no idea when they went "wood free" but you can check their literature to see - they have a good online presence with past owners manuals and sales brochures. I got rid of it this year, with I think 130 hours on it so I don't think low hours should be a turn off, especially with the weather this year as I winterized with a whopping 9 hours on my new boat. No fun boating in the driving rain with thunder/lightning we've had this year!

Speaking of owners manuals, Four Winns does hand out good owners manuals complete with wiring diagrams and schematics for each onboard circuit - even gets into the radio. So if the boat you're looking at doesn't come with the manuals, you should be able to get it online in PDF format direct from Four Winns.


Personally, I own a Merc powered boat now: (1) Volvo dealer network is shrinking here, (2) Parts are astronomical compared to Merc. The Volvo drives are nice, finding a marina that is willing to track down the parts is the tough one!

 

[Leardriver]

Four Winns went to fiberglass floors in 1996. That got them boat of the year awards. One of my favorite boats was my 2000 200 Horizon. Built like a tank.
The book price applies in March. Right not, you can't give a boat away.

 

[aspeck]

The others have covered what you should look out for ... rotting wood, care of mechanicals, etc. So I will deal with price. How much do you love the boat? From the sounds of it, this is a boat that you will probably be keeping for 3-5 years and if it works out, getting a newer "dream" boat. So you will not be "married" to the boat. You just want to pay enough for it but not too much that you can't get out from under it. If everything checks out, $6K is okay. You will loose a bit of value every year you own it, but hopefully you will get enough enjoyment out of it to compensate for the loss of value. I would take CASH, if possible, with you when you go to see it. Checks are nice, but CASH IS KING. Understand this is me ... because I like to steal things (just paid $2500 for a sharp, loaded, V-6, 2005 Grand Am GT, immaculate interior). I would wave 50 $100 bills under the owners nose and ask if he would take that today. I may go up to $5200 or $5500 if I REALLY liked the boat. If he said "No" I would walk and give him a few days to think about it. I would not be opposed to paying $6K if I REALLY LIKED and WANTED it. But work it. It is the time of year when boats are not selling unless there is a reason (cheap).

Enjoy checking the boat out. Make sure there is no rot. Double check to make sure there is no rot. Check the compression of the engine if possible and all fluids (engine and lower unit). Make sure no fluids are burnt, milky, etc. Check out how it rides and handles. Check out that if fits in the garage. Check for rot again. If it passes, BUY! Welcome to family boating ... it is a blast!

 

[jwilkey84]

Ok went and looked at the boat tonight...gonna take it to the water tomorrow if I tell the owner. Overall I like the boat. I couldn't find rot anywhere. No flex in floors anywhere. The only thing that flexed is the ski locker lid which is huge on these boats. It gets walked on everytime someone goes to the front of the boat. I would say it had flex not rot. Floor looks to be fiberglass over wood. I poked up on the underside of the floor in the ski locker; I don't think it's rot but I could push a sharp object up into the wood maybe 1/16", which I could prly do with a new piece of wood! Engine oil looked new. Forgot my big flat screwdriver to crack the lu plug to check for water in lu. No soft or rotten wood under the seating or sundeck. Couple loose screws on sundeck hinge but I honestly don't think it's from rot; I think they've just backed out over time. Captain seats seem good and sturdy. No rips or seems coming apart anywhere on the upholstery. Just one cut on a side panel upholstery where you would keep sunblock or whatever. 4 brand new tires on the trailer. New interstate battery. I tried to lift up on the outdrive and flex the transom; couldn't get the transom to flex at all. There was a little "slop" in the outdrive when I lifted it but i assume that's normal. Owner has all the service records since 2005. 2 owner boat. Original owners only used it two weeks every summer and kept it in inside storage at the marina the rest of the year. I couldn't get a look at any stringers since the ski locker was lined with fiberglass. It WILL fit in my garage with the detatchable tongue. Looks like there is a square part of flooring between ski locker and engine that can be removed for access to something ; maybe I could have seen exposed stringers there? Boat had water spots that need buffed out and some cosmetic issues with the decals but I think that's minor and I expect I'll put a scratch or two on it myself. Boat seems real solid and owner even mentioned possibly regretting selling it; so I don't think she's trying to sell me a pile of junk. She said it had a 5.0 GL motor, but when I raised the engine cover there sat a 5.0 Gi which I think means it's a throttle body injected motor? 260hp? Instead of 220? The other thing I noticed was it's an omc cobra...I've heard to stay away from old omc stuff; shifting cable problems? Is this a real concern, or was that just on the early 90's stuff? I have the engine serial and model number if someone wants to track down exactly what it is as far as hp goes

 

[jwilkey84]

Aparantly my pics I took tonight are too big to upload which is weird cuz I loaded pics a couple days ago. The engine model number is: 50FBPBYC. serial:T01310554

 

[Tinman2809]

Boat looks great..hope it performs well on the water I bought my boat for 2500 bucks...worth every penny

 

[jwilkey84]

Also should mention the boat has been in the owners drive way three weeks sitting downhill and holding some rain water that got in. She said this never happened in the past and her current vehicle doesn't tow so she can't turn it around ; she has a steep uphill driveway and her son in law backed it in for her. So there's prly 6" of water in the nose and just a bit visible in ski locker. Would water in there for a couple weeks be enough to start the rotting process and Delamination of wood? I hope not cuz I really think this boat has been taken care of until she took it out of storage to sell. She said before her husband died he was real particular about the boat

 

[jwilkey84]

Outdrive is an sx cobra...stay away from or go for it?

 

[jwilkey84]

Ok...stupid question ...is this a ford or Chevy engine ; I thought the volvos were Gm motors but some are fords?

 

[tpenfield]

If the is distributor on the rear of the engine it is a GM . . . if it is on the front of the engine -> Ford

 

[jkust]

Bummer it has an OMC. That kills it for me. Mercruiser stuff is everywhere and beyond plentiful versus OMC. The tbi doesn't have 260 hp, you need the 2002 and later MPI engine version but I'd want tbi over a carb at this point. Would like to see some pics still.

 

[jwilkey84]

Called the local four winns/ Volvo dealer where this boat was bought new...they said the outdrive is 100% Volvo on a 98' and the engine is the gm 5.0 tbi. Went and took the boat and family out in the water with the owner ...and the boat followed me home today! Yeah it has some flaws, but it ran good and I think it'll provide my family lots of memories. Notice I didn't say all good memories ... I hadn't owned the boat for 30 min when a state trooper pulled me over on the interstate...I hadn't hooked up the safety chains cuz they weren't long enough, the previous owner forgot to remove their plate which was not current(fraudulent use of a license plate) , and the right rear tail light lens was missing, bulb still working though...it all ads up to over $600 here in Iowa.

 

[Big Gee]

What a start to owning your new to you boat , those safety chains are critically important though.

Enjoy the rest of your experience with the boat

 

[shaw520]

Hopefully the boat is worth the extra 600,..good luck with it.

 

[tpenfield]

Congrats . Will you have time to enjoy it before you need to prep it for winter.

 

[jwilkey84]

I know I won't have much time to use it this year before winter, but we were able to take it out today 90 degrees, I got the wife and two kiddos all on the tube at the same time and my wife even smiled so maybe she won't hate a boat afterall! I knew this wasn't a good time to buy a boat and use it but I'll get it all fixed up and prepped for next year and we'll be ready to hit the water instead of shopping for a boat. Thanks for all your guys' input. I've always been scared of being the guy who buys a boat that was nothing if more than a headache for the previous owner. Hopefully with all the service records and stuff this boat won't be one of those that needs a new engine next season! The vdo gauge cluster does have some issues though ...hopefully it's a ground wire issue that I can fix myself. The speedometer only works sometimes and the trim gauge doesn't work. But the oil pressure, voltage, rpm, and fuel gauge all seem to work. Seems to cruise best about 3000 rpm where it's on plane and not maxxing out the engine. 4000 rpm seems to be full throttle and I haven't held it there long because I'm not sure what's safe for the engine yet. Voltage seems to indicate the alternator is working. Oil pressure ranges from just above red line low at idle to just below red line high at WOT. temp seems to be about middle of the range onthe gauge. Always starts quickly. Do I even needn't to run the blower before I start it since the engine is tbi injected? And what's the best thing to use to restore a good spot free no oxidstion shine to the outside of the boat? I have access to a nice porter cable variable speed buffer if that'll do the trick with the right product.

 

[shaw520]

Everything seems within running specs,.. you should be able to safely take rpms up to 44 -4500, just keep in mind tachs are rarely accurate so 1-2k buffer is a good idea. Always safe practicecto turn on blowers before starting, even if not needed, just good practice that cost nothing, and ALWAYS when refueling. Ive has very good luck and sustaining results with 3m marine restore...for me its not so much the shine as it is how long the shine last.

 

[shaw520]

Hmm,..noticed you didnt mention engine running temps,.. With all the variables in a marine cooling system, its as important as the oil pressure guage. Loss of either system will cook an engine in short time.

 

[tpenfield]

WOT on the I/O engines is OK for short periods of time.

Study up on fuel fume issues with boats. TBI has nothing to do with needing to run the blower or not. You need to run the blower for about 4 minutes before stating the engine, During that time, you should take a whiff of the blower exhaust to see if there is a prominent gasoline smell, which would indicate a fuel leak and the possibility for an explosion if you did start the engine.

Also, keep the blower running when at idle speeds. I keep my blowers going all the time when the engines are running, just for good measure.

When you are re-fueling the main battery switch should be OFF. All people should be off the boat. There is a general set of precautions for turning things back on once fueling is completed. Again another few minutes of running the blower.

Many boat explosions/fires happen right after re-fueling, because something went wrong

 

[Slip Away]

You may get lucky with VDO ground wire, hopefully you do. Often it needs a complete rebuild. Here is where to go (I suspect you knew that)
http://www.cdielectronics.com/dash-panel/

http://www.cdielectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/FourWinnsDash.pdf.