need advice on purchase

B

buildingdetail

Recruit
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Messages
2
I'm looking at an '89 Four Winns with an I4 130 hp engine. The boat and trailer are in awesome shape. I've been in, on, and around boats my entire life and have never ridden in a 4 cylinder powered boat. I'm used to v8's. So my question is this: Will this boat pull a skier, wakeboarder, tubes etc??? The owner tells me he's pulled 3 tubers but I'm skeptical. Any help here is greatly appreciated.
 
commander315

commander315

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
286
Re: need advice on purchase

I believe that boat is actually ideal for a skier, tuber, etc..
 
DuckHunterJon

DuckHunterJon

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Apr 19, 2010
Messages
1,082
Re: need advice on purchase

Our last boat was a 17' with the 3.0 motor and did great towing tubers and skiers (never tried wakeboarding). You will find some people telling you go with a bigger motor, but IMO, it should work great for what you want. Now if you said you were a speed freak, looking to yank people out of the water in the blink of an eye, etc - then the V8 would be the ticket. But you should be fine with the 4 banger.
 
Woodyq

Woodyq

Seaman
Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
50
Re: need advice on purchase

We have an 18 ft with the four cylinder (believe it is rated at 135).

I have taken my son (28 yrs old) and three of his friends out to wakeboard. Wasn't a bullet out of the hole but was certainly adequate.

Also have towed a skier with three adults in the boat.

When I was looking I did want the 4.3 but this boat was just too clean and I couldn't pass on the deal.
 
45Auto

45Auto

Commander
Joined
May 31, 2002
Messages
2,842
Re: need advice on purchase

Some people are hapy with them, some aren't. They will pull skiers, wakeboarders, tubers, etc, but so will a flat boat with a 25HP outboard. Depends on how many people you have in the boat and what you want it to do. Take it out on a water test and see if it'll do what you want. No way you ought to even be thinking about buying a 20 year old boat without a water test anyway!
 
M

maharg

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jan 12, 2010
Messages
204
Re: need advice on purchase

I have the same engine and similar size boat, It should be fine.
 
90sunbird

90sunbird

Seaman
Joined
Mar 31, 2009
Messages
63
Re: need advice on purchase

i had 3 3.0 a 19 bayliner worked ok wouldnt reccomend it carpi cuddy, 16 ft lund ran good and liked it 17 sunbird with a ton of engine work ran very good and 17 ft the is foot i did quite a bit of engine work to to get it to pull nice it was good to wakebord ski and tube but the 3.0s worked a lot do it. i had them i liked then but now i have a v8 and ill never go back the ski an bord is sooo much better i have tried them all i would go with at least a 4.3 but thats just my idea but i do think if you go from a v8 to a 4 cyl you will be dissapointed
 
JimKW

JimKW

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
397
Re: need advice on purchase

buildingdetail said:
I've been in, on, and around boats my entire life and have never ridden in a 4 cylinder powered boat. I'm used to v8's. greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

That statement there tell me you will consider the I4 130HP to be underpowered.
 
G

Gearhead502

Cadet
Joined
Jun 4, 2010
Messages
7
Re: need advice on purchase

Yeah, it sounds marginal. We had a 4.3 in a 17-footer and it was okay. A V-8 in a 17 would be overkill, so I guess it depends on how heavy your skiers are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top