1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

vipertblck · Feb 13, 2013

Found this boat locally, been searching for boats for some time; are four winns good respectable boats? I know their not like chaparral or anything but how would you guys rank this thing? I'm not familiar with boats or the boating world at all. My buddy has thins thing sitting at his shop all fixed up ready to roll, came in ur winterized with broken freeze plugs. They fixed it with new plugs and ran it 45 mins in early February outside in about 30 degree temps today and said all looked good, dip stick looked flawless too.

1995 FOUR WINNS 190 HORIZON

Thanks all in advance

spoilsofwar · Feb 13, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Four Winns makes a fine boat. The knock on that particular model will be the cobra drive. It would be a deal-breaker for me. It otherwise looks like a nice boat and well cared for at least from the pictures.

Regardless of brand, any boat should be inspected carefully, because when they're that old, care has more to do with its current condition then the brand name on the side.

tazrig · Feb 13, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Agree with spoilsofwar, the OMC sterndrive would be a deal breaker for me as well. They went belly up about 10 years ago, no longer make/support the motor or drive so getting replacement parts would be a night mare. Be smart. Walk away from this one. There are plenty of other used boats out there. Also stay away from Yamaha sterndrives as they no longer make or support those either. Here are a few general tips for used boat hunting. Find some others to look at. We'll be happy to check them out for you.

BoatUS Magazine: Seven Ways To Avoid The Boat Buyer Blues

airdvr1227 · Feb 13, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Could you buy it cheap enough that you're willing to roll the dice?

matt167 · Feb 13, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Thought '93+ Cobra's shared lots of parts with Volvo Penta SX?. Pic is small and at a distance, but it looks like a Volvo drive to me.

tazrig · Feb 13, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Matt, I think it was 94' and up was when they began their joint venture but it would still make me nervous as we don't know the exact year of the sterndrive or the extent of part compatibility. Your right though, in later years (late 90's) they were basically the same sterndrive.

jestor68 · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

matt167 said:
Thought '93+ Cobra's shared lots of parts with Volvo Penta SX?. Pic is small and at a distance, but it looks like a Volvo drive to me.

Yes, you are correct. The OMC/Volvo partnership started in 1994.

That 1995 drive is a Volvo SX drive mounted using the OMC transom plate.

Nothing to fear. Plenty of parts available.

Average NADA is just over $5000. Since that boat appears to be in above average condition, the asking price seems reasonable. You'll need to inspect it carefully to determine that.

tpenfield · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

The thing that would concern me is the "freeze plug" deal . . . So, presumably it popped out the plugs, meaning it froze. Eventhough they have check it out and run it, there could be some freeze damage that you will find later on . . .

Bondo · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

tpenfield said:
The thing that would concern me is the "freeze plug" deal . . . So, presumably it popped out the plugs, meaning it froze. Eventhough they have check it out and run it, there could be some freeze damage that you will find later on . . .

Ayuh,.... A Previously Frozen OMC would Absolutely be a deal breaker for me...

vipertblck · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

jestor68 said:
Yes, you are correct. The OMC/Volvo partnership started in 1994.

That 1995 drive is a Volvo SX drive mounted using the OMC transom plate.

Nothing to fear. Plenty of parts available.

Average NADA is just over $5000. Since that boat appears to be in above average condition, the asking price seems reasonable. You'll need to inspect it carefully to determine that.

I've got ppl on here sayin I can and cannot get parts for the outdrive. Uh oh, which is it? This is why I like coming here to you guys who know abou this, I had no idea about the out drive, if it's an issue!! I'll call my buddy today and verify which drive is actually on the boat ant post in about 2 hrs. Anywho I agreed with whoever said something else could be wrong with the freeze plug issue. What if I go it he water and find further issues!! I feel it's a huge gamble buying a boat without a water test. Anyway regardless of outdrive I think I'll tell the shop to feel the guy out and offer him 3000 & go from there, after all if the outdrive is unavailable for parts it's a huge risk for me to even start with.

vipertblck · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

just talked to my buddy who has this boat at his shop, he said he was positive it's the cobra drive. does that mean it's the omc drive everyone talked about and had no parts available?

ezmobee · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

As mentioned, towards the very end of OMC sterndrive production there was a partnership with Volvo so it's possible this drive is similar to a Volvo drive and would share parts. I don't personally have enough I/O knowledge to tell you what to look for in order to tell you how to more specifically identify it. Personally, unless you are willing to gamble and get a screaming deal on this boat, I'd pass and look for something with a Mercruiser or Volvo power package. With that freeze plug issue, I'd absolutely insist on a somewhat lengthy water trial and then check the oil again to make darn sure the block isn't cracked.

TilliamWe · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Setting aside the drive issues: That's a FORD engine in the picture. And while I am a fan of 302s, it hasn't been made in years, and 1995 was about the last year Ford was in the marine industry. I know guys say they can get parts for them easy, but I know they are more expensive than Mercruiser and Chevy parts.

Slip Away · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

ezmobee said:
Personally, unless you are willing to gamble and get a screaming deal on this boat, I'd pass and look for something with a Mercruiser or Volvo power package. With that freeze plug issue, I'd absolutely insist on a somewhat lengthy water trial and then check the oil again to make darn sure the block isn't cracked.

Could not have said it better. I would walk, and look for something else.

Bondo · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

vipertblck said:
I've got ppl on here sayin I can and cannot get parts for the outdrive. Uh oh, which is it? This is why I like coming here to you guys who know abou this, I had no idea about the out drive, if it's an issue!! I'll call my buddy today and verify which drive is actually on the boat ant post in about 2 hrs. Anywho I agreed with whoever said something else could be wrong with the freeze plug issue. What if I go it he water and find further issues!! I feel it's a huge gamble buying a boat without a water test. Anyway regardless of outdrive I think I'll tell the shop to feel the guy out and offer him 3000 & go from there, after all if the outdrive is unavailable for parts it's a huge risk for me to even start with.

Ayuh,.... That's $2,999.99 Too much for a Ford powered OMC,.....

JoLin · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

jestor68 said:
Yes, you are correct. The OMC/Volvo partnership started in 1994.

That 1995 drive is a Volvo SX drive mounted using the OMC transom plate.

Nothing to fear. Plenty of parts available.

Average NADA is just over $5000. Since that boat appears to be in above average condition, the asking price seems reasonable. You'll need to inspect it carefully to determine that.

Agree about the outdrive- no issue there. HOWEVER, the motor is a Ford 5.0/302. Ford's been out of the marine business for as long as OMC has. Stay away.

vipertblck · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Sounds like this isn't the boat to be picking up, regardless of the price. Guess I'll take everyones advice here and walk from it, just hard to cuz it's very nice shape. Yes it is the FORD 302 engine.

Glad theres people out there to make people like me aware of issues like this. I appreciate it everyone.

JoLin · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

vipertblck said:
I've got ppl on here sayin I can and cannot get parts for the outdrive. Uh oh, which is it? This is why I like coming here to you guys who know abou this, I had no idea about the out drive, if it's an issue!!

Maybe I can clarify a bit. In the mid-late '90's OMC entered into a joint venture with Volvo-Penta. I believe that the Cobra SX drive was in fact created by OMC. Volvo sold them too under their own name,as V-P SX drives. When OMC went belly up Volvo sold them exclusively. Sooo, if you find an OMC Cobra SX, it's also a V-P SX. That applies ONLY to 'SX' type drives. An OMC King Cobra drive is a 'run away from it'.

My 1997 Four Winns is a conglomeration of V-P and OMC name tags- the drives are tagged as V-P SX, the engines are OMC Cobra 4.3's, and my throttle/shift control is labeled with the OMC brand. Drive and transom assembly serial numbers are V-P, engine MODEL is V-P, engine serial numbers are OMC... but it's all the same stuff and I buy parts through V-P suppliers.

Last year I needed a fuel pump. Called the local V-P parts guy. He looked and said he had 2 of the same- one had a V-P part number, the other OMC. He told me the OMC was about $10.00 cheaper so he'd sell me that one. When I arrived and he pulled it off the shelf, the OMC part was in a V-P box!

The kicker with this particular boat is the engine- it's Ford and you don't want one.

vipertblck · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

Are Ford bad marine engines?

Bondo · Feb 14, 2013

Re: 1995 four winns horizon 190-GOOD/BAD

vipertblck said:
Are Ford bad marine engines?

Ayuh,... Just like OMC, it's the Lack of Parts,....

New manifolds are almost non-existent, 'n Alot more money than Chevy parts...

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