New boat owner.......advice please.

J

jzwart

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Aug 19, 2013
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Hi, looking at a very gently used 2005 19' Four Winns 180 Horizon open-bow, has a 190hp 4.3L Volvo SX Penta engine. Family usage type of boat - tubing for the kids, waterskiing/wakeboarding for me (200lbs). Is this gonna be enough power to pull an adult out of the water? What about the brand - Four Winns - I believe reputable but what thoughts? I would love some advice since I am first time boat owner. Thanks
 
P

pckeen

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Jun 20, 2012
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Re: New boat owner.......advice please.

Welcome to iboats, and good luck with your purchase!

In terms of power - yes - this should be fine. I don't know enough about Four Winns reputation to comment.

Read through some of the threads written by those who are looking at boat purchases, to get an idea of what to look for in an older boat.
 
southkogs

southkogs

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14,796
Re: New boat owner.......advice please.

Four Winns is a good boat. Nothing fancy, but consistently good. Condition is key when buying used - so it's more about the particular boat.

Power should be fine for skiing with a family. We can run my folks 19' with a 140HP, five on board and one skiing just fine. If you're trying to get fancy water skiing or wake boarding, you may find it a bit challenging. The boat will drop a little too much wake for SERIOUS slalom skiing, and too little a wake for SERIOUS wake boarding. But for all around intermediate/advanced water sports it should be fine. You may need to add a couple of fat sacs for the wake boarding.

Welcome aboard.
 
C

Chris1956

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Mar 25, 2004
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27,148
Re: New boat owner.......advice please.

sure, plenty of power for what you want. Just load the bow as the amount of weight you want to pull increases. It will ride like a barge at max load, but it will work just fine. That should be a real good boat for the stuff you have outlined. I toss the kids in the bow, where I can keep an eye on 'em. The dog sits in the passenger seat.
 
J

jzwart

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Aug 19, 2013
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Re: New boat owner.......advice please.

Thank you for the nice replies - all helpful.
 
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