is a four winns horizon 200, yr 2000 a good boat?

SeaDooSam

Chief Petty Officer
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Feb 15, 2016
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575
My personal view is this. Buy a boat used that is still good but has already depreciated a lot. I see boats from the mid 90's that are $6-7000. My theory is buy this and use it for 5 years and it'll still be worth most of what I paid for it. And I take really good care of my stuff.
Good thought. you may not make everything back though. Covers usually means it was pretty well cared for so good sign.
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 5, 2006
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So is this TBI injection still better than a carb or just more expensive to fix since there prly isn't any adjustment to be made. ? What are the most common TBI problems and how expensive to fix?
Don't worry about it. They are fine and reliable.
 

superbenk

Commander
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Oct 27, 2008
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2,022
I have the 2008 version of this boat & love it. Mine is carbed with the Merc 5.0 & it's been plenty of power. WOT gets me about 50 MPH +/- 2 MPH. At first I was concerned about getting a carb on a boat this new but I've honestly never had any issues with it whatsoever. I maintain it well & it starts without issues every time at the ramp. It does want to warm up before being used but I'm not sure that's limited to a carb or if you'll have the same requirement on an injected boat. Engines have ideal operating temps but I'm sure the FI handles the richer mixture when cold a bit more smoothly than the carb with a choke does. I've heard that acceleration is also a bit smoother on a FI engine than a carb, but I've never had any issues there either.

I'm not sure that boat has wooden stringers/transom. Mine does not but I'm not sure when they switched. I thought it was before 2000, but I could be wrong. My boat does have some wood in the side trim pieces behind the vinyl padding but all the seats & sundeck are backed with plastic board rather than wood. There is very little wood in my boat at all. Transom, stringers, deck & all structural items are fiberglass/synthetic.

Someone asked about the swim ladder being missing. It folds up into a trap door in the swim deck. You see the hinges sticking out the back in one of your pictures. I'm sure it's there. It's a nice ladder too - 5/6 steps so it goes nice & deep.

One other nice thing about this boat is the hull design. It has a weird step in the stern section of the hull which helps it plane faster & run smoother. It's basically like having trim tabs built in. On my previous boat I installed SmartTabs & absolutely loved them. I considered getting them right away for this boat, but after using it I decided I didn't need them. The hull is designed beautifully and works very well.

My only cons on this boat are easily fixed. The stitching on my sun pad has come undone twice now. The first time was the result of me kneeling on a seam in really cold weather ripping the stitching. The second time I think was due to our dog but still shouldn't have happened. This winter I'm going to have the entire pad restitched as I think the thread is just brittle. The other thing that annoys me is the engine cover latch rattles. You have to adjust the height of the post that the latch catches on to keep the cover from contacting the engine surround. I've adjusted it in the past but it's rattling again so I think I just need to re-adjust it again. Some weather stripping along the seam might help as well as a cushion, but I haven't tried that yet.

So, yeah, overall I'm extremely happy with the boat. We've had ours for 3-4 years now. Good luck!
 

jwilkey84

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
524
Thanks so much for the info guys. I m feeling pretty confident now when i go to see it Sunday. And....my wife is onboard now for the first time!! That always helps. So if the ski locker and engine compartment are dirty but not musty is that ok? And is there any way to check for soft spots other than walking around on it ? And can someone say for sure whether a 2000 model year still had all the wood in it? I guess I'll find out when I start flipping up the seats etc.
 

roffey

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Nov 22, 2012
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2,191
This might start a discussion, but there is lots of debate on wood free construction and the pros and cons. Lots out there feel a wood base is the way to go...
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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many boats still have wood as stringers, bulkheads, transom, etc. it comes down to price point and design life. for a 2000 boat, expect to be fixing things.
 

wrvond

Chief Petty Officer
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Mar 2, 2010
Messages
597
Thanks so much for the info guys. I m feeling pretty confident now when i go to see it Sunday. And....my wife is onboard now for the first time!! That always helps. So if the ski locker and engine compartment are dirty but not musty is that ok? And is there any way to check for soft spots other than walking around on it ? And can someone say for sure whether a 2000 model year still had all the wood in it? I guess I'll find out when I start flipping up the seats etc.

I'd be surprised if the locker and doghouse are dirty without mildew. But I suppose it could happen. IMHO dirt would just speak to the owner's attention to detail. Not a deal breaker by any stretch, just back pocket information.
You could take a small rubber mallet with you and tap on the fiberglass surfaces such as transom and deck. If the core is solid you'll hear a good clean clunk, if it is wet or rotten the sound will be dull and dead.
I have no idea how much wood is in the construction, but as mentioned, wood is not necessarily a bad thing. As with everything, all designs are a series of compromises. Wood, while heavy and subject to rot, is also flexible and will stand up to the rigors of towing and rough water better than plain 'glass. The ride is often characterized as "softer". Whereas glass or composites are less flexible and likely to crack under stress. It also transmits shocks through the hull resulting in a harsh ride. These things are rather subjective and I think go largely unnoticed by the average boater. Here's the thing, if you have a dry boat, wood is a good, economical building material that will last indefinitely. If you have a wet boat, then the wood inside doesn't stand a chance. Here is were construction methods and cost management play a huge role.
An entry level boat - the Tahoe Q-3 bow rider - is an excellent example. This is a well designed boat that suffers from extreme cost cutting techniques. The gel coat is thin and the chop is very thin. This makes for a light boat that could be very fast on the water (like Stingray) but it also allows the hull to flex a lot and results in cracks throughout the gel coat. The transom uses a wood core, but the hole drilled for the bilge drain is not sealed. So you have wood sandwiched between fiberglass layers, soaking up water as it collects in the bilge. A sure recipe for disaster. Bayliner is known for using chrome plated zinc deck fittings instead of stainless steel to save money. Any production boat is going to have something "wrong" with it. Using basically unskilled, low wage, assembly line workers to assemble a boat is never going to produce a top tier class boat.
The best we can do at this level is carefully inspect every inch we can reach and try to correct deficiencies ourselves and work to keep the inside as dry as possible from the outset. With proper care and attention, even the least expensive entry level assembly line boat will give years of service.
 

jmb23802

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
79
Four Winns transitioned to fiberglass stringers filled with foam on their "small" boats somewhere in the late 90's but it varied by model in some cases. The nice thing about Four Winns is they have all of their manuals and specifications documentation for their prior model years going back to the 90s available on their website. The documentation from Four Winns does not mention fiberglass stringers for your boat in 2000 (not that I could quickly find anyway) but it does specifically state fiberglass stringers for the 200 Horizon in 2001. That doesn't mean there is wood stringers in 2000 but it might be an indicator. Aside from the stringers, the 2000 Horizon 200 should have wood coring (balsa) in the transom and in various areas on the sides of the hull (just the sides - the "v" part of the hull is most likely all fiberglass).

Somewhere around the same time frame Four Winns coverted from a plywood floor with glued on carpet that you see so many guys talking about in this form to a full fiberglass cockpit liner. That means the boat is basically two big pieces glued together in the middle: the hull which is the fiberglass on the outside from the rub rail down being one piece, and the interior fiberglass structure and the "hull" above the rub rail is the second piece. The liner sets inside the hull and is glued together behind the rub rail. Every Four Winns I have seen with a cockpit liner has had snap-in carpet, which means no plywood floor to rot when the carpet gets wet.

I have looked at a lot of Four Winns boats from this era and based on my observations my best guess is that Four Winns switched from wood stringers to fiberglass stringers at the same time they converted to a full cockpit liner design. If the 2000 Horizon 200 doesn't have snap-in carpet I would guess that it likely doesn't have the full cockpit liner which means it probably still has wood in the stringers.
 

jmb23802

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Oct 13, 2014
Messages
79
I would say there is a good chance this boat has FG & foam stringers but it is hard to know for sure without manufacturer documentation or taking core samples. There will be wood under the engine mounts, in the transom, and in the sides of the hull. Either way, most all boats have wood somewhere. Wood is moot if the boat is in good condition with good maintenance history and the transom and stringers are solid when you rap on them. To put it another way, I wouldn't buy a boat that had not been kept clean and maintained well even if it had no wood in it.

I would press the owner(s) for maintenance records and details on repair history or at least find out where they had the boat serviced and see if that shop will confirm general service history for you. Of course, take it for a test drive and watch for unusual noises and watch for water production in the bilge area or oil production in the engine and outdrive (i.e. be watchful for more oil after the test drive than before the test drive). I would also look for water in the outdrive oil by draining 2-3 cups out the bottom, not the top, as water will settle to the bottom of the drive - you are looking for milky or melted caramel looking stuff. If you have a boat friend that is not a party to this transaction have them come along as an extra set of eyes and ears.

There are some good checklists for things to check on this site if you want to do more. In my mind, as long as the stringers and transom are solid and will bounce a hard-plastic screwdriver handle nicely, the hull looks clean and clear and has no waves/seams/ridges/color variations that indicate prior repairs, the engine and outdrive don't make oil and run smooth and quiet (carbureted small blocks will wiggle a little at idle until they get warmed up), the boat is clean inside and out and you can get comfortable with the maintenance history your are more than likely going to be ok. Also might try lightly tightening the front motor mount lag bolts just to be sure the wood in the motor mounts is solid. A mechanical inspection to include the above plus a compression test, vacuum test, engine alignment check, gimbal bearing and u-joint inspection, and ignition check (spark plugs have the right color soot and no rust, distributor cap terminals are in good shape, etc.) would be even better. If you want to look hard for bargaining chips check the trailer hubs for smooth operation and proper adjustment. Also check the DOT code on the tires to make sure they aren't over 5 years old (trailer tires on the whole generally don't fare well past about 5 years whether the tread looks good or not).

Four Winns makes a good boat and the "stable-vee" hull with the extended planing surfaces on the back make for a quick-planing boat that handles very nicely on the water. I really enjoy my little Four Winns.
 

Leardriver

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
373
I owned that exact boat. Terrific family boat. Four Winns is built like a tank and one of the best values in a quality boat. The fiberglass floors replaced the wood floors in 1996.
​I wouldn't buy one with those hours, because this time of year, you can't give away a boat. It's not that it can't be a good boat, there is just no need to bother with high hours. Somewhere there is a 100 hour boat for even less money.
 

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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30,478
Not sure I would want to buy a 16 year old boat with 100 hours. I would rather the engine be used regularly.
 

jwilkey84

Chief Petty Officer
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Jun 26, 2005
Messages
524
Either way these motors should go 1000 hrs if maintained righ? From what ive observed the biggest engine enemy is people who don't winterize or who don't winterize correctly
 

CV16

Chief Petty Officer
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Aug 30, 2007
Messages
445
Not sure I would want to buy a 16 year old boat with 100 hours. I would rather the engine be used regularly.

I agree. I just bought a 2001 Glastron GX205 late last year. It had 27 hours on it. I figured not much could be wrong with it. I'm fixing more things on this boat than any of the much older and over 1500 hour boats I have owned.
 

Leardriver

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
373
I understand the sentiment, but you guys can have the high hour stuff, and I will buy the low hour garage queens. I have had better luck with longevity and resale.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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Motors go over 3000 hours with proper care.
 

jwilkey84

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
524
Well whoever says a 16 year old boat with 560 hrs is prettymuch used up and not worth $8500 must have more disposable income than I. I've looked all over search tempest and boat trader and I don't find many 2000 four winns horizon 200 boats for that price anywhere close to Iowa. Most of the "cheaper" boats from that era were all listed in Florida and I don't want to drive to Florida and I also don't want a boat that's been in saltwater. I'm gonna go look at the boat Sunday and if I like it it's going to follow me home. I know it's October but I've watched craigslist for a couple years now and usually the 2000 and newer four winns boats sell for good price in just a few days so I'm gonna buy now when not many people are shopping
 
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