2000 Four Winns 230 purchase

[TSTitans]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this... If not, I apologize and please let me know.

We're looking at buying a 2000 Four Winns 230 Horizon and I'm not very familiar with this... Main questions are
It's priced at $16k...is that a valid price for this old of a boat? It only has 370h on it, and the out drive is a dual prop Volvo that was recently rebuilt. The 5.7L EFI seems to start and run great. The rest of the boat is in Immaculate condition. I just don't know enough to validate the price, and not sure NADA is an accurate source for boats..

It looks like it rides really high in the water and the videos I've seen of it have a pretty small wake. Will it be ok for wakeboarding or wakesurfing with the right gear? Looks great for slalom...

I have worked on Mercruiser 3.0L multiple time now. This stern drive, especially the EFI, is foreign to me. Anything I should watch out for? I've gone through the sticky and everything I can see works well, but not sure if I'm missing something...

-Keyvan

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[tpenfield]

NADA comes in around $12-13K, as a reference point. How does the asking price compare to other listings of same/similar boats?

An I/O would be dangerous for wake surfing. A full inboard would be the preferred boat. Why aren't you looking for a wakesurfing/ski boat?

 

[cptbill]

Yes a true inboard way better for what you want to do even better would be one of the true ski boats that you could ballast down for more wake

 

[jkust]

I/O can be problematic for wake surfing as the nice way to say it. You may have seen some recent surf style I/o's that actually have the outdrive turned around 180 degrees more akin to an 'inboard'. Also, that engine is the old EFI which went away for model year 2002 as the small block/smartcraft capable MPI replaced it. Some 2001 model year hulls got the MPI engine where small blocks are concerned which is immediately evident by a glance. The MPI engine then went on for over a decade before the next gen replaced it. If I'm going to buy a boat for a bargain, might as well get the next gen for no more money. I don't know that boat in particular but that is very near the cut off for when the manufacturers really started to lessen the amount of wood they used in boats in favor of impermeable materials such as flow through seats in lieu of foam and king starboard type of material in lieu of plywood.

 

[bruceb58]

Is this engine the Red colored engine or the Charcoal colored engine, If it's red, it can easily have the MPI system.

Don't plan on wakesurfing with this boat. Way too dangerous especially with a duo prop which extends the prop rearward even farther than a single prop.

 

[TSTitans]

Thanks for all the responses! This is really helpful.

I think we prioritize better interior spacing and floor plan over wake surfing specifically. We'll avoid that given the hazards. If the wake is good enough for wakeboarding and skiing, I think we're good there.

I'll check the engine color.. .Is the MPI much better than the EFI in the earlier models? Found out it's a 5.7 GXi.

We're also looking at a smaller 2004 version of the same series, but 21ft instead of 23ft...basically the same price but a 5.0GXi on a Horizon 210, and 190h instead of 380h on it...

The boat has no wood anywhere on it, only fiberglass ..

 

[Leardriver]

Four Winns went to fiberglass floors in 1996, and had some boat of the year models as a result. I had a 2000 200 Horizon. Excellent boat. Around here, where there is no water, a good boat sells for double the NADA. It makes no sense.

 

[QBhoy]

The GXI is the MPI model. VP call it GXI and Mercruiser MPI.
It would be unusual i would think to see a GXI in a 2001 boat, if original maybe ?? Someone will know. More likely a GLI efi be common around then maybe. Perhaps been re engined. Someone will know.

 

[bruceb58]

If it's really a GXi then it's going to be the red engine and it will have MPI.

 

[jkust]

Only time I see an MPI generally in a 2001 or older is if it is a big block because MPI was in those for several years prior, if a boat with a small block was repowered with a modern engine or if a boat manufacturer had leftover unsold 2001 hulls and they put 2002 or later engines in them from the factory.
Interestingly enough, my sig boat was produced from 2001 to 2008 in it's identical form (different color options and bits each model year changed) but 2001 was the only year it came with an EFI engine and then 2002 onward was MPI with smartcraft technology. Keep in mind the older MPI as you see in the big blocks and see in some of the older 350Mags is pre smartcraft MPI. So yes MPI was out there just in an older technology version of it.
So, for pre 2002 you can have a carbed big block, MPI but non smartcraft big block, carbed small block, EFI small block, MPI but not smartcraft small block. I've actually never seen a pre 2002 350MAG with the early version of the MPI but have seen them on the internet. Someone will I'm sure add to this.

 

[QBhoy]

This being a Volvo. Did the GXI appear before the MPI ?

 

[Scott Danforth]

This being a Volvo. Did the GXI appear before the MPI ?

GXI is a model name. MPI is a type of fuel delivery. GXI was an MPI motor

 

[QBhoy]

GXI is a model name. MPI is a type of fuel delivery. GXI was an MPI motor

Agree Scott but people were on about smartcradt and things related to mercruisers in particular. As you know. They actually call it MPI. VP call it GXI. Both multi point fuel rail injection...as you say.
Only mentioned it because I thought some were off on a tangent relating to mercruiser. All the best.

 

[GPman]

Four Winns went to fiberglass floors in 1996, and had some boat of the year models as a result. I had a 2000 200 Horizon. Excellent boat. Around here, where there is no water, a good boat sells for double the NADA. It makes no sense.

so did they change stringers and transom over as well, or would those still be plywood glassed over?