Four Winns hull strength

[Jimwhall]

So I have a '16 Four Winns H-190 with the 4.3 MPI. 17 pitch 4 bladed prop because I basically tow all the time with a few people in the boat. At WOT with just the wife and I top speed is about 43.

I'm coming from an Aluminum Sylvan, that I bought in my 20's and honestly took alot more abuse than it should have. I always took good care of it but I had zero problems running it through heavy waves. To it's credit it never let me down and still runs like a champ (though I had to fix some chairs).

Now, on some of the days, the waves on our lake can get decently heavy, especially when the wake surfing boats are out in force. Additionally we live close to Lake Michigan and the kids want me to take the boat out on it. But I'm a little freaked out at the fiberglass hull and stringers. How much pounding can they take? And I have things like the anchor in the ski locker (it's in a bag, and on a pad) but I'm nervous it might bounce and crack the glass underneath.

Am I being paranoid? It just seems like its alot more fragile than my aluminum being longer, heavier, and made of 'glass.

 

[briangcc]

You're being paranoid. It'll hold up to a lot.

I keep my anchor and rope in a kitty litter pail stuffed in the front console. Easy to reach and deploy, doesn't bounce around otherwise.

Problems will only come up once the structure is rotted but your boat shouldn't have any wood in it. Four Winns went wood free in '05 but you can double check that with your marina OR Four Winns.

 

[matt167]

A boat that new kept in good shape won’t be a problem

 

[Jimwhall]

You're being paranoid. It'll hold up to a lot.

I keep my anchor and rope in a kitty litter pail stuffed in the front console. Easy to reach and deploy, doesn't bounce around otherwise.

Problems will only come up once the structure is rotted but your boat shouldn't have any wood in it. Four Winns went wood free in '05 but you can double check that with your marina OR Four Winns.

Yes, it's all fiberglass. Not sure what they use for the core of the stringers but it isn't wood.

I had a glass boat as a kid (well, inherited from my Dad). '69 Larson. The hull itself was really thick but the interior was all wood.

 

[Chris1956]

Your hull should never crack. They can take a real pounding, and they do not leak much. Hulls are made to compliment the powerplant and real world conditions, and also, because the lawyers would get big settlements if they fail.

It is real cheap to put another layer of glass or two, down to prevent the hull from failing. My SeaRay hull failed, however, I consider that to be unusual.

Now if the support for the hull fails, That is, the foam and stringers fail, that is a different issue.

 

[Scott Danforth]

your kidneys will wrap around your neck and slap you in the face before you have to worry about hull strength.

 

[tpenfield]

your kidneys will wrap around your neck and slap you in the face before you have to worry about hull strength.

As Scott so colorfully indicated . . . boats will typically take a lot more pounding than the people on them. So, you will give up long before the boat does.

Since you are talking about a fairly new boat, you also have far less to be concerned about with structural rot issues, which can result in a hull failure.

I know lake Michigan and the other great lakes can really whip up the surf on windy days, but you probably would not be venturing out in such conditions, if you are planning your outings according to the weather . . . If you did find yourself in rough conditions, you'd be going all of 10 mph as you 'run' for cover.

 

[Texasmark]

Your hull should never crack. They can take a real pounding, and they do not leak much. Hulls are made to compliment the powerplant and real world conditions, and also, because the lawyers would get big settlements if they fail.

It is real cheap to put another layer of glass or two, down to prevent the hull from failing. My SeaRay hull failed, however, I consider that to be unusual.

Now if the support for the hull fails, That is, the foam and stringers fail, that is a different issue.

A Sea Ray hull failed? A friend had one and was working on it and had the steering console apart as I recall and I was amazed at the thickness of glass even in the console.

 

[Chris1956]

Yes, the SeaRay hull cracked once and deformed once. The center of the hull under the ski well deformed. I repaired that, from the inside, and some time later, the port strake cracked the long way.

The fiberglass under the ski well formed the keel of the boat. When the ski well hatch was installed by the OEM, the plywood edges of the deck were cut and not sealed. This allowed the decking and skiwell frame to rot. The keel area was supported on the inside by a piece of 3/4" plywood, scribed to match the hull, and stapled to the bottom of the ski well floor. When the staples rusted away and the plywood rotted a bit, the keel fell over, causing the fiberglass to bend when I jacked it up to paint. Most know that that part of the hull is real strong, or at least is supposed to be real strong. I installed new glass cloth inside the keel, and used pressure treated 2X lumber scribed to support the hull. This new keel was screwed to a new skiwell floor, and the whole area reglassed, with a new skiwell frame.

While repairing the strake crack, it seemed that the hull was not completely foamed between the deck and the inside of the hull glass. The foam supports the hull glass, and I think this gap in the foam, allowed the hull to flex and eventually crack. I added new glass inside the strake area, and a piece of pressure treated lumber screwed to the existing stringers to support the repaired strake. I refoamed the area as well.

 

[Lou C]

You main issue will be not hull strength it will be keeping water out of the boat. I have a similar boat (H-200, 20’9”) and what I have done is fit a bigger than standard bilge pump (1100 gpm vs the puny 500 gpm units many small boats come with) and I have a reinforced support pole for the bow cover. With a bow rider any time the wind/waves kick up or big boat wakes are a concern that cover should go on. I also have an emergency 2,000 gph pump I can drop in the bilge with long enough wiring & a bilge hose attached. I can drop this in the bilge if something bad happens.
Lastly if you have an I/O or inboard go over every hose clamp on the cooling & fuel system every year. One year I had a cooling hose behind the engine pop off the PS cooler. This promptly overheated the engine & started filling the bilge with sea water. At first I could not tell where the water was coming in & tried to beach the boat…50 yards off shore the engine died & the water quit coming in. Dropped anchor & called for a tow. Auto bilge pump got rid of the water. Then realized the cause was a hose way behind the engine. Pulled the boat out & repaired the immediate over heat damage. Three years later had to do a top end overhaul due to blown head gaskets & found cracked heads. Replaced all over the winter 16/17 and still running well.

But it was that day 10 years ago I decided I’d never ever have another I/O!
Outboards only!
That can’t happen with an outboard.
Also not a fan of bow riders, I don’t think they are safe in big water because most are not self bailing.
For my next boat I want a walk around style boat with a closed transom self bailing with a 4 stroke outboard. Much much safer than what the boat companies seem to want to sell these days.
A 21’ Steiger Craft Miami with a 200 hp outboard would do nicely

 

[Jimwhall]

You main issue will be not hull strength it will be keeping water out of the boat. I have a similar boat (H-200, 20’9”) and what I have done is fit a bigger than standard bilge pump (1100 gpm vs the puny 500 gpm units many small boats come with) and I have a reinforced support pole for the bow cover. With a bow rider any time the wind/waves kick up or big boat wakes are a concern that cover should go on. I also have an emergency 2,000 gph pump I can drop in the bilge with long enough wiring & a bilge hose attached. I can drop this in the bilge if something bad happens.
Lastly if you have an I/O or inboard go over every hose clamp on the cooling & fuel system every year. One year I had a cooling hose behind the engine pop off the PS cooler. This promptly overheated the engine & started filling the bilge with sea water. At first I could not tell where the water was coming in & tried to beach the boat…50 yards off shore the engine died & the water quit coming in. Dropped anchor & called for a tow. Auto bilge pump got rid of the water. Then realized the cause was a hose way behind the engine. Pulled the boat out & repaired the immediate over heat damage. Three years later had to do a top end overhaul due to blown head gaskets & found cracked heads. Replaced all over the winter 16/17 and still running well.

But it was that day 10 years ago I decided I’d never ever have another I/O!
Outboards only!
That can’t happen with an outboard.
Also not a fan of bow riders, I don’t think they are safe in big water because most are not self bailing.
For my next boat I want a walk around style boat with a closed transom self bailing with a 4 stroke outboard. Much much safer than what the boat companies seem to want to sell these days.
A 21’ Steiger Craft Miami with a 200 hp outboard would do nicely

I appreciate it.
So far all summer I've not had much water in the boat at all, even on the 'rough' (it sounds like you deal with much rougher water than I'm comfortable with) days I rarely get water in the boat. I do get some water in the ski locker and in the bilge after a full day of water sports, with kids going in and out, but none in just boating.

The water in the bilge empties in about 10 seconds, and the water that doesn't hit the drain in the ski locker I shop vac out at the end of the day (I hate that musty smell).

 

[jimmbo]

Wakeboard Boats need to be banned from Planing closer than 8 miles from any Shore, as their Wakes are Damaging to other Boats, and to Shorelines.

 

[Jimwhall]

As Scott so colorfully indicated . . . boats will typically take a lot more pounding than the people on them. So, you will give up long before the boat does.

Since you are talking about a fairly new boat, you also have far less to be concerned about with structural rot issues, which can result in a hull failure.

I know lake Michigan and the other great lakes can really whip up the surf on windy days, but you probably would not be venturing out in such conditions, if you are planning your outings according to the weather . . . If you did find yourself in rough conditions, you'd be going all of 10 mph as you 'run' for cover.

That's absolutely true. The guy who loved to drive his Sylvan like a 4 person Jet Ski in the 90's is now 50.... ;-)

I'm almost always on interior lakes, teaching my son how to drive and the rules of the road. One day he'll drive on his own, and he'll be rougher than I will, but he also knows alot more than I did when starting out. (My early days of boating consisted of alot of on the lake training....) But it sounds like for your average Michigan lake on a sunny day he'll be fine.

 

[Jimwhall]

Wakeboard Boats need to be banned from Planing closer than 8 miles from any Shore, as their Wakes are Damaging to other Boats, and to Shorelines.

I do struggle with that. From a technical perspective they are neat boats. And I don't want to hinder people from boating or water sports. But their wakes are huge, and the Loons are just really starting to come back on our lake. Their nesting habitats are dependent on some wave free areas.

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, you guys live on calm lakes. Legally boats are responsible for their wakes, but the acts of God are not. So, if a boat trashes your boat with their wake at the dock, you might be able to sue. Rough weather is not insured.

I will expect that you will sometime have a freak wind/water which will test your mooring. The bay I live on has 3+ foot waves, a few times a year. I use 4 mooring whips to hold the boat away from the dock and 5 lines, or more when a storm approaches, if I cannot pull it out.

To be fair, I live 300' from the open bay. Anyway, my recommendation is to over moor your boat with line (be aware of chafe) to count for any unusual weather events.

 

[Jimwhall]

Gee, you guys live on calm lakes. Legally boats are responsible for their wakes, but the acts of God are not. So, if a boat trashes your boat with their wake at the dock, you might be able to sue. Rough weather is not insured.

I will expect that you will sometime have a freak wind/water which will test your mooring. The bay I live on has 3+ foot waves, a few times a year. I use 4 mooring whips to hold the boat away from the dock and 5 lines, or more when a storm approaches, if I cannot pull it out.

To be fair, I live 300' from the open bay. Anyway, my recommendation is to over moor your boat with line (be aware of chafe) to count for any unusual weather events.

I haven't moored my boat in years. I used to use a screw in mooring at a road end maybe 20 years ago and loved that for the convenience, but it was only on weekends and just required a snubber on the chain to not break away even in heavy waves.

So, yes, my lake sounds like it is *way* calmer than what you deal with. Right now, I live about 1/2 mile from a private landing in our subdivision, and the lake, while decent sized (2800 acres) but an average depth of only 25 feet or so. I just put in and put out as needed.

 

[Lou C]

I live right next to 2 large bays in Huntington Long Island we have many large boats as big as 50-60’, wind and tides. I would not buy any open bow boat in the future even self bailing I want a closed bow for sure. It’s just how it is. If you’re out in the Sound there is commercial traffic tugs & barges.

 

[tpenfield]

So, how strong are these Four Winns hulls?