Four Winns vs. Yamaha

[Embraerjetpilot]

Good morning,

I've enjoyed reading through the threads the last couple of weeks.

I put a deposit on a SX210 for later this year.

I currently own a Four Winns HD180 and am wondering the pros and cons are for making the swap. WE enjoy our boat but some things we realized after we bought it annoy the crap out of us.

#1. They put the radio in the back of the glove box. Stupid.
#2. Lack of speakers in the front (These two really need no input)
#3. Lack of storage and seriously only the glove box is safe to keep anything dry.

Are there any other great reasons to make the swap? What am I going to love about the boat and what am I going to regret? I've never had a jet boat and grew up on I/O so I have absolutely no experience with them. I would love some input.

edit to add picture of current boat

 

[Dave burke]

Try searching this forum for similar topics. I know I’ve seen and added to several posts on this topic.

Everybody’s reasons are a little different I think but in my case I switched to a jet because our lake is pretty shallow and I liked the idea of no props from a safety perspective. I also liked the Yamaha approach of “everything included, no options.” I also liked the idea of the twin engines so you’re less likely to be stranded. And the two tier swim platform is great.

Build quality is decent but not the best IMHO. I’ve never owned a Four Winns but from what I’ve seen they’re pretty solid. I came from a Chaparral 1930 and that was a very good boat..

In terms of what you might not like so much, jets are generally noisier and the low speed control takes some getting used to. I think most people add fins to help. I added the Cobras.

While I’ve had some issue with mine, overall I’m happy with move lol

 

[HangOutdoors]

I do have my gripes with my Yamaha, mostly some minor Quality control things, All in all I am very happy. What's nice is it is simple to maintain and simple to do modifications to. We also have kids and teenagers that go with us doing watersports and the Jets make us feel better about safety.

 

[VitaminSea]

Welcome aboard! Lots of others have asked similar questions. Here’s an active thread about someone who went the other way...

https://jetboaters.net/threads/i-miss-my-yamaha.32831/

What was it about that SX210 that caught your attention to put a deposit down?

Having twin engines is nice - added control, redundancy, but at the same time, its two engines to maintain and flush (not a big deal, but certainly different than coming from a single engine set-up).

 

[biffdotorg]

We have been lucky to share lake homes with another couple for years before buying our current lake home. They were a longtime owner of a Four Winns Horizon 18' So similar to your HD, but with a traditional v-nose bow.

I would say, that is something they do not miss on that boat, where your HD actually shined. The current Yamaha's will have similar space up in the bow, so no loss there for you.

The build quality on Four Winns is amazing, and probably one of the easiest boats to sell used. People that have shopped boats by brand search for that one by name, as they know it is of a different quality level than almost all others in their price category. They hold value like no other. I hope you did well selling it and avoided trading it in, as it would have been easy to sell even if it were not a pandemic crazy market.

The biggest thing you will lose, but you will gain back with experience is the low end torque of the motor on your old boat. They are amazing out of the hole for tow sports. Control at high and low speed will be different. I will not say worse, as after owning multiple jets, it's all about learning. But honestly, you may hate it the first few times out. But with practice, you will learn to control it and hopefully love it as much as I do.

The swimdeck will be the biggest bonus, you just can't get with an outboard or I/O. Safety and shallow water running aside, just having that low entry point to the water, and place to lounge is awesome. As for every person that says, they like the fact that they can go shallow with their jet, there will be at least as many that say don't run a jet in less than 2ft of water. So just understand the true limitations of your new jet like any other boat.

Enjoy!

 

[Embraerjetpilot]

We have been lucky to share lake homes with another couple for years before buying our current lake home. They were a longtime owner of a Four Winns Horizon 18' So similar to your HD, but with a traditional v-nose bow.

I would say, that is something they do not miss on that boat, where your HD actually shined. The current Yamaha's will have similar space up in the bow, so no loss there for you.

The build quality on Four Winns is amazing, and probably one of the easiest boats to sell used. People that have shopped boats by brand search for that one by name, as they know it is of a different quality level than almost all others in their price category. They hold value like no other. I hope you did well selling it and avoided trading it in, as it would have been easy to sell even if it were not a pandemic crazy market.

The biggest thing you will lose, but you will gain back with experience is the low end torque of the motor on your old boat. They are amazing out of the hole for tow sports. Control at high and low speed will be different. I will not say worse, as after owning multiple jets, it's all about learning. But honestly, you may hate it the first few times out. But with practice, you will learn to control it and hopefully love it as much as I do.

The swimdeck will be the biggest bonus, you just can't get with an outboard or I/O. Safety and shallow water running aside, just having that low entry point to the water, and place to lounge is awesome. As for every person that says, they like the fact that they can go shallow with their jet, there will be at least as many that say don't run a jet in less than 2ft of water. So just understand the true limitations of your new jet like any other boat.

Enjoy!

To be honest, I haven’t been that impressed with the quality of the Four Winns.

 

[ididntdoit]

Good morning,

I've enjoyed reading through the threads the last couple of weeks.

I put a deposit on a SX210 for later this year.

I currently own a Four Winns HD180 and am wondering the pros and cons are for making the swap. WE enjoy our boat but some things we realized after we bought it annoy the crap out of us.

#1. They put the radio in the back of the glove box. Stupid.
#2. Lack of speakers in the front (These two really need no input)
#3. Lack of storage and seriously only the glove box is safe to keep anything dry.

If that's all that bothers you, I would keep the boat - move the stereo (that will make the glove box bigger), add speakers......

 

[Embraerjetpilot]

If that's all that bothers you, I would keep the boat - move the stereo (that will make the glove box bigger), add speakers......

There’s definitely more but those are the top items.

 

[biffdotorg]

To be honest, I haven’t been that impressed with the quality of the Four Winns.

Maybe things have changed with the newer FW boats. And they may have released a budget line of boats as well to compete with the Bayliners of the world. The older FW, were a step above across the board and didn't include a budget line.

And as stated above, if it's stereo location, either add a remote, or bluetooth input, so you can control it from your phone or apple watch, then it can stay tucked away. That's a very cheap solution in this crazy boat market.

 

[Embraerjetpilot]

Maybe things have changed with the newer FW boats. And they may have released a budget line of boats as well to compete with the Bayliners of the world. The older FW, were a step above across the board and didn't include a budget line.

And as stated above, if it's stereo location, either add a remote, or bluetooth input, so you can control it from your phone or apple watch, then it can stay tucked away. That's a very cheap solution in this crazy boat market.

Definitely. I actually found a guy that would do it relatively inexpensive and add speakers.

 

[Acard7]

Pros: Tons of room & storage, easy maintenance and winterization, safety, a few seconds to get on plane, swim deck, this forum for anything you may need help with, 2 engines (one is good, two is better), steering/handling after you get experience, radio is not in a glove box lol. We haven't been on the water much at all yet and I can't tell you how many compliments the swim deck gets just sitting in the driveway. After boating for a few years you realize having the swim deck and all that storage is one of the biggest bonuses you get with Yamaha.. Because what can't be stored is in the way and everyone always hangs by the back of the boat.

Cons: Different tone/pitch to the engines so it's louder but not much louder than my previous 98 Crownline 192 I/O, in my opinion. Newer models have sound deadening installed compared to my 08 AR230. Low speed steering as others have stated, but if you put fins on it helps tremendously. I already had cobras on mine and it was the first time I ever drove a jet boat and I didn't think it was hard to steer at all, but I also have no experience on driving without fins.

In the end we bought our boat for the comfort of having all the space, storage, safety, I can work on it, and the swim deck. We tend to be coved up more than doing watersports due to our daughter being young. We did get a tube and board this year though so those will get some use. When you have a group on your boat, wakeboarding and tubes gets boring because only 1-3 people are doing it while others are waiting to just get in the water. So if you're like us where we would rather cove up, I do believe Yamaha checks most of those boxes with everything that comes standard.

Whatever you do, post pics if you get a new boat or if you modify your current boat!