Opinions welcome on FSH 195

[Sidarousmg]

starting to look for my next boat and came across a possible good deal on a 2020 FSH 195 Sport. my main concern is getting it in my garage (8 ft tall). my question to those of you who have an FSH and keep in in a regular sized garage, how much of a pain is removing and re-installing the T-top? if you had to do it again would you forgo the T-top? park it outside?

 

[bubbasuwannee]

No garage experience, but I'll be listing our 21' FSH 195 in the next month or so. It's been an awesome boat, but our needs have changed. We've had ours just over a year and park it outside with the factory mooring cover. Really hasn't been any issues. Also have a Noco battery charger/tender hooked up continuously.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The T top is easy to remove and replace, especially if someone can help you take the top piece off and put it back on. I can do it by myself but much easier with another set of hands. Probably 15-20 mins to remove and 20-30 to put it back on.

 

[MrBubbaGump]

I have a 210 I put in the garage, I have T-top down to about 5 min removal 7-10 install with these bad boys and a drill Hex Set

 

[Sidarousmg]

thank you. so it looks like it's "do-able". Now I have to decide if I want to pull the trigger on the 19ft, or hold off for the right 21 footer to come along (the boat I really want), but the prices on the 21 footers are still ridiculous in my opinion.

 

[adrianp89]

If you can swing a 21' foot I would. The twin engine is nice, no supercharger clutch to worry about, and bigger hull so better in chop. My 195 gets the crap beat out of it and its still doing good. You could always get hinges installed for the t-top to make it very quick.

 

[Sidarousmg]

I never thought I would be the one pushing for a smaller boat while my wife wants the bigger one (that's what she said)....

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

FWIW,

My friend who was helping me decide which boat to buy has this mantra, “The smallest size that will get the job done”.

That being said, he was pushing for the 19’ model FSH as I was going to be doing the majority of my boating by myself. My argument was that I wanted to be able to take friends out and the bow seating was needed for that, not to mention the under seat storage. To be fair, it looks like the 19’ model has some good storage up front, but that forward seat faces the stern. After fishing off the boat my friend said that he was glad I insisted on the 21’ FSH as the layout of the bow made it much better for fishing and cruising. Two people can lounge up front while underway, or I’ve had four sitting up there when we made the hour and a half ride down to rainbow bridge at Lake Powell, during that particular journey there was another person on the forward CC seat and two people in the jump seats, everyone was comfortable on that ride. There were also some other shorter journeys we made, as well as some evening cruises through the canyons. I would have been really limited on space with the 19’ model.

I also added the front casting platform from JBP but I don’t think that is available from them anymore. However I’m sure that could be fabricated by a crafty DIY’er, or a shop could make it for you. I’ve used that platform with cushions as a bed on several occasions, slept there for a week at LP, and a few overnights locally. And it makes into a table which I’ve used a few times.

If your wife likes to lay out, you may want to consider getting the swim step cushions. My friends wife commented once the only thing my boat didn’t do was allow her to layout on her stomach. Unless your wife is 5’ tall she would be able to layout on her stomach on the casting platform.

Back to the garage storage and the T top. The first model FSH boats were 19’ and the top did pivot forward Im pretty sure and I thought of modifying mine to do the same. But, after measuring I found that when folded forward the top portion would still stick up too high to fit in my shop. I have to take off the windshield and fold down my fish finder to get it in the shop.

Ueah the prices have gone up on these boats considerably since 2020, but so has everything else, inflation is being felt across the board. As a good friend of mine used to say “There aren’t any Uhauls following the hearse to the graveyard“.

In the end it comes down to:

What are going to use the boat for?
How often are you going to use the boat?
How many people are going to be on the boat?
Which boat do you really want?

There is always this handy guide.

 

[Coult45]

FWIW,

My friend who was helping me decide which boat to buy has this mantra, “The smallest size that will get the job done”.

That being said, he was pushing for the 19’ model FSH as I was going to be doing the majority of my boating by myself. My argument was that I wanted to be able to take friends out and the bow seating was needed for that, not to mention the under seat storage. To be fair, it looks like the 19’ model has some good storage up front, but that forward seat faces the stern. After fishing off the boat my friend said that he was glad I insisted on the 21’ FSH as the layout of the bow made it much better for fishing and cruising. Two people can lounge up front while underway, or I’ve had four sitting up there when we made the hour and a half ride down to rainbow bridge at Lake Powell, during that particular journey there was another person on the forward CC seat and two people in the jump seats, everyone was comfortable on that ride. There were also some other shorter journeys we made, as well as some evening cruises through the canyons. I would have been really limited on space with the 19’ model.

I also added the front casting platform from JBP but I don’t think that is available from them anymore. However I’m sure that could be fabricated by a crafty DIY’er, or a shop could make it for you. I’ve used that platform with cushions as a bed on several occasions, slept there for a week at LP, and a few overnights locally. And it makes into a table which I’ve used a few times.

If your wife likes to lay out, you may want to consider getting the swim step cushions. My friends wife commented once the only thing my boat didn’t do was allow her to layout on her stomach. Unless your wife is 5’ tall she would be able to layout on her stomach on the casting platform.

Back to the garage storage and the T top. The first model FSH boats were 19’ and the top did pivot forward Im pretty sure and I thought of modifying mine to do the same. But, after measuring I found that when folded forward the top portion would still stick up too high to fit in my shop. I have to take off the windshield and fold down my fish finder to get it in the shop.

Ueah the prices have gone up on these boats considerably since 2020, but so has everything else, inflation is being felt across the board. As a good friend of mine used to say “There aren’t any Uhauls following the hearse to the graveyard“.

In the end it comes down to:

What are going to use the boat for?
How often are you going to use the boat?
How many people are going to be on the boat?
Which boat do you really want?

There is always this handy guide.

View attachment 192165

The front seating on the 210 was one of the big deciding factors for us. And the casting platform with cushions makes it fantastic for fishing or stretching out. The platform is still available from Cycle Springs.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The front seating on the 210 was one of the big deciding factors for us. And the casting platform with cushions makes it fantastic for fishing or stretching out. The platform is still available from Cycle Springs.

Thanks for the correction on the casting platform! I do not think JBP carry’s them anymore though.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

If I was buying a 21’ FSH, I might hold off until the new 22 FSH’s start getting delivered. As nice as the 210 is, the 220 is an even nicer fishing platform. When the 220’s are available, maybe you might see more reasonable pricing on the 210’s?

Jim