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I started with two Kawasaki 550sx's, then a SeaDoo SPX. But our first boat was a SeaDoo Sportster 1800. To say it was a fixer upper when we bought it would be an understatement.View attachment 1298View attachment 1300
For those of you with Four Winns boats, did you have tons of deck hardware issues? Mine was an 06 and for the last 3 or 4 years of ownership I had screws that broke loose from their heads and various nuts and bolts lying around. I was the only owner as I bought it new. Also, my dash gauges were acting up as well. The RPM needle would bounce around (Smacking the dash would fix it sometimes) and my engine temp and trim indicator would work intermittently.
75% of the stainless screws that fastened my floor in the cockpit had broken (screw head separated) and I had to drill most of them out. A couple of windshield screws ripped out of the wood under the dash. One time, I found one of two engine mount nuts lying in the bilge! (Sounded like an aluminum can was flying around inside the engine bay)
I would say that the 3.0 Merc was fairly reliable, meaning it never left me stranded and always started up, but started to get pricey on maintenance and leaky stuff as well as outdrive issues. I got rid of it just in time.
My favorite part about my I/O was when barnacles built up on the impeller intake (the dealer "painted" drive apparently) after leaving it in salt water for 2 months. It was a short trip out and long trip home when the engine overheated and started smoking. That was definitely a B.O.A.T moment.
hi everyone, my 1st post since coming over. I've been blessed to live on a lake all my live so here is my list;
1954 Chris Craft runabout - it blew up with me in it when I was 10
1962 Penn Yan w/ a 35 Merc
1972 Columbian w/ a 85 Evinrude
1975 MacGregor catamaran - i still have it
1988 Four Winns 160 Freedom
2000 SmokerCraft 186 Alante - my favorite...until...
2013 Yamaha SX192
Robert... Reflecting on this particular photo of your smokercraft, how well do u think the Yammy would do at a mooring with this kind of sustained chop? We moor the boat in front of our cottage. I am concerned about the strength of the bow eye and how well the hull will take the beating...
Robert, thank you for your quick reply. I have been most anxious to know that my new boat will sit pretty at anchor in our bay in Lake Erie... The chop in our bay would not be any worse than the wave pictured in your post. In fact, because Lake Erie is so shallow, we don't get the deep and regular waves you might expect from a body of water so large. This is great news for me as I prepare and prepare for my first launch. Here's to spring and a great LONG boating summer.
Beachbum, enjoy your boat! also still waiting for Spring...10deg this morning and 20" of ice on the lake. I like to launch around mid April. Don't know if that will happen this year. I will see if I have a pic of the Yammy from last year moored and post it.
(1st) paid $1500 for a four seater 16 footer outboard.
(2nd) new 2002 18 foot Searay I/O.
(3rd) used 2001 19 foot Searay I/O. (Went looking for a bimini for my 2002 and bought a boat that already had one.
(4th and last) Yamaha AR240.
Lessons learned: Buy the biggest boat you can afford the first time! Buy your last boat first!