1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

[Juniinc]

Hello everyone, my name is Juni from Spanaway Lake WA.
I'm a newbie here, but a long time reader.
I've read many threads here ,,,what an awsome forum!!!and my hat's off to all of you hard core boat restorers out there.
If U fellas don't mind, I'd like to contribute some of my latest work. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I got a good deal on a 91 Four Winns cuddy cabin not long ago.
I've always liked the lines on these 90's Four Winns,,,smooth stylish sloping deck line in my opinion.
She has a good running 4.3L, outdrive needs some work, faded paint job, sort of soft sopt in the middle, interior is pretty much shot, blown sound system, a few electronics malfunctioning.
Here are a few good sides of her, after majority of the stripping has been moved+1st buffing job(sorry guys, the before pics got lost accidently).

Since my floating dock is in, had her moored for a few weeks to see how much water is seeping in.

 

[Juniinc]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

The bad & the ugly,,,

19YR old rotted interior

Should I restore these nasty back2back seats or should I change to diff configuration?

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Those are sharp looking vessels. I sometimes wish I went with a 20-22' instead of my 19...seems like there's just a ton more room on board

 

[NetMatrix]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

It is a nice looking boat you have there. When you had it sitting in the water how much water did you get that seeped inside of it? I hope you didn't have any at all. With your seats; the back to back configuration. is actually a pretty nice set up in those boats. I would honestly get new lumbar and vinyl put on those seats and just restore them. Great interior color to that the boat has right now. The maroon/white hull with the blue/white interior is really nice looking.

Can we get some pictures of the cuddy cabin on your vassal?

She is a nice looking boat though. Good luck on the rebuilt...

 

[10thHawk]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Thats a sharp looking boat. Mine has two back to backs in it which are being replaced this spring. Going to put a bucket at the helm,keep one back to back for the port side. I guess its a matter of personal taste and what your needs are. The back to back offers more seating and extra storage. Best of luck with it either way.

 

[boatflipper]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

I love the looks of the late 80's and early 90's four winns.
My brother had a '89 four winns 241 liberator. Beautiful boat. The interior color scheme was identical to yours.
He had the bucket seats at the helm and port side. I think it opens up the deck and gives the 'captain' a more comfortable ride.

Good luck!

 

[Lou C]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

I have the bowrider version of that hull just a few years older...I did an interior re-hab on it (mine looked about the same as yours) a few years ago...I had to do a partial stringer repair and deck replacement...got rid of the carpet on the deck and had it gelcoated...mine had the captain's chairs for the helm and the big bench seat across the rear with the big sunpad (SunSport seating in FW lingo)...I had the bow cushions re-done by an upholstery shop....when it came time to do the helm seats and the rear seat my upholstery guy advised me that rebuilding the FW seats would be a lot in labor (labor is very expensive here) and it would make more sense to buy new ones...so I got the helm seats and rear bench from Overton's...they were actually for a pontoon boat but they matched the interior colors pretty well...the only part of the interior that I didn't have to replace was the coaming panels and the sunpad (had to replace the sunpad wood core though)...

The boat itself is a good running stable hull...the 4.3 4bbl in mine has enough power despite being a V-6 and it's been very reliable over the years I have run it....

 

[Juniinc]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Thanks much fellas,
I was able to put in a couple of hours yesterday.
We had some great weather lately here in great NW.
Here is a cab pic, has 3 seats can be converted.

I pulled the outdrive off, seems to be a slight problem as I expected. By the way she leaking a bit of water.
I believe here is why,,,

in this pic, U can kind of tell, milk shake is dripping from above,,,

Yes, my U joint is pretty much shot,,,

drive bellows was cracked, very fine/thin crack,,,
did a pressure test, prop seal is leaking,,,

 

[Juniinc]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Nice job on that 4winns of yours Lou!
The out drive came off fairly easy(10 minutes).
so started my demo,,,U can see where it started to rott in the middle,,,

Thanks to 4winns inter locking stringers, they seem to be in preety good shape,,,

rest of the floor is much better shape than I expected,,,

pile of junk, I was thinking about putting this pic on CL "complete boat interior" LOL.

 

[sprintst]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Might just wanna hit those seats up with a wet rag. They might clean up real nice like

Great looking boat you've got there. The stringers and decking look to be in pretty reasonble shape. Not sure if you want to keep digging or coat the stringers in epoxy and carry on. The glass gurus out there will pipe up I'm sure.

Let me know what you end up doing with your interior as I'm looking at ideas as well.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

I ordered these in from west marine. My seat boxes weren't rotten but the hinges were shot and the foam would go flat after an hour or so. A shame too since my mom redid the vinyl last winter. These are pretty nice though. $250 for the set (x 2). I've kept my (2) lounge/back to back configuration cuz I like the passenger capacity and can sleep more people with the camper top on.

 

[sprintst]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Nice color combo too. Who made those seats if you don't mind me asking. They look exactly like what I'm looking for. Do you leave your boat parked out front at night

 

[Juniinc]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Thanks man.
That is exactly what I'm going to do,,, done digging, coat the stringers, move on.

Might just wanna hit those seats up with a wet rag. They might clean up real nice like

Great looking boat you've got there. The stringers and decking look to be in pretty reasonble shape. Not sure if you want to keep digging or coat the stringers in epoxy and carry on. The glass gurus out there will pipe up I'm sure.

Let me know what you end up doing with your interior as I'm looking at ideas as well.

 

[Lou C]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Your deck looks pretty good....mine was shot...I'd sand it down...give it another coat of 'glass and replace those back to back seats...you might be able to get your rear seating redone by an upholstery shop and then you'd be in good shape. Now for the outdrive...you basically need a new bellows...ujoints...gimble...and at least a drive re-seal...try to find a shop that has been around a while with some good OMC experience...I had my Cobra gone through when I first got it (had shift linkage readjusted....bellows....gimble replaced...some seals replaced....and its been fine for 5 seasons since....all I do is the yearly maintenance and winterizing...

 

[Juniinc]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Thanks for the info F14CRAZY!
Yup pretty sharp lookin back2back.
Here is a sutuation,,,
I got a professional upholstery guy who's willing do both my back2back seats for $300 / $400 for the whole boat, everything new as long as materials are supplied. ( I do realize that is a killer deal)
Rescently we went to the Seattle boat show. First thing I noticed was that 2tone interior pretty much disapeared. New trend was everything white with light piping.
This is pretty close to what we are leaning toward to,,,wrap around lounge seating all the way around+nice bolster helm seat.

 

[Juniinc]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

No shop is involved in this project Lou.
Cobra can be very expensive.
I already started on new gimbal/drive bellows/U joint.
I could take my Cobra apart & put it back together in a day.
Hopefully I can put her all back then I'm going to fill it with synthetic 75W90.

Your deck looks pretty good....mine was shot...I'd sand it down...give it another coat of 'glass and replace those back to back seats...you might be able to get your rear seating redone by an upholstery shop and then you'd be in good shape. Now for the outdrive...you basically need a new bellows...ujoints...gimble...and at least a drive re-seal...try to find a shop that has been around a while with some good OMC experience...I had my Cobra gone through when I first got it (had shift linkage readjusted....bellows....gimble replaced...some seals replaced....and its been fine for 5 seasons since....all I do is the yearly maintenance and winterizing...

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

Nice color combo too. Who made those seats if you don't mind me asking. They look exactly like what I'm looking for. Do you leave your boat parked out front at night

If you were asking me, they're by Wise

 

[MTribe08]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

I have the bowrider version of that hull just a few years older...I did an interior re-hab on it (mine looked about the same as yours) a few years ago...I had to do a partial stringer repair and deck replacement...got rid of the carpet on the deck and had it gelcoated...mine had the captain's chairs for the helm and the big bench seat across the rear with the big sunpad (SunSport seating in FW lingo)...I had the bow cushions re-done by an upholstery shop....when it came time to do the helm seats and the rear seat my upholstery guy advised me that rebuilding the FW seats would be a lot in labor (labor is very expensive here) and it would make more sense to buy new ones...so I got the helm seats and rear bench from Overton's...they were actually for a pontoon boat but they matched the interior colors pretty well...the only part of the interior that I didn't have to replace was the coaming panels and the sunpad (had to replace the sunpad wood core though)...

The boat itself is a good running stable hull...the 4.3 4bbl in mine has enough power despite being a V-6 and it's been very reliable over the years I have run it....

I think it was a wise move to put in the captains(at leas at the helm) chairs in the boat. It's slot more enjoyable to drive sitting in one. When replacing your back to back, did you have to offset your helm seat a bit in order to get a full 360 degree swivel? It's gonna be really close in my boat.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

I like these boats too and have found a few nice Sundowners but they all have that damn OMG drive. I dont think Imma do that when I can get anything for a MerCruiser and for a good price, might be a Sea Ray Seville.

 

[Juniinc]

Re: 1991 Four Winns 20' Sport Cuddy

I think it was a wise move to put in the captains(at leas at the helm) chairs in the boat. It's slot more enjoyable to drive sitting in one. When replacing your back to back, did you have to offset your helm seat a bit in order to get a full 360 degree swivel? It's gonna be really close in my boat.

Sure was a wise move to do that,,,MTribe.
I've been following your Monterey post, great thread U got going there by the way.
I've been looking every where, they just won't let me score.
The cheapest newer bolster seat I found was $250 on Seattle CL.
Since my gas guage wasn't working, played with it a bit this morning.
1 sending unit wire was broken,,,

Tank removed, waiting for bilge coat to come,,,

still trying to decide what product to use on the deck,,,
1.Dura back 2. Cabellas Tough Coat 3. Latex Anti skid Coat ?
I heard enough positive feed backs on DB.
Any good experience with Cabellas ToughCoat?