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  1. JoLin

    Larson Boats 'Archives' are Gone

    I know, it hardly ranks up there with having a bad gimbal bearing, but WTF? I spend a lot of time browsing boat ads, and trying to advise people who are figuring out 'what to buy'. A few of the manufacturers keep archives of all their boat models going back decades. Invaluable resource for...
  2. JoLin

    Finally Decided to Use a Broker...

    To sell my 24' Chris*Craft. Been back and forth for months over whether to do it myself or not. In the end I decided that I'd rather spend next Summer enjoying/learning/fixing up the Four Winns, than dealing with trying to sell it myself. Yesterday I contacted the broker I bought the C*C from a...
  3. JoLin

    Any Late-'90s 278 Vista Owners?

    I recently bought the boat in my sig and will start using it in the Spring. I'm looking for anyone who owns a 94-98 model, that I can contact if I have any questions about operation of subsystems, etc :) Not a new boater, but this one has more 'stuff' in it than my 24' Chris*Craft express...
  4. JoLin

    Cell Phones for Soldiers

    So, I just got a new cellular service and phone, and my old but still functional cell phone is just sitting. On a whim, I googled cell phone donations and found this: http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/ Let me stress that I know nothing of them aside from what I've read, but a google of the...
  5. JoLin

    Any Lowrance HDS-7 Users?

    Gonna need a new GPS come Spring. I could take the easy way out and just buy a Garmin 546s, but the Lowrance is also hi-res and has a bigger screen (6.4" vs. 5") for about the same amount of money. Anybody on here using one? Does it work well? Pros and cons? Thanks!
  6. JoLin

    Pics of My 1997 Four Winns

    My 'new' 1997 Four Winns. Grabbed a few pics yesterday at the marina where she's being hauled and stored for the winter. Linda and I went down to empty it out and poke around. Amazing amount of storage and 'knocking around' space compared to the 24' Chris*Craft. We can't wait for Spring! :)
  7. JoLin

    Whew... Dodged a Bullet

    Finally, after a month of rigamarole in trialing, surveying and buying the Four Winns, lining up storage and service at a marina and arranging a time to pick up the boat, I arrived at the seller's house on Sunday morning with a couple friends. Sunday was clear but cold here (relatively...
  8. JoLin

    Well, it's done... (boat purchase)

    Just completed registering my 'new' 1997 Four Winns 278 Vista. There was a bank lien to pay off, and a few anxious days spent waiting for the release from the bank. Final payment to the seller was handed over last Sunday night. This morning I went to visit the DMV Nazi's and surprise! I was in...
  9. JoLin

    Survey Successful! All that's left now...

    is to pay for it :) We'll wrap up the deal in the next couple of days. 1997 Four Winns 278 Vista. Twin V-P 4.3's with FI and SX drives. 27' LOA, 9.5' beam. $15K take it or leave it based on sea trial and survey. That's what I offered 2 months ago and the owner finally bit last week. Sea...
  10. JoLin

    Closer to my 'New' Boat Purchase

    1997 Four Winns 278 Vista Twin Volvo FI 4.3's with SX drives. Owner and I have settled on an as-is, take it or leave it price of $15K. I'm bringing him a (mostly) refundable deposit on Thursday night. Did the sea trial yesterday. Engines are clean, oil's good and they ran strong and cool...
  11. JoLin

    Getting Closer - New Boat Shopping

    See my Boat Shopping 101 thread if interested.... Linda snd I looked today at a 1995 Larson 280 Cabrio. Twin V-6 carbed Mercs. Nice styling, roomy, generally in good shape. Needs some cockpit upholstery. IMO, priced high at $20K after our 1st round of informal negotiation (NADA value is about...
  12. JoLin

    Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

    I'm boat shopping. I love my Volvo. It's bulletproof and simple to maintain. Most of the boats I'm looking at (28-30 ft. Express Cruisers) for sale locally have twin V-6's or V-8's and are of course, Mercs. That means they're usually equipped with Alpha Gen II's. The Alpha layout (water pump in...
  13. JoLin

    Boat Shopping 101 - Why it's good to know people

    Shopping for a 27-30 foot boat. We want a large-sized v-berth, and a ?fixed? dinette separate from the berth. Saw a ?94 Carver 280 Express, asking price $13K. I called my friend Bob (fellow Power Squadron member, 100 ton captain?s license, mechanical engineer and buyer and seller of boats for...
  14. JoLin

    Any Large Boat Smart Tabs Users?

    Was just speaking with a guy who has a set installed on his 27' express cruiser (about 6500 lbs) and says he likes them. He's selling a boat I want to look at. I went to the Nauticus site and, sure enough, the Smart Tab II is advertised for boats up to 30' long. Any big-boat users here? I have...
  15. JoLin

    Post # 2 of 2 - VP Duoprop vs. Bravo 3

    First, I'm not looking to start a war, and I'll ask a mod to close this thread if one erupts. I love my V-P, but it wasn't the main reason I bought my current boat. Merc, however, outsells Volvo by a big margin, so chances are good my next boat will be a Mercruiser. My own observation...
  16. JoLin

    Post # 1 of 2 - Merc/Volvo 454- What to Expect

    Hi, all- I'm kinda sorta someday maybe going to upgrade to a larger boat. 27-28 ft range. In single engine configurations, they're generally equipped with a 7.4L putting out 300+ hp. I'm not familiar at all with the GM big blocks. Are they good motors in general? Do they have common problem...
  17. JoLin

    Electric Trailer Winch Recommendation?

    6000 lb boat on a roller trailer. My Powerwinch R30 stalled and started smoking, even though I'm using a pulley block. Should have been more than enough. That thing is a real piece of junk anyway (I've been under the cover and it's crap). I'm not interested in trying Powerwinch again. I've...
  18. JoLin

    eBay Silliness

    I've been looking for a spare prop set for my V-P Duoprop (original equipment is stainless F5's), and they're currently made of unobtainium. Everything is back-ordered from Europe for who knows how long. Tried finding the equivalemt in aluminum (D6) but no luck there, either. Had those...
  19. JoLin

    Identifying Which Wire Pair Goes to Which Speaker?

    Hi- There are 4 speakers installed in my boat. There are 4 clear/white and 4 clear/black wires in the stereo location, that terminate in a common block. I assume that I'm looking at the + and - wires for each of the speakers. Question- how can I determine which wires run to which speaker? I...
  20. JoLin

    Replacing a Volvo Duo-Prop Set- Aluminum?

    Hi- I was planning to buy a new set next winter as mine are suffering some corrosion. I figured I'd investigate this then. However, I managed to bend the rear prop pretty good this past weekend so I need to act now. The issue is that I'm running a stainless 'F5' set which was OE on my boat...
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