By: Mike Burns

The origins of Four Winns date back to 1962, when the company – then called Safe-T-Mate Boat Company – manufactured a series of small fibreglass runabouts. In 1975, Bill

Winn and his three sons (hence the name “Four Winns”) purchased the Safe-TMate line and resumed production under the Four Winns banner.

As the popularity of their boats steadily grew, so did the Four Winns lineup, which eventually came to include a full offering of runabouts, deck boats and cabin cruisers. Today, Four Winns produce two dozen different models with the 378 Vista the flagship of the fleet.

We recently checked out the 298, a smaller Vista model that went into production in 1999.This is a sporty, IO-powered express cruiser packed with a host of amenities and featuring comfortable accommodations down below.

Boarding the 298 from back aft is a breeze via the enormous swim platform. You’ll find a handy, three-step telescopic ladder and a large transom locker that offers plenty of storage for shore power cables, dock lines and even a fender or two. Also mounted back aft is a transom shower with on-demand hot and cold water. Entering the cockpit through the transom door to port, you’ll immediately notice the refreshment centre, which is equipped with a built-in fridge, on demand cold water and ample storage space under the sink. Just behind the cockpit door, you’ll find the main battery switches that are easily accessible.

Guests can enjoy the comfort of a large U-shaped lounge off to starboard, which easily converts to a large sun-pad for sun worshippers by dropping down the table. Additional seating can be found in a bench seat located further forward and to port, which features a unique centre cushion that can be easily removed to convert the bench into two individual seats. A cocktail table can also be installed in between.

Off to starboard, the helm features a large double bench seat with additional storage space below. The multi-level dash features chrome bezel gauges, which are well positioned on attractive faux wood grain finished panels. The large primary engine gauges were mounted on the upper tier of the dash, with smaller secondary gauges mounted on the second tier. Further down, rocker switches for the 12V system, a 12V receptacle, ignition switches, and remote spotlight and stereo controls flank the leather-wrapped tilt steering wheel. There isn’t much room to flush mount electronics, but our test boat did have a GPS, plotter and VHF surface mounted on and below the dash. The trim tab controls were conveniently mounted just next to the engine controls, which were well positioned for ease of operation while either seated or standing. Just to the left of the helm is a set of molded steps that lead up to the centrally mounted walk-thru windshield for easy access to the foredeck. Up front you’ll find a sun pad, a good-sized anchor locker and foot controls for the windlass.

A large sliding door complete with a separate sliding screen, leads down below to the main cabin. The first thing I noticed was the ample headroom for a boat of this size and style – 6 feet, 1 inch to be exact. A functional dinette, finished with premium flag blue upholstery, offers ample seating for four to port. The adjacent galley features a two-burner stove, under-counter refrigerator, built-in microwave, and plenty of drawers and cupboard space. There is even a functional compartment in the forward end of the upper cabinet to house the TV, which can be viewed from the main salon or the forward cabin. Sleeping accommodations are rather standard in the 298. There is a conventional double berth forward, while the mid-cabin can comfortably accommodate two more adults. Other amenities found throughout the cabin include a stand-up head compartment with VacuFlush toilet. As well, so that all your days and nights on board are comfortable despite the weather, our test model also featured an optional generator and reverse cycle heat and air conditioning.

Our test boat was powered by a pair of 5.0 GXi Volvo I/Os that feature the SX outdrives spinning a set of 14 3⁄4 "x 17 ' props. Quite often, boat buyers will move up from a single engine boat to a twin I/O boat thinking that the handling characteristics will be much improved. More specifically, people sometimes think that a twin I/O-powered boat will handle similarly to a twin inboard-powered boat, which more often than not is just not the case. The size and position of the props in relation to the hull does not allow for the same forces of thrust to be exerted. In addition, the position of the shifters sometimes makes it difficult and impractical to handle the boat in a split shifting manner. In my opinion, you’re better off using one engine at a time and use the steering wheel to direct the thrust of the drives. Another advantage of this method is that if one engine stalls for some reason, all you have to do is move your hand over slightly to the running engine and continue on with your maneuvering.

What you do get with the I/Os, however, is the sporty performance and the ability of shallow water operation, which conventional inboard power can’t always offer. Speaking of sporty performance, our test boat got on plane in a respectable 6.8 seconds and we cruised comfortably at 24.1 mph at 3400 rpm. At this speed the sound meter measured an acceptable noise level of 85 dbA. Handling, especially when compared to a twin inboard-powered cruiser, is remarkably nimble. The boat handled extremely well through a series of tight turns and had the feel of a much smaller sport boat – all the while remaining sure footed. This boat easily broke the 40 mph mark and at WOT we hit a top speed of 41.8 mph.

Four Winns is a well-known name in the industry with a solid reputation of building affordably priced boats. The 298 Vista is a fine example of this. A late model version, such as our test boat, can be purchased for well under $100,000, which (relatively speaking) is quite reasonable for a well-appointed boat of this size.

POWER / PERFORMANCE
TEST BOAT ENGINE: Twin Volvo Penta
5.0L GXi, 350 ci, 250 hp, V8,
inboard/outboard gasoline engines.
TOP SPEED (rpm/mph): 4800 / 41.8
CRUISING SPEED (rpm/mph):
3400 / 24.1
SOUND LEVEL AT WOT: 91 dbA (helm)
SOUND LEVEL AT CRUISE: 85 dbA (helm)