Mike ,, my friend has the Freedom 170 and his brother has the Freedom 180
(or 190) if there is one, and has a 115hp carb Johnston.
Nice boat, he can barefoot off it no problem.
Very nice and strong hull and transom, he likes to show us how he can at
full throttle just cranke the wheel and throw everyone to one side of the
boat as his sales rep did that to him a few times to show the transom
strength.

I have Fichts and believe them to be the better engines. Much better than
the carburetor engine and much better than the Yamaha.

good luck





"Mike" wrote in message
news:P4m%b.24594$AL.457120@attbi_s03...
Hi All,
I was just at the boat show in Boston last night, and i think im falling
for
this Four Winns Freedom 170 O/B. Im debating on whether to spend the extra
$2500 for a 90HP Evinrude E-Tec or save the money and just go with a
Johnson
90HP 2-stroke.
I have narrowed my boat choices down to 2 boats, with one being a 17'
Hurricane Deck Boat with a Yamaha 90HP 2 Stroke, and this Four Winns. The
Hurricane is a little cheaper especially if i go with the E-TEC on the
Four
Winns.
My Lake Association has a length restriction of 17' and a HP restriction
of
70hp. Im going to push my luck and go with the 90 HP. I just got rid of a
17' Bayliner with a 75HP merc, and it could barely pull a skier and with
more than 10 gallons of gas could hardly whip a tuber out of the wake.
I guess for the price of this new boat i wanted to make sure it will have
the power needed to do the above with little trouble.
Of course im being assured that the 90HP will handle things easily, but i
was hoping there may be others out there with either of these boats that
have some experience.
Both boats seem pretty well made, and the amenities on the Four Winns have
a
slight lead. Like i said im leaning towards the Four Winns for the
following
reasons.
Windshield instead of small deflector on the hurricane.
Seat Layout
Looks, although the hurricane is no slouch
Four Winns name and reputation
Clarion Satellite/CD/FM radio (nice system it appears w/1 year free
service)
not a deal maker but a nice benny.
Removable side windshield panels (dealer is checking to see if this can be
done on the none Fish/Ski model)

I guess i need a little push here with the decision.
Hurricane or Four Winns
Evinrude E-TEC, Johnson 2 Stroke or Yamaha 2-Stroke?
The show price included a painted steel trailer and the Galvy was $450
extra, if i only use in fresh water should i save the $450 and not worry
about it?
Ability for either or any 17' O/B boat with 90HP motor to pull
Skiers/Tubers?
Dealer for Four Winns is almost 1 1/2 hrs away, Hurricane Dealer is 15-20
mins.

All comments welcomed