the Four Winns 190 Horizon is a terrific example of a turnkey American trailerboat with a top-notch finish.
Bundled with safety gear the package lacked nothing but the fuel, food and boating friends for a long summer's day on the water.
By virtue of its size, this 19-footer fills a niche that's a significant step up from the evergreen 18-footer class.
Importantly, the rig on trailer weighs in the order of 1800kg, which is within large family-car towing capacity.
Its 2.
54m beam may or may not require that you have a towing permit, however.
Straight out of the box - the boat had only just been removed from its wrapping - the 190 performed beautifully.
In fact, metre-for-metre this was among the sweetest-riding Four Winns I've driven.
also combines good looks and a classy finish with that smooth ride and realistic price.
Run upright, the 190 Horizon's ride was what really impressed me most.
The boat didn't exhibit any of the sluggishness or bow lift apparent in some high-volume Four Winns cruisers I have driven.
Rather, it ran nice and level, and it exhibited a big trim range that let you go all the way from bow-down over the chop to flying free on the aft sections.
Fitted with a standard-issue 4.
3lt MPI 220hpVolvo Penta motor, the hull shot straight to planing speed and cruised in a most efficient manner at low speeds.
A lot of small bowriders won't do that.
This one happily sat at 17.
5kt (33kmh) and 2500rpm and, as such, I'd consider it a great towboat.
But such were the cruising comforts that the 190 Horizon is more than a riverboat.
It felt right at home on the harbour, as it would gadding along the Gold Channels or bounding across the bay.
The excellent freeboard in the bow means you can take the family with you.
While it is rolled out by a huge American marine company called Genmar, Four Winns offers a range of options from hull colours and graphics packs to cool alloy tow towers and seating so that you can optimise and individualise (at least to some degree) your pleasureboat.
For example, seating options on the 190 Horizon include that seen here (the standard layout with pedestal helm seat and back-to-back seat to port with aft jump seats) or the optional Sunsport package with double pedestal seats and a full-width aft lounge.
This latter combo is preferable for the simple reason that, if you have an uneven number of crew, you can shift the odd one out on the aft lounge to keep the boat on an even keel.
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