Boating USA — March 2018

C

CERTIFIED

TEST

RESULTS

AVAILABLE POWER:

OUTBOARD

PHOTO: COURTESY FOUR WINNS

Despite the outboards, the Horizon 350

offers an expansive transom platform that

wraps around the aft corners of the hull to

ease dockside boarding, with 1 foot 8 inches

of passageway in front of the motors. The

Verado outboards also have a single prop,

while available sterndrives have dual props

that really help lift a heavy boat onto plane.

With a light load, our test boat was no rocket,

but it achieved plane with little bow lift.

A similar dayboat to consider is the Sea

Ray SLX 350 Outboard ($354,999 with

triple Verado 300 motors).

From the transom forward, the Horizon

350 OB is identical to its sterndrive-

powered sistership. There are three social

zones aboard the boat: the bow, the cockpit,

and the transom. Up front, sunny seating

wraps around to starboard, with deep sup-

portive cushions and audio speakers. Seats

in the hardtop-shaded cockpit wrap around

to port, and doublewide pedestal seats at

the helm and port console swivel so every-

one can socialize; eight to 10 people can be

seated in the cockpit. Sliding open the sun-

roof in the hardtop lets more light into the

cockpit. The aft-facing lounge has an ad-

justable bottom cushion that angles up for

Barcalounger comfort.

This is a dayboat with a cabin, of sorts.

Entry is through a sliding hatch in the port

console. The roomy head compartment is

at the bottom of the steps and features a

VacuFlush head, a big vanity with a sink,

and a large portlight that brightens up the

space. The walk-through to the bow natu-

rally intrudes belowdecks, so duck your

head to get to the cabin settee to starboard.

There’s more natural light here, with a full-

size berth aft below the cockpit deck.

The helm features two 7-by-9-inch

Simrad screens. One was devoted to en-

gine and boat data, the other set up for

navigation. All of the Mercury SmartCraft

features, including Active Trim and scroll-

ing messages from the Engine Guardian,

display through the Simrad. Mercury Joy-

stick Control for Outboards is standard.

Drop the throttles and the super-

charged outboards do their thing. Thrust

is urgent and, as mentioned, planing

performance is fine. It takes 4,500 rpm

to really hold plane, and that’s about

33 mph, a nice cruising speed on smoot

water, but it would be even better to cruise

efficiently at a slightly slower speed. With

the bonus blade area of its twin-prop

drives, the Horizon 350 with sterndrives

will cruise at 28 mph, a benefit when seas

are choppy. Which is not to say the Hori-

zon is a rough ride. We charged through a

stiff Great Lakes chop with minimal drama

and stayed dry. Sometimes it’s just nice to

throttle back and relax.

The Horizon 350 OB makes the most of

its power choice. This boat combines classy

style with well-conceived function, perfect

as a family weekender or an entertainment

platform. Outboards are the logical choice,

after all. —Charles Plueddeman

High Points

Versatile layout is good for socializing,

coving and light cruising.

Outboard power is easy to maintain, smooth

and so quiet.

Luxurious appointments include premium

upholstery and beautiful wood trim in the

cockpit and cabin.

Nice that the head is belowdecks so

guests don’t have to emerge directly to a

public space.

Low Points

Screens larger than 9 by 7 inches will not fit

the dash.

Only one brand of outboards is available.

It costs $4,400 to “upgrade” to white

outboards.

· LOA: 35'0" · BEAM: 10'10" · DISPLACEMENT

(APPROX.): 13,300 lb. · DRAFT (MAX): 3'5"

· TRANSOM DEADRISE: 19 degrees · BRIDGE

CLEARANCE: 9'0" · MAX CABIN HEADROOM:

6'2" · FUEL CAPACITY: 170 gal. · WATER

CAPACITY: 30 gal. · MAX HORSEPOWER: 800

· AVAILABLE POWER: Mercury Verado outboards

to 800 hp

Price: $319,231

T h e Horizon 350 OB

allows for entertaining

above or belowdecks

with equal convenience,

amenity and grace.

HOW WE TESTED

ENGINES: TWIN MERCURY VERADO 350 DRIVE/

PROPS: OUTBOARD/14.625" X 17" MERCURY

REVOLUTION 4 STAINLESS STEEL GEAR RATIO:

1.75:1 FUEL LOAD: 150 GAL. WATER ON BOARD:

0 GAL. CREW WEIGHT: 760 LB.

FOUR WINNS BOATS

Cadillac, Michigan; 231-775-1351; fourwinns.com

SPEED EFFICIENCY OPERATION

rpm knots mph gph^ naut. mpg stat. mpg n. mi. range range s. mi. angle levelsound

1000 4.34 5.00 2.40 1.81 2.08 277 319 0 57

1500 5.74 6.60 4.50 1.27 1.47 195 224 0 65

2000 7.47 8.60 6.40 1.17 1.34 179 206 1 68

2500 7.91 9.10 10.30 0.77 0.88 117 135 3 72

3000 8.95 10.30 15.80 0.57 0.65 87 100 4 71

3500 10.78 12.40 21.00 0.51 0.59 79 90 5 73

4000 13.99 16.10 25.80 0.54 0.62 83 95 7 76

4500 28.59 32.90 25.40 1.13 1.30 172 198 3 79

5000 33.02 38.00 31.00 1.07 1.23 163 188 2 81

5500 37.80 42.00 35.80 1.06 1.17 162 179 1 83

6000 40.15 46.20 44.20 0.91 1.05 139 160 1 85

6450 42.67 49.10 58.60 0.73 0.84 111 128 0 86

MOST ECONOMICAL CRUISING SPEED

56 | BOATINGMAG.COM | MARCH 2018