Four Winns H4

As any Great Lakes boater can tell you, going for a cruise in late October is not always the wisest decision.

If you’re lucky, you might get a nice ride on a pretty afternoon. However, you could end up soaked and freezing by the time you get back to the dock.

As luck would have it, the sky was grey and overcast but there was almost no wind when I arrived at the Groupe Beneteau test facility in Cadillac, Michigan, for a ride on the new 24-foot 2022 Four Winns H4. It was a pretty day, but as I stood on the dock, I still questioned how smart it was to show up with nothing but a light fleece vest to keep me warm.

The new Four Winns H4 tied at the dock was pointed out toward the open water and looked like it was straining at the dock lines while I reviewed the boat’s new options and features with Doyle VanderPol, who’s part of Groupe Beneteau’s marketing team.

Understated beauty

The 2022 Four Winns H4 is not a flashy boat. In fact, understated might be a better word. However, it’s a very pretty machine. The H4 is available in a variety of color schemes, but the test boat was dressed in a classy black and white combination with gray trim. The only flashy touch visible was the bright red boot stripe and red bottom — both part of Four Winn’s optional Elevate package.

But, the longer you look, the prettier the H4 gets. The boat’s fluid lines and curved windshield give it a sleek, go-fast appearance that is accentuated by its dark hull. No fancy graphics, no flashy colors; just one sleek, curvy and beautiful machine reminiscent of a fine 1960s Italian sports car. The H4 is just plain pretty.

Stepping aboard, it’s easy to see why Four Winns is still one of the most popular boats on the water. There are nice, sometimes simple and sometimes surprising touches throughout the boat that create a perfect balance of comfort, convenience and fun.

At the transom, the large swim platform features a thoughtfully designed swim ladder placed on an angle, which reaches well-below the surface. It’s designed so you don’t need to lift your foot above your head to perch on the bottom rung, and it does not create a negative angle while trying to climb up and out.

At either end of the large aft sunpad, the outboard sections convert into backrests. They can also be flipped out of the way to expose non-skid walkways so there’s no need to step on the upholstery to access the cockpit. Smart.

There is plenty of seating throughout the 24-footer, with unique and useful features hidden in plain sight. At the rear of the port and starboard combing, access panels hide trash receptacles, while two hinged seat cushions hide twin carry-on coolers. Another cushion hides and protects the boat’s battery switch and main breakers. On the test boat, a small, round port was visible just below one of the portside cushions. Although it’s an optional feature, it was one of my favorite discoveries on the 2022 H4. Look closely and you’ll discover a retractable extension cord that feeds an onboard battery charger. Whether the boat is tied up at the dock or sitting on the trailer for the night, simply pull out the cord and plug it into an ordinary 120V outlet to make sure there’s plenty of juice available for the next day’s adventures. Pretty smart.

Both the captain’s and passenger’s seats are adjustable, with flip-up bolsters for increased comfort and visibility. Here, Four Winns took something as simple as a seat adjustment and made it better. They added a foot pedal so there’s no need to crawl around on the floor to rotate the buckets. Brilliant.

Performance time

By the time I finished inspecting the boat, I was more than impressed with the 2022 Four Winns H4. However, one big question remained. Did the boat’s performance match its pretty appearance?

Although the H4 is available with either Volvo or Mercruiser engine packages, when I sat at the helm and hit the key, the test boat’s Mercruiser 6.2 litre, 350-hp engine matched with the new Bravo 4 outdrive came to life.

On the dash, the Simrad glass panel also came alive, showing the controls and readouts for the boats’ engine and navigation systems, as well as the controls for the JL Audio sound system.

Shifting the Bravo 4 drive into gear, I eased out a respectable distance from the dock before leaning on the throttle to push (or pull, I should say) the H4 up on plane. The boat jumped out of the water with very little bow rise before leveling off to race across Lake Cadillac.

It didn’t take long before I had my answer — the boat runs as nicely as it looks. Although the H4 was the only boat on the water during my cruise, there was a slight chop on the surface, which was just enough to get a feel for the ride. The boat made tight, flat turns across the light chop with no skipping or sliding. Whether turning at half throttle or full, I never felt the need to back off the throttle. The boat ran at 48 mph top speed and settled into a nice 25 mph cruise speed at 3000 RPM. After trying to make the boat misbehave, I gave up and headed across Lake Cadillac for a nice fall cruise before sliding back up to the dock.

The H4 is available with plenty of wakeboarding or surfing options like ballast bladders and tabs, lots of conveniences like USB ports and inductive phone chargers, and has enough style to make the heads of other boaters turn all day long. And, it even comes standard with a color-matched trailer.

Pretty smart, Four Winns. Pretty smart.