My fling on Four Winns’ new Fling jetboat was just that – a brief affair, a chance encounter with a curvaceous beauty.
It was fun because the boat, like a water strider, takes pleasure in skittering along the surface and changing direction with little more encouragement than shifting the gum in your mouth. It also likes being flung hard over in either steering direction, which causes a white-knuckle spinout, but with reasonable recovery once the pump gulps another swallow of water to build up the pressure. The Fling can be finessed to turn fairly tight corners without spinning. It can be run at comfortable, moderate cruising speedsthough flat out seems to be where it spends most of its time.
Good maneuverability
The Fling is built on a shortened version of the company’s Stable-Vee hull configuration. Basically the Stable-Vee extends the running surface of the hull on either side of the drive unit out to the end of the molded-in swim platform. I drove a preproduction Fling and couldn’t find anything to gripe about. It planes quickly, with just a bit of bow rise. It is maneuverable at slow speeds and turns as it should. With the Stable-Vee configuration, the jet pump (which draws in water and forces it out to provide thrust) is neatly tucked up under the the full-width swim platform.
The TurboJet, OMC’s biggest jet package at 115 horsepower, was the force behind the Fling I tested. The 90-horsepower TurboJet is standard on this boat, with the 115-horsepower V-4 offered as a $400 option. The 115 is based on an old, cross-flow V-4 powerhead displacing 99.6 cubic inches. It has oil injection and delivers 680 pounds of static thrust.
Easy clean-out pump
One particularly nice feature of the jet pump is the clean-out design. Because these boats can operate in some shallow-water conditions they will surely suck up weeds and debris into the pump. The engineers at OMC have provided the clean-out feature that can be accomplished with the boat in the water. The procedure is to open two clips on either side of the pump housing, then slide the housing aft to open a space big enough to reach in and clean out the bowl and impeller.
The mechanism operates smoothly and provides a safety feature that will not allow the parts to move even if the ignition is engaged accidentally. I learned a trick to sliding the pump housing back and forth, too, which makes the procedure quite effortless. Turn the steering nozzle all the way to the left, unclip the fasteners, then push the nozzle to the right and the housing comes aft. To close, just push the nozzle back to the left and it closes the clean-out gap. This procedure is also used to attach the freshwater flushing unit to clean saltwater out of the system while the boat is on the trailer.
To keep things quiet, OMC is using a quarter-wave resonator (a type of boat muffler that tones down the sound of the exhaust). It is a rather bulky container arrangement at the rear of the powerhead with a capped, tuned pipe also visible. The exhaust is routed down through the drive, where it exits on both sides of the pump housing so as to not interfere with reverse thrust. By the way, OMC rates the reverse thrust on this unit at 190 pounds, more than three times that of the competition. In addition to the isolation engine mounts, the engine and pump mechanisms are isolated with a vibration coupler. The engine package seems very smooth, and I didn’t notice any undue vibration. Since this outboard powerhead is now being used an an inboard, some things had to be changed to meet Coast Guard certification for such duty. One noticeable item is the sealed enclosure for the oil-injection pump, which even had to undergo burn testing to withstand high heat for sustained periods.
Sleek, sporty design
The interior configuration of the Fling is in keeping with other sporty runabouts in the jetboat scene. It has a three-across bench seat, a side console, a little sundeck and a bow seating cushion. Four Winns has, however, added its own brand of tricks that set the Fling apart. The co*ckpit is self-bailing with a gutter under the center-seat cushion leading to the bilge.
Between the three seat cushions on the aft bench are grab handles, a great idea considering this boat’s penchant for radical maneuvers. There also are numerous other grab handles scattered about.
Four Winns offers a cushion arrangement to transform the bow area into a big sun lounge or casting deck for those folks who will use this boat for fishing. Also offered as options are pedestal fishing seats and appropriate deck hardware, a Bimini top, lifting rings, boarding ladder and a ski-tow pylon, all of which were included on our test boat. With the sheer number of versatile options available, the Fling is a model of utility. It’s also quite comfortable and very stable at rest.
The Fling’s helm is simple, with only two instruments mounted – speedometer and fuel gauge. Three rocker switches to the lower left of the wheel control the bilge pump, blower and lights. The stereo deck flanks the wheel on the right in its own enclosure. A little padded eyebrow shades the gauges. A convenient drink holder is within the driver’s reach atop the dash, plus there is an expandable flip-open beverage holder on the port side of the helm console. There is ample legroom under the dash, and the seating position seemed ideal.
Ample storage room
The TurboJet engine fits neatly under the engine cover/sun lounge pad and takes up the center of three bins, the outboard two providing plenty of room for storage. The hatch lifts with the assist of two gas struts. On the starboard side area is a small, portable cooler held in place with deck chocks and nylon web strap. The port side area contains the oil-injection tank, battery and added storage space. There really is no onboard storage space for the optional filler piece due to its obtuse shape and size. It’s something that either has to be in place or left in the tow vehicle until needed.
There are plenty of reasons for owning one of these boats. It is a boat that will provide plenty of fling potential, can be towed behind almost any vehicle and won’t take up much space in the garage. The Four Winns’ Fling also would make an excellent tender for a larger boat. Above all things, it’s lots of fun.
