Old Member New Boat

[R6outboard]

Hello all. Wanted to post a few pictures of my new boat. Have about 8 hours on it now. So far so great. 2023 R4 coming from 21 R6 outboard.

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[Big Block Power]

Wow cool. Why the dock. Tell us your thoughts. Pros and cons. Nice bb!

[billk2632]

Ok, I was thinking that is a nice looking R4, then I scrolled down and saw the 8.2 - Nice!

[AsLan7]

Yeah baby. 8.2 mag in her. Love it!

[milkerson10]

Beautiful boat, love the color

[Krob1114]

Wow, nice.
Is a name change in order?

[R6outboard]

Wow, nice.
Is a name change in order?

Thank you. Think so and working on it. See what I can come up with. Apparently was not feeling creative when I took R6outboard. Maybe see if R4stern is taken?

[R6outboard]

Couple more pics I found.... Appreciate the nice comments. 8.2 seems like it was a good call. Will post a detailed review and comparison to the R6. Also can touch on reasons I changed it up and different options I chose this go around. Really happy with the boat. Motor is great but still on break in.... I would say I am most impressed with the sound of the 8.2. It's great... and sounds pretty mean if you lean on it. Wife and kids there at the end enjoying the new boat.

Have a good holiday weekend.

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[Krob1114]

Cute girls. Nothing like a proud Dad!

[tdryan]

Impressive boat all up; congratulations! Lucky girls (proud papa)

[Big Block Power]

Man that's sexy

[R6outboard]

Finally circling back. Wish i could say i have been busy on my boat but unfortunately been all work and no play. A least 3 weeks since i have been out and do not see anything changing soon. Damn it!

THE BOAT- I changed up from a 21 R6 outboard to this 23 R4 stern. They are very different boats in some respects but also very similar. I specked both of them about 80% the same so the colors and materials were known variables. Used my "experience" on the 21 to make some changes on the 23. Biggest change would be the power and layout. I still think the r6 and r8 outboards have the best interior layout. I was willing to give that up in hopes of a better configuration for the family. Long and short, wife and the kids didn't like the motor hanging off the back. Was too in the way as I recall. That is what started the whole switch up. The super strong boat market helped me decide also. Was able to sell my 21 for a good bit more than I paid and decided to do it all over again. Sold the R6 in August of last year and ordered the r4 soon after. Received the new boat about march.

GARMIN- This time around I chose the larger Garmin screens. Very happy with the selection for the upgrade price. Seems to make a huge difference in terms up usability. Dont get me wrong the 7" screens are fine and still usable. Larger screens just are easier to read at a glance. Honestly id be happy with just one large unit. I use it most for the chart plotter. The units in my 23 boat do a few differnt chart plotters views. Still playing around with those to see which i like the best.

BIMINI- Big change here. R6 had the tower with the permanent rotating shade. Also had the front shade sail and rear shade sail for the tower. I like the look of the tower and felt the price was justified considering build quality. Shade sails were ok. Felt the rear sail was worth it. Both were well made but the front sail was really too small to function well.

New R4 boat has the easy fold Bimini. Main issus for the selection is my new garage height. Worried about making the boat fit! I have been running late afternoon into evening so had not opened the bimini till recently. I can say the guage of the metal frame is stout and very well made. Easy to open and was surprised by the size. It is as big as the the rotating tower shade on the R6 or bigger. Most likely will take the bimini off during the fall, winter and spring months. Want the fast boat look.

I can mention that the tower shook alot on my R6 when going over larger wake. Was surprised at how much the boat gunwals would shake after a big wake. Was not worried about it just not what i expected to see. That said now that i have the R4. Wonder how the weight up high effects the drive of the boat. R4 feels a lot more nible that the R6. Found this suprising for they are similar weights and the R4 is only 1.5ft shorter.. Think the tower and its weight does effect the way the boat drives. Makes sense though.

MOTOR 8.2 MERC- Started cause i wanted the 300…My dealer advised against this mainly for resale if i were ever to sell. I was under the impression most of the extra power of the 350 comes mid to later rpm over the 300. Merc talk only. Felt like pocketing the @7k difference and going 300. So was thinking 300 or 380 only. Did some research and read a bunch of threads here. I liked the low rpm cruise and sounds the 8.2 puts out. Also liked the 8.2 has closed cooling. I know the merc is heavy so considered the VP 380 breifly or even jumping to the merc 430 to ofset weight. However after reading the merc 380 puts out more low end torque than the 430 wasnt really interested. Im sure the faster boat is the VP 380 but was comfortable with the merc.

Went with my gut. Merc 380. Couldnt be happier unless i had captains call. Boat is really quick to plane and feels very sporty. Think not getting the tower was a good call in terms of handling.

R6 OUTBOARD- Felt like mentioning the Merc 300 outboard was an awesome engine. It really was super quiet. All around impressively quiet and really effeicent. Can see an arguement for enjoying nature more. Along with music while cruisng. The R6 was night and day different sound wise. Also feel like mentioning that i feel there is a lot more storage space on the R6 over the R4. Dont miss the bathroom but have noticed im going to max out all the storage on the R4.

OTHER OPTIONS—

HEATER- worth it. happy i got it.
H/K SOUND- Verdict is still out. Possible these speakers need a break in….Think the Rosewell was a little bit better. Will report back at some point. Think the value is in the JL system because platnium sounds price jumped a good bit since 21. Again not sure yet. Rosewell was 10/10. Currently put the H/K at 8.5.
SKI POLE- Glad the stern comes standard with one. Did not select for the R6. Should have.
WOOD PACKAGE- I think it is worth the price. Nice option.
TWO TONE- steering wheel. Think it is $120. Great option of the price.
PAINTED BOTTOM- Will see how that goes over time. I do like the look. Seems to make the black sided boat look more sporty. My R6 was black sides and white bottom.

Very happy with the R4. Thought the loss of the bathroom would be upsetting to my young kids but it is not. They like the sun pad at the back and seems the stern layout is good for us. And the lack of motor hanging there is nice. The larger Cobalt step is great.

[lghtspeedz]

Nice boat! Just curious… did you consider a R6 stern drive? Other than sportier, how is the ride in rough water? How was the ride in the R6 OB?

I have a hard time choosing the right size so I’m curious how they compared in your mind.

[kas232ca]

Those colors are awesome! Thanks for the detailed report too.

[R6outboard]

Nice boat! Just curious… did you consider a R6 stern drive? Other than sportier, how is the ride in rough water? How was the ride in the R6 OB?

I have a hard time choosing the right size so I’m curious how they compared in your mind.

Thanks.

I did not consider the R6 stern but I would if I went back to bat. Most likely land on the R4 again. Here is why. I usually find myself alone on the boat. Also would like to trailer to some other near by lakes. The R4 is a little smaller than the 6 however not much. Think 1.5' shorter... So the argument could be made for either depending on your needs. Would guess they are within 10% of each other in size and mass. So negligible in my opinion in terms of trailing size.

First time I saw my R6 (dealership didnt have any R6 or bigger boats; saw a SC23 and was working off of that when I ordered). I was shocked at how big it was. I was basically shopping off my computer. Same issue happened when I saw the R4. Wow that's a big boat. Not much smaller than the R6. Hah.

Anyhow would say the R6 road a bit smoother in the chop. Would give the R6 a 9 out of 10. The R4 a 8 to 8.5. I feel the same ride can be achieved with more trim tab on the R4. The R4 seems more responsive or sporty however recall I have no tower this go around so less weight up high and a stronger motor so all makes sense. Would guess my center of gravity is a decent bit lower on the R4 due to the massive engine sitting lower than say the outboard.

Id say get the R6 if you want a little better ride and more storage space. Plus you get the bathroom if you need it. I wanted a smaller boat. I guess I got it but honestly doesn't seem much smaller. IF I went R6 maybe would go no tower again and do the 430 to keep as much as the same feel I have going in the R4.