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Owned an R3 that I sold 3 years ago and boy do we miss it! I had bought the R3 as a leftover, so as optioned. We are looking to order an R4 just the way we want it, but of course budget is a concern to get Admiral approval. A few questions, do I need trim tabs on an R4? Didn't have them on my R3, dealer says not needed but i've read otherwise. Prem vs Plat sound system. How big a difference is this option? We do not do water sports or want a tower, we do listen to music but are rarely blasting it. Interior color, I'm between the Summit / Frost & Slate / Frost. Leaning frost slate for a different look, had summit mocha on my R3. Exterior is going to be Navy / Navy with slate stripe & black badge, grey trac mat floor.

Here's my 2 cents:
- Trim Tabs are an option that once you have them, you can't live w/o them, but if you've never had them you don't know what you're missing. We didn't option them on our R6 build. I've only wished I had them once, and that's when I had a full boat and everyone was on the Starboard side, so there was a noticeable (only to me) list. And even then that was more about keep the boat level and easier to maneuver than people on the boat being uncomfortable. Keep in mind that trim tabs are an easy after purchase upgrade, so you can always buy w/o it and after a season you figure you need them, they're pretty easy to add on after the fact.
- We optioned the premium sound and are very happy with it. Would an extra sub and bigger speakers be better? Absolutely, but I'm still happy with the sound out of the premium package. This past weekend we were in a cove and had the volume up. Could easily enjoy the music from over 50 feet away. Quickly realized we were "those" people and turned the music down to more reasonable levels.

We are also wondering if we want the arch with sunshade, pricey option just for shade but it looks great

We got the arch with Bimini shade and not the rotating one. I agree, the rotating one is nicer looking, but we're happy with ours. We keep our boat in a slip on a lift, so we don't have to fold the tower down ever. So the convenience of the rotating shade is lost on us. We put up the Bimini mid may and will leave it up until the end of the season.

We got the folding sunshade, if we didn't have to lower our tower to get our boat into the garage we would've gone with the regular. Something we've noticed with new arches beging taller, it seems like you get less coverage from the sun. We were also told that the folding sunshade is bigger then the regular bimini on the tower, but it doesn't look like it is at all.

I have a R5 and had the dealer install tabs a year later. I don't use them for bow/stern trim but with the layout of the R I/Os people tend to sit on the port side and the tabs come in very handy to offset the lean.

VTENGR wrote: Wed Jul 20, 2022 9:26 am We got the arch with Bimini shade and not the rotating one. I agree, the rotating one is nicer looking, but we're happy with ours. We keep our boat in a slip on a lift, so we don't have to fold the tower down ever. So the convenience of the rotating shade is lost on us. We put up the Bimini mid may and will leave it up until the end of the season.

Same here, except we don't even take bimini down in the winter. I just clean it good with extended wand brush.

Do I dare ask if 300 is enough? Seems like everyone says get at least 350 but it seems like a lot of $ for a few mph

sbrit88jr wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:26 pm Do I dare ask if 300 is enough? Seems like everyone says get at least 350 but it seems like a lot of $ for a few mph

Do you ever ask yourself? Man I wish I had that smaller engine!

Big Block Power wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:45 pm

sbrit88jr wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:26 pm Do I dare ask if 300 is enough? Seems like everyone says get at least 350 but it seems like a lot of $ for a few mph

Do you ever ask yourself? Man I wish I had that smaller engine!

I know, dealer says 300 is quicker to get on plane than 350 because of weight, said only diff is 2 mph top end? 380 is out of budget or that sounds like perfect match

sbrit88jr wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 7:45 pm

Big Block Power wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:45 pm

sbrit88jr wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:26 pm Do I dare ask if 300 is enough? Seems like everyone says get at least 350 but it seems like a lot of $ for a few mph

Do you ever ask yourself? Man I wish I had that smaller engine!

I know, dealer says 300 is quicker to get on plane than 350 because of weight, said only diff is 2 mph top end? 380 is out of budget or that sounds like perfect match

Please explain the meaning of this word "budget". Sometimes my English is not so good.

sbrit88jr wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 7:45 pm

Big Block Power wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:45 pm

sbrit88jr wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:26 pm Do I dare ask if 300 is enough? Seems like everyone says get at least 350 but it seems like a lot of $ for a few mph

Do you ever ask yourself? Man I wish I had that smaller engine!

I know, dealer says 300 is quicker to get on plane than 350 because of weight, said only diff is 2 mph top end? 380 is out of budget or that sounds like perfect match

The only way I would jump was if I were going to the 380.. The VP 6.2 has more punch than the 5.3 300/350hp, its as close to a big block as a person can get without going to Merc, which I would also do just to get a big block.

I have an R3 with the 300 and it moves the boat along with no issues. THe only thing it does that I might change is the cruising RPM is a little higher that I like, but its' what the engine is designed to do. It's good out of the hole and in the mid range, it's nice an torquey. As for top end, I wouldn't worry about 2mph other than bragging rights. It's rare that water conditions allow for a flat out speed run in my neck of the woods. Most of the time cruising above 30mph results in a pretty rough ride.

BUT, in the R4 which is almost 900lbs heavier, I would step up the 350 as a base. I don't know if the 380 would provide much more performance.

Kinda what I’m thinking as I was always happy with the 300 in my R3, but who doesn’t want more power. I’m gonna price it out with the 380 cause why not

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So glad you found us s88

Big fan of tabs for balancing the boat port and starboard with folks on board. I wouldn’t have a deeper the hull without them

350HP seems like a sweet spot for that size.

Bimini is a must for the admiral.

And welcome aboard mate!

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