Newbie in the Rinker World... HELP OUT !!!!

DJNiki4

Hi guys, 

I am about to be a newbie in the Rinker World.  I am going to see a boat on Sunday and hopefully leave a deposit.  The boat is 2005 Rinker Fiesta Vee 342

Its priced below the market price for a quick sale. 

She has newer canvas and low Engine Hours: 290//345. 

Remodeled head with a stall shower.

Bow thruster!!! 

Garmin navagation 942xs 1 year old. 

 (BRAND NEW OCEAN-X OUTDRIVES – replaced composites – 2018)

*** My question is,  I've never had Volvo engines and their drives. . . this model has the 5.7s OSi with Brand new Ocean-X Drives****

What are your toughs on that set up?  

I've always had MerCruiser with bravo 3's!!! 

Any toughs/recommendation to look for on this boat please let me know... I currently own a Sea ray 300 SunDancer. 

Thanks

Nick  

DJNiki4

Michael T

The 342 is a great hull! very good news that the Volvo drives have been up-graded.

The bow thruster is a nice addition and worth a lot of $$$$$

You are having a survey and sea trial done?

DJNiki4

@Michael T
Sunday i am going to see it if i like what i see will leave a deposit and schedule a sea trial... i am just not very familiar with the volvos and the ocean x drives 

MarkB

Why is there 55 hour difference on the engines?

DJNiki4

@MarkB
Thats is something i am going to find out on Sunday once i meet with the seller. 

LaRea

Welcome to the forum!  

VP engines have a solid reputation.  The only downside is that in some places, it's harder to find an experienced VP mechanic (compared to Merc).  

On the other hand, VP composite outdrives do not have a good reputation.  In my marina, the running joke is that they should come with a spare outdrive.  It's good to see that the boat has new drives.

Is the engine room really as clean as it looks in that photo?  If so, that's a great sign!  An owner that keeps the ER clean probably keeps up with all of the other maintenance too.

Look for carpet stains in the cabin (water leaks) and flex/springiness in the swim platform (evidence of water in the structure).

Liberty44140

Could be that the key was left on for a couple of days. Or an engine could have been replaced under warranty or something like that in the first year. A Volvo mechanic with VODIA software can plug in for you and confirm whether or not the hour difference is really 55 hr. If it was just the key on then the plug in will give you real hours.

I would not be scared at all to buy this package if things check out. The fact that you have brand new drives, no matter the brand, is awesome! That is huge. As for the engines do a software plug in to see any faults or alarms and have a compression and leak down test done. If that checks out they are in good shape. One thing I like about the Volvo is how easy it is to change the impeller. What took me hours on Mercruiser will take you minutes. Volvo parts are indeed more expensive and less available than Merc but its not a deal breaker problem. My neighbors have twin Volvo 5.0's and are very happy, the local mechanic has never had an issue getting parts and their bill's are not too different than mine were with the Merc.

If its a good deal and the survey and engine check out I'd go for it. Also dont forget to run the generator under load (A/C, range, water heater on) for at least an hour, preferably during the entire sea trial, to make sure it can handle. If it die's with a load then there may be some issues.

LaRea

Don't trust the hour meters on the Faria tachometer.  The only way to find out real hours is hook up an engine computer.  

Faria tachs have a well-known problem that if you turn on the ignition to run the stereo, it sometimes makes the hour meter run (even though the engine is not running).

DJNiki4

@LaRea
i thought the engine room looks like **** comparing to mine ... here’s a pic of my current boat engine room 

aero3113

Welcome to the forum! Good luck and congratulations if all goes well.

Michael T

@DJNiki4 - you sure have kept your present engine room clean! You may consider yourself "a newbie in the Rinker world" but you sure look like a great captain to me. If all else checks-out on that 342 I bet that engine room will soon look great!

John41

Make sure you run the AC for a while. When I bought mine the surveyor said it was working but when I got the boat to my slip it wasn’t keeping it cool. Cost me 2000 for a new one

DJNiki4

@Michael T I scrub and wash top to bottom every time I come back to the dock I wash the whole boat.  The bilge has been bone dry like the desert all season.. I really don’t want to sell my 300 it’s great boat and I’m second owner but someone offered me a price that I cannot say no to ... they’re making their decision after the boat show this weekend so we shall see ... here’s a full pic of my current boat 

DJNiki4

@john41 **** that’s a bummer !!! I for sure will be overloading the whole boat if getting a survey

John41

Nice boat!!! I think you will love the 342

DJNiki4

I just hope I don’t have issues with the outdrives ... I don’t drive much maybe 4-8 hrs per weekend and I only throw anchor and hang out ... 

YYZRC

I had a 5.7 Volvo with DP-SM in my Four Winns and it was great; reliable and easy to work on.  Little things on the Volvo version of the engine seem to be better designed (in my opinion) vs Merc.  The impeller housing, for example.

Good luck with the purchase!

John41

What issues would you have?

DJNiki4

@John41
i was told that year had the xpd drives and to
Make sure that boat has been re powered. One of my buddy bought the same boat and Volvo had a recall on the outdrives, even with the recall, he paid  20-30 grand out of pocket to re power the boat. I want to say the out drives that were bad were XDP’s but don’t quote me on that. After about 700-900 hours the out drives will lock up. Again this is something I read and my buddy went though 🤷🏻‍♂️

John41

Yes I believe you’re right.... my boat had the same crappy Volvo outdrives but I just had the new ocean x put on. I heard they are awesome 

LaRea

@DJNiki4 - seeing your ER, it's clear that you'll fit in well with the crowd here on the Rinker forum.  Good luck this weekend!

DJNiki4

@LaRea
thank you .... I’ve always had sea ray but will see ...  

@John41
have u used your boat since putting the ocean x on .. that’s what this boat has ocean x 2 years old so it might be a good thing... I do know for a fact that risers and manifolds will need to be replaced they are about 8 years old owner has been using the neutra system ... which I had no clue that even existed until now lol 😂 

rasbury

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your survey! 

John41

No I haven’t used the boat yet. I can’t wait to try them out

DJNiki4

@john41 they look like a serious machinery 

andyd

Don't bother painting the Ocean X drives. The paint won't stick. Personal experience. The drive is great, 4 years usage.

Andy

DJNiki4

UPDATE *** on Sunday i was on about to leave my house to go see the boat,  but someone had already put a deposit on it =/ 

Liberty44140

Sorry DJNiki4, the boat market is crazy right now, even with the economy becoming less certain. Definitely a sellers market. The good news is that they keep coming up for sale as the weather warms so something else will come your way....

rasbury

Things always work out for a reason....I would have thought if you were getting a survey done you would already have a deposit on it pending good out come of the survey?

John41

**** don’t give up... something better is in your future.