Help please with a 2004 342 performance question

campdavid67

I'm thinking of buying a 2004 Fiesta Vee 342 and took it for a sea trial.  The performance was less than I expected.  It has twin Volvo DP 5.7 liter Gi-e engines(280hp).  The boat came on plane quickly and nicely.  I was surprised that a comfortable cruise was at 4000rpm and pushing 25-26mph.  I though it would be slightly faster than that with lower rpm's.  If fact, the boat stated to loose plane at 3600rpm and I thought that cruise would be at 3600-3700 but wasn't.  At WOT I saw 4600 rpm and 34 mph.  Again, I thought that both of these would be higher.  We were in fresh water with 1 to 1.5 waves.  We never trimmed the engines up at all.  The broker representing the boat said not do this on these size boats- its too **** the hydraulics and too much stress on things.  Broker also felt that this is the correct  rpm's and speed for this boat.  Are these results correct?  If not, What should it be? Thanks for your help.

I'm thinking of buying a 2004 Fiesta Vee 342 and took it for a sea trial.  The performance was less than I expected.  It has twin Volvo DP 5.7 liter Gi-e engines(280hp).  The boat came on plane quickly and nicely.  I was surprised that comfortable cruise was at 4000rpm and pushing 25-26mph.  I though it would be slightly faster than that with lower rpm's.  If fact, the boat stated to loose plane at 3600rpm and I thought that cruise would be at 3600-3700 but wasn't.  At WOT I saw 4600 rpm and 34 mph.  Again, I thought that both of these would be higher.  We were in fresh water with 1 to 1.5 waves.  We never trimmed the engines up at all.  The broker representing the boat said not do this on these size boats- its too **** the hydraulics and too much stress on things.  Are these results correct?  If not, What should it be? - See more at: http://rinkerboats.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1336/performance-help-with-a-2004-342?new=1#sthash.TO0e7JOR.dpuf

TonyWalker

I think there is a way to private message my the address info.

Tony

l-skynyrd

Just one more thing to look at when the boat is out of the water is the props. Make sure they are the right size. The previous owner might have changed them to get a better hole shot which will effect the cruise and top speed. A call to Rinker or Volvo should get you the specs for what props came with the boat.

raybo3

On my 2002 342 with 350 mags at 3700 rpm I do about 33 mph.....

212rowboat

i would be a might suspicious of a broker who told me not to use something the boat was equipped with..... from the factory.... by an engineers design... and while providing warranty against failure.... i would be wondering why a line like that was shared while on a sea trial... 

campdavid67

Thanks so much for your answer.  I've seen many very similar results as yours from people listing for sale specs and from different test results.  I've told the broker this but he seems to think our results are standard and normal.  I was hoping someone with the same engine make and configuration will respond

campdavid67

Drewactual-  The owner was not there and the broker represents the owner. Maybe that is what the owner wants.  Not sure. I included that info on not trimming up the drives so to let people know the exact conditions we tested under.  Maybe, trimming them up would make a huge difference with that boat and someone could make me aware of that. Plus, I was trying to fish out if the broker was correct in saying the drives should be down all the way on this boat all the time.  I agree with you on this. Sounds like we both disagree with the broker. Thanks

Black_Diamond

There are a few volvo's on here to chime in. Trimming the drives makes a big difference. A bit of the trim tabs down smooths out the ride too.

MIKES342

I had 6.2 liter Engines with bottom paint 30 gallons water 3/4 tank of gas and everything the admiral could through on the boat which was more than most people could ever dream of. 40mph tabs fully up outsrives about 30 % up position. Oh yes bottom paint on as well, with bravo 3. Hope this helps. I wouldn't want to drive the boat in the fully down position. If you do you will hear the engine labor until you start to trim out. I always started with trim always in tabs down until I felt the boat plane then I would pull the tabs up depending on sea conditions but I normally ran the boat with the outsrives a min of 25% up

campdavid67

BLACK DIAMOND and MIKES342- I agree with using the drive trim. I'm going to take it out again and insist on trimming up the drives.  I am still confussed to why the boat can't hold plane at 3600rpm and cruise I feel is a high 4000rpm.  WOT is not that far away at 4600.  Still hoping someone will chime in with the exact same motor and drives.

MIKES342

 think if you will find that your RPMs will go up when you start triming the engine out and the speed will increase.  Good Luck

trich11

Our 2002/342 is running around 31-33 mph at 4000 RPM. I have made 40 at WOT and 44 down current on an angry Mississippi river!

Dream_Inn

I agree with everyone's comments, but I also believe with the drives down (not trim) that is should still stay on plane at 3600.  That would be a concern for me.  Not that you shouldn't trim, because you should, but it should still stay on plane without the trim as well.  What type of scenario do you have?  How much fuel?  how much water/waste?  How many people and crap on board?  Lastly, how clean does the bottom of the boat look?  that last question can make all the difference in the world.  If the boat has been sitting in the water for the last month and not used, that is your answer.

campdavid67

trich-  what drives and motor?

Dream_Inn-  We were at 3/4 full on fuel, 4 adults all at or under average(no football linemen), and my 8 and 6 year old.  Nothing crazy.  As for the holding tanks, not sure their status.  It didn't seem to have a lot of stuff.  But as you know, you sure can hide a lot of stuff in the holds.  Just had the boat pulled for a upcoming survey and the bottom wasn't all that bad.  Had the bottom powered washed and after the survey Im going to take it out and mess with both trim tabs and drive trim and watch results.

TikiHut2

DI probably hit the nail on the head with the bottom fouling. What may not look too bad can effect performance in a big way. Another critical thing missing is objective input from your surveyor who will certainly give you hands-on insight about those drives and engine performance. Do some through research on the engines and drives to learn what lifespan to expect and what quirks/issues are common.
Good luck in your search. Mike

raybo3

My guess is bottom also. I had a problem 3 year ago with growth on the bottom. 

TonyWalker

campdavid, I have a set of performance figures for the 06 with the 300 hp and the Volvo XDP drives.  My boat operated close to these figures, not quite as good but close.  If you can give me an address I will send you a copy if you would like.  These figures were generated on an '06 right here in Sarasota Bay.  What drives does this boat have?

Tony

Salt Shaker 342

campdavid67

Thank you all for the responses. It is out of the water and powered washed and will be survey tomorrow. It looks like from some of the reading and research that I did, the cruise and WOT speed are correct or very close.  The cruise RPM is somewhat high which might be due to a combination of bottom fouling and non use of engine trim.  While it is out I will look at props and other things and have a scheduled second sea trial where I will play with trim tabs and outdrive trim.  Again- thanks all for your interest and help.

Lifes Good

campdavid you mentioned GIs. just be sure its not osi dpx outdrives. if so your best bet is to walk away. google volvo penta dpx or osi..... before signing papers.

l-skynyrd

Was wondering how the second sea trial went?

TonyWalker

LG is sooo correct.  I think it was he who changed his OSI's to OceanX's and found that it was a different boat.

I had the same crappy drives and put up with them for almost 7 years.  They finally dumped on me (completely) during our loop trip in April this year.  Had to have the boat trucked back home as a practical matter.  Once back home I got rid of these very bad drives and did what LG did and installed OceanX's too.  Like LG, I found that I now have a different boat.  What a difference!

Bottom line be sure that what you are looking at is not equipped with the OSI drives.  I will put up a photo of them so you will know for sure what you are looking at.

Tony

Salt Shaker 342

TonyWalker

One more thing, the broker comment about not trimming the drives up makes it sound like they might be the OSI drives.  I had the same advice for mine (2006 model).

But the real reason for that advice was because the bellows was a real weak point because they could not be made large enough to properly accommodate the shafts that run thru them.  They would rub and wear thru them and then sea water would intrude and bingo, the gimbals would corrode on you and from there, things would get messy and expensive.

Trimming the drives up would all but guarantee this problem and bring it on even quicker.

I do not know what years Rinker was offering these crap drives but it might have included 2004 and for sure included 2006 because it sure affected me.

Tony

TonyWalker

Here are the problem drives off the boat and destined for the junk yard.

If these are the drives you are looking at, they will immediately and forever give you headaches.  If you purchase a boat with these drives, you should plan on replacing them as I finally did in my case. I also replaced the engines.  The driving points for new engines was that the old ones had to be removed anyway to install a brand new transom shield that would accommodate the new design drives, in my case the OceanX's.  And Volvo likes to sell drives and engines in sets so the price for the engines was not as bad as expected.

What I wound up with was a brand new boat in a 7 year old hull.  Totally different boat and a performer too.  This might not be a bad way for you to go if this is the situation and you get a price that would be attractive.

And all that new machinery comes with a two year warranty.

 

 

TonyWalker

And the new engines that replaced my 280 hp ones are 300 hp.

And the new machinery is much quieter than what it replaced.  Normal voices at 3600 rpms is all it takes to be heard.

TonyWalker

RY, are these better?

 

TikiHut2

Looks like art. Beeu T ful.

Black_Diamond

I believe you can get diesels with the ocean-x drives.

Black_Diamond

@RinkerYan, I have mercury Bravo III drives, so not an issue for me here.  lol  I can't speak much about the Bravo II..

Lifes Good

Tony your drives look great! my ox got painted as I am in 365. you are right on the above string! our boats are like better than new with these drives. I have 630 hrs on my twin 270's and they run strong. no oil burn and the oil maintains a nice gold color even after a 100 hrs or one year. I think its because I rarely run her over 4000 rpm. they sound great over 4000 but my fuel burn just goes in the tank. no pun intended.... 29knots is fast enough anyway...

LG

TonyWalker

LG,

I should have waited to take that picture.  The bottom has been painted since and it makes a big difference on how it looks.  The paint that is in the photo is 7 years old.  I painted the bottom because of the high salt content in our water here on the west side of FL.

I have a rule.  When the boat is in the water at the home dock, which qualifies as "boating" I either take the boat on a trip, length of trip does not matter or, I put her back on the lift within three days.  After about 5 days sitting still in this active water, things start to grow on the drives and other exposed underwater hardware.

I run my boat just about like you run yours and I think the original engines appreciated that.  However from the point of view of those engines it was irrelevant since they were run thru the crusher at an early age anyway.  They only had 900 hours on them.  The new engines currently have less than 10 hours on them.

I hope my new engines break in and give me the same good service yours are.  Right now I put her on 3600 RPM's all I can but I have to idle cruise and slow cruise quite a distance before I can put her on plane.  With the new set up, getting her on plane is painless compared to the original set up.  Very little bow rise and with "gentle" throttle use, she goes from displacement to plane in a heartbeat.

Tony

Salt Shaker 342

Dream_Inn

I've got BIIs and they work quite well!