Feedback on 2011 model 310- Good, bad & ugly

strick

Hi All,

New to the forum.  Former Larson 280 owner (twin 4.3 Merc) and am looking to get back into cruiser boating.  Located in Melbourne FL. 

I have been looking at 2006-2008 Four Winns 318 and 338 models, trying to get a clean, mercruiser-drive, well-equipped 338 for under $100k. Getting close, but I came across a 2011 Rinker 310 model, and that really caught my interest, althought it is a bit smaller than the 338. Have not been a fan of the older Rinker models (no offense), but the new style looked like a great design.  Would love a boat with the Axius drives and a hard top for about the same price as a 2008 Four Winns 338 with bow thruster and digital drives, so now I'm doing my "Rinker Research", so to speak.   Would love to hear from 310 owners on their experiences.  Thanks in advance!!!
 

Dream_Inn

Welcome to the site!  There are several of the newer 310 Rinker owners here that I'm sure will chime in.  (I'm a prior owner of the older 310 ('02) - loved it, but everyone has their own likes/dislikes).  Let me add that the older 318 may be more than a foot bigger than the newer Rinker 310.  I'm trying to remember exactly when the model number started matching the length overall.  Also compare the beam, which can make a huge difference in the layout and feel of the boat.

My father had a larson and it was good boat.  I'd say Rinkers and FWs are comparable to each other and a notch up from Larson.

Good luck with your findings & I'm sure someone here will help out.

Michael T

strick, to be clear you are talking about the Rinker EC 310 not the Fiesta Vee 300 (sometimes referred to as a 310) correct? If you are talking about the EC 310 I have lots of feedback for you. I have a 2013, a friend has a 2012 and an acquaintence has a 2011. Feel free to send me a message. MT

strick

Michael T said:

strick, to be clear you are talking about the Rinker EC 310 not the Fiesta Vee 300 (sometimes referred to as a 310) correct? If you are talking about the EC 310 I have lots of feedback for you. I have a 2013, a friend has a 2012 and an acquaintence has a 2011. Feel free to send me a message. MT

Yes, I am talking about the new 310 EC model.  Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

bmax

I have a 2011 EC 310 which was bought new in 2012, this is our second summer in the water (Canada eh)  and have had nothing but good things to say about this boat so far.  I have had a small issue with my trim cylinders (Volvo) but it was repaired under warranty at our marinas facility which is a Volvo dealer. My 3 previous cruisers were Maxums with the last an 08 2900 being nothing but trouble from day 1. If I had to pick out a problem the worst I can think of is the quality of the foam in the seats, cockpit and cabin, and the sometimes troublesome Faria tachs. We have only got 68 hrs of running time on the boat but have probably spent 75 or so nights on it. I haven't seen any spider cracking showing up in the gel coat yet and find the handling to be a lot more stable than our Maxum was. The layout of the boat is awesome and if we reupholster the seats it will probably be a boat we keep for some time.

bmax

Michael T

Hello Bmax and strick. I sent a bunch of comments on the EC 310 straight to strick but failed to mention that the dealer (Len's Cove) recommended a Rinker seat upholstery fabric called "diamante" it is amazing. Another guy in the area ordered a 2012 Rinker with it and loves it too. I would definately look for it on any future boat purchase. P.S. I didn't post my comments to strick to this thread as it was a pretty long e.mail but if anyone wants to see it I certainly don't mind if strick forwards it or posts it as my comments are not confidential and are, in my opinion, very positive.MT