what about this boat?

212rowboat

Just remember, its a business transaction until she's yours.. the you can fall in love, if you want.. :-)

Black_Diamond

A texan derating a texan: must be bad. lol

rasbury

I will chalk it up to experience...now I have another issue with regards to my truck.  I am not real sharp on the different type of hitches....I understand class III, I thought I understood class IV and I am familiar with 5th wheel and goose necks......I had done some research while leading up to the boat and that is the truck I need. I have bought an F150 super crew with a 5.4L and a 3.73 rear end which is rated to tow 9900 lbs. I have heard all the arguments that this is borderline but have also talked with several folks towing Rinker and similar boats that use the same truck without an issue.  Would I want to haul it to Alaska with it: no, but here in Fl. to splash the boat at the marina or tow in my area I am comfortable with that decision so that is not the question. The question is, before I bought it I went to U Haul to get a price on what I thought was a class IV hitch and got all that info...when I went to have it installed this am I was informed it was a class III weight distribution hitch rated to 9000 lbs. Also, with this type hitch you can't use surge brakes and must have electric so things have once again changed up on me...I'm at the break out another thousand and don't have the boat yet!  What types of hitches do you all use? What kind of tounge weight am I dealing with on these rigs???? (270)

212rowboat

Distribution hitches are nice to change the attitude of the load... It gets weight off the rear and pushes it forward, and helps hugely with steering.. just make sure its right, or you'll eat front tires and brakes like its cool.. but its not cool.. its hot.. hot is your enemy.

Surge brakes are of the devil.. right there with peas and tyranny.. you'll be much better pleased with electric brakes and a controller.. uhaul can set it up for you in ten minutes, and you'll never ever want surge brakes again.. your truck may kiss you too.. right on the lips.. they're a good way to beat a truck to death quickly.

The trailer set up is crucial.. make sure its right, if the trailer isn't custom for the boat, or set up by a guru. The winch tree's location will alter your tongue weight.. an inch forward or aft is a big deal.. aim for a window of ten to twenty percent, and closer to ten on that half ton tow'r...

Keep total load added all together with a ten percent padding.. for the love of God, make certain your tires are e rated.. buy a ir heat gun and check tire temps across the tread.. you'll want it even. Play with pressures to adjust..

Be careful and have fun.. you're gonna be fine..

rasbury

10-4.....I do have a friend that knows a lot about big boats and will rely on him to steer me in the right direction.....sounds like I'm keeping up with it though.....now where is my boat! I even got a call today on the boat I have for sale, hope something comes of it!

thanks

rasbury

ah, I wish.......plus I really want to be able to trailer- we have so many places here in Fl to go......

rasbury

well, don't want to jinx myself, but, looks like I will be meeting a surveyor and looking at a boat on Saturday, and this one thankfully is in Fl!

TikiHut2

Any pics or a link?

Here's an '03 270 with a bow thruster and the ideal Merc closed cooling 6.2 that came up in Ft Myers (LINK)

Dream_Inn

Good luck ras. You are definitely more prepared this time around.

JoeStang

TikiHut2 said:

Any pics or a link?

Here's an '03 270 with a bow thruster and the ideal Merc closed cooling 6.2 that came up in Ft Myers (LINK)

Wow, thats a REALLY clean boat with nice options for a good price. Up here in Michigan that's $40k+ easily.

TikiHut2

While my boat is nice enough, if I was looking to replace it that was one that would be on my short list with all the perks.  It'll be interesting to see what Ras ends up with.

rasbury

how come I don't see the link Tiki? The one I am looking at is the closed cooling, however, I'm reading that there is a "half" and "full" closed cooling.....maybe the merc only has one but don't see that anywhere....the half does the block but raw water still goes through the manifold which makes no sense to me.......the seller of the boat I was trying to schedule with is not returning emails so it may have been sold so interested in that link!

rasbury

ah,...I see it, just hit the link! duh! no gen set though?

TikiHut2

Didn't look real close at it but it was just a quick Craigslist search for "Rinker 270 2003-2005" that I do now/then when I remember.

When I was looking I culled out turds, trash and 270's w/o most of the options and focused on low hour Mercruisers . Yachtworld, craiglslist and google were my go-to searchs from East of the Misississippi and N to the great lakes until I luckily found the TikiHut about 40mi from our house. It was under contract but I told the broker to call me if the deal faltered. 3 days later I made a low offer based on a survey and was laying down the deposit.

I wasn't concerned about a trailer knowing I could find/repair/tweak one. Glad I was patient and didn't buy too far out of state now. Looking back I haven't seen a deal as good as we'd found since, although I search far less often.

Keep us informed and if I/we see something with potential I'll post it. Good luck, Mike

Good luck

rasbury

10-4-my survey was delayed until a week from Saturday, just as well, pretty darn cold! What about my question on the fresh water cooling above, does merc have two types that I have seen described?

Black_Diamond

There is a pure raw water cooling system and a closed loop system. The latter uses antifreeze like your car, but has a water to water heat exchanger that uses the raw/sea water for dumping the heat.

Dream_Inn

And to add to BD's comments, the latter also still uses raw water for the risors/manifolds. In FL, you definitely want the fresh water so you don't get the raw water thru your engines. In salt water, it probably is best to still flush the part that will be raw water. I'm sure Tiki can tell you more about that. I have the fresh water engines with raw water thru my risers/manifolds. I'm in a brackish water, but I don't rinse it each time.

TikiHut2

If I'm running/immersing any eqt for the boat/trailer with raw/salt water it gets a nice long freshwater flush after every use. Nothing lasts forever, but like my salty old exterior I can delay the inevitable with good hygiene. I think it was some eccentric Canadian Crooner that coined the phrase "Rust never sleeps".

With that said I'd rather that my boat had the closed cooling(for the engine block) 6.2 Merc w/B-III. It seems to be the "ideal" powerplant for the 270, closely followed by a typical raw water pumping 5.7 350 Merc w/B-III which is what the TikiHut runs. Exhaust manifolds create enormous heat and require high volumes of water. As far as I know there's no way to chill that with a closed cooling system. Although I've already been wrong once this year so far.

Either one makes a wake just fine. If I had two boats with these engines side by side I'd choose the one with less hours and a better maintenance record rather than exclusively thinking the closed cooling will prevent problems from a lack of attn to preventative maintenance.

Keep shopping, get your cash ready and good luck. Mike

TikiHut2

That's good stuff but I'd go through drums of it every season. Since I trailer our 270 I always wash it after each use and run fresh water to each component (engine/genset/AC) to normal running temps and then another 10mins +/- right after I get to the shop. The trailer gets a serious bath after each launch and after each retrieval thanks to a free freshwater tap at our county ramp.

Salt's a tough environment but not the acid bath that sweetwater boaters envision if you faithfully follow a few tried/true maintenance steps. My saltwater boats won't be around for museum pieces but with the way technology is advancing I'll figure on re-powering every 15-yrs anyway.

Thanks for the heads up on the salt away. Mike

212rowboat

there is a launch within a couple hundred yards of my house into the ICW.. I really wealthy family leases the property to the city, who charges residents for annual use ($50)... While paying my dues a couple weeks ago, I mentioned it would be really nice for them to install a water head at or across the street from the ramp, and that if it was metered (coin operated) they could make a small fortune and pay for it the first year out....

me being so close, I usually just tug the empty trailer back to the house for a rinse and take the golf cart back down- but not always.. 6~10 hours in the sun/air after dunking, and you dang near have lost your window to stiff arm corrosion..

apparently, they appreciated my suggestion... they are installing a car-wash... dang it.. there goes an addition $5~7 after each use.. that would be $2 for a simple rinse after launching, and another $3~5 for a full soap and rinse once she's yanked out of there.

yes, it's worth it.  

TikiHut2

My clean up and unpacking is no less than 1 1/2- 2hrs whether I spend an hour on-board or a long weekend and it's not a really OCD clean up just a bit above avg. Yeah it's a real PIA after a long weekend but I keep reminding myself that it pays off in the long run in re-sale. Trouble free days when on the water is also the main payback when we stay ahead of it.

I was thinking that Drew was a fresh water captain.....good call on that ramp water supply but a carwash might even be better with a power washer to keep your sled super shiny.

212rowboat

Oh tiki, there is no replacement for a powerwasher.. I've worked no less than four to the bone in my lifetime, and replaced each one pronto. It takes me an easy hour and a half after pulling the boat without one, and a no kidding ten minutes with one..

I use the soap nozzle and car wash soap (won't use anything that will strip the wax). I spray, soap, and spray every square inch of boat and trailer after every use..

I've tried to talk the Taliban (neighbors kids) into using my set up and washing boats that are being pulled by, but they're more interested in playing army.. it would be a good gig for them.

The car wash going in just means I don't have to break out equipment, clean, then clean the equipment before putting it back up.. it'll be convenient..

Ry: I'm going to hafta look into this salt away stuff..

rasbury

ok, well, stumped again......flush the A/C system? Raw water goes through the A/C system. Dang I'm screwed....

rasbury

I left a comment on another thread when I was browsing around...I think it was something to do with electrical 12V vs. 110 (I think electricity going through little wires is devils work myself), and posed the question, is there anywhere on line I can view an operation manual for a 270 or another Rinker model? I assume they have similar components and operation....I'm curious about the electrical, house battery operation, charging while on the hook, using the generator (and apparently flushing it!).....my boat experience is a bass boat and a 20' bow rider- I have a survey scheduled for next week and I've never even been on one of these boats! I would like to have a better understanding how everything works before I step foot on one....I'm sure I will pick up a lot of info from the owner and the survey but would sure like to review some material in the mean while...and then I'm really going to have some questions!

TikiHut2

Manuals galore in the archives. (LINK)

You can read 'till your eyes bleed but nothing beats a good day of hands-on. I bought ours with only a marginal headstart on the systems but depended on the surveyor, some boating experience and a little common sense combined with less research than you've already done. There's a point where you just pull the trigger and wade in.

Go wander around some marinas on a sunny weekend and schmooze/mooch a look around on a 270. If you've been looking for so long how is it that you haven't even been on-deck? I know there are some 270's around Orlando among other Fl towns.

rasbury

I think more what I'm after is the electrical stuff.  For example, I notice a couple of electrical outlets- but Does only provide 12V?  110 V with shore or gen? The batter switch, on/off, starter battery or house battery positions? How do the house batteries charge? That's the sort of operation stuff I'm after, the day to day....I have and have had smaller boats but with nothing more for electrical options a radio....This boat is like a freakin house! What preparation is there for plugging in for shore power and running the gen?  Can you run the gen while underway or only when stopped?

Black_Diamond

RY makes a good point. Hiring a certified captain for a day would be worth your money. They should go through everything with you. An express cruiser is a floating house with dual electric systems and engines. lol

rasbury

OK, saw a boat today, survey and trial went very well.  I have a price I am comfortable with for what the boat has to offer.  The issue at hand on getting the boat home.  Very nice trailer I think...twin axle with four wheel disk brakes, aluminum, electric/hyd brakes.  Has not been used and the calipers are locked,so I am told. I really don't want to send it to a shop and pay a grand for something I can do that might be a cheap repair: rather save that grand for something I can't fix.....how much are replacement calipers I can install quickly? Even just for one axle to get it home?

rasbury

I thought I posted a comment on a boat but don't see it here? Wonder where I put it? Anyway, went and looked at a boat this weekend....survey went extremely well and I think I have it down to a price I'm comfortable with and now waiting for the in hand survey results to send to my finance source...will offer more details later, I don't want to jinx this deal! One question on what I see as a very nice aluminum trailer, only used to go to church on sundays, 2 axle 4 wheel  disc brakes, hydraulic/electric!  I don't know the last time it was used, but, all four of the master cylinders are locked up.  I have worked on a few auto ones that have locked up and just replaced them as I usually needed the vehicle back in service asap.  I have never rebuilt them but understand they are pretty simple....question is, can I take enough tools with me to do it "on the road" as I don't want to shell out a grand on this repair, I need to save that for a repair I can't do myself.  I'm waiting for all the specific  information on the trailer so I can research the parts, but I figure I can take a day off and add that to a weekend so if I crash and burn I can still get it to a shop to look at,,,,the boat is not on the trailer so that makes it a little more doable,,,

Dream_Inn

Ras, they aren't too terrible to change (and boat off is even nicer). Just need to allow the time cause the persuasion part will take a little. If the trailer was a puchase with the boat id say work the fix in the deal.