About to buy a 2014 260 EC. Volvo 270 DP.. is it enough, or Merc. 350MAG with Bravo3 (or even more)?

Dream_Inn

Well, no mice to worry about out on a lift in the winter!  I've always used a custom made cover (buy it the first year you have your boat and you will be smiling every winter!) and put some damp rid.  Never an issue, always as clean as the day I put it away.  When I get to my boat in early March, I'm usually a couple hours from my first ride of the spring!  & she's waxed, clean inside and out, & full of gas!

JoeStang

I agree. If my boat were bigger and more difficult to rack store indoors I'd be investing in a Fisher cover. I'd assume it breathes better than shrinkwrap, it'll pay for itself eventually, better for the environment, and you can recoup some of the cost if you sell the boat. Plus you never have to worry about a torch inches away from your fiberglass......

MarkB

Mike, are you saying it dropped out of plane if you went below 3800?  It might have been the wind and waves pushing against the bow.  On a flat lake condition you should be able to maintain plane at around 3600 rpm and 23 - 25 mph. Anyhow, the rest sounds right, you should be doing around 30 mph at 4000 - 4200 rpm.

Mike_G

I went out today.  I filled up the fuel and water to FULL before I went for a cruise.  Wanted to see how it changed things.

Water was pretty smooth and not much wind on the way to Gull Island.  Then the wind picked up a sh!t ton and pulled my anchor (I only had like 20 or 25 feet out in 5 foot of water though).  White caps for part of the ride home was fun.  This boat is so much bigger and heaver than my old Sunsation 25 or 22' Bayliner, and it rides so smooth!  The big waves were like a roller coaster, but none of that "high impact" feeling out of this boat when compared to my others.  I would hardly have made it home on my old boats in those waves.. would've had to idle back (and have done so)

I put 2.5 more hours on it for a total of 3.2.  Seems like it will stay on plane (as evident by the wake/trail.. ie. smooth water behind the outdrive) at maybe 23-25, but 30 mph or more, the nose comes down even more and the boat picks up speed and RPM without me increasing throttle.  I am experimenting with drive trim and trim tabs.  I didn't go over 4200RPM, and I only did that for a few seconds resulting in almost 34mph on the speedo!  I will confirm with GPS tomorrow.  It feels like it'll do 45mph though, if I REALLY wanted to.

Only one question for now... lol.. This is my first Bravo 3 that I have ever been in.  It seems that I can hear the outdrive if that makes any sense.. especially at low speed.  It like I can hear the two separate gear sets turning.  It's really smooth though.  I am Hyper-observant/perceptive so I don't think most people would even notice.  Is this normal?

-=Mike G.

JoeStang

Yeah, i was hoping to get out this weekend but they are calling for thunderstorms both days and 15+ mph winds.

Looks like some nice days next week though, back in the 70's and sunny.

MarkB

Mike, at certain rpms I can also hear the drive a bit. Normally at lower rpms on plane like 3600 to 3800. I think this is just coming out of the hole when the engine is still under a bit of strain. It goes away when totally on plane. Your drive is also working in, so you may hear some other noises. Just keep checking all your fluid levels before and after each trip, even of its only a 15 minute trip. Keep a log if you can for the first 20 hours. Will come in handy if something does go wrong. Record fluid levels, time out and rpm range done. 

Black_Diamond

Make sure your drive is aligned correct from the start..before you launch. The dealer should do this and if you can be there to watch, even better. A few of us on here blew couplers as the drive was never correct from day one. 

rasbury

question about this model compared to my 270...this boat is 26' including the platform which is part of the boat while the 270 is 27' to the stern not including the platform, correct?

MarkB

Ras, no the 260EC is 26' excluding the platform, which is moulded into the hull. My 2011 is actually 28'10" to the end of the swim platform. 

blaubatu

Hi Mike, Congratulation. I have the same one.

Boris
Germany

blaubatu

blaubatu

rasbury

wow , Boris, not sure which is prettier...the boat or the location....I asked the questions about the length as it just looks like my 270 has more room on the upper deck but is only a foot difference....at any rate, nice boat Mike, congrads!

rasbury

Boris- how do you get a US boat like this even over there, must cost a fortune, are there not similar boats made over there?

TikiHut2

Just tuned in. omg, Gotta love that new owner enthusiasm. It makes me re-energized. lol

Well congrats and welcome to the forum. Let the adventures and memories begin....

Where will you be based? It's always good to get together with the local Rinker guys.

Mikegloomis, imho you'll be fine with that 350. We have a 300hp 350 5.7 merc in our 270 with ALL the bells and whistles (radar arch/genset/ac/windless/etc...) and the whole discussion of it being underpowered is just a little over done. You'll be fine, and what a nice boat to own!   MG......ATTN: I agree with BD! That drive noise is a potential issue possibly related to a poor outdrive alignment. I had the same concern with drive noise that was eventually solved with a proper drive/engine alignment. Until it failed, no less than 3 mechs told me the sound was normal ..... and then the coupler finally failed resulting in an engine and O/D pull. I personally checked it and it was enormously out of alignment causing a binding sound sort of bassy drum,drum,drum even in neutral. It'd resonate throughout the boat. I found my motor mounts had NEVER been set right. WATCH THE MECH INSERT and PULL THE TOOL WITH ONLY TWO FINGERS AND NO FRICTION AND INSIST IT BE DONE JUST AS EASILY WITH THE ENGINE ROTATED EVERY 90*. 

Have fun, take your time getting to know the boat, safety first and good luck, Mike 

blaubatu

The location is Croatia  (Kaprije) were I spend every year my holidays. There we have more than 1260 ilands. For us in Germany Croatia is the boating the best what you can get in Europe. By car you reach it in 15hours, by plane it tooks 2hours. I  bought the Boat in Croatia, was imported new in 2008 from the US . Its in a good condition, engine is a VP 5.0GXI with 270 HP, goes 42 miles and has 1268 hours!!! 

blaubatu

Need picture from the dash board in order to define my switches. Some of them are without any description. Who is the produces of the Shower on the plattform? Has somebody any description from Rinker about any details related to the boat.

212rowboat

Gorgeous setting... 

Beautiful boat... 

Officially jealous... 

're: engine alignment
My gimbel bearing finally gave up the ghost. the thing roared the entire time I'd owned the boat, and I thought it must be normal.  it roared exceptionally loud in turns/banks... And it stressed my coupler excessively... I swapped them both, and adjusted my alignment... The difference is astounding... I can talk in a normal voice underway and actually hear the engine plainly... I'm sure it's faster though I've not GPS'd it... I'm wagering my economy has improved... whodathunkit?  when I finally manned up and found a lift to get to the engine, it took maybe five hours... The only thing that troubled me was shoving the upper drive back in alone... getting the shaft/splines aligned and pushing it in was a pain, but it was simple when I got an extra set of hands on it.. I didn't remove the yoke and swap bellows, but intend to in the off season... Seriously, it should take a competent tech half an hour to check the alignment... It's ridiculously simple. 

TikiHut2

Drew, yeah.....so simple its' hard to imagine it being done incorrectly so often. My engine felt far smoother and performance definitely improved after I re-set mine. I felt (still feel) frustrated after I figured it out. Inexcusable is the only word for the mechs who would do/say anything to keep from simply turning the engine mounts until the alignment tool goes in/out EFFORTLESSLY. NOT with a hammer and not even with a firm grip.....EFFORTLESSLY at each crank rotation of 90*.

I didn't aim at the gimbal bearing in MGs comment because it was a brand new boat. My alignment was probably wrong for 10yrs and also probably came right out of the factory misaligned because I found the engine mount retaining washers unset and the mounts bottomed out just as they're sent on the crate from Mercruiser to the installer. It took a whole inch of rise at the front mounts to get mine right. I certainly know that mechanical drive sound, and now you do too. I'll be able to spot it from 50' away, and like you, fix it in no time. Hope that helps our new owner. Mike

212rowboat

Mine didn't sound like a drum, as mine is far less.insulated as yours... Mine made a whoop whoop whoop sound at idle speeds, similar to but stronger than an unbalanced ceiling fan... my alignment wasn't that terribly far out, either.... It was a bit nose down, which meant I had to raise it about two and a half turns on one side, and about a turn and some change on the other.... Leads me to believe the retaining nut slipped or something rather than it not being right in the first place. 

To the new boat guy: these things have to be done to each individual boat, and each one will differ... I'm thinkin the maker sends them to the dealer, in some cases, expecting the dealer to give them a thorough check before selling them, and the dealer doesn't realize it instead expecting it to be done.... 

Question to the board: do new boats ship with the outdrives installed or does the dealer install them? 

Michael T

My 2013 EC 310 and 2014 EC 360 came with the B IIIs installed and the props shipped in a box. Tech at dealer said alignment was chcked by them. We'll see -because the drives are going to be pulled this fall and I'll be there to personally feel the pull of the laignment tool. MT

TikiHut2

I worked a long hot summer as one of six engine installers in what was the main Wellcraft plant in Sarasota waaayyy back in about '78. Our I/O boats were mostly shipped without drives (with the exception of the scarab line) and stacked on a semi. I'd uncrate/test start and install the brandy new transom assy, engines, wiring harnesses, fuel lines, blowers then the boat went to the alignment station where the guy would set the drive alignment. It was all he'd do.

Here's the embarrassing part.... the alignment guy was told (and I actually assisted one day) if he could drive in the tool and beat it from all sides and then extract it by almost any means that the alignment was close enough to ship. Basically unless layup screwed up the stringer height it was almost always "close enough to ship".

With that said, the dealer was expected to slip on the drive, install the six drive bolts, prep the boat for sale and out it'd go. I suspect that unless a truly good dealer re-checks the alignment before the sale that this is still the SOP. Basically I'd feel like it's a factory responsibility but understand that it should be re-set after about 10hrs of run time as things settle into place.

Karma's a bi+ch and she finally found me for working that line for ONE day. Buyer beware. It's inexcusable coming from the plant considering how simple it is to do right the first time. Just sayin', Mike

Michael T

Mike, I would bet that it is not at all uncommon for this to happen at many boat building facilities, (yes, it IS inexcusable), my friend's son is a marine technician. He was at a factory tour of a big and well known boat builder many years ago. When he saw the "alignment" process you just described happening - being a young and enthuiastic guy - he pointed-out that they were probably damaging their alignment tool rendering its future use questionable, almost certainly damaging the power unit and then shipping a mis-aligned power unit, he offered to show them how to do it. That ended his tour on the spot. MT

212rowboat

I bought the specialty tools to do this work instead of paying someone to do it. Maybe $250 or so... that is the gimbel tool and plate that bolts to the bolt posts, had blah blah, and a two piece alignment tool..  

Oops... The alignment tool only shipped one part... It was rather short... I could still insert it with two fingers, and pull it out with two fingers pinching it between my fingers like a big **** cigar or something.  even with grease on my hands.... I wasn't even sure it needed it until I stuck a light in there and could see ever slow slightly the lip on the bottom... raised the front as I said earlier, and it was slip in slip out... Turn the engine somewhere approximating 90*, and do it again... slip right in and right out, with a short alignment tool and two greasy fingers....  the ease of this is way too simple... I was expecting some difficulty somewhere, but it is the easiest job (once you get your drive off) to do I've encountered... Changing the plugs is harder... putting the drive in by yourself is a bear, but a few beers to a whino for a full minute of extra hands will solve that.. my neighbor is a whino, so that helped... :-) 

Dream_Inn

Drew, our marina used to be a Rinker dealer and from what I remember, they always came with the drives on. 

Tiki, next time you are in my area, come for a ride and see if you can hear my drives.  I'm always curious to have others listen as well. I think I have the same ears as Mike G does.  If I hear something different than I'm looking around forever to figure it out.

& those Croatia/Germany pics are to die for!  Oh man I'd love to have water looking like that!

Cableguy Greg

That looks like some beautiful boating over there. The shower should be this one... Link

I thought all of the cruisers came with the drive on because Rinker water tests them before they ship them to the dealers. The runabouts used to have the drive off. It has been 4 years since I docked at the Rinker dealer, but that is what I remember.

raybo3

Sweet looking  boat even sweet look H20 man is that clear...........

MarkB

Nice boat. That clear water is amazing. Really nice pictures. 

blaubatu

RinkerYan said:

Boris, would love some web sites on resorts over there. I bet MT hasn't been there.

Here it is: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfRvOQAyo2c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGbZpnb6jA4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qir7S-3Gxug

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h3byn9hQ1E

blaubatu

Coming Thursday I will be for one week there, driving the boat and takeing it out of the water and do the winterizing. Next Season will start in spring 2015.