Just Bought a 342 Today!

buggyjdav · May 2015

I just bought a 2004 342 FV today, i am so excited. We looked at every boat between 32 and 35, previous Sea Ray owner and swore i would buy a Sea Ray... until i stepped onto a Rinker 342. We have the Merc's so no worry about the outdrives... Any initial advice on things to look for at sea trial? Looking forward to meeting people on here, sorry in advance for the questions i may have.

CPSMARINE · May 2015

How many hours?

LaRea · May 2015

If you have Merc 350s with Bravo 3, you can check the health of the engines, drives, props, trim tabs and bottom paint by checking cruise speed, top speed and minimum planing speed.

To launch, trim the outdrives all the way down, and put the trim tabs all the way down ("bow down"), then go full throttle. Once you get on plane, back off the throttle. Put both trim tabs all the way up, then put them back down just a little -- hold the button for less than a second. Then trim the outdrives up until you hear the engine speed rise slightly (2-3 seconds). That should get you pretty close to proper trim.

At that setting, you should be able to cruise comfortably anywhere between 27 and 35 mph.

At wide-open throttle, you should hit at least 40 mph.

Then check the minimum speed the boat will stay on plane. Trim the outdrives all the way down, and put both trim tabs all the way down. You should be able to stay on plane down to about 15 or 17 mph.

When cruising, make sure the boat is level side-to-side. If not, it could mean the outdrive trim and/or trim tabs have a problem.

Also, check the effort required to shift into and out of gear, i.e. how hard do you have to push the levers. Sometimes the shift cables get pretty stiff.

buggyjdav · May 2015

Thank you LaRea. Any other areas I should pay attention to please let me know.

Stodge · May 2015

Congrats!! We got ours last season and love it.

Best of luck with yours.

buggyjdav · May 2015

Thank you Stodge!

luckydog · May 2015

congratulations on your new boat, now the fun starts

Cableguy Greg · May 2015

Congrats on the new boat. I always liked the layout of the 342. Very nice boat.

golfdog · May 2015

Congratulations have fun and enjoy!

buggyjdav · May 2015

Thank you!

MarkB · May 2015

Congratulations.

craigswardmtb · May 2015

Congrats. You chose one of the best boats Rinker ever made!

raybo3 · May 2015

Congrats.... I am sure you love your Rinker........

Dream_Inn · May 2015

Congrats!! the 342 is a great boat!

buggyjdav · May 2015

Thank you everyone. Anyone here in the Atlantic City NJ area?

Handymans342 · May 2015

Did you look in Maryland before you bought your boat or did you just look around you?

Dream_Inn · May 2015

Handy, he didn't look in MD cause I have a good buddy with an exceptionally clean 342 in my marina, turn-key mint condition that I've personally worked on for a good price ready to be sold!

buggyjdav · May 2015

I did look in MD but wanted 2004 or newer, had a deal made on one in MD but found it had the composite outdrives, passed.

Handymans342 · May 2015

Ahhhh

Dream_Inn · May 2015

Makes sense. My buddies is a 2003, so that wouldn't have fit your bill. But I'm pulling a bit on Handy cause he has a 342 up for sale as well! Well, once you get the hang of your new ride, bring her down in July for the Rinker Rendezous raft-up in the northern part of the Chesapeake! We have a 400 that comes down from the Longport area each year.