310 underpowered?

jme097

hey guys. I have a 280 right now and eventually would like to end up in a 310. Great boat for the money and of course all the other reasons. Now my question...a local 310 (2013) recently came up for sale and it is in prestine condition.50 hours run time, no bottom paint likely lift kept, cabin, cockpit and canvas are all in great shape. The only downfall though is that it has twin 5.0's and I'm worried it might be a bit under powered. Can anyone speak to that at all? Planning to go look at it this week or early next week but just curious before I ask for a sea trial 

Handymans342

Just dont put 10 people on board and try to get up on plane. 

NavyCTRC

It's not underpowered, 5.0's (MPI) put out 270hp each.  That boat will top out over 45mph with a moderate to light load.

jme097

Hmmm. I was hoping to find one with 350 MAGS but no such luck with months of looking. I usually have a group of 4-6 people on board most days. Does anyone know if they have a 6.2/377 option?

Handymans342

Have you looked at any other models? 

Handymans342

You could always do a sea trial with your friends on board and see what it does. 

jme097

I have browsed other models when just looking but anything larger than 31/32 I just can't justify lol. My biggest reason for wanting to upgrade is the beam, the 310 is a perfect fit. 

Cableguy Greg

All of the engines were available in that boat. A 350 MAG or 377 MAG would be ideal. The 5.0's will get her up. The ultimate would be big blocks.

jme097

I am having a **** of a time finding anything but the 5.0's....guess I need to just wait it out.

Handymans342

Or you could find a Rinker with diesels 

frenchship

Have a look at boatdealers.ca 2015 310 LE EC on page 8 twin 5.7 Volvo  with your U.S dollars 30 to 35% off.

jme097

@Handymans342 hahah knew that was coming!

jme097

@frenchship I found it. Looks great. Wonder what the sell price is in USD. I emailed the marina

Dream_Inn

As others have said, that boat will do fine with the 5.0s.  I'd have no problem buying it.  I had the older 310 (2002) with 5.0s for 7 years and it did very well.  Unless you plan on having 8 people every time you go out, it'll be fine.

Take it for a sea trial.

Ian

I have a 2003 and she gets up well with the 5.0 MPI's. Last season 5 of us onboard, no issues at all, up on plane as usual at around 18mph and cruised nicely at 30. My mechanic's had it up to 45 with all the canvas up.

jme097

What kind of RPM's does she cruise at? 4-5 people on board

Dream_Inn

If I remember correctly, my 2002 did ~3600rpm at 30-32mph fairly loaded.

Michael T

I would not want a 310 with twin 5.0s. Waaay underpowered in my opinion. 5.0s are "small" small blocks. They will work way too hard, use way too much gas be too hard to get on plane and be a dog to get on plane with any kind of load above two people and gear. You will notice a slow down with 4 adults. With more than that it will not be fun. 5.7s would be a huge improvement. For newer 310s the 350 mag is the ONLY way to go. Don't buy an underpowered boat, it will be a constant reminder of your mistake and harder to sell - which you will probably want to do after a couple of times out. BTW low quality speedos have inaccuracy increases with speed. 50 mph on a pitot - mechanical speedo combination is probably more like 45 mph....maybe. GPS speedos often shock the owners who thought they had a fast boat - that's why when they first came out they got the nick name "tattletales" after a famous Gaffrig model, "THE Tattletale" that crushed a lot of marina bar room BS.

jme097

Was waiting for MT to chime in. I found a 2015 310 left over stock (Thanks to @frenchship ) in Ontario and have emailed the marina but have not heard back yet. Has twin 5.7 Volvo's in there. I have a feeling its sold lol

Handymans342

Call them JME

Michael T

There is also a Rinker 320 for sale at Lens Cove, where I have purchased boats for 25 years. I believe it is a consignment sale - they are asking 67K CANADIAN. It has 350 mags B2s. If interested in looking google -  www.lenscove.com   click on used boats. I do not know the condition of this boat but if anyone is interested I will telephone one of the techs at home to ask him his "private" opinion. Of course, I always recommend a survey be done prior to any purchase. 

That 310 may be sold as well as another one that was for sale. Nice Canadian boats do not last long as smart Americans are purchasing them at 30+% off. If you google Rinker Boats for Sale In Ontario there are good deals from time to time - or google boats for sale in any Canadian Province near you. There are a few Rinker EC 360s for sale at good prices in Ontario.......

Also try Marina Port Lewis, a French Canadian dealership that used to be a huge Rinker dealer. They left Rinker under Nautic Global but I heard they came back to Rinker.

They have many pages of boats for sale. If you google through their listings there should be some used Rinker cruisers on consignment. I bet you could really deal on some of them. One good thing is that French Canadian guys usually like lots of HP so they often option the boats right - engine wise - none of that jacka*s nonsense of putting 350s in an EC 350 or EC 360!

jme097

MT I just found another 310 WITH a hardtop at Port Lewiw. **** of a drive from me but worth it if i can get my dream boat lol

Michael T

Yeah, wow!.....I just found it too...... 2012, ALL black, AXIUS, AXIUS, AXIUS, 350 Mags B llls, 185 hours, hard top, teak flooring in the cockpit and swim platform, cockpit and swim platform BBQs, TV .........

BTW the price of that factory hard top is 6K and the factory teak is 6K!

I don't know your price range (and it's none of my business) BUT that is almost a sister ship (maybe even more options) than my 2013 Ec 310 and my Ec 310 was the best handling boat I have ever been on. A ton of room (unless you are 6'6") and a rocket ship with those 350 mag B llls. If it's anywhere near your price range.......

Of course there will be a lot of other Rinkers for sale too there are some really good priced EC 360s.....and we know they can be trailered with their tops on! LOL

BTW#10...You do know that the captain's seat on that boat swivels and that there is a pullout bench and that the rear bench seat folds flat for a sun pad?

ooooh I just had a close call!!!!! The Admiral was on her way out and saw me looking at the 310 on the Marina Port Lewis web site and said "Don't you even THINK about it!!!!!" LOL ....Too funny!!!!!

Handymans342

Trying to be a boat Concierge MT? 

Michael T

Good point Steve, you'd think I was buying the friggin' boat....LOL..... I just like looking at Rinkers and that EC 310 at Marina Port Lewis is (IMO) one beautiful boat!

@jme097 should ask @frenchship for some negotiating tips! I don't speak French well enough or I'd help jme try to negotiate a deal! :-)

jme097

HAHAHA. I just called about the 2015 EC 310 that was left over and its "considered" sold by the marina. The guy that bought it isn't taking delivery of it until next spring though lol. I guess he bought a brand new 290 load up last year and he is trading it in to get the 310. Guy on the phone didn't sound like he was too sure that the deal was locked though lol. I told him to give me a call if the deal falls through. 

Dream_Inn

Anyone know the weight/size differences between the older 310s and the newer 310s?  Just curious.  All of my talks are related to the older 310s, but I'll stand by my statement completely.  The older 310s will not have any planing issues fully loaded with 4 adults and the 5.0 MPIs.  I don't care what else is said, I had that boat fully loaded, ready to go for 10 days (total of 15 10-day trips) and she had no problem whatsoever getting on plane.

All that said, I've never owned the newer with a 5.0 or larger.  But, I always thought the newer 310s were a bit smaller than the older 310s, and you can definitely tell inside they feel smaller.  Don't get me wrong, they are a beautiful boat and they did some great things with them (again, I'm not downplaying the new 310s - just speaking comparison).  I'm saying that since they are smaller, they should probably be lighter and still run as good as my old 310 did with its 5.0s.  If it doesn't, then it is because of changes they made to it.

Michael T

DI you and I must have been on different FV310s as the two that I was on with 5.0s were dogs. Maybe it was me? I did weigh about 230 at the time!

As for the size of the two different styles of boats. The cabins seemed similar to me size-wise although I liked the EC 310's style, with the sunlight and other modernizations better. The flex steel pull out couch in the cabin beats, IMO, the collapsing table of the older 310s.....But the cockpit of the EC 310, well, imo, THAT beats the cr*p out of the older 310s.....it's like time warp better.

FlyingBlind310

Agree with @Dream_Inn ...while i am only on my fourth year owning my 310 (old model), I don't have any problem with my 5.0s

Would be curious to see the weight comparison as well

Michael T

@jme097 what dealer had that 2015? I couldn't find it?

Michael T

@FlyingBlind310. The weight is probably similar. The EC 310 may be a bit lighter due to advances in stringer and resin composition but the real difference is between the ability of the 350 Mags to power the EC 310 way faster. There is no comparison. You'd be shocked by how fast an EC 310 with 350 Mags gets on plane compared to an older 310 with 5.0s. It's not just HP differences but torque too. Then again I think the EC 400 with 496s is underpowered too. I'd put - at a minimum - 502 H.O.s in that or whipplecharge the 496s. But imo the 400 series was really meant for diesels.

BTW I was in the last EC 400 that Rinker ever built. It was shipped to Canada. That boat had 502s in it and it was waaay slower than our 2014 EC 360. At one point I was in talks to trade our EC 360 for it - straight trade. But the 400 was too slow to plane, too slow top end and it drank too much gas. It did not handle ANYWHERE near, even remotely near, as well as our EC 360 with 502s. It was like driving a bus compared to driving a sports car. HP counts, torque counts, weight counts, hull configuration counts.