New to forum and new to Rinker

Chris79

Hello everyone! 

I purchased a 1997 Festiva 212 cuddy with the 5.7 Merc over the summer, and have been very happy with it so far.  It's a great handling boat with plenty of power.  Just a few questions.....

I've replaced the four speakers and head unit, but would like to still add a subwoofer.  Has anyone installed one on this boat?  Location recommendations?

Looking to add LED strip lighting under the gunwales for ambient light.  Nothing flashy, but the one "courtesy light" in the riser of the bottom stair up to the top of the bow doesn't provide much light (also looking for recommendations on a replacement for that light, as well).  Has anyone done this that could share some advice?

Also, the cockpit is mostly covered in conventional marine carpet, except for the 12 inches or so up front by the door to the cuddy and the dash, then it's just bare fiberglass (there are snaps too where I imagine there were small pieces of snap in carpet at one time.  Between the carpeted are and the bare fiberglass, there's this really thick transition piece or threshold.  Has anyone else addressed this?  That strip just so happens to be right where you stand when driving the boat and after a while it's really hard/on the feet. 

Now on to the OEM cooler for this boat.  It's been asked a lot for newer boats, but not this one.  I have the corner pieces still mounted to the floor and the top cushion but wondered if anyone had the specifics on the actual cooler and how the top cushion actually secures to the top of the cooler.  I would of assumed it used snaps or something but the bottom of the cushion has no snaps, straps, or even a raised edge to keep it from flying off.

Last, but not least I just want to know if there are any specific known problems I should look out for or upgrades I need to make for this specific boat.  It was already upgraded to a two battery system and was really taken care of over the last 19 years.  I'd like to keep this for 3-4 years before we upgrade to a small cruiser!

Thanks!

randy56

@Chris79 welcome!  I'll answer a couple of your questions. Go to Rinker custom projects, on the left hand side of the page. You will what others have done with lighting ect. 
Your cooler, sorry but it will be tough to find one on that old of Rinker, measure the space, try and find one at walmart, as close as you can get. 
Nice looking boat.

randy56

by the way we have another guy on from IL, has 212, his handle is floater212

raybo3

Welcome to the RBOC. Nice looking ride.

rasbury

Welcome, looks great! Do some searches and in the archives also...

Cableguy Greg

Since you have the rear seats that are 2 position seats, you could build a box and mount it under one of those seats. A friend of mine did that on his Bayliner.

Another friend of mine had that same boat, but with the sport interior. I never understood the seam where the captains seat is at. I could only figure that with the cuddy, it is a 2 piece interior mold and that is where they are put together. That seam does suck. I remember driving his boat with no shoes on and you stand right on that seam. Maybe if you changed the seat to one with a flip up bolster, it might put you behind the seam.

Chris79

Thanks for the welcoming and compliments.  I will say that the one complaint I have so far about Rinker is the availability of OEM parts.  I got really close to buying a similar Sea Ray of the same vintage and I could buy every tiny piece of trim and nut and bolt right off their website using diagrams. 

Cableguy - Good thought on the subwoofer placement, I had the same one at first.  The problem is that the two back speakers are mounted into the board back underneath both seats.  I might be out of luck.  Right now I'm running 4 brand new Marine Polk Audio 6 1/2's with a 4-channel 875w 4-channel amp and it sounds great, it's just missing the low end.
One thought of the overcoming the trim piece on the floor is to buy one of those really thick kitchen fatigue floor mats and cutting a "channel" in the bottom of it to fit over the big hump.  This would kind of flatten out the surface. 

Stodge

Actually greatlakesskipper.com has quite a few OEM parts for Rinkers.

Cableguy Greg

If there is anything quirky that you are look for, post it on here. This forum is a great support group at being able to find parts for our boats.

Chris79

Thanks guys!

MarkB

Welcome

Chris79

Pulled out for the season yesterday......... 

vyborny1

@Chris79, 

I had the 1998 212 cuddy. It was my 1st dip into the Rinker brand. The cooler it came with did not work very well & when any sat on while underway usually ended up on the floor. The boat had lots of power & was great for water sports. But my biggest complaint was the seam in the floor, it did make it kinda awkward to stand.

I didn’t do any upgrades, only had it 3 seasons, but sometimes I do miss the simplicity of the boat.

Congratulation on the boat 

Chris79

I imagine this boat will be a stepping stone to a smaller cruiser in a few years.  We had a pontoon for years, but have really come to love a traditional v-hull boat.  I really like having a place to crash too!  We just would have to be careful on which cruiser we bought.  Water depths and bridge heights are a real issue on the chain out here.

vyborny1

I remember the 1st time we took this boat up to Put-n-Bay, we were raft off a boat, I looked over & asked, "Is everything OK, your boat is shooting out a lot of water", he said, "yep, that is just my A/C. My Wife said, "Boats can have A/C" Long story short, next season we had a 2001 FV 242 with marine air & never looked back. 

Chris79

My wife was very intimidated by size.  When we were shopping the boats were mostly on trailers, which of course, boats look so much bigger out of the water.  I tried to sell her on a 24' cuddy that had way more options, but she swore it'd be way too big to handle.  Of course, now she's completely changed her tune after seeing all the different examples in the water. 

While I didn't get a boat with all the different creature comforts, I am fortunate enough to have a portable thru-hatch A/C unit for next season!

vyborny1

They can be a little intemidating...
Here is the 212 right before our trip to Lake Cumberland, 2010

Then a year later, same trip with the 242

Chris79

And now you have a 342??  That's quite a progression!

Glassguy54

@vyborny1, Good Grief, you haul that 242 with a Tahoe??? We have also been to Lake Cumberland and last summer hauled our 246 Captiva to Dale Hollow Lake in Tenn. (Beautiful). We also hauled with a Tahoe, but I recently up graded to a 2500 HD Silverado LTZ, a much more capable tow vehicle, and will allow for a step up to a larger boat as well!

Stodge

This is our 342 with his new (non-Rinker) little brother.  

vyborny1

@Chris79, yea it is a sickness, the plan is to stay with this 1 for awhile 

@Glassguy54, The Tahoe didn.t do too bad, I was squezzing it pretty hard when we went to Cumberland, with the hills. We did end up getting a Silverado 1500, 

Chris79

I'd love to get a clean 242.  Better start saving!