Help

martin1314

I have just bought my first ever boat! A Rinker 265............ and now I'm looking for some assistance. 
The boat came with a mangled prop and no cabin door so I'm looking for either new or second hand stuff.

Any help or information would be very much appreciated.

This is all very new to me so go easy on me. 

Martin from Scotland

Stodge

Welcome aboard and congrats on your boat purchase.

http://greatlakesskipper.com/ has a lot of OEM Rinker parts.  You will want to check there and see if they can have a door.  Otherwise you can try reaching out to your local Rinker dealer.

Take the prop to your local marine store.  They can read the markings on it to determine the size (diameter and pitch) of the prop as well as see what it's made of (aluminum or stainless steel) and get you a replacement.  

I hope you had a survey before you bought it.  If you didn't I'd strongly recommend getting one.  That will point out any issues you can see like moisture in the transom or stringers.  Better to know your boat is seaworthy before you put her in the water.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

93Vee

Hi Martin and welcome to the board. It looks like you have 1994 Fiesta Vee. Congrats. It's a really fun boat and I think you will really enjoy it.

 You may interested in looking in Forum Archives where a manual is posted for a 1993. The two vessels are very similar.

I agree that sending out the prop for a refit is a far less expensive way to go then buying new. If you have a Bravo 2 then it is probably a 21 Pitch.

As far as the door, it will be hard to find a replacement. I would consider using 2 Starboard 1/2 inch thick boards with a 6-8 inch hinge in the middle with a "U" shaped 4 inch door handle.

The manual (if you did not get one) has helpful schematics for a new boater as far as the pluming and location of items in the engine compartment.

Good luck and ask a lot of questions. The guys and gals on the RBO are very knowledgable and are always willing to help

Cheers!

martin1314

Looks class 

randy56

If you repaint the outdrive on alpina, this is a good product.

93Vee

JonnyM

If you can't find an OEM cabin door you may want to contact a local glass shop that does Plexiglas.  That's what I had to do with my old Bayliner as they didn't have stock of the door anymore.  The shop actually made 2 doors because they had to buy the whole sheet of plexi.

A slightly inebriated large person got wrapped up in the door as I shifted to neutral one night and my cabin door ended up in pieces.  No one was hurt but it sure was a good laugh until I saw that it cost around $200.00.

raybo3

Welcome to the RBOC and good luck with your new ride. You will love it......

randy56

The interior really looks good, someone took good care of that boat. good find.

martin1314

randy56 said:

The interior really looks good, someone took good care of that boat. good find.

Cheer mate......... I'm going to start cleaning it up and get it in the water in March 17 all going well. 

martin1314

raybo3 said:

Welcome to the RBOC and good luck with your new ride. You will love it......

Cheers raybo3 lol......... looking forward to a lot o fun in it

martin1314

JonnyM said:

If you can't find an OEM cabin door you may want to contact a local glass shop that does Plexiglas.  That's what I had to do with my old Bayliner as they didn't have stock of the door anymore.  The shop actually made 2 doors because they had to buy the whole sheet of plexi.

A slightly inebriated large person got wrapped up in the door as I shifted to neutral one night and my cabin door ended up in pieces.  No one was hurt but it sure was a good laugh until I saw that it cost around $200.00.

Thanks jonnym........ I cant find a new door anywhere so it looks like I will have to do a div job on it so with me luck lol........... as for your large pal....... I hope he got you a few beers in return! Lol

martin1314

93Vee said:

Hi Martin and welcome to the board. It looks like you have 1994 Fiesta Vee. Congrats. It's a really fun boat and I think you will really enjoy it.

 You may interested in looking in Forum Archives where a manual is posted for a 1993. The two vessels are very similar.

I agree that sending out the prop for a refit is a far less expensive way to go then buying new. If you have a Bravo 2 then it is probably a 21 Pitch.

As far as the door, it will be hard to find a replacement. I would consider using 2 Starboard 1/2 inch thick boards with a 6-8 inch hinge in the middle with a "U" shaped 4 inch door handle.

The manual (if you did not get one) has helpful schematics for a new boater as far as the pluming and location of items in the engine compartment.

Good luck and ask a lot of questions. The guys and gals on the RBO are very knowledgable and are always willing to help

Cheers!

Hi 93vee......... aye the prop is 21 and I've sent some photos off to a couple of companies over here who recon them so fingers crossed it's not beyond repair. 
The replacement door is going to be a diy job so wish me luck lol.....

I'm going to get "Alpina" cleaned by a company over here as the seemingly bring the whole boat back to new!!!....... any thoughts on cleaning it as I was thinking about giving it a go myself?..

Ps, I've never had a boat in my life so this is all very exciting........ (my knowledge of boats is the front is the Kate Winslet end and the back is, well just the back lol)

Martin

martin1314

Stodge said:

Welcome aboard and congrats on your boat purchase.

http://greatlakesskipper.com/ has a lot of OEM Rinker parts.  You will want to check there and see if they can have a door.  Otherwise you can try reaching out to your local Rinker dealer.

Take the prop to your local marine store.  They can read the markings on it to determine the size (diameter and pitch) of the prop as well as see what it's made of (aluminum or stainless steel) and get you a replacement.  

I hope you had a survey before you bought it.  If you didn't I'd strongly recommend getting one.  That will point out any issues you can see like moisture in the transom or stringers.  Better to know your boat is seaworthy before you put her in the water.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Hi stodge, thanks for the info and knowledge, "Alpina" has been looked after and we'll maintained so I feel okay about my first ever boat purchase. I will be getting it checked out once I get it in the water. 
The prop is alloy and 21, I've sent off some pics the see if it's repairable so fingers crossed. 

The door is a problem as I've been in touch with Ginger at Rinker and she put me onto great lakes but they can't help........ as for Rinker dealers over here they are only interested if your buying a new boat!......... its going to be a diy job so wish me luck. 

Ps, the boat doesn't have a name at present so she is going to be called Alpina....... which means "Scottish Blonde"

93Vee

Hi Martin, the interior does look really good. I would start with just soap and water to start. It pays to start off with the least aggressive products. The stitching will come apart if you use harsh bleaches so be careful. Aerospace 303 is good product to protect the vinyl when you're done.

For the exterior, just wash the boat then use 3M Imperial compound and a wool pad with a high speed buffer. It brings the gel coat back right away and is easy to use. When that"s done, put on a good carnauba wax. Youtube has some good videos on the subject.

Please take some pics along the way so we can see the Scottish Lass in all her glory!

93Vee

93Vee

This is how it came out last year. I took off the decals and that helped a lot.

martin1314

hi 93vee.......... how did you remove the decals from 30 West?............. i have cleaned down Alpina and she looks great but need to remove the decals then give her a polish and wax! 
Martin 

raybo3

93Vee just noticed that your from Swampscott where do you keep your boat?

93Vee

Martin, I used a wax wheel that fit on my drill. The decals come right off. You can use Goo Gone also to get rid of the residue. I got some ghosting, but the compounding took all of it off.

93Vee

Hi Ray, I'm over at the Swampscott Harbor on a mooring. I need to stop over at POP for an adult beverage this summer. I will look you up.

93Vee

Stodge

The previous owner of our boat had removed the "Fiesta Vee" decals and put the name of the boat there <shakes head>.  I had to use a heat gun to get them to peel off and a little acetone to clean up.  Only found the OEM replacement for the FV decals after I had a local guy make them out of flat vinyl.  

93Vee

These decals were so old that the heat gun didn't work. Were the decals expensive to have them made?

raybo3

93Vee said:

Hi Ray, I'm over at the Swampscott Harbor on a mooring. I need to stop over at POP for an adult beverage this summer. I will look you up.

That would be great. Look forward to seeing you. 

Stodge

@93Vee no we have a local guy that I go to for MC numbers and things like that.  He works out of a local flea market.  It was about $75 to have them made as 2 color (set in black covered with a slightly smaller gold set to make black outline) pair.  But when I later found them on GLS they were about the same price.

93Vee

Thanks Stodge. I am not sure if I want to go back to a stock look or try something different this year. This refit has been a slow process.

93Vee

Ray, I spent the month of October over at Seaport Marina in Lynn. I am thinking as I get older the slip is the way to go. Do you have openings in Revere?

raybo3

Our associate members are picking March 8th. Not sure what's left but my guess is they would be able to get you a slip. If your interested you should come to the club on the 8th around 7:30. Tim from Stoneham Boat Center is our fleet captain so you can try calling the SBC before the 8th to get your name on the list. I would be great having you aboard.......BTW we have a few guys that left Seaport and are at the club now.

93Vee

Thanks for the invite. I'm sure you have a great bunch of folks there. I go over the bridge during the summer and there are always folks out on the docks. Looks like fun!

martin1314