Looking for Suggestions on Sea-Trialing a FV 270

MajorAppeal

Hello All,
  I am new to the forum and am looking at a 2006 Rinker FV 270 for purchase.  Hopefully, all will go well with the survey and the sea trial and I will officially be part of the club!  I'm in the Chespeake Bay area and look forward to attending the Rinkervous this year.  Anyway, I'm going to be having a sea trial on this vessel in the next week or so and I am looking for some guidance as to things to look for on the sea trial or be aware of that may be of particular interest to this model.

  A little history about the boat, it is a 2006 with the engine reading 212 hours and the tach reading 365 hours.  I am assuming that is because the tach counts when the ignition key is on the "on" position regardless if the engine is running.  The suveyor hooked the engine up to a laptop and 212 is what the engine computer stated.  That being said, it appears the boat has sat for most of it's life.  After all it is 11 years old with only 212 hours on the engine.  Not sure it that's a problem or not.

The boat does not have a generator but it does have controls on the panel to add one.  Has A/C but not sure about heat, haven't had a chance to mess with it.  Powered by the Volvo Penta 5.7. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

LaRea

Yeah, the hour meter on the tach is a common problem and not a big deal.  

Find out whatever you can about the boat's history.  Was it stored in a wet slip, or on a lift?  Was it stored on land every winter?  Did it ever sit unused for an entire season?  The answers will help you better understand the amount of corrosion.

Look for signs of neglect, such as corrosion, mildew, broken accessories that were never fixed, or a dirty engine room.  As you suspect, a boat used only 20 hours per year could be a real problem (or it could be a real gem if maintained).  

Good luck - keep us posted!

laureniac1

I have the same boat in a 2005. The boat is big for having only a single engine so make sure the trim tabs are in a good working order. You will use them ALOT and they need to be reliable. Also run the ac on shore power and make sure on the starboard side by the water line the the ac discharge has a nice strong stream of water discharging. This will give you a good clue that ac if powerful and pumping correctly 

Dream_Inn

The 270 is a great size boat and very popular in our area (wouldn't surprise me if you are looking in my marina - if so, I may know the boat and could tell you more).  Is the engine fresh water cooled or raw water cooled.  In other words, does the engine have a heat exchanger so it runs antifreeze thru it?  If it is raw water cooled, you should see if the owner has changed out the risers/exhaust manifolds.  One could go about 10 years on the Chesapeake without changing them, but they would be due.  At 10 years old, there is probably some maintenance that is due just because of age.  Most engine hoses need to be checked for cracks, and hose clamps need to be changed.  Not a huge deal, but you just need to note it.

Generator, not a big deal with that size boat.  You can easily use a portable for the demands anchoring out. 

Good luck!  & glad to hear you are eyeing up the Rinkervous!  would love to see you there & I'm sure you'd get some valuable info from all the Rinker owners.

pault1216

I had a 2000 FV270. The pre-2004 models were prone to excess corrosion on the drive. Check your anodes. My lessons learned were to check trim tabsas mentioned, ease of steering, throttle/shift function (B3 tend to be stiff anyway), engine trim, full engine rpm range for your model. Check for u-joint noise in a moderate turn at cruise. Check the gimbal ring if it is on a trailer. I pulled up on my drive when down and it 'popped' and had too much play. Had to be replaced. Don't forget to check all water pumps (1 fresh, 2 bilge usually). I used a Honda EU2000 on the platform for electric and it worked well and will save you $$. Good luck!  -Paul

davidbrooks

What outdrive is on the boat?  I came close to buying a boat with the composite XDP outdrives before I was warned.  If it has that outdrive take $15k off the price.

summerx

that is a very key point david made about the volvo outdrive.  you DO NOT WANT the composite XDP drive.

MarkB

A sitting boat could be worse than a well used boat.

A lot of things start ceasing up if they aren't used and maintained.

I'm glad you had a survey done ... what came out of that?

For the sea trial I'd be looking for at least the following (what comes to my head right now):

- check ALL fluid levels before you start engine

- engine start up time (trouble starting)?

- engine warm up time and temperature the thermostat settles at.

- shifting into gear easy?

- check all systems one by one (A/C, lights, windlass, radio, TV, power head or vacflush, navigational systems, etc).

- go out, put tabs down and open her up ... time to plane reasonable?

- steering smooth and does not vibrate?

- tilt drive. Still smoth?

- idle speed and check manouvarability. Does boat steer to one side preferentially?

- check ALL fluid levels when you are done and engine off, compare to start.

- what does the bilge look like?

- check through hull areas, any leaks?

Hope this helps.

rasbury

If you have a good surveyor, he is going to know what to check for even if you don't. Is the surveyor pulling the boat to check the hull? If it has been sitting in water for extended time, you may have hull blistering which would not be good- also if it has a fresh coat of bottom paint might also be a sign covering up said blisters.  The surveyor is supposed to check the condition of the hull, stringers and run the boat to see what works and what does not. On a 270, which I have also, it is virtually impossible to check the stringers on the inside. He should again test everything including running at WOT and everything functions.  He is not, however, a mechanic. If you have any concerns about actual engine condition, I would suggest taking it to a mechanic and have that and anything else mechanical that the surveyor might have issue with looked at. I also shied away from an XP drive, broker said he didn't know anything about issues on such drives- I never went back to him on another boat as well.  The 270 is a great boat and I have an 05 which I think is the same as the 06. Mine only had 100 hours on it and I bought it 3 years ago about this time- do the math on that usage per dollar as PO purchased new and it sat on a lift out back. Mine is also a closed cooling, has the ginny, air/heat/fridge and windlass. The fridge was not working when I bought- needed a new controller for $125 bucks. Windlass was not working, switch had a broken connector, $75 bucks. TV was the old analog- $135 bucks. Can't count the new TV antenna as I took off the old one with a tree. I did and still have some trailer issues I'm working out and I did have to get a new camper package ($2800.00)  and depending on how you want to use the boat, that is priceless. I was also a little concerned about the low hours, but, figured even if he did not take care of it, he did not use it enough to screw it up. I figure 100 hours and at the max would be one oil change behind- I re did all the filters and plugs and really have not had any issue- I did have a carrier bearing seal in the out drive go bad and it was leaking oil but got that done for less that 500 bucks but that is the only thing I can chalk up to "sitting".

Good Luck, if you purchase please be sure to post the pictures and you will find this forum both entertaining (Handy and Ray provide hours) and very informative. Me, I don't know much about anything but most of these guys know a lot about something and they are always helpful and many watch the forum pretty close so you don't go long without some advise or suggestion.

Good luck and keep us posted!

randy56

@MajorAppeal, drink beer before, during and after.

MajorAppeal

  The surveyor is Ken Roberts.  We did the ashore part of the survey last week and planning on doing the sea trial portion this coming week.  The boat is at PYY marina.  The current owner has only owned it since July.  It stayed in the water until at least October and then was pulled, winterized and shrink wrapped by the marina.  I found the prior owner who was actually a broker.  It was purchased from New Jersey in a package deal which was purchased by Off the Hook (boat reseller).  As far as they know the boat was sitting for 3-4 years before the purchased it and was likely a repo.  They replaced the belts, batteries, provided a new camper top, changed the oil, replaced alternator, plugs and wires..
  The hull checked out, zincs didn't look too bad but we are replacing them anyway. 
   The broker and owner are going to do a spring commission in the next few days and address any de-winterization issues before the survey.  I will take everyone's comments and suggestions into consideration when I do the sea trial and let you know.  I'll keep watching the board if anyone has anything else to add.
Thank you!

Cableguy Greg

@tniggel has the same boat and same VP setup as the one that you are looking at. Reach out to him for some great advice on what to look for.

J3ff

Don't do what I did and buy a boat with a bum engine! 

tniggel

Check which Volvo engine it is the 5.7 varies from 260 hp to 320 Horse power depending on which variety of the 5.7 Volvo it is(GI-GXI).  I have a 2007 with the GX a high which is 270 hp with an empty boat I can get to approximately 42 miles an hour on smooth water. If it is the gray  drive it is most likely the dp-sm. On the port side of the outdrive there should be a sticker with the serial number.  Make sure you have the outdrive pressure tested.   my drive shaft seals went bad last year to the tune of $900 to have it re-sealed and internal bearings replaced.  I have had good luck with my engine.  Two things that the Volvos are known to have poor designs on are the fuel pump and the raw water pump seal.  New water pump is $400 new fuel pump is about the same. Also be sure that they check the Bellows.  A boat sitting that long with few hours most likely have been dry rotted.  Not a terribly expensive thing to fix if caught before they leak but if they leak you will have big problems and possibly a sunk boat

MajorAppeal

Now that you mention it, I'm surprised the surveyor didn't check the pressure in the outdrive.  I suspect that would be done in the same manner as checking the pressure in a lower unit on an outboard, is that correct?  What are the symptoms of the problems to mentioned?  i.e. how did you know what the drive shaft seals went bad and same with the fuel pump and raw water pump seal?  

davidbrooks

@majorappeal a surveyor will only do a cursory look at the engine and look at output to make sure it is in normal ranges.  A separate engine and outdrive survey is done by a mechanic.  Not all mechanics do these but on some boats they are highly advised.  I did one on my first boat as it was coming from a wife who got it in the divorce and I didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling she was on top of details of what was done when and why.  My last boat I didn't do it.  I talked to the owner and his mechanic that had been on top of every detail since day one.

MajorAppeal

So I hopped in the engine compartment to try to determine the horsepower, couldn't find any GX or GXI, engine cover says 5.7 osi-df, let me know if anyone knows the horsepower. Had the scare of my life, the engine cover says Xdp drive

Cableguy Greg

It looks like it is 280HP. The original drive was probably the XDP drive and they replaced it with the one that @tniggel has on his boat. Here is the engine info.

http://www.yachtdatabase.com/app/motorshow.jsp?locale=en_GB&id=Volvo+Penta+5.7OSi-DF

MajorAppeal

tniggel said:

Check which Volvo engine it is the 5.7 varies from 260 hp to 320 Horse power depending on which variety of the 5.7 Volvo it is(GI-GXI).  I have a 2007 with the GX a high which is 270 hp with an empty boat I can get to approximately 42 miles an hour on smooth water. If it is the gray  drive it is most likely the dp-sm. On the port side of the outdrive there should be a sticker with the serial number.  Make sure you have the outdrive pressure tested.   my drive shaft seals went bad last year to the tune of $900 to have it re-sealed and internal bearings replaced.  I have had good luck with my engine.  Two things that the Volvos are known to have poor designs on are the fuel pump and the raw water pump seal.  New water pump is $400 new fuel pump is about the same. Also be sure that they check the Bellows.  A boat sitting that long with few hours most likely have been dry rotted.  Not a terribly expensive thing to fix if caught before they leak but if they leak you will have big problems and possibly a sunk boat

I didn't have a pressure tester for the outdrive but I did unscrew the dips tick type bolt at the top of the drive. The oil was to the top of the indented area which I assume means that it is full.  Used a paper towel and the oil was probably the cleanest I've ever seen. I service my outboard and am used to seeing dirty lower unit oil.  I had a leak in my lower this summer and the oil had a white cloud to it. I disassembled and changed all the seals and impeller myself. Cheap parts but a **** of a job.  In summary, wasn't able to pressure test it but the oil doesn't show any sign of a leak.

MajorAppeal

Does anyone think that asking the seller of the boat to take out 4 people in addition to the seller and me out on a sea trial? The purpose is to see how it handles fully loaded, how long it takes to plane, etc. The seller thinks it's asking too much, I'd appreciate some feedback

J3ff

4 people is too much.  Maybe ask him if he can bring someone and you bring someone.. if I was selling the boat I would not want to be responsible for 4 strangers.. 

BellevilleMXZ

Same here, 4 is too much I think.

Cableguy Greg

When I sea trialed my 280, there were 4 of us on the boat. It was myself, my wife, the owner and the surveyor. I am not sure what your survey included, but it should have included a sea trial. While we were out, the surveyor made sure the boat came up to temp, batteries were charging, made sure of no major mechanical issues. He also did an engine scan showing how long the boat ran across different RPM bands. He was also able to point out different stuff on the boat for us.

MajorAppeal

Ok, sounds like I'm being overly zealous. I'll talk with the guy and see if I can bring my wife and a mechanic. That will be 4. Does anyone know of a mechanic that is good with volvo and could do a mechanical survey for me? We are in Maryland 

pault1216

For what it is worth, I had the standard 5.7 Merc EFI 250HP in my FV270 and it moved along just fine including holeshot with 4 adults on board and full water and near full (100 gal) fuel.  -Paul

MajorAppeal

So we took the 270 out on a sea trial on Monday. The boat has a 4" list to starboard. Meaning sitting empty at dock the port side is about 4" higher out of the water than starboard. The surveyor is going back out tomorrow with another surveyor to try to figure that out. He thought maybe the hull was holding water from a clogged drain hole or possibly that the boat was built with a lead weight to offset the weight of a generator if one were to be installed and that perhaps the weight came loose and has fallen to starboard.  The boat only made it to 29 MPh as measured by GPS. It topped out at 4200 rpm per the computer diagnostic software that the surveyor hooked up to it. The throttle at wide open was calling for 99.6% of power so it's not the throttle cable. At times the swim platform would drag and spray water but only on starboard side, the port side was sitting high out of the water. I've read about the low platforms on the 2002 models but this is an 06. The engine also was giving a few codes. One was a hard code, I'm still waiting on the report to get the exact codes. The fuel gauge, trim gauge, and horn were all not working. The compass is also broken and the water has drained out. The GPS (lowrance) is flashing and beeping but will not work properly. It keeps displaying the disclaimer message on the screen i.e. to not use it as only means of navigation, etc. But will not work. Also, the alternator is not charging the batteries. We had four adult men on board and got on plane in about 20 seconds with no use of trim tabs. Steering was good with no shudders, vibrations or noise. After turning the engine off and going to restart it would run for about a second and die. That may have been me not running the ignition long enough, I let off the key as soon as it turned over. The surveyor later did the same thing and took it out of gear but gave it throttle to get it to start. He also turned on the blower at that point so I'm assuming that is the flooded engine procedure I read about.  Please let me know your thoughts.....

MajorAppeal

So we got out for the sea trial on Monday. The boat is listing hard to starboard (4") sitting at the dock. The port side is literally sitting 4" higher out of the water than starboard side as the boat sits empty. The surveyor is going back tomorrow to try to figure this out. He believes that either the hulls is holding water from a blocked drain port or that the boat was built with a lead weight to offset the weight of a generator in the event one is installed and that the weight has come loose and fallen to starboard. The engine was hooked up to computer diagnostics. At WOT the throttle was calling for 99.6% but was only putting out a max of 4200 rpms. The engine had 3-4 codes. One being a hard code. I am still waiting on the report to get the exact codes. The hard code had something to do with firing or timing. With four adult men we got up on plane at WOT in about 20 seconds without using trim tabs. Max speed was 29 MPh as read by GPS on my phone. I didn't particularly trust the speedometer on the boat as all the gauges were reading 5-20% off what the computer was stating. The fuel gauge, horn, compass, and trim gauge are all broken or not functioning.  The GPS (lowrance) on the boat is not working. The unit is beeping and screen is flashing stuck on the startup screen displaying the opening disclaimer. The alternator is not charging the batteries.  I tried a few turns with the wheel turned all the way both to starboard and port, both were smooth with no shudder or vibration. After turning the engine off and letting it sit for a couple minutes I restarted the engine and it died after a second.  I may have let off the ignition too quickly the second time I held the key for about 3 second and it stayed on. The same thing happened for the surveyor at the dock and he did what I have read is the flooded engine protocol, i.e. taking the engine out of gear, giving it throttle, and starting the engine, quickly returning the idle and running the blower. It started fine that time. As far as I recall all other systems were operational.  Please let me know your thoughts....

randy56

You should run about 38 mph with 300 mpi, the boat needs some overall maintenance.

J3ff

MajorAppeal said:

So we got out for the sea trial on Monday. The boat is listing hard to starboard (4") sitting at the dock. The port side is literally sitting 4" higher out of the water than starboard side as the boat sits empty. The surveyor is going back tomorrow to try to figure this out. He believes that either the hulls is holding water from a blocked drain port or that the boat was built with a lead weight to offset the weight of a generator in the event one is installed and that the weight has come loose and fallen to starboard. The engine was hooked up to computer diagnostics. At WOT the throttle was calling for 99.6% but was only putting out a max of 4200 rpms. The engine had 3-4 codes. One being a hard code. I am still waiting on the report to get the exact codes. The hard code had something to do with firing or timing. With four adult men we got up on plane at WOT in about 20 seconds without using trim tabs. Max speed was 29 MPh as read by GPS on my phone. I didn't particularly trust the speedometer on the boat as all the gauges were reading 5-20% off what the computer was stating. The fuel gauge, horn, compass, and trim gauge are all broken or not functioning.  The GPS (lowrance) on the boat is not working. The unit is beeping and screen is flashing stuck on the startup screen displaying the opening disclaimer. The alternator is not charging the batteries.  I tried a few turns with the wheel turned all the way both to starboard and port, both were smooth with no shudder or vibration. After turning the engine off and letting it sit for a couple minutes I restarted the engine and it died after a second.  I may have let off the ignition too quickly the second time I held the key for about 3 second and it stayed on. The same thing happened for the surveyor at the dock and he did what I have read is the flooded engine protocol, i.e. taking the engine out of gear, giving it throttle, and starting the engine, quickly returning the idle and running the blower. It started fine that time. As far as I recall all other systems were operational.  Please let me know your thoughts....

Run from this one - don't even send your mechanic back.   I started off with a 270 that ran strong, didn't appear to have any problems at all, first trip out was an hour or so drive, used it for 2 days and ended up with 24,000 $$ in repairs (new motor, new batteries) and 3 weeks of PRIME TIME SUMMER being lost.  

The one you're looking at sounds like it's at a worse starting off point than mine was...  Find one that doesn't list and can be started at anytime.  29mph is slow for sure. I think mine cruises somewhere around 26/28, with 40 being tops.. 

laureniac1

The 270 defiantly leans!! I have same boat so does Rasburry we both have posted discussions on it. It is known problem by Rinker. People constantly ask me about my boat lean. I have run moisture meter over it and it is fine. Instant message me if you want to chat about it. I can maybe ease your worrying 

Dream_Inn

I don't know, from what I'm hearing I'm not sure I would keep moving forward with it.  That is a long time to plane and top speed is not even close.  The owner should know that and at least have had that taken care of before knowing somebody would sea trial.  Just my opinion.  Lots of great boats out there.