New Dealer in the Detroit Area - Wilson Marine

wheatst

Rinker Boats shared Wilson Marine's post.

Published by Stephen Wheatley · 21 hrs · 

The Detroit Boat Show is coming up soon. Reach out to Wilson Marine to lock your new Rinker at show prices before the show starts.

Wilson Marine added 2 new photos.Like Page

23 hrs · 

Exciting times! Wilson Marine has been named South East Michigan's newest Rinker Boats dealer.

Stop into Wilson Marine in Harrison Twp today. Many models in stock now! A Bennington company, Rinker boats offers a wide lineup of sport boats and cruisers from 17' to 37'.

Stodge

Hmmmm, so that's a little confusing as Hideaway is (or was?) a Rinker dealer and is right next door to them in Harrison Township.  

wheatst

Wilson is replacing Hideaway.

JoeStang

That's very interesting, I'm sure there's alot on the background going on. Hideaway sold a ton of rinkers,  but Wilson is a much bigger presence in metro Detroit. They carried Crownline for cruisers and runabouts as far as I know. 

thebistro

Very interesting indeed! I purchased my Rinker through Hideaway. They seem to be pushing the center console boats now.

shawnmjr

I also purchased from Hideaway. Did they purchase hideaway from the Velgor brothers? Or did they just change names?

Stodge

My guess is that since Wilson was already a Bennington dealer they absorbed the Rinker sales duties (and inventory) from Hideaway.

jme097

I heard nothing but nightmare stories about Hideaway. So this should be a pleasant change for more guys

bry1429

I purchased a 2015 Scarab Jet boat from Wilson- their service department is impressive.

Stodge

There are still Rinker signs and boats at Hideaway.  Must not be in a hurry to make the switch.  

shawnmjr

jme097 said:

I heard nothing but nightmare stories about Hideaway. So this should be a pleasant change for more guys

I had a bad experience with Hideaway and said I would never buy a boat from them again. 

Michael T

What I  concerned me about Hideway was - my opinion here - they seemed to bring in Rinkers that had minimum or close to minimum HP ratings. This made for a lower priced boat and maybe higher sales volumes but..... I'm pretty sure I saw Rinker EC 360s with 350 Mags. 

Stodge

Michael T said:

What I  concerned me about Hideway was - my opinion here - they seemed to bring in Rinkers that had minimum or close to minimum HP ratings. This made for a lower priced boat and maybe higher sales volumes but..... I'm pretty sure I saw Rinker EC 360s with 350 Mags. 

The 350 mags push my 342 ok.  Depending on how much more the 360 weighs it may not be too bad a package.  I agree I'd be looking for big blocks in a bigger boat, but I'd think if the powerplant was too weak Rinker wouldn't offer it.

Handymans342

Stodge said:

Michael T said:

What I  concerned me about Hideway was - my opinion here - they seemed to bring in Rinkers that had minimum or close to minimum HP ratings. This made for a lower priced boat and maybe higher sales volumes but..... I'm pretty sure I saw Rinker EC 360s with 350 Mags. 

The 350 mags push my 342 ok.  Depending on how much more the 360 weighs it may not be too bad a package.  I agree I'd be looking for big blocks in a bigger boat, but I'd think if the powerplant was too weak Rinker wouldn't offer it.

That's what AL says about my diesels and boy was he wrong

Michael T

@Stodge I found the 350 Mags in my 2013 EC 310 a perfect balance. That said with a full load and a half dozen guests they had to work fairly hard to get on plane. The same with the 2014 EC 360. Full load and a half dozen guests and those 502s had to work. Had a friend with a  Rinker 350 with 350 mags (you may have read my previous posts regarding that) it was a slug and he hated it. Believe he said the biggest mistake of his life. Also had a friend with 377 mags in a 350 and it wasn't much better. As for equipping a boat I think the company will install almost anything the dealer specs.

Stodge

If you go to Rinker's build site, the base engine for the 370 is 6.2L.  The base for the 320 is a 4.5L.  I'd like to think that those boats would perform decently with their base engine packages.  

I'm a little surprised the 6.2L is only rated at 300HP, same as the 350Mag.  I would have expected a little more HP on top of the added torque it should have.

Michael T

@Stodge - I'm no speed demon but have spent a lot of time on Rinkers. I get asked many, many times a summer to check a Rinker out for someone. Over the years (many) I have come to the opinion that the well-built Rinkers function best with the highest available HP engine. IMO the Rinkers actually get better gas mileage (under load) with the bigger engines. Many manufacturers say their boats run fine with the smaller engines. They also state LOAs that do not match the model numbers on their boats. I suggest any boat buyer should put less credit on the the advertisements and get out in the boats for a side by side test with loads and then they may have a different opinion......certainly before they purchase one. In a previous post I mentioned that a slip mate with a Rinker 350 with 350s gave up trying to cruise with a group of us as he coulednot keep-up in a reasonable manner in his opinion. IMO a Rinker 350/360 with 350s/377s is not just under powered it is a joke or maybe more accurately a travesty committed against a great hull design.

Stodge

I agree that more power is better.  And that the 5.7L engine seems small for the 350.  My experience is just with my 342.  When traveling in groups I tend to be at the high end of the cruising speed with my 350mags.  I hardly push them, doing 3600 RPM which tends to get me 28MPH.  That's fast enough for the old girl IMO.

shawnmjr

I too thought that a 6.2 would have more then 300 horsepower. I have a 6.2 in my Chevy and it has 403 HP

Cableguy Greg

shawnmjr said:

I too thought that a 6.2 would have more then 300 horsepower. I have a 6.2 in my Chevy and it has 403 HP

Merc redesigned the 6.2 from the ground up. It no longer uses a GM block. It comes in 2 different flavors, a 300HP and a 350HP.

shawnmjr

Gotcha, I did not know that

Stodge

Merc not using GM blocks???? Gasp!    

Michael T

@Stodge.....Merc has developed proprietary casting processes that have surpassed GM's for weight, performance and marine longevity. It's a good thing!

wheatst

Just an update a the Detroit Boat Show is coming up this weekend...Hideaway is still assisting Wilson with Rinker Sales, but Wilson is taking over as the local dealer.  Wilson will be the ongoing service provider.  Their service facility is impressive.

shawnmjr

wheatst said:

Just an update a the Detroit Boat Show is coming up this weekend...Hideaway is still assisting Wilson with Rinker Sales, but Wilson is taking over as the local dealer.  Wilson will be the ongoing service provider.  Their service facility is impressive.

I will be there tomorrow 

whoozyerdaddy

Hideaway lost Rinker because they suck, and Wilson was able to pick up Rinker. I have absolutely NOTHING good to say about Hideaway, or the Velgers... nothing!

Michael T

I have no personal experience with Hideaway but noticed in the past they seemed to be bringing in Rinkers that were IMO very, very under powered (example 360 with twin 350s) when I asked a Rinker salesman from a local dealership "what gives with these rigs?" He said price point is king - buyer beware!

shawnmjr

Michael T said:

I have no personal experience with Hideaway but noticed in the past they seemed to be bringing in Rinkers that were IMO very, very under powered (example 360 with twin 350s) when I asked a Rinker salesman from a local dealership "what gives with these rigs?" He said price point is king - buyer beware!

Funny you should say that, when I bought my boat hideaway talked me out of getting the 350 mag and into the Volvo 5.0 with 270hp. They said the 270 HP is more than you will ever need and the Volvo has a 5 year warranty vs the 3 year warranty with mercruiser. Now I rarely ever have any problems with my boats power unless I have a huge crew, but I do wish I would have got the bigger motor. They definitely do try to talk you out of the bigger motors to get a sale @Michael T

I completely agree with @whoozyerdaddy, I too will never buy from hideaway again and not because of the motor, but because of The customer service I got. They definitely don’t appreciate the customer once they make their sale unless you purchased a 200k boat or higher. I spent 68 grand on my boat and they acted like I was a peon, while 68 grand isn’t a ton in the boating world, there is a small percentage of people that will spend or can afford that kind of money on a toy that you use 4 months of the year (Michigan). 

Michael T

@shawnmajor..... I respectfully suggest that 68K is a heck of a lot of money and you should have been treated with the utmost respect. If for no other reason than common sense - guys upgrade! 

Mike_G

I guess everyone's experience is different.  Hideaway has been great to me.. in fact I am still at their marina (Hideaway Harbor) across the street.  I think the owners (family owned and run) are great people. 

There was one particular sales person (no longer employed there) who was great to me, but others had issues with him.  He did try and get me to buy the 2014 260 with the 270hp at the 2014 metromboat show.  It was black.  Luckily, they had the one I got in their showroom.  I wanted white and it had the 350MAG.

Anyway.. to each their own. I'll say this...  When Hideaway sold Rinker, Rinker was the largest display at the shows.  Last week at the metro show, there were two new Rinkers there and that's it.  There's a reason why Hideaway was Rinker's highest volume dealer...

-=Mike G.

JoeStang

Agreed, I had nothing but good experiences with Hideaway. The parts and service was small and cramped, but alot of parts issues stem from Rinker it seems, because even Wilson was complaining how long it took to get email replies from them. 

I didn't get pushed on anything when buying mine new, but I knew what I wanted. 

Yes they likely stock and sell alot of the standard and lower HP motors, but if the boats are terrible with a certain combo, the mfr shouldnt offer it. I've read so many comments on here how a 28 cuddy cant even get on plane with a 350 Mag that I must be imagining my 276 going to Put in Bay with 4 coolers, 5 people, tons of gear, and full tanks. Oh yeah, and almost 3mpg at a 33mph cruise.