local boats?

rasbury

I'm looking at express cruisers and from the brands local in my area, bayliner- regal-four winds....I really like the Rinker but I can't find any in my area to look at.  I'm looking at a 2003/2005 250 and 270.....very concerned about being able to trailer the larger boat as we like to frequent different areas and do not plan on putting in a slip...question is, is there anyone halfway local to the Orlando area that has either of these boats that I can take a look at and perhaps get some first hand info on these boats?  I have what is listed as a local dealer however have never seen one of these boats on their lot and they handle more fishing/sport type boats.....thanks to anyone who can help or direct me to where I can look over these boats!

TikiHut2

Hey Ras, welcome to the forum.

We live in Sarasota and use our '04 270 just about everywhere in the state. We store it on a tri-axle trailer and pull it with a 3/4 ton Chevy Suburban. There is a great group of road warriors in Orlando called the CFCC (central Fl cruisers club) who have a variety of trailerable power boats and organize events in a slew of spots at least once a month. It's a casual group and they'd welcome you to come to a meeting to discuss boats etc w/o any expectations to join.

We were in your shoes about 2yrs ago and as soon as we stepped on a FV270 we knew the extra beam and 6'-4" headroom below was exactly what we wanted. Typical 8'-6" beam just seemed tight compared to the 9'-1" of the 270. It's still trailerable but seemed far larger. They're a bit rare down here but we lucked into the right year and power setup so we're very happy.

You'd be welcome to come by and see our 270 if you'd just drop us a PM to arrange a time and we'll give you the .05c tour. Good luck in your search. Mike

Here's a pic of two FV270's taken on the St Johns at Boattree Marina last Oct. Mine is the '04 (w/o the radar) and the other one was an '07 I think.



And here's our rig ready to go....

rasbury

Thanks and nice boat!  I did see that group but looks like they travel in and bigger $$$ crowd than me!  I may have to settle for the little smaller as I will be working with an F150- it's rated for 11300 but this is a lot of boat...plus the cost difference between the 250 Rinker and the other bayliner/regal 26 boats is pretty large.  I need to find a 26 with a gen and that seems to be a little tough as well....but, we are trying!  I may take you up on a look at yours and thanks for the reply.

 

Regards,

rasbury

Mike- will I think I have found my boat, a 2005 set up just the way I want and went over and looked at it this weekend...really nice boat at a great price and trying to work out the details. Your over in the area with a lot of what I call "skinny water" for sure. Our favorite destination is over around the Cayo Costa area (Port Charloette) barrier islands which to get to, especially where I go is very shallow. I've read that this boat will move in 17" of water trimmed up which from the mass of the boat seems impossible..what is your experience? I found a boat with the arch, 5.7L, generator with what I can only guess is every factory option and it has 200 hours on it....I hope I can pull it together before it's gone!

 

 

TikiHut2

Good luck with the deal. Make sure you get a good survey and understand that the trailer setup is a bit tricky to get right but will work if you're persistent. 24" is about min depth. 17" and you'll be sucking dirt/much/shells into parts that won't be happy. If you're anywhere near the area give me a call and I'd be happy to give it a look or you can stop by and check out our setup.

 We've spent a lifetime boating around Charlotte Harbor and are very familiar with Pelican cove/Cayo Costa.  It's paradise. Send me a PM if you want to get a phone number. Cya Mike