Reprise: inboards vs. sterndrives on the Rinker 342

LaReaLaRea Member Posts: 7,505 ✭✭✭✭✭
For a good head-to-head comparison of sterndrives vs. inboards, check out this 2003 PMY review of the Rinker 342 by Capt. Bill Pike.  It features a man who knows a thing or two about boats ... our own @Alswagg, described by Pike as "the head honcho on the 342 project."  

https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boat-tests/rinker-fiesta-vee-342-0
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Comments

  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Why didnt they ever test the diesels??
  • Liberty44140Liberty44140 Member Posts: 4,318 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think I read this about 10 times when buying my 342. Not to start a new debate but I'd sure love to go for a ride on a choppy day on a 342 with V drive 7.4 or 8.1's. I think it would be interesting! 
    07' Cruisers 390 (Previous Rinker's: 06' 342EC & 01' 310FV)

  • StodgeStodge Member Posts: 2,738 ✭✭✭✭
    How many 342s did they make without outdrives?  They must be kinda rare.

    2002 FV 342 on Lake St. Clair - Past Commodore SHC - Vessel Examiner USCGAUX

  • zaverin1zaverin1 Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭
    One down fall is most 342s are 5.7mags
    be nice to see more hp
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Alswagg said:
    We did several tests on diesels. The problem is they are so slow and will hardly get on plain.  The amount of diesel sales were about 3%  sure they are a little bit better on fuel economy at 24 mph but, it would take almost 8 seasons of average run time to break even with a gas counterpart    This did not include the higher cost of maintaining the demise engines.  They simply are not worth it 
    Your nuts. My boat got on plane faster than a gasser. 
  • cls10105cls10105 Member Posts: 352 ✭✭
    @Handymans342 your probably thinking of rving you dont remember boating. Camping and cheap gas
    cruising on 6. tw0s
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Have a few fellow Rinker forum guests who witnessed it first hand
  • cls10105cls10105 Member Posts: 352 ✭✭
    Mmmmhhhmmm
    cruising on 6. tw0s
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not to mention my boat topped out at 34mph and cruised very efficiently at 28mph. The reason Al said they were slow was because who ever installed the engines did not install the correct throttle cable at the factory. They were too short and did not allow the engine to go wide open. Now I dont know if they installed Volvo engines in a 342. I can only speak about the Yanmar engines. 
  • raybo3raybo3 Administrator Posts: 5,455 admin
    @Handymans342 who's nutz???? You must be looking a mirror. No F'n way your diesels are faster than gas again NO WAY!!!!!
    2002 342 Fiesta Vee PC Point Of Pines YC Revere MA. popyc.org     raybo3@live.com
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    No they are not but faster on plane no doubt
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You are not reading
  • raybo3raybo3 Administrator Posts: 5,455 admin
    I am reading I am just not delusional like you in your 28mph rocket..........lol
    2002 342 Fiesta Vee PC Point Of Pines YC Revere MA. popyc.org     raybo3@live.com
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2019
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    raybo3 said:
    I am reading I am just not delusional like you in your 28mph rocket..........lol
    At least I left the dock instead of drinking and sitting in it
  • raybo3raybo3 Administrator Posts: 5,455 admin
    raybo3 said:
    I am reading I am just not delusional like you in your 28mph rocket..........lol
    At least I left the dock instead of drinking and sitting in it
    When the heII did you use your boat? You sold it because you never used. I typical use mine every weekend weather permitting. 
    2002 342 Fiesta Vee PC Point Of Pines YC Revere MA. popyc.org     raybo3@live.com
  • LaReaLaRea Member Posts: 7,505 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Who cares about time to plane.  It's 15-20 seconds of your day.   

    A rough-weather question:  How slow will the inboard 342 stay on plane?  My 342 with 5.7 B3 would plane well below 20 mph ... I think it was like 17 mph.  
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    LaRea said:
    Who cares about time to plane.  It's 15-20 seconds of your day.   

    A rough-weather question:  How slow will the inboard 342 stay on plane?  My 342 with 5.7 B3 would plane well below 20 mph ... I think it was like 17 mph.  
    15 to 20 sec?? Mine was on plane in 6 seconds
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    raybo3 said:
    raybo3 said:
    I am reading I am just not delusional like you in your 28mph rocket..........lol
    At least I left the dock instead of drinking and sitting in it
    When the heII did you use your boat? You sold it because you never used. I typical use mine every weekend weather permitting. 
    But when I did, I left the dock
  • rasburyrasbury Member Posts: 8,218 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • Liberty44140Liberty44140 Member Posts: 4,318 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well.... this started off interesting...
    07' Cruisers 390 (Previous Rinker's: 06' 342EC & 01' 310FV)

  • 212rowboat212rowboat Member Posts: 2,591 ✭✭✭✭✭
    there are quite a few charters available on Ocracoke Island, and a few of them are even native to the Island.  Those are a clannish bunch who even have their own language, literally... It's a holdover from their ancestors traced by to Gaelic.  Their boats are their lives, as those indigenous to 'down east carolina' all make their living no more than two degrees removed from the water. 

    but the charters are of particular concern to this subject. 

    there are two boats in particular out there that are shorter than 40', but they are just short of...  they have a flared bow, a nice salon and forward birth, and what passes as a bridge with the tower helm.  they're rigged with outriggers and provisioned for every type of fishing those guys might find themselves doing which can range from commercial fishing for bluefin to chartering a bunch of yankee landlubbers out to a wreck and bottom fishing. 

    It is significant that these boats are found on Ocracoke almost exclusively outfitted like they are.  The boats were built by a man and his son, with the son-in-law arriving later.  It's a family affair.  They actually know the build dates and who laid hands where- speaking of the pedigree and family tree of the boats and people almost without distinction.  The place has its charm, but you have to shift gears to grasp it.  The significant part: these have single gas power plants... big blocks... the reason? They don't have to push very far to get to the prized fishing grounds.  They want room aboard in terms of holding a pile of yellow fin tuna's, a stack of groupers, b-liners/red snapper, or provisions for a few days holding out for a big bluefin.  Now, if you head to Atlantic, a small village for all practical purposes just east on the 'inner' banks (other side of the Pamlico Sound and perhaps an additional 30~40 miles west of Ocracoke) you'll find some more boats... built by the same builder and with similar family tree's the owners of either can talk the relations. These? Built very similar (ALL of them are different though some are closely resembling) are powered with diesels. Note the plural. 

    I'm guessing akin to an airplane when it comes to selecting power, the torque to weight ratio plays a dramatic role.  Heavier means more fuel. That means space, hence the additional water line to accommodate not only the engines but the tanks... it means covering more distance, which is better done at plane speeds, but for extended periods as compared to the guys on Ocracoke pushing the same or less distance to the fishing grounds as the Atlantic folk push to pass Ocracoke.  Diesels RULE for constant and consistent speeds and there is little comparison... not talking 60 minutes or less, but possibly as much as 6 hours at the same engine speed. 

    head to head and a sprint? the gassers will outrun the diesels. Need to come off the grounds and head to a buyer in Morehead City with a big bluefin on board? The diesels will get there first and with more reliability.  Need to re-power? Gassers every time- out of the water and back in within a mechanics single shift- or even roll the gantry over the wet bay and do it there even quicker.  Diesels? nope... you're down for a while. 

    low and slow trolling like these guys do? diesels.  they run cooler and have enough torque to operate a powerhead to run the whole boat... trim down on fuel and there is no exhaust to be concerned about.  Gassers? you'll find yourself playing with the throttle almost constantly as you encounter different seas, currents and reaches. 

    they both have their purposes and they are both used.  same as in the luxury/recreational market. 

    If you were running down the ICW from Maryland to the Keys, you'd likely appreciate those big oil squashers... if you're running out to the barrier islands to hook for an overnighter, and never venture further than a 100 miles.... you'd be wasting your money on the diesels. 

    parting shot: the 392cid diesel i last owned produced, literally, more torque just off idle than a fully built-for-torque 360/408 Mopar (in magnum flavor) did at the peak of the curve.  speaking of the curve, due to the high pressure common fuel rail on that 392 diesel, coupled with a compound turbo (low pressure/high volume variable geometry wheel that turned 'transparent' as the RPM's climbed and the high pressure wheel took over duties) the power curve was quite literally just shy of 2k RPM's wide... The torque kicked in instantly off idle but didn't peak until just over 2600RPMs, while the HP peaked just after (1187# tq / 617rwhp)... the purpose built 360/408?  Sausage cam in that thing hit peak tq around 4400RPM, and HP around 5400RPM.  IIRC it was just under 470TQ and peaked HP around 380HP, NOT rear wheel but crank.  the 408 WITH a 47RFE transmission weighed around 600lbs... the 392 diesel alone was over a thousand by itself. I could almost stand aside the 408 under the hood on the truck it was planted in, whereas the truck the diesel was in had a much larger engine bay, and i could look down under the hood and not see the ground it was so crammed in there.     

    my guess for the diesels even being an option with these pleasure boats is the cost and availability of fuels- and the reason most of them (diesels) went to places people speak funky languages. 

    one more parting shot: this bickering is why i rarely come by here anymore.  it may be in good nature, but it dang sure doesn't come off that way. 
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Yes sir 212 we appreciate your service and the freedom you gave us to go on a forum or not. 
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Alswagg said:
    Drama drama drama.  Blah blah blah.  
    Facts facts facts blah blah blah. LOL
  • Dream_InnDream_Inn Member, Moderator Posts: 7,552 mod
    one more parting shot: this bickering is why i rarely come by here anymore.  it may be in good nature, but it dang sure doesn't come off that way. 
    I completely agree, it really has been getting very old, especially when it just takes over a complete thread!

    Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express

  • raybo3raybo3 Administrator Posts: 5,455 admin
    Its like anything. If you dont like what is being posted dont read it. It not off topic its about the performance of a boat with diesels vs gas. Nothing wrong with a little horse play and a little comedy as long as it does not get out of hand. Once it gets out of hand I stop it. I have deleted many post that are over the top. However I get many PM's on how "entertaining" some of this stuff is. As a moderator I read every single post on this forum whether or not I have an interest in it of not to make sure it does not go "off color, vulgar, language ect ect. I make corrections, I check the spam, edit, moderator logs every day. A little ribbing is all in fun. Again no body is forcing anyone to read them if you do like them........................ Just say'n......... Have a great day.
    2002 342 Fiesta Vee PC Point Of Pines YC Revere MA. popyc.org     raybo3@live.com
  • Handymans342Handymans342 Member Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Dream is a moderator and he dont do what Ray does!
  • raybo3raybo3 Administrator Posts: 5,455 admin
    Woooo that was not the point of my post in anyway shape or form. The point is if anyone doesn't want to read something don't. Hit the back button and move on......
    2002 342 Fiesta Vee PC Point Of Pines YC Revere MA. popyc.org     raybo3@live.com
  • Liberty44140Liberty44140 Member Posts: 4,318 ✭✭✭✭✭
    raybo3 said:
    Its like anything. If you dont like what is being posted dont read it. It not off topic its about the performance of a boat with diesels vs gas. Nothing wrong with a little horse play and a little comedy as long as it does not get out of hand. Once it gets out of hand I stop it. I have deleted many post that are over the top. However I get many PM's on how "entertaining" some of this stuff is. As a moderator I read every single post on this forum whether or not I have an interest in it of not to make sure it does not go "off color, vulgar, language ect ect. I make corrections, I check the spam, edit, moderator logs every day. A little ribbing is all in fun. Again no body is forcing anyone to read them if you do like them........................ Just say'n......... Have a great day.
    Agree that if you dont like whats posted, dont read it, its a public forum. Respectfully though Ray, it is off topic. Topic was on a neat article on GAS stern-drive vs GAS inboard and had nothing to do with diesel.

    Here is a great place for this thread: https://boatdiesel.com/Forums/Index.cfm
    07' Cruisers 390 (Previous Rinker's: 06' 342EC & 01' 310FV)

  • DanD2DanD2 Member Posts: 847 ✭✭✭
    Hey Handy......you never stop do you!!!!
    No longer a boat owner.....previous boat - 2005 Rinker Fiesta Vee 342
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