Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

[jon705]

After selling our first little speed boat a few weeks ago my family and I have been looking to upgrade to a cuddy cabin and have narrowed the list down to two. One is a 1988 Rinken and the other is a 1990 Seaswirl. Both have similar pluses like solid floors, vinyl in great shape, mechanical soundness.

Here's the differences: The Seaswirl has been stored inside, has a storage cover (not sure the quality or brand), bimini, surge brakes on the trailer, overall it's cleaner, 4.3L V6 OMC. Boat has been maintained by a boat mechanic.

The Renken needs some general cleanup but the seats have no tears, rips or stains. It has a bimini but that has a rip on the top. There is no storage cover. It has been stored inside for the past two years. This has a 4cyl Mercruiser. Boat has been inspected and only general maintenance items like fluid changes were recommended.

The two points making this a difficult choice (at this time anyway) is that the Seaswirl is $1,000 more and is 18' versus the Renken which is 20'. Will we notice the missing 2'? Is the 6cyl a plus over a 4cyl?

Thanks in advance,

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Do you really want a boat powered by a drive system with dwindling parts support? (OMC)

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Decisions, decisions. I'm not familiar with the two specifics, so I'll only comment on two things. 2' is alot of extra room. We started with an 18', now have a 20.5 foot. It feels like it's twice the room. Floor layout also affects the spaciousness, so you will want to sit on both. But fact is, boats are crowded places, more room is generally a good thing.

The other comment is on the 4 cyl vs the 6 cyl. If you sold a "small speedboat", you will most likely not be too thrilled with a 4 cyl in a 20' boat. The Renken will definitely have more giddyup to it.

I'd see if you can take both for a test drive. Maybe one will "speak" to you, maybe not. Spring is upon us, and there will be a ton more boats for sale. Don't settle and leave yourself wanting something right away.

 

[jon705]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Do you really want a boat powered by a drive system with dwindling parts support? (OMC)

Good point. The Renken has a Mercruiser. Is that better parts- and repair-wise?

 

[jon705]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

I'd see if you can take both for a test drive. Maybe one will "speak" to you, maybe not. Spring is upon us, and there will be a ton more boats for sale. Don't settle and leave yourself wanting something right away.

I wasn't looking at boats last season so I can't say for sure, but do you find that prices go up in the spring? I'm sure it depends on the area too but a lot of posts on craigslist say something like "$xxx now and will go up $5,000 when the weather gets nice." Idle threat? Do those higher prices actually "stick?"

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Good point. The Renken has a Mercruiser. Is that better parts- and repair-wise?

OMC has been out of business for over a decade. Bombardier took over their Johnson/Evinrude outboard business and has been doing well supplying them with parts. The sterndrive business was just put out to pasture. Stick with Mercruiser or Volvo for I/O's. The one possible exception would be the Mercruiser 470. It had other names but was always a 3.7L 4 cylinder. It was a troublesome design and has some NLA parts. You may want to avoid that one as well.

Parts and service for Mercruiser is plentiful. Volvo slightly less so from what I understand.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

I wasn't looking at boats last season so I can't say for sure, but do you find that prices go up in the spring? I'm sure it depends on the area too but a lot of posts on craigslist say something like "$xxx now and will go up $5,000 when the weather gets nice." Idle threat? Do those higher prices actually "stick?"

In Spring, asking prices do tend to go up, and impatient fools do tend to pay more when itching for some Summer fun. Means almost nothing to the educated shopper though.

Agreed with the basic advice here; avoid OMC unless you are a good mech and own a boat junkyard with lots o' OMC spare parts, and definitely "tow trial" any trailer and sea trial any boat you consider.

 

[jon705]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

In Spring, asking prices do tend to go up, and impatient fools do tend to pay more when itching for some Summer fun. Means almost nothing to the educated shopper though.

Agreed with the basic advice here; avoid OMC unless you are a good mech and own a boat junkyard with lots o' OMC spare parts, and definitely "tow trial" any trailer and sea trial any boat you consider.

I talked to a friend of mine yesterday and he reiterated that Mercs are best to go with, Volvo next and stay away from the old OMC stuff. The Renken has a 2.5L Merc. I plan to go look at it tomorrow.

How difficult to find and expensive are Volvo parts? Any particular model or year to stay away from? I've thought about taking a trip to look at a 1990 Wellcraft with a 4cyl Volvo but wasn't sure I wanted to get into that type of drive system.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Jon,

I generally agree with what has already been said above. A boat is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, so it depends on what it's worth to you. A fist full of money has a lot of negotiating power though.

I would look at the Wellcraft and consider it over the others. Once again overall condition is the most important thing in the years and price range you are considering. The four cyclinder Volvo is the same engine (Chevy) as the Merc and the drives are equally as good if not better in some cases. Both Merc and Volvo drives are set-up very similarly.

 

[jon705]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Jon,

I would look at the Wellcraft and consider it over the others. Once again overall condition is the most important thing in the years and price range you are considering. The four cyclinder Volvo is the same engine (Chevy) as the Merc and the drives are equally as good if not better in some cases. Both Merc and Volvo drives are set-up very similarly.

Unfortunately I think the Wellcraft has been sold. The ad is still up but the person is not responding to e-mail and when I called the phone cut off when I mentioned the word "boat." Not sure if it was intentional but it appears not to be available anymore.

Thanks for the comments on the Volvo setup. I feel better about keeping that option open in my search now.

 

[jon705]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

The other comment is on the 4 cyl vs the 6 cyl. If you sold a "small speedboat", you will most likely not be too thrilled with a 4 cyl in a 20' boat. The Renken will definitely have more giddyup to it.

Does anyone have thoughts on the 120hp 2.5L Merc that's in the Renken? Is that enough oomph in a 20' cuddy to pull tubes and skiers? Our previous boat was a 16' vhull with a 100hp Johnson outboard. We tubed just fine with it. Is another 20 horses with 4' more boat a concern?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Is another 20 horses with 4' more boat a concern?

Yes. A 2.5 in a 20' cuddy is going to be a real turd. Tubing will be fine (you can tube behind anything) but skiing with a couple passengers will be tough. A 100HP outboard in a 16' would beat the PANTS off a 20' with a 120 I/O. A 2 stroke outboard will outperform a similar HP I/O due to the weight difference and other factors. That 120 I/O is probably about equal to a 90-100HP outboard.

 

[jon705]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

Yes. A 2.5 in a 20' cuddy is going to be a real turd. Tubing will be fine (you can tube behind anything) but skiing with a couple passengers will be tough. A 100HP outboard in a 16' would beat the PANTS off a 20' with a 120 I/O. A 2 stroke outboard will outperform a similar HP I/O due to the weight difference and other factors. That 120 I/O is probably about equal to a 90-100HP outboard.

I didn't think I had so many questions...I'm glad for all the feedback! I'm finding out that almost all of the boats for sale that we're interested in have a "stay away from" drive setup. Lots of OMCs and a couple others that have the 3.7L Merc.

Is there a minimum HP I should be looking for in a 20' cuddy when our desire is to ski?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

You'll want a 4.3V6 in a 20' cuddy.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

+1 on the V6. Great for your power needs and still somewhat fuel stingy with today's ugly gas prices!

 

[BTMCB]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

+1 on the V6. Great for your power needs and still somewhat fuel stingy with today's ugly gas prices!

Know little about the boats you are looking at but I do agree with this poster's advice. I have the 4.3L, V-6, 190hp in my boat it and it performs well with a skier and a few in the boat.

Good luck.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

I had a 20' wellcraft cuddy that had a 235 horse outboard on it, other than tough on gas it performed quite well and was a dream to pull behind my truck. They also offered the same boat with a 350 merc. setup I think I could have hung with the I/O no prob. The old saying in boats is you can never have too much power but you will always want more if you dont have enough, is quite true...

 

[jon705]

Re: Advice on used boat purchase - Renken/Seaswirl

I ended up going with the Seaswirl. It was in too great of shape to pass up and the price made it all the more enticing. Talked to a co-worker that has the exact same drive setup on his boat and he said it's been great for him...just have to know how to take care of it. He replaced the LU gears after his shift cables went out. He says knowing to stay on top of the shift cable adjustment and proper lube fill procedure will keep me happy.

I also searched around for parts prices and regular maintenance items for the OMC do not seem any more expensive than for Mercruiser.