First time buyer looking at a 1988 Renken 21' cuddy cabin w/ merc 3.0

Spence340

Seaman Apprentice
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Feb 20, 2017
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Been looking for a low cost starter boat for next season. Looked at a Renken today with a good trailer for $2500. The owner has a file a inch thick on the boat, some of which was insurance and registration stuff but the majority of the stack was repair bills from over the years and they have spent thousands over the last ten years. The ad said the engine was a merc 3.5L that was replaced in 2008 but when I took the cover off the engine was a 3.0L 4 cylinder. Is this ths dreaded 470 I see people trashing in the forum?
 

Baylinerchuck

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Jul 29, 2016
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I don't think so. The 3.0 is a pretty decent running engine as far as I've heard. Seems way under powered for a 21' boat though. I would want a 4.3L minimum for that length. A 1988 is bound to have some issues. Unless it was garage kept it may have wet wood below deck. Search relentlessly for soft spots in the floor.

Welcome to iBoats by the way!!
 

wrvond

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Mar 2, 2010
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I had a Renken bow rider back in the mid-80's. It was a very heavy boat. I wouldn't want to try pushing it around with such a small engine.
 

bajaunderground

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Apr 18, 2008
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I had a Renken bow rider back in the mid-80's. It was a very heavy boat. I wouldn't want to try pushing it around with such a small engine.

Never owned a Rinker but a 21' anything with a 3.0L seems drastically under powered...let alone a cuddy!
 

dennis461

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Aug 11, 2011
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The OP is looking for a 'starter', so this seems like a good place to start.
"underpowered' is a relative term,
A beginner can get plenty of use out if a 21' foot boat with 3.0L.
Mine is 20' with 2.3L and makes just under 30MPH which is enough to get me in trouble.

I'd want to see the boat in the water before buying.
If not, offer him $1250 for boat and trailer
It could be no one else has looked at the boat and he secretly wants it gone quick.
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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May 24, 2011
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Moved this into the right section.

Simple way to tell if the motor is a 470 - The carb/intake and exhaust manifolds are on opposite side of the motor. A 3.0 has the carb/intake and exhaust manifold on the port side.

Another way is a stock 470 does not have a belt driven alternator. I say stock because a popular mod is to add an alternator/pulley/belt.
 

roffey

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Nov 22, 2012
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The OP is looking for a 'starter', so this seems like a good place to start.
"underpowered' is a relative term,
A beginner can get plenty of use out if a 21' foot boat with 3.0L.
I agree here. Under powered might be a good thing for a starter boat. This boat might be a great starting point, use it for a few years and for the next boat you will know what you want or what to look for. I know lots of boaters who just like to cruise lazily down the lake and never get on plane.
 

Starcraft5834

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Jun 2, 2013
Messages
1,677
as a proud owner of a "dog" I can say.. I have a 20ft cuddy with a 1987 3.0 GM. fast? nope. a 15p 4 blade pushes it nicely at about 33mph. heavy? yup.. we enjoy it very much.... it gets us where we want to go and have had many great memories in it thus far... speed is over rated... if your going to pull skiers all the time, best to get a larger engine.. if not so much, a 3.0 will due nicely
 

Spence340

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Messages
37
Thanks for the input and advice, very helpful. Being underpowered is not a big deal for me I just want something I can putt around the harbor area in and take an occasional ride over to Martha's Vineyard which is 7 miles away. Imperial you mentioned water skiing and I was wondering would this boat be powerful enough to water ski at all? The owner says they use do tubing with it which would be fine but a water ski once in awhile would be nice.
 

Starcraft5834

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Jun 2, 2013
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agree with marc... it's fine... if it has a 3 blade prop on it, i would highly recommend you go to a 4 blade prop. more punch out of the hole and will plane out easier at lower speeds and stay there....
 

drrpm

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 24, 2008
Messages
707
An 8 man racing shell can pull a skier on 2 skis but that doesn't mean it will be fun. Having to wind out a 4 cylinder engine to get that old 21 foot cuddy to go anywhere would get tiresome too. Its relatively easy to find "good deals" on 19-12 foot boats with the 4 bangers because they are far less desirable. Some people do like them but they're the minority.
 

Spence340

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Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Messages
37
Yeah, I may be moving on from this, when you google "Renken" you can't find many supporters of buying one. There is a 21' sea ray Seville on craigslist with a merc 165 that looks really nice in the pictures. Seller wouldn't answer my responses for a couple days and then said his phone was screwed up and then stated that he couldn't get the boat started. He said it just makes a click when he turns the key so he will drop the price from $2500 to $1500. Sounds a little fishy to me but it is just the boat I am looking for so I guess I'll take a look at it.
 

JASinIL2006

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Feb 10, 2012
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5,524
Red flag... if the motor won't run at all, you could be looking at anything from an inexpensive repair up to a complete engine replacement. Be careful...
 

Spence340

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Feb 20, 2017
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37
Just put a hundred dollars down on a 1987 Sea Ray Seville today. I'm going to start a new thread on it.
 

Spence340

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Feb 20, 2017
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Or not, just realized the 165 Merc is not a six but a four which makes it the 470 engine which I've read about here so I am going to have to back out of the sale. It stinks because I loved the boat.
 

jkust

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Aug 2, 2008
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My brutally honest take is no way would I want an 88 model boat or something so underpowered no matter what boat you end up with. You will outgrow the slowpoke in a season at most and then be stuck with selling it to upgrade. I'm in my mid 40's and so past my speed demon days and I outgrew even my supercharged waverunner that has a top speed of 70 on speedo and about 66 on gps in less than a week...It seemed wow fast, then you quickly get used to it. It's just the nature of the beast and to me the ideas that a person can just settle for puttering around is like speaking Greek. If I'm going though the effort and buying a boat, even a first boat, I am buying something that is at a minimum not 30 years old as a start for a multitude of reasons. Plenty of late 90's boats out there for a song. I can live with a 4 cylinder on a first boat but it would need to be appropriately matched to the boat.
 

ezmobee

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Mar 26, 2007
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23,767
Or not, just realized the 165 Merc is not a six but a four which makes it the 470 engine which I've read about here so I am going to have to back out of the sale. It stinks because I loved the boat.

I thought the 165 is a straight six? Isn't the 470 170HP?
 
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