Renken 21ft cuddy 1988

Pst76

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
Messages
220
Looking for info on a 21ft Renken that I am thinking about picking up. Boat is in overall good shape other than a blown 350 V8 Chevy motor with a Mercruiser. solid boat no holes or patches, good interior etc. Motor seized this season due to oil issues. (lack of)Price is right and I have a brand new 350 crate motor I can get my hands on to throw in if I buy the boat. Havent seen much info on issues with Renken boats and am curious what opinions may be. I have always run outboards and wonder if I'm looking at more headaches with an I/O <br />Thanks for any input
 

mako

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 15, 2001
Messages
110
Re: Renken 21ft cuddy 1988

Been using a 20 foot Renken for 2 seasons now. The boat is a fine lake and bay boat but is terrible when the water gets rough. The hull is a very narrow sharp deep V that likes to go under the waves easily. Actually some of the newer boats like Sea Sport, Sea Hunt, and Sea Fox are Renken designs (Sea Sport for sure). Get outside of the comforts of the bay with a Renken and you'll wish you bought a bit higher end boat!
 

seadogg

Recruit
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Messages
3
Re: Renken 21ft cuddy 1988

I ran a Renken 19' B/R with a Volvo I/O setup for 5 years and it was a great economical boat. The biggest problem I had was with wiring in the harness. someone pprior to my getting the boat had made splices to the harness and corrosion set in. Mako is correct about the bow nosing down in rough water. My wife and I got caught out in a thunderstorm once and she decided that we needed a bigger boat. Thats why I sold the Renken and moved up.<br />Good Luck with it.
 

Pst76

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
Messages
220
Re: Renken 21ft cuddy 1988

Thanks for the input, I presently run a 17ft larson sport boat with a deep V hull design 115 hp Ev. Have been in chop a few times and it handled real well. Hull on the Renken looks similar except for the cuddy. Is the weight in the rear with the I/O the factor? Most of my runs are in Long Island sound (CT shore to RI). Wondering if it would be much different than what I get with the Larson. <br />Part of the deal in getting the Renken includes trading the Larson toward it. I like the larson and have just restored the whole boat except motor which I was planing to replace this winter with a 94 Johnson 150hp. I can get motor replaced for the same out of pocket as getting the Renken with a new motor. I do feel that it would be the next step up from what I have toward going better next time but want to make sure I dont regret it. Test ride would be best except that need to install new motor in I/O first. Thanks for your feed back. Ill have to thing on this a bit..<br />Thanks again<br />PST
 
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