My Stepping Stone Project
 

Hey everyone, I've lurked around this forum for the past year or so just reading and observing and learning. I grew up around boats and loved them, my dad had an old Sea Ray 22 ft Pachanga in late 80's and and then a 25ft Donzi after that, I learned a lot with those boats and had a ton of fun and memories . I've had the itch for a powerboat of my own for several years. About 3 years ago I was finally about to take the plunge and then my wife and I found out she was pregnant so to be fiscally responsible I again put my boat on hold. Well last year with a 1 year old daughter at home I decided I needed a boat and that it would be a good "family activity" for us in the future. I don't normally need to ask my wife permission to buy toys(and I have several) but I figured I would give her that courtesy. To my surprise she said "do what you need to do just don't put us in a mountain of debt doing it". So rather than looking at a 27 ft Baja or Chackmate like I had been looking for in the past I settled on something a bit more tame and affordable. Rather than financing a boat and strapping myself with a big payment I figured I would try to buy something I could pay cash for with the money I had set aside for a few years for a down payment on a newer larger boat. I figured this would be a sensible way in and if I could get my wife and daughter hooked on boating then my second boat can be my dream boat. The good news is I had my daughter out on the boat a couple times the end of last season and she loved it, my wife liked it too but she didn't really comprehend the whole "on plane" thing. She would complain about it being too rough at times when I was going slow but then she would complain I was going too fast, I tried to explain how it actually gets smoother the faster I go because the boat gets on top of the chop.

I ended up with a super clean low hour Rinker 232 Captiva Cuddy. with a 5.7 modded with lots of Edelbrock Marine performance parts and through hull exhaust. Fresh water boat, flawless gelcoat and perfect interior and cockpit upholstery. I know this is not a true "off-shore' boat but it has a decent hull design a sporty look and the boat goes 58mph, which is not fast but not a slouch either. The trailer was rough and that is probably being nice. The boat didn't need too much. This winter I have upgrad]ed the stereo, had new hull graphics made and completely refinished the trailer. Here are some before and after photos of the trailer.

New paint, wheels, wheel bearings, bunk carpet, bow roller, winch strap and led lighting. A friend and I did all the work ourselves and I am in for only about $1100. I am pleased with the transformation. I still need to add some pinstripe tape and diamond plate on the steps and fenders.

Before and After Pics (don't mind the lack of rub rail, I am in the process of replacing)

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I am also adding some updated graphics to the boat. I worked with Chris at Raceline Digital, I furnished him with a profile view of my boatl and he came up with a half dozen different concepts for me based off some colors schemes I gave him. My cockpit upholstery is white and bright blue and pink so I wanted to carry that color scheme to the graphics.

Here is what he came up with. I ended up going with the one at the bottom. I just received the graphics from Raceline Digital this week and hope to get them installed/applied next Saturday. I spent about $650 including shipping for all the graphics port/starboard above and below rub rail, new matching registration numbers and three matching deck strips for up front.

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That looks good! Welcome to the site :)

As far as graphics go i kinda like 383

Ya, that one was actually my second choice, but I ended up going with the one at the bottom AP-906 with the green, pink and blue. The sky is the limit with Raceline Digital, they have about 100 stock graphic designs and about 75 different colors to chose from. My hands were kinda tied due to the existing blue hull strip since that was gelcoat and not something I could remove. I looked into partial wraps but they were about $2000 and up for a boat my size and knowing my plans are to only keep this boat a couple of seasons then move up I didn't want to dump that kind of money into it. I think the $600 or so I spent was sensible and still makes a tasteful yet dramatic change to the appearance of the boat.

here is a link to Raceline's website if anyone is interested, Chris was really great to work with. https://www.racelinedigital.com/stor...index&cPath=89

My interior looks like this so that is why I chose the pink and blue theme

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDc5OA...VdV4y/$_80.JPG

I installed my new vinyl graphics today, I like the way it turned out. Photo's don't do the metallic silver stripes any justice indoors. It took a friend and I about 3 hours to install.

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I went with raceline on a 26zx Donzi I had. Great company and product.[ATTACH=CONFIG]552238[/ATTACH]

Very nice!
I'm a huge fan of cuddies and have owned a bunch. The Rinkers are really tough to beat.

I remember when I had my first 24' twin O/B Sonic I was putzing around on the local pond one day when I looked over and a 232 Rinker was running beside me.
I lit up my Sonic to educate the guy and think I beat him by a mph!
Ended up being a local Rinker sales guy (that I knew) that had one w/a 502 in it and set up right. Was a gorgeous boat and ran awesome!

Congrats on your upgrades. I love seeing the small things that make a boat pop.

Well done.

Your boat looks great! I was very pleased with experience with Chris at Raceline Digital, I made several changes before deciding on my final design and colors and he was very patient with me. I would recommend them to anyone.

Thank you! Unfortunately mine only has the small block but its had some massaging so its respectable. I looked for a big block but they are hard to come by and the couple I found were rough compared to the one I purchased. Rinker builds a decent hull for their sport cuddies, there was a model back in the mid 90's I believe called a 236 that had a very sleek and fast hull that even today it doesn't look outdated, they are really cool for what they are.

Nice looking boat, glad you're all enjoying it. When the missus says it's too rough, there is only one answer to that comment.........."bigger boat". Keep on saying it and next time, you might not be so "fiscally responsible". Getting the wifey on-side is always best, I think you started off right with the Rinker.

RR

P.S. Chris at Raceline made my graphics, good to deal with and very happy with the result. (See the pic).

I see that you are from just up the road in McHenry, do you do most of your boating on the Chain? I have not been out there in years, I hear its shallow, needs a dredging and crawling with cops and DNR, any truth to any of that? I was considering a slip at Sequoit Harbor on the Chain. What are your thoughts. I've do most of my boating on Lake Michigan and Lake Geneva.

Beautiful boat

Nice job on the trailer. I've been there and done that a couple of times and know how time consuming and what a pain in the you know what to do. Lots of wasted paint also. Nice thing about graphics is you get sick of or they get dated peel them off. I like simple personally. Post a pick of the back of your boat if you would. Was thinking the rinkers had a pad and were a pretty decent and surprisingly quick hull for their size and weight. Build a 383 for that and it will really wake it up. Nice project! I respect your not liking payments also.

I love the chain. Some will say they hate it but it is a great place to boat and hang out. It is shallow in spots but there are boats much bigger than my current 292 that live on the chain.

Thanks for the kind words guys, was a pleasure working with you. We manufacture graphics to fit any type of boat, 150+ designs to choose from, colors 45 shades. As suggested, our free mockup services are a great way to see what the graphics will look like before you purchase so email us a pic and we'll send back some samples, usually in 24hrs.

Contact me anytime if you have any questions - chris(@)racelinedigital.com

Chris

Hey Chris! Thanks again for all your help, the graphics completely transformed my boat. One of my buddies is going to be contacting you for new graphics on his boat after seeing mine.

I love post like this...we've all been where you are. Stay after it and have fun.

Great job with it all, the graphics really updates the look and the refurbished trailer compliments the other updates you have done. I was in the same situation and took the same route when I purchased my Formula and I couldn't be happier at this point. Good luck with it all and have fun!

Thanks! Hopefully I will be in a big boy boat in a season or two. I've actually really enjoyed these DIY projects, it has given me something to do during the past couple months, being here in the Chicago area our boating season doesn't start until April or even early May so winter DIY projects and detailing are the only interaction we can have with our boats. I just installed a new steering wheel last weekend, it's white with some polished aluminum spokes, nothing super fancy but a nice update nonetheless. I also just decided I am going to have the cabin V berth cushions re-upholstered. I ordered a few marine fabric samples from Sailrite and my mom is an avid sewer with some super high tech sewing machine and she says she can do them for me and make them look like OEM quality. The only other project I might tackle is the cabin headliner but the more I think about it the more I might just leave that to a professional or leave it alone completely, it's not bad but there are a couple water stains around one of the port windows,.

The only other project I might tackle is the cabin headliner but the more I think about it the more I might just leave that to a professional or leave it alone completely, it's not bad but there are a couple water stains around one of the port windows,.

Try a steam cleaner around those water stains...I've used it with success for years.

The early 90's 236 Rinkers were the real sleek looking boats. Your 232 appears to be a '95 - '97 based on the interior. You have a small delta-pad hull so they run good with mild power. My '99 with a 260 HP 5.7 EFI/Bravo III/26" prop set would run 53 MPH GPS.

Ya, the 236 was and still is an awesome hull design, very sleek but very rare. The 236 with a big block would run circles around many "performance" boats of it's day. Do you remember the 2002 262 SS? That was another cool Rinker performance boat, came with a 496 Mag. offshore flip down bolster seats, hydrolic trim tabs and other "offshore" features.

http://www.boatsville.com/boats/TX/H...Rinker/140478#

http://www.boatsville.com/boats/TX/H...Rinker/140478#

Yes the local Rinker dealer pimped me hard to get into a 262 back in '02. I bought a 266 Crownline instead.

We have a couple 236's on our local lake. A red and and yellow one. I had a '93 206 Rinker. The 236's baby brother.

I got her cleaned up and took a few pics out in the sun. I'm happy with the way it turned out.In

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