Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

Rinker 186 OB

We Say: Most 18-foot sterndrive runabouts boast 190 to 220 horses below the sun pad. Rinker’s 186 OB sports an outboard to get around the steep price increases that have hit sterndrives. A lower-horsepower outboard also consumes less fuel and is easier to maintain. But does it come with a performance catch?

With my test boat’s Yamaha F115 (other brands are offered), I peaked a whisker shy of 40 mph, got onto plane in 4.6 seconds and passed the 30 mph mark in six more. I also recorded a fuel burn of 5.3 gph at a 28 mph cruise.

Outboards have long been celebrated for freeing up cockpit space. The trade-off is the loss of the sterndrive’s generous swim platform: Twin smaller platforms flank the outboard. Elsewhere, the 186 OB offers twin captain’s chairs and a generous ski locker in the sole. Bow seating follows the perimeter of the cockpit, though I found the bow lounge is deeper than average — a fact parents will appreciate since bows are typically kiddie territory.

Who’d Want One: The entry-level or family buyer looking for affordability but without compromising function.

Another Choice: Ebbtide‘s 2-inch-shorter 188 SE O/B ($16,375 without power) squeaked another 2 miles an hour from similar power in a recent test. The Ebbtide shares the Rinker’s traditional cockpit layout but keeps most of the sun pad shared by its sterndrive counterpart.

Bottom Line: $29,125 with test power; rinkerboats.com