2009 Rinker Captiva 296CC Essais de Bateaux

A recent study by Discover Boating found boaters report better health, less stress and more satisfying love lives. Almost any boat can get you fresh air and relieve stress, but most boaters need a bit of privacy for their love lives. A cruiser would work fine. But for those who don’t want that much boat, a cuddy cabin may be just the ticket.

The Rinker Captiva 296CC has a spacious cockpit sure to be a hit with day cruisers. With swivelling bucket seats at the helm and companion positions, it has a bench seat to port and an L-shaped bench to starboard and across the aft cockpit.

There’s a cockpit wetbar and refrigerator plus a “rumble-seat” sunpad that combines with the aft portion of the L-shaped bench seat into a massive sun lounge.

That sunpad will be great for relaxing in the open air. But when it’s time for an afternoon “nap,” boaters can head into the cuddy cabin, which features cherry cabinetry, a marine head and a cupboard aft to port. Bedding and pillows can be stored under the lounge seats.

Down below, an overhead hatch and two ports offer light and ventilation. The comfortable U-shaped lounge converts easily to a comfortable bed, ideal for afternoon trysts, overnight stays or even weekend cruising.

For watersports fans, our test boat included the optional sports arch with a tow-point. There’s plenty of room on the 296 Cuddy to store wakeboards and water toys in a cockpit floor locker.

True to form, Rinker provides usually optional equipment as standard, such as a VHF, GPS chartplotter, digital depth gauge, and stereo with MP3 jack plus helm and transom remotes.

Boaters buying the Rinker 296 Cuddy will not suffer performance anxiety. The test boat’s MerCruiser 496 MAG with Bravo Three twin counter-rotating 24-inch pitch props accelerates to 30 mph in under 10 seconds. Trim tabs and a stepped hull keep the boat on plane down to 2500 rpm at 17.5 mph. Handling is tight and the boat runs comfortably in sizeable waves.

Top speed is a sporty 47 mph at 4850 rpm, with cruising speeds dialing in at 31.2 mph at 3500 rpm and 26.2 mph at 3000 rpm. At 38.7 mph and 4000 rpm, the boat will be able to quickly take you to your favourite back-bay hideaway �“ to relax and enjoy boating at its best with someone special.