When two boats share the same hull type — in this case both the Rinker Captiva 246 CC 2012 and the Rinker Captiva 296 2011 are deep vee designs with fiberglass construction — the buying decision usually comes down to a handful of practical questions: how many people are you putting on the water, how far do you trailer, and what does your tow vehicle weigh?

Both boats share a closely matched power ceiling — 430 hp for the Rinker Captiva 246 CC 2012 and 430 hp for the Rinker Captiva 296 2011. Real-world performance will come down more to which motor is actually bolted on, its load at the time, and whether it's a 4-stroke or 2-stroke setup. Fuel capacity breaks the other way: the Rinker Captiva 246 CC 2012 carries 75 gallons versus 1 gallons in the Rinker Captiva 296 2011. On a lake day that's negligible, but for coastal cruising or long reservoir runs the extra range matters.

For family outings this is probably the sharpest distinction between the two. The Rinker Captiva 296 2011 is rated for 9 passengers, while the Rinker Captiva 246 CC 2012 caps at 7. If you're regularly pulling extended family or a group of friends onto the water, the extra seats on the Rinker Captiva 296 2011 could be the deciding factor.