J-Doc

Man that's just wrong on so many levels. Since its you, I'll let it slide. Lol!! You are a true OMC fan for sure. I just can't bring myself to get an E-Tec. I've heard lots of bad stories over the years. I think every company has "bad stories" and when the truth comes out, the story started with lack of maintenance and care. How the E-Tec works and wanting to run at WOT vs idling long time periods like trolling also scares me. I read that from several folks a few years ago.

First person is coming to look at the boat later today and seems extremely interested. Once he sees it in person, he's going to see how clean it is and hear the motor run. Then he'll want a test ride and then money will be discussed and or exchanged...............tick tock fellas. I'm so going to miss this ole girl.

New Ranger RT188 alum bass.

Good points. I have been rethinking "spot lock" and how often it would be used. After fishing the RT188 with the Fortrex 80lb MK, it's really not that necessary as the Fortrex has ample power to do essentially the same thing and can be easily controlled/adjusted as needed to ensure "spot lock" is maintained but at a substantial savings in cost. My new boat will have the pedal mounted in the recessed trolling motor pedal well so.....the only thing I can think of is Velcro to allow temporary removal. I don't care for that really. Seems too cheap. I'll probably go with the Fortrex for my use and use the savings towards better graphs. The remote control deal is pretty neat. Something to consider. That way the pedal can be "mounted" as it's intended. If I can get away with it, I'm getting an HDS12 at the console and HDS8 at the bow. I'll watch my graphs far more than I would ever use "spot lock".

Guys, I've had several folks ask questions and want more info. I have at least one coming to look at the boat later this week. Possibly 2. Just putting that out there in case someone is interested in seeing it. I think she's going to sell fast.

You're a somebody in my book. And thank you. She really has been treated well.

No, he's trolling 2.5mph average with it just at idle. If you raise the trim and lower your trolling motor in the front, you can troll down to 1.75mph. I think it's harder on the motor though if you do that for a long time span.

I heard the 4 strokes in general are very maintenance prone if you do not keep them maintained regularly. I like the quiet and the added fuel mileage but a similar boat with almost the same hull design between 2 strok and 4 stroke had less than 1mpg difference on the Merc performance bulletins. That's a pretty tight race. The 2-stroke is also pretty quiet for trolling. Works great for Feathers&Fins as he trolls about 99% of the time. If you heard my old Rude' idling........you'd laugh your pants off. Sounds like a small hot rod! lol

Way ahead of you there. My wife said she wanted it to keep the bugs off of her. I laughed profusely. I said I'll save that money for the prop. When you ride 70 behind a console, my face mask starts to lift off frequently. Passenger consoles are over rated.

If I may ask, is your motor mounted on hole #2? That seems to be the most common setup. It reduces the propose affect from the aluminum props and the stainless steel props also reduce the proposing affect so I've read. The alum. props flex and won't hold the lift, rpm, and load. I've also read 50mph is common on the 2-stroke. Not so much for the 4-stroke so if you're getting that with your Solas, it's just further proof that a stainless prop is going to get you to the 50mph mark and alum prop will not. At least for the Merc motors. THe only guys running mid-50's have had custom props and a jack plate. Jack plates WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY on all alum boat manufacturers except Xpress boats. The prefer them. It's not a strength issue at all. It's a "choke hold". WHy would someone buy the glass model with a 150 pushing only 60mph if you can get an aluminum rig that's longer and will push 55 if speed is your thing and affordability? I've done my homework I promise. Also, I think my ergonomics issue with the controls is quite exaggerated by the fact that I'm used to a small boat with the steering wheel much closer to me and the controls mounted much higher. It's just a "different" feel and I'm sure it would become normal after about 3-4 trips out. I was only in the driver seat 2-3mins. I believe it will cross wakes better than most. It's a bit heavier than most due to the extra foam fill. With it not having a pad hull and more bow lift, it's going to feel the chop. All boats will. My current one included. Once it's up a bit more on pad, all of that goes away. Again.......pad hull vs. modified V hull. Again, why would Ranger make a pad hull when they can sell you a Z118? It would kill their smaller glass boat line-up. The intent is to get you into the Ranger family at a Bass Tracker price.

Exactly why I wrote this up and started it. It's a new boat and there is not enough "collective" information gathered into a single place.

Well, I was giving you credit. You're certainly no where near that now. Remember, I have a spare tire if you need one. LOL OK, so more to my point above. I lost 1-2mph with my buddy in the boat with me. That was before the deck extension however. Probably 2-3 now with the added bow weight. Total weight of extension is only 40lbs.

I've had me, bass gear for two people, my buddy at about 260, me at 220, 2 full tanks of fuel, and ridden in rough water out by Van Winkle Hollow in the middle of summer with wake boats everywhere. It was not a smooth ride but it took it. THe motor is strong too. I only lost 1-2mph with all of the extra gear and passenger. She's currently running 39-40 (gps). That's as strong as she's ever run. Rare occasions with a tail wind and perfect chop, I've hit up to 45. :-) She was singing "I believe I can fly" at the time. lol

I do not have an actual recorded weight. The badge on the boat does not provide the total weight (at least I don't think it does). According to iboats.com, the dry weight (hull only, no motor) is 800lbs. http://boatspecs.iboats.com/Cane_Cutter__1502__1979/bp/66b108956 Add another 350 for motor, another 200-300 for gear, 200 for yourself, and trailer being probably 600ish?? Guessing close to 1,600lbs in that ballpark. Definitely under 2,000lbs although I've never weighed it at a weigh station or the landfill. (lol.....landfill scale) My truck is a 2012 Tacoma 4x4 with the 4.0 V6. I can pull it pretty easy and barely noticeable around town and to the lake. Climbing hills you notice it's back there but truck takes it and pulls away. I've passed people many times on the 3-lane going up to Prairie Creek. If they are pulling and going 30mph........brother you're getting passed by the Cutter no question! I will say this. On the water, she rides kind a heavy. Unless you're on 2-3ft chop, she's as smooth as melted butter. Get it on some good chop and she'll be like any other glass boat of that length. Probably better due to weight. SOLID boat! I've had it in as rough a water as you'd ever want to be in on Beaver and never felt threatened. Not once....... Hope that helps.

Hey that's cool. Thanks!

No Ranger ordered just yet Mike. Lol. Still evaluating manufactures. Ranger is the leader currently. Just wished it rode better and the controls were mounted higher. Darn thing is where your leg is at full throttle. Hate that.

That's a really really close guess to final weight. Congrats sir. I said 60-65 so the final day held up pretty close. Better turnout than expected.

I posted this in the Beaver Lake forum (NW Arkansas specific) but I'm sharing here as well. Click link below to take you to the original post and more information. http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/forum/56-beaver-lake/

It was at one time. I think it's just the marina area currently. At one time, I thought they extended that area to all of Prairie Creek and the no wake zone.

No wonder the small weights. Need to go other direction! Lol I've fished the dam area on days like this and had a massive school of Kentucky's around me. Could see them for at least 20-25yds away water was so clear. Finally got one on a sub surface hard swim bait when it was as far away from boat as possible. Long long casts and slow retrieve was key. Tough fishing up there is my point.

After comparing prices, it makes me wonder if spot lock is worth the cost. An 80lb Terrova or Xi-5 is between $1,300-1,600 and a standard cable driven 80lb Fortrex is $800i believe. That is a big difference. The only feature I would use is spit lock. I wouldn't record tracks, and save spits and such. The remote for occasional drift fishing would be nice foo but for the price and risk of batteries dying on pedal and remote or risk of losing connections and not syncing, I'm thinking I may go cable driven just because I would not use the full features. My experience with the 80lb Fortrex was so good, it almost has spot lock itself. You just need to steer on occasion. It was easy to keep boat in place in 20-25mph wind and waves. Only 40% of motor power too.

Me too. That's just it. The feel and ride bother me. I feel like I'm asking too much from the alum. boat. It's not the manufactures fault as they have created a great boat. The ride is definately an aluminum boat and not a glass boat. Same can be said for other alum boats but today was the first one I've driven. It was a different feel that I would have to get used too. I'm sure after a month it wouldn't bother me. But the "what if" is bothering me. That and they are not a pad hull which means the ride is rougher on small chop. A little lift and that goes away. Can't get lift without pad hull. In the end, I'll have a new rig that's extremely fishable, bigger for the family outings, can venture into skinny waters, and be what I need out of a boat. I just may have to live with the ride. I HATE the control location. Hate hate hate. Might have to get a hot foot just to keep the control off my leg. I think that's an issue Ranger needs to look at. Any size fella short or tall, this is an issue. Needs resolving.

Oh and the FLW exp was sad. Half of the amount of vendors this year. It's obvious they are hurting and the participation is not that great either. Sad to see this.

It's the local 3rd place curse. Greg got 3rd here a few years ago. Tomorrow wil be brutal. I really thought the fish would have cooperated this week. There i a 60-70kb bag out there. The right fish are just not biting.

Lol. Thanks. :-)