Ranger Aluminum?

[rps]

Tracy Area Boats in/near Mountain Home did my Alumacraft. I ordered it through them and they set it up. Except for the MinnKota wireless 24 volt install they did a great job.

I have an idea that F&F might enjoy. Pick a warmer day soon. Come ride in my tiller rig and in F&F's Tracker rig. Between the two of us you will find a number of ideas and be able to test two platforms that work. The point is not winning the comparison, but letting you see/touch/feel the range out there.

[Feathers and Fins]

That can be arranged, Hunting season closes Sunday so after that im all about fishing.

[J-Doc]

Exactly. There is no winning a comparison. No matter what anyone advises, it's your call and you need to get what works for you. Hands on experience cannot be beat!!

[Feathers and Fins]

The winning would be which boat catches the most walleye oh wait, that's a win for all of us.

[kjackson]

RPS, F&F-- I'll take you both up on that. However, the next really warm day is scheduled to be sometime in July from what I can see. But when I get back from my trip next week, I'll keep an eye on the weather and your open days.

J-Doc-- I'll have to take a closer look next time I'm close to one of the boats. Thanks for the Etec warning. It looks like a Merc is in my future. I'm torn between the Optimax and four-stroke. I had a 50hp Yamaha four-stroke on my old mooching boat that made me swear to never own another two-stroke. That thing was so quiet and had such great fuel consumption at low speeds, that I pretty much quit using my 6hp kicker.

[J-Doc]

I've been reading up on the new Rangers. Not much info available as the info I'm getting leads back to the older line of boats they used to sell severay years ago that were produced by Crestliner and another manuf.

From some of the info I have found, they say the new Rangers ride pretty well so.........if you take a test ride, let me know. I'd like to test ride one myself when I get in the market for one. I will say that the Ranger is completely foam filled at every square inch of the boat just like their glass boats. That's something Ranger takes very seriously.

You also got me looking into the deep V vs. bass boat thing again. A lot of guys on another forum (BassBoatCentral) love their deep V boats but do not like bass fishing from them. The higher sides catch more wind when fishing windy points, pitching jigs is really ackward and you cannot really lip land a bass or belly land. Must use a net on everything due to high sides. If the new Ranger alum. rigs ride really well, I could be happy in one.

I LOVE that they have an alum. deck which will never rot or warp. That's a nice feature and they are REALLY strong decks too. Oh and the seats can be lifted for a lot of storage beneath the seats. Several models have that but Ranger's storage is finished out nicely and not just alum. and such.

As for 4 stroke or 2-stroke, your call. I will say, a 4-stroke is hard to beat for economy and quiet operation. Each has their own advantage over the other for particular things.

[J-Doc]

Dang if you don't have me looking at them now.... LOL!

They are a really nice looking boat.

Here's a decent video walk thru of one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBY6FHZE8a4

Whoever setup this boat has about 8 out of 10 things I would get. They even have the T&H marine trolling motor pull chord already. I could easily see this boat setup as a primary bass boat, crappie boat, walleye drifter/troller, striper chaser, and that 115 should be able to troll with reasonably slow speeds down to 1.8-2.25 mph easy depending on how you have motor trimmed and load. Mounting quality downriggers on the deck with removable mounts.....well that's a problem. They would probably have to be mounted behind you towards the transom. I don't see how there is enough mounting space in the front unless you mounted them all the way up on the bow. You can swing the booms in when moving from place to place and easily watch your rod that way. Not ideal......but could work.

If I were to get one, I like this setup. Good colors, really nice wheel and trailer package, quality details, etc. Definately need bow rollers on the trailer. F&F added some to his and it's a big time plus and time saver. Worth every penny.

[J-Doc]

Just remember.....you started this and opened a can of worms.....

(I'm probably eating my words here about ride quality)

Fast forward to end of video for 188 on the water. About as decent a ride as you can get. There are probably some with a slightly better ride but their quality is not matching the Ranger from what I have seen first hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5wKw1CtYA0

Really interesting read from B.A.S.S. about the new Ranger line and the fight for aluminum boats.

http://www.bassmaster.com/blog/argument-aluminum

Found this on another forum. New Ranger owner with a 188. Here's a collection of his feedback after his first initial trips.

You can follow the entire thread if you like. I cut and pasted some quotes from the user (mrmyers)

http://www.bbcboards.net/tin-boats/330245-ranger-aluminum-boats-web-site-6.html

."Took the boat out on a few different lakes around Indy this weekend. 20mph winds Saturday the 115 is a must if you want to run across some rollers. Boat rode smooth and dry all day long. Sunday fairly calm 3 people, full fuel and tackle she ran 50 mph with no problem still had some throttle left. Ended up fishing a small river channel, don't have to worry about the skinny water boat easily maneuvered in less than a foot of water.

Stability: 2 people very comparable to my buddies Ranger Z118. Front deck fishing: fished with my girlfriend behind me all day Sunday without incident and you know how that goes. Expected that it would be a little unsteady like most aluminums but I have no complaints to mention

[Feathers and Fins]

When I first saw the pic of the ranger above, I thought it was a tracker PRO16 then went and looked at its price of 14,000 vs a tracker at 12,000 for the same size. I hate paying for the name lol

[kjackson]

Looking at that video, I see the Rangers running awfully flat. Get some lift on the bow, and the water contact is moved astern, which can be a good thing in a vee hull, and you usually get an increase in speed and generally a drier ride.

One thing I really like about the Rangers is the channel iron trailer. There are no tubes to collect moisture and provide a home for rust.

I am surprised at the difference in pricing, Fins. The RT 188 and the Tracker 190 Tx was $600 in Ranger's favor. However, all that does is give base pricing; rigging it the way I want will change things.