New Ride

[Flatbottom Boy]

Wharfrat thats an awesome rig!

One of my good friends over in Kentucky bought this boat in January. We had it out on Taney for a week and I was pretty impressed. Just want to pass on a couple of things he had go wrong so you can watch for yourself:

Trailer rubbed the tires on one side pretty bad on his way down here from Kentucky. He called immediately when he got to my house and reported it to Ranger. They have since replaced the trailer and said that it had been a problem with several of the trailers they had sold last year also.

The all aluminum design evidently causes a lot of "sweating" to occur. He pulled several rods out of the compartments after setting for a few weeks and they were all covered in a mildew/mold. A little research revealed that other are having the same issue. Again he called Ranger and they recommeded a roll on liner for the inside of the compartments.

Anyway I hope neither applies to your boat, just thought I would give you a heads up. Other than those two problems he is in love with his.

[WHARFRAT]

KSF -

The boat performs just like they said it would. Very solid ride, feels a lot different than the other 2 aluminums I've owned. Very stable to walk around, doesnt dip from side to side. It was breezy last weekend and it easy to handle with the trolling mtr.

I was going to go with an i-pilot, but the way I fish in and out of docks and stumps and trees. The dealer said I wouldn't be happy with the electronic steer. So I went with the MK Fortrex. This is really nice, 24v 80lb thrust. It's got lift assist, so its easy to put up or down.

The big switch they suggested was going with the Merc 115 4 stroke. I was pretty set on the 115 Etec, or even the 115 pro xs. But I wanted something quiet and easy to maintain. This motor fits the bill. I matched it with a solus 19p (?) stainless prop. I'm still on the initial break-in period, Even though I could give a rats-butt about speed, I have gotten it up to 50mph for a short period of time. Also it will troll down slower than my old 50 Merc 2 stroke.

And its super quiet. At idle, you have to look back to make sure its running.

If I would have gotten an ETEC, with the on-board charger and 24v trolling motor, there wasn't enough space in back for the oil resevoir. So they would have had to put the oil tank up in one of the frt compartments.

I went to Anglers Port in Warsaw, and they were about the 4th dealer I talked with. What sold me was, they sat me down and had me explain my wants, my expectations, and how I fished. All the other dealers said they'd do what ever I wanted, never asked me these questions. So far Anglers Port was spot on!

My only issue, is the Ranger Cover. It is a high quality cover, and is probably pretty good on the trailer, but it's really tough for me to cover it up on my lift. You almost have to be like one of the Flying Wallenda Family to get it secured. Maybe with more practice, I'll figure it out, But so far that's my only issue.

[Mitch f]

Nice boat!! Enjoy it! Great memories will be made!

[Old plug]

My 4 stroke 115 Merc is 11yrs old starts like a new car all year long I have only had two problems with it. The water pump impeller and the fuel jets. I do not know if this is still true are not but the fuel jets on the 115 are very small and they used to have filters in them at one time. They tend to clog up. If that happens take it back and tell them to punch them out. They can still clog pretty easy on some models if they set long periods. I run mine for a few minute in the dock about 1 time a month all winter. The thing with the impeller is it does not completely clear water. The last thing I do after the boat is on the lift is fire it for just a second to expel that water.