donmac

Rangers and Lunds, my favorites. I have had 3 Rangers and a couple Lunds. In addition to what was stated above, if you want to fish for multiple species, a Lund with a front casting deck and an open rear may be a good choice. They're much better for trolling. Assuming your not getting the biggest baddest Lund out there, it can also be run on a much smaller motor than a glass bass boat, and, being lighter, is cheaper/easier to tow. So an aluminum Lund can be a more cost effective boat to own. But if you want to run large expanses at high-speeds, nothing beats a glass bass boat.

I bought a new '99 4runner (4wd sr5) and it was the primary tow vehicle for my Ranger for a good portion of its life. It now has well over 200,000+ miles on the odometer and has become my youngest son's daily driver (he'll take it to college next year) I also have a truck these days but if I were looking for a once-size-fits-all vehicle I'd personally buy another 4runner in a heartbeat. It has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. YMMV

ksboy, after I read this thread last night I googled and stumbled across a pdf version of 93 Cajun Fish and Ski onwers manual that someone has scanned an uploaded - if you search you'll find it. But may not be very useful to you since F&S boats are a tad different. And as cart7t said, this manual had a little less 'meat' in it than the Ranger manuals I'm most familiar with. Looked to be 90% how to navigate and 10% about the boat. I've had a few Rangers and their manuals are quite good. I honestly don't remember the manuals of all the other boats I have had.

Some bass boat makers even in the 80's (Ranger for example) provided boat manuals that did/do a pretty good job of explaining live well plumbing, 24v trolling motor systems, dash and bow switch panels, bow to transom wiring schematics, etc... Now granted, none of this stuff is rocket science.... you can live without them...

Ranger didn't go to an all fiberglass transom until 1988, so assuming 'mid' means before that check out the transom, decks and floors for soft spots. Have the motor checked out by a mechanic, run a compression test, and if an oil-injection system is present, assure it is functioning properly. Don't be surprised if you have bad gas and need to have the carbs cleaned and maybe new gas lines installed. I had a an early 80's 200hp black max (on a Ranger 392) that sucked up gas big time but ran great. I now have a '99 200hp efi that is real smooth (on a Ranger R97) and a '87 150hp XR2 on a project boat (Ranger 373) that I haven't had a chance to run in open water yet. Be prepared to replace trolling motor and electronics as well. Or maybe you'll get lucky.

+1 Some of the things you listed are optional - some aren't. Check your local regs and make sure you get your required safety equipment. If you still have money left, consider the other stuff.... Some of which you will may personally consider mandatory as well.

It's been awhile since I've installed transducers on tin boats but years ago the best method used to be to install a plastic board on the transom that allowed for the numerous transom mounted accessories to be mounted without having to drill 30 holes in the transom. All the high-end Lunds did this. It would be interesting to checkout the remaining tin boats on the walleye circuit - that will tell what the best method is today. I did the the plastic board method on a Lund I ordered w/ a 75hp on it and it worked like a champ. Allowed me to move the transducer around a little to avoid rivet air streams without having to drill more through-holes.

A couple months back I picked up an Eagle 642c 640x480 color w/ internal antenna, gps and temp for $319 at Cabela's. I think they are on sale at the stores for not much more than that now.... but I am not sure if they are still available online for that price...

I don't think he's trying to spend money to make money. FWIW, If you haven't checked out the numerous new stick systems that are coming out for flats anglers, they're not too shabby, at a fraction of the cost of the of Power Poles. http://www.wanganchor.com/multimedia/

This is so true.... Not as much of an issue with big boats with big wheels - and setups like Ranger's oil filled cool hubs.... but on little trailer with little wheels.... you MUST be prepared to swap out bearings on a long trip.... with a small trailer always carry extra bearings... an extra hub is even better... Shortly after owning my first trailer a good friend taught me how to repack bearings, change the hub, test for signs of failure, etc... That was 25+ years ago and it has served me very well over the years...

I still use one for ice fishing - a tri-color - may actually be a zercom. They all work pretty much alike. Look for a flasher in a Cabela's catalog. Serach the net for an owners manual and you may not be too far off. Close to 20 years ago I had Ranger with a Lowrance flasher on the dash and a Lowrance Paper Chart above it. Haven't had one in a boat since.

I have been up and down the east coast many times and have only had to use a jack once that I recall - and the truck jack was sufficient.

There are on-board chargers on the market that will also direct current from your engine to the trolling motor batteries but these are not in common use. When people talk about on-board chargers in a freshwater water fishing forum, 99.9% of the time they are talking about chargers you plug into an extension cord. And since bassboats have so many electronics running off the cranking battery, many folks choose to get an on-board charger with a bank for the cranking battery as well. 36v systems are becoming popular these days (3 tm batteries, plus one cranking battery). This setup would require a 4 bank on-board charger - and an outlet to plug it into. I had a 24/36v switchable tm system once on a motor guide beast and honestly seldom used the 36v. I find 24v systems are fine for me these days - but of course the only time I spend 12hrs a day on the water these days I'm just chillin on a bigger boat.

Motor probably weighs less than some fisherman I've seen. Removing it will likely level float it but my guess would be that it should not make the rear too high for pond hopping. Should make a nice raft. In Delaware, where there's no big water - or even quarter sized big water - other than the bay - that should be fine.

Ditto... When I ordered my '99 Ranger from the factory it came with a Ranger branded 3-bank Dual-Pro very similar (just as beefy, but older tech) to the one I just bought at Cabela's... It has run flawlessly for 11 years now... So when it came time to slap a charger in this project boat I'm working on it didn't take me long to decide on another Dual-Pro...

From reading your posts, it sounds like you want to spend as little as possible and don't want a project. If that is the case then I'd stick with basstracker style tin boat - unless you plan on spending most of your time covering large distances of water across large lakes. If that is the case that tin boat is going to beat the crap of you (unless of course it is a later model high-end Lund, Crestliner, etc - which, being from MN, you should be familiar with, and know you will not get for cheap money and will not necessarily be a bass-boat style boat. ) Regardless of what kind of boat you are shopping for, you should be looking for as little wood as as possible in the boat. Lots of older boats had wooden floors and transoms. Not necessarily a bad thing if they were fiberglass encased, but if there have been many holes drilled over the years that were not properly sealed - you'll see rot like in that skeeter. Have fun shopping - just get whatever feels right for you. If it runs you'll have fun with it. Odds are this will not be your last boat.

I just picked up a Dual Pro SE 10 amps per bank, 3 bank on-board charger from Cabela's that looks great. Haven't had a chance to use it too much yet but it certainly brought them back quick quick first time around. They offer a 3 year warranty.

I'm not sure I see the connection between being governed and not spitting water. I'd be looking at clogged intakes and/or impeller problems. I see you are from SC. I fished Santee-Cooper in SC for a week or so once a year for many years and I know the locals had issues keeping their wanter intakes clear. Good luck

Everybody used bow seats years ago. After using pro-poles for the last 20 years or so, I've found myself swapping the pro-pole with a fold-down seat off and on throughout the day more and more often in recent years. Like many people my lower back simply does not like me to stand up for 8 hours a day any more. As mentioned a gas adjustable seat makes a regular seat more comfortable, allowing you to raise it up, drop it down, etc. In my current project boat (Ranger 373v) I'm considering sticking to a fold-down on the bow and not even using a pro-pole up front (there's one there but the pneumatics no longer work.)

Let's see, having had too many boats over the years with too much crap, this should be fun but since you mention anchor winches, let me respond with a yea/nay Anchor Winches I put them on a tin boat way back when, and they were a waste of time and space for me. I seldom anchor and when I do I can do it much faster myself and my 21 or 17 year old sons can now haul them even faster than I can Anchor Reins on the other hand Love them ordered them on the Ranger I ordered new and will install them on the project bargain bay boat' Ranger I'm working on now anchor reins are actually most often used for docking but can also be used for light anchoring as well and of course an anchor should be onboard (with adequate line) low profile black light fishing light' that I bought a hundred years ago and have been transferring from boat to boat and have probably used it 3 times would not do that again. A handheld spotlight on the other hand should be in every boat Electronics Sonar is a given but I'm not yet convinced I need to spend $2K on sonar.on this project boat I'm working on I spent about $500 for an Eagle Fish Elite GPS/Sonar/temp color combo for the console and a Eagle Fishmark for the bow GPS can save hours on big water if you have maps with buoys indicated wouldn't have a boat without GPS these days . I recall trying to find a reef on Champlain back in the 80's when my compass got stuck, not fun..... working nav lights of course Onboard chargers are a given for me as well a bank for each battery, including the cranking battery the knowledge on how to remove a hook that is impaled past the barb'. It happens Here's a no' blast from the past from the past for you old timers, a colo-r-selctor. think I tossed that years ago. Basic tools with needle nose pliers of course topping the list If you have an aluminum prop, a spare prop is a must, especially if you are on a trip far from home. I could go on.

Download the HB BL 120 pdf manual (available at the hb site) and see if it is close... they may have just rebranded it and modified the model name.

Using high quality racks like Thule or Yakima, place a piece of carpet right above the rear door of the astro (to protect vehicle), drag boat along side vehicle, pick the bow of the boat up and place bow (upside down of course) on the carpet, then go underneath boat and walk/slide it up onto the racks, use high quality straps to secure, remove carpet. Been there, done that (solo), not all that difficult - but time consuming... When you combine the above with having to pack and unpack all your other fishing junk, and assembling/reassembling the boat (battery, trolling motor, maybe gas tank and motor, rods, tackle, safety equipment, etc.....) you'll eventually find a trailer makes life MUCH easier.

I have had a number of Lunds, great boats. If it is the WC-12 with the split rear bench then I'd say it's a fine fishing platform. Put the battery up front to help spread the weight, use a transom mounted electric and you are good to go. The beam should be sufficient to stand up comfortably. If you are talking about the car-topper 12, well, then it is what it is and it's just not as stable. Solid though.

If you don't have adequate power for your trolling motor to fish into the wind, just use the wind to your advantage and fish faster. Use your trolling motor to control/slow your boat and allow the wind to blow you down a shoreline, along a weed bed, etc... Cast forward and fish fast baits. Socks work well slowing you down on large long expanses of deeper water or trolling.

A friend of mine had one back in the late 80's - a bass buggy I think. We fished a team tournament out of it literally as a joke, to give all our buddies a laugh - and we won. Most are no where near as fast as a bass boat, they get blown around a lot, and they can not squeeze into many places as a bass boat. But they can be fished from. Especially if you are still fishing. I prefer a big bow rider for the family and ranger for fishing.