donmac

Based on my recollection of 79 era Rangers, I'd say cutting out the glass and replacing with wood is a bad idea - unless you are a fiberglass guy and plan on encapsulating the new wood with fiberglass and adhering it to the hull structure in a secure manner. However, if your intention is just to use it on ponds with a small motor on it you should be OK. And accept that the wood will eventually rot. Also, before putting any time and effort into rearranging lockers, make sure that your transom and decking are solid. The wood on the older boats sometimes gets soft (even when encapsulated) due to 20+ years of holes being drilled and not properly sealed. Given the amount of work and cost of doing it right, and the market for old rangers, I'd consider selling it and buying a hull design that works for you, before tearing it up.

In the early 90's I was doing about 60mph across Santee-Cooper, came across a large flock of terns (seagull like birds) and, as expected, they all flew off as I approached. Well, for reasons, unknown, one all of a sudden did a u-turn and flew right at me. I tried to avoid, came off the throttle, but the huge bird wound up nailing my front pro-pole. It stuck there, dead as a doornail. When I came to a stop it dropped to the deck. I asked my partner, 'would you mine doing something with that?' He tossed it in the water. I tell ya, if it had hit us in the head, it probably would have killed one of us. We were in my dual console Ranger Range 392, so we probably could have tucked behind the consoles.... but that was one of the weirdest things that has happened to me in a boat. Then there was that time a bunch of us were heading south for our annual spring trip and my partner - driving my truck - rear-ended our buddy's tin boat in front of us - pushing it up onto the cap of his truck and ultimately totaling the boat... (he eventually thanked the driver since the insurance settlement helped him move up to a ranger).. And the time I banged a u-turn on a skinny road and my little trailer flipped over, sending my tin salmon fishing boat rolling down a grass embankment, with me towing the trailer upside down for a little bit. Amazing part was that there was essentially NO damage other than the tie-down strap - not even to the cowling. And we were back on the road within the hour... fortunately there were 3 of us... And then there were those "naked redneck women" wading in the water on another trip south... but that's probably not appropriate...

Like many who have grey beards and have been fishing all of their adult life I can say been there, done that' to most bass fishing setups. I went from canoes, to car topper jons, to jons on trailers, to semi-v's on trailers, to flat bottom alum bass boats, to higher end Lunds and ultimately settled on Rangers and kayaks All work of course. It's just a matter of comfort and convenience. If all you need is a hull and a oar, or an electric, any car topper will do lugging a battery around is not all that tough. But once you start adding a gas motor, tank, seats, sonar, maybe a live-well cooler, lights, plus all your fishing crap it eventually becomes a major chore especially if you do this 2-3 times a week. Going to a trailered boat even a jon makes life MUCH easier since you don't have to assemble/de-assemble and load/unload the rig at the beginning and end of the trip. Once you are hooked on trailered boats, especially if you are fishing a lot, maybe doing a few local tournaments, eventually you'll want a floating tackle box that gets you where you want to go quickly and is comfortable to fish from when you get there. And, BTW, this does not need to cost a fortune. Most bass fisherman pine over new high-end bass boats. Been there, done that too. 10 years ago I bought a new Ranger - cost a fortune, but it's a beautiful boat and still looks like new. However, I hope to think I'm getting smarter as I'm getting older. I just bought a 20 year old Ranger dirt cheap as a project boat and I'm trying to set it up as cost effectively as possible (not because I have to, just because I want to). I plan to sell my nicer looking' Ranger this spring and replace it with this bargain boat'. While it may not catch as many eyes in the parking lot, I suspect it'll catch just as many fish on the water. Regardless - I look back on all my boats big and small and have fond memories of all. The only bass I ever mounted was caught from a jon boat that traveled in the back of a pickup. I've caught lots of bigger fish over the years, but that was a special one, from a little tin boat with a good friend.

A transom replacement, if you're not going to do it yourself, can cost over $2,000.... Sounds like that boat should either be parted out or sold cheap to someone who knows how to replace a transom. You can find old Rangers with motors and solid glass transoms (1988 or later) for not much more than that if you look hard enough.

Mercury sells a block off kit for some their older big blocks. What motor do you have? I wouldn't do that unless it was an older motor and that motor year/model had a history of causing problems. A project boat I picked up in the fall has a Merc XR2 with a block off kit and I'm not looking forward to dealing with mixing oil.

This is true but it can be very expensive. In the early 90's I had to add brakes to a tandem axle Ranger Trail and I recall it cost me a small fortune. :-/

Good idea to have it done by a mechanic - you can have them do a compression check while it is in there. Next time around, it's not a bad idea to agree to buy a boat on condition that it checks out at the mechanic. You then give the seller a deposit, take it to a shop, have them run it, do a compression test, and then - assuming it is late fall or winter - winterize it when they are done. Should only cost a few bucks more than a normal winterization. If it doesn't check out you obviously don't have them to the winterization and go get your deposit back.

Many 80's motors are being premixed. I have an '88 Merc 150hp XR2 that has a block-off kit installed and is premixed. Can't say how well it runs. It came with a project boat I bought late fall and have not had a chance to run it. (I was buying the hull and trailer and considered the motor free - if it runs great - I got lucky.) Further into the 90's most of the manufacturers had it down pretty well. I also have a '99 Merc 200hp EFI that I have had since new - and it has run flawlessly since day 1. I have not had to put ANY money into it. But I wouldn't touch an Optimax of that vintage. They were new and blowing heads left and right.

For $109 on clearance I think the Eagle 320 is the best bang for the buck right now. I just bought one for the bow of a project boat I'm working on. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0075359016155a&navCount=2&podId=0075359&parentId=cat21448&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=cat601812_feat&catalogCode=OG&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat21448&hasJS=true

+1 I was thinking the exact same thing as I was reading this thread... The 17' 10" 300 series Rangers were the gold standard for MANY years. Of course the 20'+ hulls have more room and ride better - and can carry twice as much HP. But those little old boats are still quite fishable. (Full disclosure, along with a newer 19' Ranger, I have an old 373 as a project boat w/ a 'little' 150hp)

Like others have said, in flat FL, you're fine, especially if you stick to improved ramps. And in my experience most of the FL ramps are pretty good on the big lakes. I have a '99 4runner w/ a V6 that I bought new that has 200K miles on it and it has been towing a 19' Ranger around (with trailer brakes) on a pretty regular basis for all those years. It has towed it up and down the east coast many times and has spent most of its life in hills of NH.

I don't think so. I don't just fish ponds either. I'm weighing the pros and cons of adding either SI or an Aquaview to my rig. I have far more in tackle, electronics, and other gear than my boat is worth.... Point well taken. I was just considering resale value. If you add $4000 worth of electronics to a $6000 boat, the package will not be worth $10000. So, from an investment point of view, if the electronics are worth more than the boat, you may not do as well on resale. From a 'cool toys' point of view, heck, the more the merrier.

I've have/had Rangers 20', 19', & 18' and many smaller tin boats. On big water, that 20' mark can make a difference when it gets rough - an extra foot or so to span waves can really help. But hull design is obviously a factor as well. Are you talking 2 of the same makes/models in different lengths - or are you comparing 2 totally different makes with very different hulls, layouts, methods of manufacturing, etc... all of this stuff comes into play more than 16"...

Having the sonar worth more than the boat is questionable, but if you really want to just pond fish, then the plastic boat should be fine, and you can always transfer the sonar to another boat in the future. Personally, I'd consider taking that extra grand and picking up a used tin boat, towable behind anything, and it would allow you to fish a much greater variety of water. But if you want to pond fish on calm water, you're on the right track and would have cool sonar to play with.

he could buy a kayak for the price of those :-/

It is a Lowrance X-4 - here is the owners manual: http://www.lowrance.com/upload/Lowrance/Documents/Manuals/X-4.pdf If it works the technology is well behind even the least expensive of today's models. Biggest bang for your buck LCR at the moment may be the Eagle 320 on clearance at Cabela's for around a hundred bucks.

Check out the Meredith Rotary Derby this weekend. It is not typical ice fishing, but it is a sight to see. Go to just about any decent sized pond and drop a minnow half way down and you're bound to catch something.

You guys need to learn how to ice fish.

After looking around the net, I think it's likely that I'll be targeting the upper Chesapeake bay as confirmed by jt236. The Susquehanna flats, the lower section of the Susquehanna river, Elk River, Sassafras River, etc.. are all nearyby. I'll continue to search around here for relevant info. Thanks

thanks for the info still trying to decide if I should let the Ranger stay up north for occasional use or leave it down here...

You used to be able to take the boating license exam online - that changed a year or two back. It now requires a proctored exam. Other state's licenses may be reciprocal. The speed limit just went into effect Jan 1, so the local boats have not had an opportunity to test the law. I'm fairly confident NHF&G will be more than anxious to test out their radar guns. A large fast boat ran over a small boat awhile back and emotions surrounding the incident gave this law traction. Stinks for those of us with fast boats, but it'll save gas...

Lots of pickeral but few pike in NH. The Conneticut River is the only place in NH that I've caught pike in NH. Nearly every body of water in NH holds some bass. Pickup Clark's Fishing Guide at Northen Bass.

Speed limit is 45 mph daytime and a 25 mph nighttime speed limit on Lake Winnipesaukee for 2009 and 2010.

I recently moved to DE and I'm hoping to do a little fishing this year. The largest body of water listed on the state site was 101 acres. No offense to native Delawarians, but many of those 'lakes' and 'ponds' would not even be mapped in many states. (2, 5, 7... acres) Seems hard to imagine I could even put my Ranger on plane on the larger lakes in DE - especially if there were other boats out there. I'm used to large NH lakes. I've also fish Santee-Cooper, SC a bunch - as well as the larger lakes in FL (Okeechobee, etc.) I'm guessing I might have to target Chesapeake Bay - or travel a little farther into other nearby states (MD & PA). I hear the bass fishing is good in parts of the bay, but I'm not thrilled about what the brackish water might do to the boat/trailer. I have literally JUST started looking around for fishing information and have little idea what is out there - so I'm open to all suggestions. Or maybe I should try fly-fishing again and hit some of the smaller streams for whatever bites...? thanks in advance

What section of the lake will you be staying at? If you're in Lee's Mills the run to Paugus Bay will be a long one - especially if you have a smaller bass boat. Even a 19' boat w/ 200hp can take a while to get around the lake. Bring lots of money for gas. With 288 miles of shoreline it is not a small lake. Make sure you get a map ahead of time and study it well. Most folks catch and release up there. June is typically a great time of year up there - but you could run into a week that is cool and wet.