Dirtyeggroll Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 It finally happened. I pulled home a 1996 Ranger R70! Its mostly in pretty good shape, but I suspect it has been fished pretty hard since its loaded with a nice amount of accessories. It has a 2001 125 Mercury ELPTO that appears to come off of a Tracker boat based on the cowl decals. As far as accessories it has: 80 lb 45" shaft Ultrex w/ iPilot Humminbird 898c upfront Humminbird 997c at the console MinnKota MK330D 3 bank charger 2 Optimum Blue Top Trolling motor batteries Hydrowave Deck Extension I am making this thread because I am going to do some relatively simple upgrades and couldn't find many details online about the specific upgrades I am wanting to make. 1) FIRST I am going to add a keel guard. It is very clear that this boat has seen some hard beaches. There are a few spots on the keel where the matting is showing that range from 0.5 to about 1.5 inches in length (almost kept me from buying the boat). Fortunately, a guy in our bass club does gel and glass work and all of the areas can be repaired and covered with a keel guard. 2) I am going to add a recessed trolling motor tray. Based on whats out there on the web, there is not a lot of room under the deck to add a tray as the front livewell goes really far up. I plan to add some measurements and nice pics to the web for others to use as reference to avoid losing any structural integrity and to avoid getting into the front livewell (I may convert this livewell to some kind of storage). 3) The boat has a bench seat with a single 6" tear in it. Additionally, its not a big boat and could use some more storage space. So, I plan to replace the bench with some buckets and add a center console/step. I can only currently find one instance online where someone has replaced the seat with buckets and the measurements weren't very detailed. I plan to leave some space behind the passenger seat to fit a net behind and make a place either under the seat or in the center console where a bump board can slide into. More pics 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User TOXIC Posted January 7, 2019 Super User Share Posted January 7, 2019 Good luck. You've got a pretty aggressive upgrade schedule. As for the keel damage, if you can get it repaired by a glass guy so much the better but if you are tight on funds, you could patch the glass with marine tech or any fiberglass patching material and not worry about it looking perfect since you are going to cover it with a shield anyway. I would recomend a KeelShield by Gator Guards. Made in USA, Lifetime warranty. It is my preference for a self-install. As for the seats, you will spend an arm and a leg if you go through Ranger. Take a little trip over to Bassboatseats.com and check out what thy have to offer. Adding under seat storage to seat pans that are solid is no easy task. Concerning the tray, get your hull ID # and Call Ranger. They will tell you if you can put the size tray you need for your ultrex in that model year boat. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 6 hours ago, TOXIC said: Good luck. You've got a pretty aggressive upgrade schedule. As for the keel damage, if you can get it repaired by a glass guy so much the better but if you are tight on funds, you could patch the glass with marine tech or any fiberglass patching material and not worry about it looking perfect since you are going to cover it with a shield anyway. I would recomend a KeelShield by Gator Guards. Made in USA, Lifetime warranty. It is my preference for a self-install. As for the seats, you will spend an arm and a leg if you go through Ranger. Take a little trip over to Bassboatseats.com and check out what thy have to offer. Adding under seat storage to seat pans that are solid is no easy task. Concerning the tray, get your hull ID # and Call Ranger. They will tell you if you can put the size tray you need for your ultrex in that model year boat. Thanks for the suggestions. Got a little ahead myself and ordered a MegaWare guard about a week ago. Though I have heard that they can have a life as short as about 3 years, so I might return it and go with the Gator. Thanks for the suggestion. Im not planning on putting storage under the seat since the gas tank is under there, just planning on the console. Thinking it will be pretty much bolt on for some buckets, just trying to determine which ones from bassboatseats will fit well. Ranger suggests not to do a recessed tray in the R70, so some engineering will be involved to reinforce the deck after cutting it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User A-Jay Posted January 7, 2019 Super User Share Posted January 7, 2019 Sweet ~ Congrats & Best of Luck with the New Rig A-Jay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 So it begins. None of this work however is being done by me. A willing member of the club I belong who does boats on the side is doing me a solid for a deal I can’t believe. Comfort D-lux tray going in today! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 Decide to also add some new graphs 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 The shop where we were working on my boat is flooded. Power poles are being held hostage in the upper mezzanine due to the flooding. Was in the process of replacing a thru-hull transducer when it had to be evacuated. If only had I just left it alone and not decided to do the upgrades I would be able to use it for the my week off in the first week of April... Maybe next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User TOXIC Posted March 27, 2019 Super User Share Posted March 27, 2019 Well that is a bummer. Patience is directly related to reward. Do it right. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 Got the deck extension turned into a storage compartment. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 There is not gonna be time this year to redo the seats because now it’s time to fish! Finally for the keel guard on and this boat is finally ready for the water! Hoping I can take it out one evening this week before a tournament this weekend. (Edit: yikes the trailer is dirty!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allaroundfishing Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Lookin good, keep us updated on how she runs!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaimeastin Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 You didn't waste any time... I like that. Keep us posted for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted April 9, 2019 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 4 hours ago, jaimeastin said: You didn't water any time... I like that. Keep us posted for sure! Did you mean “waste”? If so, then you’re kind of right. With the gouges on the keel I was a bit worried about putting it in the water. I wasn’t confident in my ability to repair the keel on my own and had a week off of work that I had hoped to have the boat ready to fish by. Well that didn’t happen, so I used the week to work on all of the things I was comfortable doing myself until the guy who was helping me had a free afternoon. I spent the whole week in the garage in the boat. The garage was a wreck and my wife was certainly ready for me to stop being in there crawling around on it randomly cursing here and there. I am too and I am ready to take it out after having it sit in the garage for 4 months. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaimeastin Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 21 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said: Did you mean “waste”? If so, then you’re kind of right. With the gouges on the keel I was a bit worried about putting it in the water. I wasn’t confident in my ability to repair the keel on my own and had a week off of work that I had hoped to have the boat ready to fish by. Well that didn’t happen, so I used the week to work on all of the things I was comfortable doing myself until the guy who was helping me had a free afternoon. I spent the whole week in the garage in the boat. The garage was a wreck and my wife was certainly ready for me to stop being in there crawling around on it randomly cursing here and there. I am too and I am ready to take it out after having it sit in the garage for 4 months. Yes, waste. Yes my wife hates when I work on the boat because it consumes my time so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 Finally got her out for the maiden voyage. About 30 minutes in, the floor started filling with water. Apparently I had busted a livewell recirculator outlet when I was installing one of the many things that required me to access the bilge. We were able to put the boat back on the trailer and move down the hose clamp and didn’t have any more problems the rest of the day. Even put the first fish in the boat, and more importantly got my dad on some good fish too! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 The “Ranger Sport R70” decals were coming off and had been bothering me since day 1 of owning this boat. Not anymore! Replaced them with some domed numbers. I think they look great and add an updated look to the boat. I also have been frustrated trying to get a hatch latch for my custom compartment from Ranger that matches the key to my other latches. Well I struck some luck and ran into a guy who was basically giving away a Loc-R-Bar. No more taking all of my stuff out of the middle compartment! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted June 6, 2019 Author Share Posted June 6, 2019 Things are getting out of control. I definitely have too many brief moments while wandering the hospital to obsess about the next add-on for the boat. Next thing “simple” thing I want to do is remove the Tracker decals and replace with Mercury decals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 This little boat has turned out to my liking. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 Got a killer deal on some newer seats from a bigger Ranger boat. Test fitting them and not sure if I want to keep them or not. On the plus side they really make the boat look updated and they are very comfortable and spacious. On the negative side they don’t leave much room between them for a center console and don’t leave much room for someone much bigger than me to fit comfortably behind the console. Any thoughts or suggestions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User TOXIC Posted June 17, 2019 Super User Share Posted June 17, 2019 If you want the center coin box (that's what Ranger calls it) you are obviously not going to fit it in that space. Likewise the 3rd seat won't fit in that area either. I took my 3rd seat out and put in the coin box but mine is an 05 Z21 so it might have a wider beam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 1 hour ago, TOXIC said: If you want the center coin box (that's what Ranger calls it) you are obviously not going to fit it in that space. Likewise the 3rd seat won't fit in that area either. I took my 3rd seat out and put in the coin box but mine is an 05 Z21 so it might have a wider beam. The R70 has a relatively narrow beam. Im gonna keep the seats and make my own “coin box”. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 Decided to keep them and finish the install. Just enough room for a step and maybe even room for a cup holder or two and maybe even a small hatch. Really like the way they turned out. Really updates the boat! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyeggroll Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 Added “cook’s go-to tackle system” under the custom compartment. I’m excited I have a place to store my frequents without having them floating around the deck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boostr Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnthePotomac Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 You have a real labor of love there and are doing a first class job on everything you have done. You will have a bond with that boat forever as you look back on all you have done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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