Boat decision help please.

[bassman21]

Well the wife said I can start looking for a fishing boat. ;D But the is one catch, it needs to be a fish and ski. :-[ So we looked at all the boat makers that make fish and skis. Â*I would love to ge the Ranger 210 reata (21' 4&quot fish and ski. The problem is the wife said for $32,000 I can wait. :'( :'( So we looked at Sting Ray and Tahoe boats. they are the two we like the most, there only about $2,000 difference in the prices with the 4.3L 190 HP engine.

Here is the link to the Tahoe Fish and Ski boat. http://www.tahoesportboats.com/index...&boat=1056

Here is the link to the Sting Ray Fish and Ski boat.http://www.stingrayboats.com/product...hp?model=190fx

My questions are has anyone have any knowledge of ether one of these boat makers?

Do you think these will make a good family and bass boat?

Thanks for everyones help.

[Rob Mak]

bass n nc hope i am never near ya if ya break down. cause i HATE ski boats that much.
i wont even waste my time towing one in.
i go with the nitro
zooker

[bassman21]

I would go with a Nitro or a ranger but the wife said it needs to be for the whole family. The ranger fish and ski looks just like there bass boats. It just seats 6 is really the only difference.

[BassNva]

just buy a bass boat and use that for skiing.i don't even want to tell you what most bass fisherman call them fish n ski boats..right zook? seriously,you can use a bassboat for skiing.and with a single console it'll seat 5. ;D
think long and hard before plunking down that kinda $$ for a fish n ski.i know guys that bought them and they wish they never did.
only trying to help..

[reddscott]

Your wife doesnt understand

Get you a nice bass boat dont get a fish-n-ski boat just lay the law down!

[bassman21]

You guess are not understanding. I will get a bass boat LATER down the road. I need info on the 2 boats I have listed, cuz that will be my wifes boat after I get my Ranger bass boat.

So can anyone help me with the 2 boats I have listed?

Thank you.

[BassNva]

i'd go with the nitro,i've seen the nitro fish and ski and it seems like the best choice,IMO..if you really have to

[bassman21]

Ok the boats I have listed will become my wifes boat in about 3 years. At that time I will get my Ranger Bass Boat.

I will either get this Ranger
http://www.rangerboats.com/images/04_621trailerlg.jpg

Or I will get this Ranger.
http://www.rangerboats.com/images/04_210trailerlg.jpg

[BassNva]

take a look at the gamblers.they are awesome.
i own a gambler,my next boat will be a gambler also.
i'm spoiled ;D

[catfishtonyd]

Do you absolutly need a 21 foot boat? I've seen the Ranger Reata and I really LIKE that boat. If an 18 footer is big enough, it's a lot less expensive than the 21, especially if you stay with a 115-130 hp outboard.

Nitro makes some nice fish and ski's as does Procraft, Stratos, And I'm sure a number of other companies. I do think Nitro is a good value.

[macgyver]

[quote author=Bassin_n_NC link=board=Boats;num=1085967019;start=0#5 date=05/31/04 at 20:36:21]You guess are not understanding. I will get a bass boat LATER down the road. I need info on the 2 boats I have listed, cuz that will be my wifes boat after I get my Ranger bass boat.

So can anyone help me with the 2 boats I have listed??????????????????

Thank you. [/quote]


First off zooker and RatlTrap are not marrried , bassintom is, however he has a VERY understanding wife . Out of the 2 I would opt for the Tahoe, but my suggestion is to seriously look at deck boats. They are family freindly, and can be set up to fish also. I have a 1992 18ft Bayliner Capri 1800, with a 90hp Force engine. You have no storage room(I had to cut out the front just to get some storage up there >). Secondly if you get more than 4 people on it it seriously lacks power to ski or tube. My advice is get a nice deckboat, and get it bigger than you need. Almost everyone that buys their first boat, will upgrade within 5 years. Don't lose the money on the upgrade, get plenty of power, it's very important especially with a lot of folks on board, and get plenty of room. You can have your fishing seat/seats up front, with a foot controlled trolling motor , and depth finder installed and there you go. You can run 50mph plus in it, and it will take you fishing anytime, and on any size of inland lake. Just my 2 cents. I've been looking at them for 2 years. And don't kid yourself this will be her boat maybe to play with, but you will still maintain it, and take it out with the family, make it fun for both of you. When they want to lay out and sun, you get to fish .

Lizards

[bassman21]

Lizard I see your point but we are not a big fan of deck boats. We looked at the Ranger reata 190 (19') and my wife likes it alot. Which is cool cuz it looks alot like a bass or walleye boat. We will see how the next year goes after I get back from being gone for 12 months.

[socalbasser]

OK, I'm married too and own a Fish and ski (Skeeter SL190). So I'd say go with Skeeter. Now for the truth, It's gone next year ;D ;D ;D and being replaced with a strictly bass boat. The full windshield constantly gets in the way, there's no room on the front platform at all and well-------I just cant stand having 8 poles hanging out the back cause there's again--no room on the front platform. It's not got any ski use out of it and for the skiing I'll do in the future I can jerry rig something on the back seat platform of a bass boat that will work. But by all means, if your still shopping for a F-n-S next year, I'll make you a heck of a deal.

Skeeter

[catfishtonyd]

The most important thing in buying a boat is to buy the boat YOU want. Don't let anyone, not even me tell you what you want. You're the one who has to pay for the thing every month. You're the one who'll have to use it. Since this is to be a family boat, I'd suggest you and your wife look at a lot of options and see which one you agree on.

Having said that, the next most, and actually it might be the MOST important thing to find is a good dealer. Look the place over good. Is it clean? Is the stock up to date, or has he got a lot of leftover stuff setting around uncovered, letting the sun bleach it to death? Look into the shop. Are the mechanics playing cards on a outboard crate or are they actually working? If they're working how are they treating the customers boats? Are they climbing in and out with oil on their shoes and tracking it all over the place? Is the shop floor clean? Parts and tools all over the place or does it look orderly? If there are any shop customers around talk to them. If there aren't ask for a few names you can call to talk to. If they won't give you any, run. Don't walk away from there. A good dealer will be happy to let you talk to customers. (You might still have to take it with a grain of salt, but it's better than nothing.)

A good dealer can make or break a boat. Having the best boat in the world and a dealer who doesn't give a rip about you is not fun. I'd rather have a "lesser" boat (for lack of a better term) and a dealer who really wanted to please me, than the best boat in the world and a dealer who forgot who I was as soon as I left the parking lot.

Which boat? I don't think there are any "bad" boats out there, especially in the better known brands. There might be some smaller companies that aren't up to snuff, but the ones you've heard of and who have been around for a while, are all making a quality product or they wouldn't be in business anymore. The market is too competitive today.

Same for outboards. Some people will swear by Brand A. The next guy will swear AT it. I do think personally the higher output outboard are the ones more prone to have trouble, but that may just be that there are so many of them today. The 150 hp's from all the makers seem to be as close to bulletproof as an outboard can be. They've been making those things forever, and they got them down pretty pat.

Good luck with your search. Enjoy the hunt. That's about half the fun.

[socalbasser]

Cajun,

that's one of the best posts I've read on here so far. The biggest thing I'd like to highlight again about your post is this--------THE DEALER, THE DEALER, THE DEALER! I have to have my Yamaha serviced by the local dealer in town who sells Rangers. No I didn't buy my boat from him (it's a skeeter) but I've heard nothing but pissing and moaning from anyone whoever deals with them. Not to mention, I DO PAY HIM! There always slow and not customer oreinted. I will upgrade boats next year and no, I wont buy one from him, no matter what the deal may be. He's a complete A$$. I was fishing a tourney last year and one of the boats he sold a guy ( a 30,000 plus boat) who was fishing the same tourney ( as was he) broke down and he told the guy "well nothing I can do, I'm fishing this weekend" Turned out to be a relay switch or something easy like that, that he could of had fixed in an hour or so. Oh, and the boat was less than 4 months old. Good customer service eh?

[catfishtonyd]

I'm going to try to take up for the dealer here on the "at the tourney" deal. Â*Was this something that happed at the tournament or did he take it to the shop? Â*If it happened at the tournament, and the dealer wouldn't work on it, I can't say I blame him. Â*Frankly dealers need time off too. Â*(I've worked in the boat business.) Â*If you took the time to work on every little "it'll only take an hour" problem, pretty soon you don't have any day left. Â*You do have to draw a line somewhere. Â*

I have a buddy who was a Certified Mercury Master Mechanic. Â*He finally to the point where he quit fishing because he got tired of the "can you look at my boat" requests while he was trying to get ready to fish, or to go home.

If he took it to the shop, that might be a different deal. Â*MIGHT be. Â*If the shop was open and not backed up with work they could have worked on it. Â*If there was a lot of work already being done, you can't really expect them to drop everything and take care of you. Â*I know the pimple on your butt is always the biggest one, but everyone says that. Â*The only really fair way for a shop to work is "first come, first served". Â*If they were working on your boat, and dropped it to do a job that "will only take an hour" you'd be upset too. Â*

Having to work around backordered parts is a problem too. Â*Not many boat dealers can afford to tie up a lot of cash with a big inventory of parts, so they usually have to order them from a warehouse. Â*That too takes time. Â*

In my experience, bass boaters can be the biggest buttpains in the business when it comes to service. Â*It takes a really special dealer to do it and do it well. Â*He has to run a tight shop, he has to have good mechanics, and he has to be a diplomat. Â*Everyone will come on Thrusday eveing with a "my boat broke last weekend, and I didn't have time to bring it in until now . Â*I need it this weekend, I got a big tournament" story. Â*And they want it fixed for free. Â*(not saying that's the case in the incidents you mentioned.) Â*

Bass boats also have a lot of problems that take a lot of time to work on that runabouts and pontoon boats don't have. Â*Livewells, trolling motors, depth finders, jackplates, etc.. Â*Most of these kind of things are covered under "warranty" on a new boat, but a lot of times dealers don't get any reimbursement from anybody for those type things. Â*They just have to eat them. Â*No surprise they're not really anxious to work on them. Oh, and don't forget the guys who bring their boats in because "Joe Blow has a boat just like mine, and he's running 1 mph faster than I am. Â*What's wrong with my boat?" Â*(Answer. Â*Nothing usually.) Â*

With most ski boats, or jet ski's for example, you sell them, the customer takes them home and you never see them again until time to winterize them. Â*(pure profit for the dealer by the way.) Â*Bass boats on the other hand come back over and over and over.

In othe words this is a two way street. Â*Yes there are a lot of really crappy dealers out there. Â*They make their real money off sales, and service is an afterthought. Â*They don't really want to be in the service business and they won't spend the money to get good mechanics and the proper tools. Â*Again in their defense, good mechanics are hard to find, and harder to keep. Â*If anyone is looking for a good career choice, right now marine mechanic is one that is just begging for good people. Â*Automobile mechanic too by the way. Â*

If you can try to find a dealer who sells nothing but bass boats. Â*He knows the business, and he knows the problems. Â*If he's making his money selling nothing but bass boat, or at least primarly bass boats, you can bet he's making people happy. Â*If they got a showroom full of ski boats, and a few bass boat stuck in the corner of the lot with blue plastic tarps over them, drive on by. Â*

[bassman21]

Thanks for everyones help and input. The wife and me have talked about the Fish and Ski boat thing. We have look at Ranger, Triton, Skeeter, Procraft, and a few others I cannot think of the names. We also called and talk to dealers about these boats. We talked about price, storage and how family friendly they are.
We have desided to go with the Ranger Reata 190 with a 200HP outboard. She likes it the best and we went and looked at one. It has lots of storage and room, it has a seperte ski and rod locker. The rod locker can hold up to 8 rods and up to 6'6" long ones. Plus it has alot of casting room front and rear. But the most importane thing about the boat, my wife said she can see herself driving it. ;D Can we say SCORE, we are know saving for a down payment for mext summer.

Once again thank you everyone.

[catfishtonyd]

I don't think you could have picked a better one. I saw them at the FLW show in Richmond for the first time last year and that is one sharp looking rig.

[bassman21]

For thoses people who want to know what the Ranger Reata 190 looks like here is a link.

http://www.rangerboats.com/pages/boats/190.cfm

[socalbasser]

Cajun,

I must say, well put. I guess my problem with that whole deal was this, it was a 2 day tournament. The problem happened at the end of day 1 and the guy wouldn't even take 5 mins to look at it. I just feel that when you are a representative of the merchandise you sell that you should for the most part, make "some" effort to keep your customers happy. 9 out of 10 times, they'll be back if you do not to mention that word of mouth travels fast. Maybe my example was not a good one but trust me when I say that it's rare to hear anything positive about the customer service from this place, if ever. And to finish myself on this thread I'd like to add this: if you take your boat in for routine service (ie, lower unit oil, sparkplugs and basically just a routine check-up) and they tell you "it'll be ready on wednesday", when Friday rolls around and they say just one more day you start to get a little PO'd.

Skeeter

[catfishtonyd]

I wasn't really picking on you Skeeter. We all know that particular type of dealer. In your particular case, yes, I think the dealer could have made some effort to at least look at the problem. (you have to remember he probably didn't have tools or parts to fix it.) At least you, (or your buddy) would have felt he cared

Crappy dealers are the number one problem in the boat business. The problem is that neither boats or motors are anywhere near the money makers that automobiles are (for example) and there are a lot more manufacturers. So the incentive isn't there for a dealer to really care about service, unless he just happens to care. (Good businessmen do.) If I'm a crappy Mercury dealer, and Mercury really get's annoyed with me, and pulls my dealership, so what? I'll sell Yamaha or Johnson, or Suzuki.

Also, a good mechanic is a gold mine to a dealer. They're hard to find and even harder to keep. A man (or woman) who has the skill,talent, and incentive to be a good mechanic can make a lot more money as an automobile mechanic, with a lot less hassle and headache. Because the boat business operates on a lot lower volume than a car dealer, for the most part they can't/don't offer the wages and benefits that an automobile dealer can. What happnes? A good mechanic can move across the street to the Ford dealer and do a lot better for himself.

There are a lot of good, crackerjack marine mechanics out there. I really admire them because they usually work on boats because they love it.

If you find one. Take him coffee and donuts once in a while. Especially when you don't want/need anything. He'll appreciate it.

[reddscott]

So you are going to get 2 boats that are around 40 thousand a piece? what kind of job do you have? are you the president of the united states? btw if your going to get a BASS FISHING boat dont freakin get one that still looks like a friggin fish n ski boat just get a freakin bass boat with front and back casting decks and single console

[jeffman]

TRAP,
Single console boats are very single purpose, they are tournament boats for the most part.
The man is buying a FAMILY boat that he can fish out of. I have a fishing buddy in Texas that I fish with frequently, who owns a single console boat. More than once we have been caught on the lake when a rainstorm came up and had to make a run for the ramp. I can tell you that raindrops at 70 mph feel like bullets hitting your face and body. I finally bought a motorcycle helmet at a garage sale and gave it to him to keep in his boat for his fishing partner. ('specially me) I don't think his wife and family would appreciate going thru this kind of torture very often, before he was selling or trading his boat.
To you a dual console boat or a fish and ski boat may not look cool. but it looks a lot better than one of your family wearing a black eye patch or a glass eye from a large raindrop or a large bug.
I have a dual console boat, but I still carry two full shield motorcycle helmets for the safety and comfort of my passenger and myself. I made one run years ago across a white capping lake, with my partner sitting on the floor tucked under the console, and myslef hunkered down behind the drivers windshield trying to peer over the console to see where I was going, and still try to protect myself from the rain. I kissed the steering wheel very hard too many times to call that enjoyable.
At least his wife was willing to compromise on a fish and ski, instead of insisting on a full family ski boat that he could try to fish out of sometimes.

JackL

[Rob Mak]

jackl
don't ya just love watching a big bug rochet off the trolling moter and nail the your partner.
i alway love seeing this.


zooker

[jeffman]

ZOOKER,
I get my jollies by running full bore and trying to run down a cormorant or pelican that is just getting up off the water. It is funny to watch my partner duck behind the console as the bird goes a couple feet over his head.

JackL