Ranger 618t

[hambone]

Considering new ranger 618t with 4 stroke. Having said that, what brand motor will give the best performance? With marginal hp, getting out of the hole is key.

[Gull Lake Guy]

From what I have heard, the Evinrude E-Tech is the quickest out of the hole, followed by the Suzuki, than the Yamaha. George Feder has the E-Tech on his 2009 (I believe it may still be for sale) and you can reach him at 1-218-255-3535 if you would like his opinion. I am running the 115 Suzuki on my 620, and I absolutely LOVE the engine. While I understand the holeshot concern, especially on the 618, I have always been more concerned with trolling speeds and overall performance. That said, if I were ordering a new Ranger today, it would more than likely have another Suzuki on the transom, but I would certainly give the E-Tech strong consideration. Another idea - contact Frankies Marine @ 651-257-6334. They rig their fair share of Ranger tillers, and should be able to give you some performance specs for both engines. Good luck with your search !

[Tilt]

Getting out of the hole is key? The 618T is not a boat you're going to pull a tube with so I'm not sure why that would be an important factor in deciding which engine to mount. I suppose it's all personal preference, but my "key" factor in deciding which engine to order was the ability to troll down and you can only do that with the Yamaha and their Variable Trolling Speed equipped multifunction tiller handle unless you want to deal with drift bags or other tricks to slow the boat down to the speed you want.

Please don't read into that as brand vs. brand bashing as I'm aware the Suzuki is probably the best for this boat if you want to get up on plane quicker due to it's lower gear ratio, but when it comes down to fishability I'd rather have the choice of fine tuning my speed to match the conditions and bait presentation which is what the VTS will do for you.

From what I've read online of other 618T owners, most of them had to change the prop that the boat was shipped with to one that works better which changed the boats all around performance, including getting on plane. With a Vengeance prop the boat gets on plane just fine for me and I have no complaints in the performance with the Yamaha on back. If Mercury, Suzuki, or other brand had the ability to adjust the trolling speed I would have considered those as well when I purchased my 618T but they did not and I don't regret my decision with the Yamaha.

So the question is, what do you want the boat to do? Get on plane a tad quicker or be more flexible in different fishing situations?

Good luck with your decision, whatever it may be. The 618T is a great fishing boat.

[walleyejohn]

Hambone,
Being a 618t owner I went through the same decisions you are contemplating currently.
The best advice I can throw your way is to consider what type of fishing you do.
My fishing is primarily walleyes & bass on rivers and lakes.
I use either my Vantage or the Maxxum for precise forward or backtrolling.
I had my E-Tec idle turned down so when trolling spinners &/or hard baits long distances all day I can get down to about 1.4 – 1.3
Top end speed in this boat is about 35 give or take and for me that is just fine.
The E-Tec does a good job of getting you up and on plane but it won't put you back in your seat.
Gas & oil consumption is excellent with this motor but I suspect it is pretty good with all the 90's.
All that said the boat is a very stable multi-species platform to fish out of that is extremely versatile.
You will not be disappointed unless you are looking to fly down the lake!

Good Luck,
walleyejohn