Ranger boats

[walleye]

I have a two questions here about the ranger walleye boats
from 1996 to 98.First with 175 hp how fast do they usally go, with the right prop. What kind of overall storage do they have. And have you heard they are a good overall boat.

[Irish]

Im going to assume that you are refering the Fisherman series. I have a 96 692 with a yamaha 175 and a 9.9 kicker. The boat does 52-53 with half a tank of gas, 23P stainless prop. Not a rocket but it gets there. I am sticking on a Panther Jack Plate this year hoping to get another 3-4 MPH.

What it does do is handle big water very nicely. The gas tank is located in the bow providing substantial wave cutting properties.

The only gripe I have is the rod locker. They still had the bass guys in mind when they did this, its made for shorter flippin sticks, you can get the bigger rods in but you have to thread em in. However, because the front bow area is so big I simply have rod straps mounted to the floor, One set on either side of the pedastal.

The boats overall fit and finish is fantastic.If you need specici info please email me. Also, your welcome to go out for a spin if your in Minnesota when the ice comes off.

Irish
NPAA #584

[Irish]

Forgot one. The boat does have a good deal of storage when compared to other boats of that vintage. I keep a couple of extra PFDs and Rain Gear, trolling boards, basically all thats needed between the right storage compartment and part of the "rod" locker. The new 619 and 620 seemed to have picked up a few cubic feet. Maybe next year for me....

Irish

[Willeye]

I have a 98 692 with a 175 Merc with a high five prop. With 2 people a full tank and plenty of gear I can go @ 51 mph gps. With me only, 1/4 tank and no gear I got 55mph. Speed is the price you pay for a load of well constructed fiberglass. The storage is awesome with two cavernous compartments is the bow. I took out the rod tubes and have no problems in the rod locker. I do have to feed my 8'6" trolling rod in there though. The only problem I have with the boat is that it is just too pretty to take out on the river right now with all those ice flows and road salt.

[Gary]

I have a '98 690VS with a 175 V-Max Yamaha and a 9.9 Honda kicker. One a few out in CA. I run a 23P pro series prop. I agree, not a lot of storage. You can get more with the front deck extension or with a 692 with dual consoles and the rod locker in the middle. It seems to be slightly overproped with a full fuel and passenger load. I tried a 21P pro prop and with a lighter load, and it seems to rev a little high. I can usually run 54-55 mph(gps) loaded. Have tried running without the kicker on the transom, it makes a slight improvement. Top speed that I have seen got close to 60 (very low fuel, no kicker, only driver, tail wind). The 23p worked best then....

Fishing mostly for bass, it would be nice to go a little faster, but the kicker and everything else works great when trolling for trout. The hull really shines when the weather gets bad. 4 ft. swells no problem. If in a bass boat hull, water over the bow!

Hope this helps,
Gary