Ranger 175T Angler Debuts at Minneapolis Northwest Sportshow

[BW]

Originally Posted by Burr

No reason to be defensive, it's all in good fun, and I did not intend for it to be degrading or belittling in any way.

I'll wait to proclaim how it rides until someone actually has it on the water, OK? Used to fish out of a Bass Boat - it was not the best riding boat, but it was built out of glass...

Just like your comment to the person related to the 1825 yesterday - maybe we wait to hear what it's like when it's on the water before declaring a pre-competition winner. Being a Vikes fan, I'm familiar with the heartbreak potential. Either way - it is, what it is.

Glass = made for whiskey.

Sounds fair......

[Johnnielund]

Anyone have an "on the water" report yet?
Jim

[Myersf]

Originally Posted by Johnnielund

Anyone have an "on the water" report yet?
Jim

I took my 175t out for a short trip on the water to see where the water line would be in various states - trolling speed, me on the forward deck, and on plane for transducer mounting. It really is a much better performing boat than I expected. When asked to go past the dock on plane I realized the boat was up much faster than I was expecting. I missed how fast until the second pass. With my obese self, 3 batteries, 3/4 tank of fuel the boat was on plane with about half throttle. Something I am not used to in my Alumacraft. This on top of a turning radius much smaller than my Alumacraft - it is a great performing boat.

I received the boat about 8 days ago and have used most of my spare time helping my boat guy switch all the electronics from my previous boat to the Ranger. We are in a bit of a hurry because I am taking my new boat to Lake Erie the beginning of May and there is a ton of stuff to move.

We finished the installation of the electronics. Friday we powered everything up the first time and had no sparks so that is a good start.

In the back of boat:
Lowrance HDS-8
Lowrance HDS-8 Generation 2
Lowrance Engine Harness for Yamaha Engines
(2) Lowrance Digital Engine Gauges LMF-400 (4 Inch)
Lowrance Digital Engine Gauges LMF-200 (2 Inch)
Lowrance Sirius Weather Module LWX-1
Lowrance Sonic Hub with 2 6.5" speakers
Lowrance StructureScan HD - LSS-2
Lowrance Network Expansion NEP-1 (basically a water proof EtherNet switch)
Lowrance EP-65R Fluid Level Sensor for fuel tank

On the front of the boat:
Lowrance HDS-7 Generation 2

All of the boxes, HDS units, engine and gauges are all connected together in a network. While I didn't get on the water it appears all the units are seeing all the equipment. The bow mounted HDS can display the StructureScan at the back of the boat. There is no transducer connected to the bow mounted HDS yet (waiting for the correct trolling motor transducer) and I can see the standard transducer depth reading from the aft mounted transducer.

The engine gauges detect all information from the motor and fuel tank. All of the HDS's display engine information.

So far all the units detect the Sonic Hub but I didn't install the am/fm antenna or iPod stuff so I will have to get outside for satellite signal to see if it all works. The Sonic Hub gets the music and entertainment signal from the Weather Module and powers the sound out the speakers. If it all works all the HDS units will be able to control station selection and volume. All the units will be able to display the weather picture from the Sirius Weather Module.

These installs have been more than a little challenging. The location of the transducers is difficult because with the StructureScan the transducer needs to be vertically and horizontally straight. The transom on this Ranger has very few flat, straight places I can mount a 11" StructureScan transducer. We actually had to call Lowrance and email pictures for direction. It was decided to mount the transducer in front of the motor down next to the live well pick ups. While we expect little interference - I admit to being a bit concerned with this issue. Will find out Monday.

When we tried to install the Speakers for the Sonic Hub we found just how small this boat is. We found 2 spots on the whole boat that would allow for speaker install. Every other place would have cut into a live well, rod locker, or cooler. There are some spots we could try if I need another set of speakers but they will have to be 3" and not 6".

It is an impressive birds nest of power cords, marine EtherNet, and NMEA2000 connectors and wiring. While the HDS units were easy to place, the extra modules eat up a lot of space. We had to dedicate one storage area with nothing but electrical boxes. If I forget to put the plug in, I am going to really test the level of waterproofing these Lowrance boxes ship with.

The rest of the electrical system is made up of 3 batteries. Despite telling the dealer I used a 12v trolling motor - they rigged it for 24v. The boat shipped with a 2 bank battery charger. I had a DC Alternator charger. So after some minor rigging changes the pair of batteries were changed from a 24v setup to a parallel 12v system. The 2 bank charger will charge all three batteries and the DC charger will charge the trolling batteries during main motor operation. Honestly with two batteries for trolling motor and all the electronics with charging, I don't expect to ever have a supply issue.

I changed the seat posts for air ride type. Because we had to remount the drivers seat we weren't able to put the boat on the water for testing and we all had to leave. The only things left for the fitting out are mounting the seats and some vacuuming.

This is the smallest boat Ranger makes right now. They did make a tiller back in the late 80's to 1992 that was a foot smaller. I have a couple of friends that have them and I lusted for one for a long time. I was at the boat show where this boat was debuted within the first 30 minutes of the show opening. Tillers aren't for everyone. Nor do most people think 70/75 HP is enough. I however think that the 70HP is just fine.

Performance, well I have only been on the water for about 10 minutes. In that short time this is what I discovered -

• Boat is surprisingly maneuverable and very stable
• Boat and motor is a very well balanced unit
• I was on plane with about 1/2 throttle. Much quicker than any other boat I have owned.

I get to break in the motor and shake down all those electronics on Monday or Tuesday.

[speedstik]

I finally got my boat rigged and on the water this weekend and got about 4 hours on it , so far its better than I thought would be. I got the black one with the 75 Merc on it and am satisfied with the motor chioce, it has power to spare and gets out of the hole fast. The boat is very responsive it turns and handled what rough water I could find very well. I had a 681 before this and it looks like the 175 will fish and handle rough water better ,no contest. Running in a good chop it was dry and comfortable no spray at all and from all wave angles. The prop thats on it is a 14" and its a little small, it would be fine for a loaded down boat but with 2 people, full tank of gas and live wells full , it ran at 34 mph and had more throttle left before it hit the rev limit. If you have any question post and I will reply.


L. Ras

[CHM]

Thanks for that! I was just asking your dad how you liked it. I really need to trim down all my tackle so the lack of storage area might be a blessing. If I can get alot of rods in the boxes that will help. I really like my 8' crank rods!

Chuck