Ranger 1860 Angler

[fishermanbilly]

I am thinking about buying a Ranger 1860 Angler hopefully this year. I am wondering about which motor size to get (150 or 175) Yamaha or Mercury. Has anyone had any problems or suggestions on rigging the boat. I will be fishing walleye and bass primarily. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice and/or suggestions.

Bill

[cprost]

If you do a search, you'll find a lot of information on the Angler 1860. I ordered one with a 150 Yamaha 4stroke, 9.9 kicker with walk thru. I chose the Yamaha because no one posts on them with problems on the motor link. People talk about hole shot but what is a 1 second difference? The 4 stroke also opened up the boat for storage because you no longer need a remote oil container and the battery can be relocated to the space in front of the 150 opening up the two back storage compartment. An evinrude dealer recommend the Yamaha over the evinrude for reliability. The top end between a 150 & 175 are a couple mph. I've ridden in an 1850 and it is night day compared to my prov 1775. Why not a 1850 for me? Rod storage in the floor on the 1850 and not upright and I like to be further back in the boat because I will primarily use it on Lake Erie and it should soften the ride. I do lose trolling room in the back of the boat with the Angler but a larger front deck.

[REG]

You can search the archives and get a lot of good advice. As far as engines, I got the 175 Opti and have been very happy with it. But I've read enough to know that a 150 - either 2 or 4 stroke - will be more than adequate and save you enough money for some serious electronics. It seems like all the engines in this horse class are solid, regardless of brand.

You asked about rigging - I would make 2 suggestions - 1) if you go with a 2 cycle, have them put the oil tank under the spashwell hatch - will give you some extra storage space in the back 2) I had them rig a second, auto bilge pump - much easier done from the factory and gave me a little extra peace of mind. Everything else is personal preference. Oh yeah, 2.5) my dealer put the Merc Smartcraft system monitor on it - just the little square one that gives you engine temp, hours, fuel used, etc. - very, very nice to have. I won't be without it or something similar again.

Good luck - I have been extremely happy with my 1860.

[KHedquist]

Sent you a PM

[fish4trophy]

I have a Ranger 1860 Angler with the F150 Yamaha. I'm very happy with the boat and would order the same combo again. I also have the T-8 Kicker and it is great. I have had it for two seasons now.

If you need decide between a Merc 150 or 175 Optimax, I'd advise you to go with the 175 because both engines weigh the same and share the 2.5 block. So you get 25 more ponies with the same weight hanging on the transom. I'd also suggest that you get a 9.9 Pro Kicker. Its a quiet engine with a lot of thrust for trolling at low RPM's
My 1860 is the best boat that I have owned and I have had two years experience with mine. I can recommend it.

[lundeepv]

I recently bought an '08 Reata 186, it is not the same boat as the Angler but was faced with the same dilemna. I went with the 150 as I studied lots of performance reports from different manufacturers on very similar boats and found there was little if any difference in time to plane and the top end difference was only 2-3 mph. The difference in price was around 1500 bucks............I went with the 150 Opti and bought the electronics I really wanted and a deck extension.

[fishermanbilly]

Gentlemen thank you for the suggestions, it will help alot.

Bill

[PhogEye]

I have an 1850 Reata on order (which should deliver any day now) and went with the Yamaha F-150 with the 9.9 kicker. Looked seriously at the Verado 175 and the E-Tec 175. Didn't chose the E-Tec because I have owned 4-strokes in the past and didn't want to go back to a 2-stroke. It appears that the reliability is better on the Yamaha than the E-Tec as well. The Verado is a very good engine but when the turbo is on, gas cunsumption really increases. Also, the Yamaha was about $1,500 less than both options and I could not justify the extra 2-3 mph top end along with a 1 second hole shot improvement. I spent the money on bigger graphs and a VHF radio.

[eye4aneye]

I've got one with a 150 Opti. If you fish at higher altitudes (over 3000') I would suggest you go for the 175. Mine could sure use a 175 Verado (they're altitude proof) but I'll live with it.