Fish and ski boat

[jramsber]

Looking for suggestions on fish and ski boats. Price range is 25k which means we are looking at used boats also. Currently considering ranger 1850 reatta and 180 reatta. Mostly used on smaller lakes but would like to be able to go to low or sakakawea. Any input would be appreciated.

[MuskieJunkie]

I believe the 180 reatta is the bass boat, that will not work well for LOW. Why they use the reatta name for two boats that are very different is beyond me. I wonder how many guys have been burned buying a bass boat when they thought they were getting a deep V.

The Reatta 1850 is one of the most sought after boats in MN, you'll be pressed to find one at $25k. There are a couple out there with the 115 motor and the resale is bad, I'd stay away from those.

The stratos 386XF is the same lay out and manufacturer (that's what I have) so look at those too.

As I said in another post recently don't get too hung up on the bow seating, it is nice but you'll rarely use it. Yarcraft and Skeeter makes similar boats that do not have the bow seating. The ranger name carries a premium in price so looking at other brands is a good idea.

Let us know what you find, don't be one of those guys that posts to get free info and then we never hear from you again.

[jramsber]

Thanks for the info. I think the 180 has a deeper hull than a bass boat. Here is a link to a picture of one http://2007ranger180vsreata.weebly.com/. Do you think that the hull is too shallow for LOW, etc? I am going to take a look at your other suggestions. Thanks again!

[hydro]

Looks like a nice boat but that hull is rather low and short for big water. You would get pretty beat up if you are caught out in big rolling waves. If you are set on the F/S type of boat be sure to take the family to try it out for size. Check the room behind the the front seats and the size of the front/rear decks. I have that exact type of boat in a 20' length and there is still very little back seat room. Also, get enough horsepower to make the boat work. F/S boats are heavy and hard to get out of the hole.

Here is my 20 footer:

[gquist]

I just brought home a Tracker Pro-Guide V-175 Combo with a Merc 115 4-Stroke yesterday for just a tad under 25k after taxes ect, It is a deep-v boat and is sold as a complete package with livewells and a ski pilon,troller,cheap sonar, it even has a paddle, they have a great HSOforum with all the info there. trackerboats dot com

[JeffB]

I would recommend fishing lake mead for bachelor party. I don't know much about the fishing, but it is a short drive to Vegas from there.

[ib_jigged]

Congrats on the new boat Greg! You will have fun. Now rigging it up is the fun part! 2 years ago we bought a new Lund and the wife laughs at me for always buying stuff for it. Just adding Lowrance LSS-2 to it this year! Hope to get it out of storage once all this snow starts to melt!

Del

[JeffB]

Wow I look off the wall on that last post I was trying to make a comment on someones bachelor party post. I don't know how my comment ended up on this thread. Anyways since I'm here I also have the stratos 386xf and like it.

[jb426]

gquist

What tipped your hand towards the tracker?? The tracker and smokercraft are the two that I have it narrowed down to. Did you go through Tracker for finiancing? Did a cover come with it? Thanks for any info. I'm leaning towards the tracker but like the smokercraft looks

[gquist]

I was looking on the web for a boat this winter and ran accross the Tracker web site, I was looking at Lund's and Crestliner's also, So I did some research on the Tracker brand and found some negatives but mostly isolated problems on some poorly welded hulls from a few years past nothing current, As I understand they are the #1 seller of boats so I was expecting some issues just due to the # of boats they have out there, So I went to the Fargo boat show to check them out and I liked the boat and the dealer so I went with them, The price was better then the other brands also.

As far as the cover They have a promo until April 15 that you get a $500 dollar gift card when you buy the boat so I used it to buy a cover or most of it, the cover was $550 but is made very well.

Good luck on your desistion, They are both great boats!

[jramsber]

Still haven't decided on a boat but now looking at the Alumacraft Trophy as well. Any thoughts? Any suggestions on dealers or how to locate a lightly used one? Thanks!

[jramsber]

We ended up going with the alumacraft dominator 185. Similar layout to the reatta 1850 but much more affordable. Decided on aluminum for durability reasons. Want to do boat in camping trips etc. thanks for all the input!

[BoxMN]

Congrats jramsber! That is a great boat and I am sure will work perfect for your needs.

FWIW, we have had numerous Alumacrafts, still have two of them, one being a '97 Tourn Pro 175. Gets used a LOT (I share with my brother, and Dad when he was alive) and has been totally solid for us. We have modified it over the years to suit us better (front livewell now tackle storage, added second bilge pump for security on big water, made a LARGE front deck essentially adding space tot he little deck that the troll motor mounted on - great for sight fishing and musky casting) and even though we could afford to upsize it still does everything we need. The larger 185 size you have is nice, wish they had that option when we got ours...

...anyway, great rig, enjoy the heck out of it for years to come!

[CaptainMusky]

That should be a very serviceable boat for you. I like the wide gunnels on the Dominator, which is the same as my Tournament Sport.

Now if we could only get the lakes to melt!!!