Ranger Reatta

[buzzsaw]

Okay, I'm looking at picking up one of these boats and was wondering if anybody out there has had any positive or negative things they'd like to toss out there.

Thanks!

[LABS4ME]

My neighbor just bought one... the 1850, nice boat. He was looking at a couple other boats but picked the 1850 w/ 175 Virago and 9.9 kicker. So far (5 weeks) he loves it. Earlier there were threads w/ some seat issues. I told him to be on the lookout for this. The dealer really jacked him around with his kicker... finally got it this week. Me? I'd look hard and long at the e-tec or Yammy with a matching kicker. You can never go wrong with a Ranger!!! (or Triton )

Good Luck!

Ken

[PerchJerker]

Which model are you looking at, the 1850 or 1750?

I have the 1850, have all good things to say about it. EJ is on this forum quite a bit and has an 1850 and also has good things to say about it. We both did a lot of research and didn't cut any corners when it came to outfitting our boats and adding extras. If you have specific questions, fire away.

As far as the seats go, that is a non-issue that a couple guys blew out of proportion. Ranger issed a recall on the bad seats a few months ago, if you end up with bad seats they will replace them, end of story. I have not had any issue with my seats and did not replace them under the recall.

[buzzsaw]

I'm looking at the 1850 Reata. I have a 2005 Crestliner Sportfish 1850 w/Yamaha 150 HP four stroke and the Ranger would also be equiped with the Yamaha 150 HP four stroke. I currently use a Lowrance LMS 332c and the only thing I don't like about the Reata package is that it has a built in Garmin (no GPS) in the dash and I have the 70 lb thrust MinnKota autopilot/co-pilot and this set up comes with the Maxxim 60 lb thrust cable drive/foot pedal deal which doesn't excite me either.

[PerchJerker]

The Reata comes with a lower end Lowrance in 2006, not a Garmin, but either way you can have your dealer remove it from the package and give you a credit or apply it towards an upgraded unit if you want. I have a 332c mounted in-dash (it fits perfectly) and have a 102c on a RAM on the dash.

Same deal with the bowmount, you can swap out or exclude whatever is in the package. Sometimes the packages are dealer packages, sometimes they are Ranger packages, but it shouldn't be too hard to get what you want ...... and if it is too hard, go find a different dealer. I have the PD / CP 70lb bowmount on my boat.

Lots of dealers will probably talk to you about the Family Fun Pack. I wanted some of that stuff, not all of it, so I bought what I wanted individually. There are tons and tons of options in what you can get or not get, you just need to ask the questions and do some research and have a dealer that will work with you.

The boat comes with the LowranceNet backbone in it, very cool - I am expanding my network and kicking myself for not having Ranger run a network cable to the bow. My advice is to plan ahead for this, I didn't plan very well in this area and am going to have to do some rigging myself.

[eyepatrol]

The Reata is a pretty sweet boat, no doubt. The only issue I have with it is that there is essentially only one livewell in it. There is a 5gal baitwell up front which I've been told can be used as a livewell, but except for a few pannies, it won't hold much. I've never talked to a dealer about the possibility of custom building a livewell up front, so I don't know if that can be done; something that could be asked if it ever was a concern I guess. Beyond that, the boat is really laid out nice.

[deadminnowcatcher]

There were definately issues with the seats in some of them. I seen it first hand. It was only put in some of them. I would recoment sitting in the boat you want to buy and just lean back in the seat. you will know right away if you got the good seat or the faulty seat in it

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

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The only issue I have with it is that there is essentially only one livewell in it.

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I'm Okay with that, as I have always had two livewells and never used more than one at a time as I catch and release most of what I fish for. Any other info out there guys? So far I appreciate the feedback.

[delmuts]

i'll just add the service from ranger. i have had some )(*&((*(*) dealing with a couple of dealers, but any time i have a question ,and call or e-mail ranger . i usually get a ph. call from the plus a return to my e-mail.

[PerchJerker]

I agree with delmuts, Ranger has been awesome to work with everytime I've called them, and I've called them with some very technical and detailed rigging questions. They've even sent me stainless props on the honor system to test on my boat. There is a lot of quality in their products and a lot of service in the way they deal with people.