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Posts: 206
| Have heard more and more people using center console aluminum boats for freshwater fishing. Some advantages to the layout. Saw Ranger had one at the Mpls Boat Show (below).
Anyone spent time in one? I don't fish LOTW in 3-4 footers, but I do spend a lot of time on mostly small medium waters and encounter 20 mph winds and 2 foot waves enough. Any sense how a boat like this would handle that?
http://www.rangeraluminum.com/model.cfm?sid=7363 |
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| Not sure about aluminum but, the layout and stand-up driving are total came changers!! |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | Why do you like the stand up driving so much? Better vision? |
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| Better vision and our legs make much better shock absorbers than our backs!! I thought I would be much more fatigued standing up but the opposite is true! My back, legs and feet hold up much better standing up! If you do get a center console get an anti-fatigue mat for between the console and the leaning post. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | ran center consoles for about 10 years and loved them ... great for running big water and fun to operate from the middle. i liked the wash down decking but the dry lockable storage is more limited. also, the height for garages can also be limiting. i had a boston whaler dauntless and then a Ranger 200C ... both good boats and the Ranger was a blast. i did go back to a single console deep v when i got a little older. on your feet all day can be tiring. |
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Posts: 206
| Yes, I have been in a couple glass center console boats in saltwater and they rode nice. But this is an aluminum hull. The guy from Ranger said they inject a lot of dense foam in the hull, but the V isn't as deep or sharp as a glass hull. Dunno, maybe if you're standing towards the back and behind a windshield maybe it's fine in rougher waters on a 3000 acre lake ?? |
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Posts: 206
| Ride quality is still my primary question ...
However, with a 90 hp Suzuki 4 stroke top end speed is 40-44 mph. Not a bad overall package for $19,999.
Edited by smalljaw 1/31/2016 7:32 PM
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | $19,999.00 buys a lot of boat ... |
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Posts: 1200
Location: Walker, MN | I went back to a full windshield but I really miss my center console when we are casting the big baits. They are actually great for trolling as well. I have no idea why they have never gained any real popularity in the mid-west.
I almost bought a Skeeter SX 200 but the freeboard was little more than a bass boat and I fish big water. The all new SX 210 looks like a really nice size though.
The southeast and mid-south reservoirs have a pretty decent used market. Many of the reservoir boats never see salt water. They can take a while to sell in MN. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | No experience with that one or any other center console boat but that aluminum Ranger looks like a pretty flat bottom hull. I'm sure you'd be fine with it in 2 foot waves, but then again, any of the Tuffy 1760's or X190's you've asked about should handle that water smoothly also. I know from experience the 1760 takes 2 foot waves like a champ. Any other deeper V glass boat would take the water you are talking about easily too, while sitting.
Again, no experience with them, but the center console layout looks like it uses up floor space in a way I would not like. Then again, I'm a tiller guy, so I prefer a pretty wide open layout. |
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Posts: 410
Location: one foot over the line | I had a center console 19 foot Mako bay boat. That thing could handle any water that I could find. Huge front platform and it cleaned up in no time. I was fine with the leaning post, however, after a long day of fishing I needed some kind of back support. The seat in front of the console was nice for passengers, but if you had more than 2 in the boat it wasn't a very comfortable ride for them. The biggest reason for me getting rid of mine though was the rod storage. On my particular model all rods were stored vertically around the console and when I was on the front deck casting with 8-9 foot rods, I really had to watch my back-swing. Took out a couple of rod tips to find that out the hard way. However, lots of newer models have horizontal rod storage now and if I were in the market for a different boat, I would be doing some serious looking at the many options that are out there now. |
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Posts: 410
Location: one foot over the line | As I looked a little closer at that ranger in the link, a few red flags went up. Gas tank placement, battery placement, large livewell placement are all in the stern of the boat. That is a lot of weight back there. |
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Posts: 31
| I too have been eyeballing a center console in my new boat searching. I looked at the Ranger and it's a nice boat (on paper, haven't seen one in person). You might want to take a look at the Excel boats they look really nice also.
The only things I'm not sold on have been touched on above; the dry storage is somewhat limited and the console does take up some pretty prime real estate. |
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Posts: 20
Location: West Virginia | I used to own a Key West 19CC that I used down south for Striper. The bay boats are all the rage with the striper fisherman, but mine was the deeper Vee. Rode great in 3' seas. The only problem that I had for casting is the distance to the water from the sides. When I got mine, it was impossible to find a trolling motor with a long enough shaft to really use, but everyone makes them now.
Perfect for trolling! Most have the built-in trolling rod holders in the gunnels which I have more confidence in than the Driftmasters. |
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Posts: 790
Location: North Central IL USA | Wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole. I have no desire whatsoever to stand up while driving as boat. The seating in those boats are horrible. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | one of the key reasons to drive standing is to "see" ... your vision of sand, shallows, reefs is far superior so when they developed obviously prior to GPS, they were a requirement along with taking a rough ride. when i ran one that was another peace of mind while driving around the shield lakes ... even though i was mapped out pretty well on my GPS, it was nice being able to see brown water! |
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Posts: 492
Location: midwest | I would not choose a hull design like that for 2+ foot waves. They make great river boats and my friends run them on the Tennessee river impoundments but at least on the alumacrafts, G3 and alumaweld boats I have been in the ride in waves over a foot left a lot to be desired. they are basically mod-v boats with a mostly flat bottom. |
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Posts: 555
Location: Tennessee | I'm running a SeaArk 1860 center console tunnel jet. The visibility standing is one of the best things about the layout, but I wouldnt want anything smaller than a 60" bottom with center console as it takes up so much space in the middle of your cockpit. It really depends on your personal taste. It's abit of a pain to use engine trolling and I am really missing having my tiller still. Next boat I get I will be going back to a tiller. Plus I can still stand up and drive a tiller to see whats ahead of me.
Edited by Wood_Duck 2/5/2016 7:42 AM
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Posts: 20
Location: West Virginia | The bay boat versions dont handle the bigger water as well as the actual SW versions. If waves are a concern, a good CC will keep your dry. |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | I'm currently running the 200C that Sled mentioned above. I rant it hard on LSC and now I run it in Alaska. So yeah, big water. There's a lot about my boat that is unique, but I'll spare you that. Bay and CC boats in general really shine for me in the aspects mentioned above...visibility and legs taking the shock. When I ride in someone else's sit down boat, I feel like I can't see a thing and my back is killing me! That alone will have my driving standing up for as long as I can.
That said, this particular Ranger Aluminum may not be the best big water hull out there, but for smaller stuff or rivers I think you'd be fine. I'm actually in the market for a smaller boat (while keeping my "big" boat now!) in a few years when I'm back in muskieland and need to fish little stuff and dirt ramps. |
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