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| I have been kicking the idea around lately of selling or trading my 1996 Ranger 692 VS to get into something smaller...I don't spend as much time on big water anymore.
I was thinking of a 16ft or so tiller with 50-60 hp, preferably like to stay with glass. Any suggestions of what some good choices might be? I'm not afraid of some of the older models of whatever if they can still be found.
Thx...RJ |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i did the same thing a few years ago and made what ended up being a really smart decision by getting into a tuffy esox magnum ... you could pull it with a ford taurus if you wanted to, single axle made moving it around a breeze, launch and load anywhere easily and fished HUGE ... plus, if you decide to go to something else down the road (which i did) ... it sold in 2 weeks in december. they are highly sought after as used boats ...
the esox mag will surprise you for how good it is in rough stuff (reasonable for inland waters) ... |
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| I got a alumacraft dominator 165 Sport and could not be happier. It fits in my garage with the swing tougue. Still has decent power with a 90 hp and a 7 ft middle rod locker, has good stability because it is wide for a boat under 17 ft. . It is also double plated in the front like a lot of the similar size lunds. |
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Posts: 619
| 165 Navigator CS....easy to load and unload by yourself....wide beam.. reliable and can handle waves pretty decent. can fish big water as well. |
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Posts: 20180
Location: oswego, il | If your wanting to stay with glass, get a tuffy esox magnum oor the one smaller. has to be the best platform to fish from. |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | I run an older S-135 Skeeter 17' deep v and love it. Handles anything I'll ever fish. |
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Posts: 32800
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Same exact hull as the 1700 Tuffy. |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | Bass boat unless you troll. My 17 Venom with a 115 Johnson was a bargain. It is very stable and easy to fish out of. A big plus is that the rod locker holds 8'6" rods |
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Posts: 247
Location: Uxbridge Ontario | An awesome little boat is the Lund outfitter series. They are 17'-8" with a 77" beam. The ss with console is rated for a 90hp and the tiller model i beleive a 60hp.
Great storage for the size of boat and Huge casting deck for the level and class of boat.
My 06 SS with 75hp opti runs about 42mph. |
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Posts: 258
Location: Mayville, WI | Alumacraft Navigator 165. Tons of space (I've fished 3 w/ no problem), great in rough water (4-6 on lake MI this year), easy to load (I just winch it up), not too bad on the pocket book, and super wide (91" beam)
EDIT: Since you want a tiller, get hydraulic assist. I've got a 75 yamaha tiller w/o it at the moment and it's not too bad most of the time, but in rougher water it will make a world of difference. I'll be adding it next year.
Edited by scmuskies 9/20/2010 4:40 PM
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Posts: 32800
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | 'I was thinking of a 16ft or so tiller with 50-60 hp, preferably like to stay with glass. ' |
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| "preferably", not set in stone just showing there are other options out there and I was not the first to post a non-glass boat. I was in the same situation this spring and was looking at either a navigator or 1700 Esox GT. Went with the Navigator because of price & the ability to actually find a tiller in that style. It was hard enough just to find the Navigator tiller while the 1700 GT was darn near impossible.
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Posts: 51
| I runa Navigator 165 and love it. It was a much better price than comparable Lund models and is a nice boat. The livewell is also muskie sized if you need it to CPR a fish. I have had it in pretty rough water and although you might get wet, we never felt unsafe. |
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Posts: 697
Location: Minnetonka | Another Ranger, of course!!!
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/classifieds/61035/Ranger.T/
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Posts: 32800
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | That one shouldn't last long. Looks very well kept, too. |
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Posts: 32800
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | sc,
The factory makes them...every day. Not much stock in the field for them, and that is a good thing. |
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| Thanks for all the suggestions...its tough as I love the 692...but its just overkill where I am fishing now.
I think I'll post it for sale/trade and see what comes up. I like the ranger tiller, and the tuffy esox both would be great. I'm not against the aluminums either if they come in metal flake...lol.
RJ |
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