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Ranger VS1780 Questions

Posted 8/8/2016 11:36 PM (#826570)
Subject: Ranger VS1780 Questions

Posts: 357

Location: Vilas County, WI

I've been researching a new boat and have been interested in this rig. I saw one other thread on here about this boat but that discussion was more about the VS1780 vs glass.
I'm looking for feedback from those who own, or have fished out of this boat. Some things I noticed and questions I have are:

- When looking at the boat from the top view, it appears to be like a triangular shape where it tapers from the bow all the way to the stern (so the stern appears to be the widest point). When looking at other boats (Alumacraft Competitor or Lund Impact) they appear more squared from the windshield rearward. Therefore the other manufacturers appear wider at the windshield than the Ranger. How does this change the stability, performance, or ride?
- Front casting deck appears much larger than other comparable aluminum models?
- I'm not wild about the flush mount locator in the console. Never had any experience with these. So what happens if I want to change the locator? Do I have to carefully cut a new pocket for it in the console?

Any thoughts, feedback, or discussion on my questions above would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
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Edited by TheShow 8/8/2016 11:38 PM

Fishysam

Posted 8/9/2016 9:19 AM (#826598 - in reply to #826570)
Subject: Re: Ranger VS1780 Questions

Posts: 1209

I do not own the boat but can share some about the design. Ranger would be able to not flush mount the sonar or not mount it at all leaving you a uncut pannel. They will also be able sell you a new uncut pannel in 5 years if you like, but more than likely you will just cut a larger hole for a bigger sonar.
As far as the hull shape question they have a video labeled "floatation" that shows the rear of the boat. The running surface is about 20-25 inches narrower than the top of the gunnel walls and I would bet that the running surface is more square like the other brands you mentioned, but by getting wider at the top will increase the buoyancy for motor weight and waves coming from the rear. The narrower the running surface is the smoother it will ride but the tippier it may be if you can stand wider than it. It looks to be stable in the flotation video.