- Joined
- May 10, 2010
- Location
- Orlando, FL
Hello All,
New here and it's been over ten years since my last bass boat. Looking to pick one up used and I really am out of the loop when it comes to boats and motors.
I'm looking to spend up to $7,500 or so and have found that I can pick up an early to mid-1990's Ranger for that. Specifically, I've been looking at several 361V models. From what I can tell so far, it seems like that's a solid choice as a good fishing boat. I'm in Orlando and don't expect to fish many BIG lakes like Okechobee [sp?], but may hit some "rough" water from time to time. For the money, is this a solid choice? I've noticed that the same money would buy a newer Nitro or ProCraft, etc.
Also, I'm partial to Mercury motors as my first boat had a 115 Merc that just ran like a scalded ape. I also had a boat with a 150 Johnson that seemed to be a dog. In looking at some of these Rangers, I've noticed that the Johnson 150 Fast Strike is a popular motor as well as the 150 Mercury. Any opinions out there on which motor would likely provide the best mix of performance and durability? I know this is a loaded question
Specifically, one boat I'm looking at has a '96 Merc 150 ProMax with an XR6 lower unit. Apparently, the original gray unit blew up and was replaced with a unit off of an XR6. Is the ProMax prone to failure, either on the powerhead or lower unit? I appreciate the high performance and don't mind extra maintenance, but I don't want to pick up something that is much more likely than other motors to catastrophically fail.
Any insights would be appreciated!
New here and it's been over ten years since my last bass boat. Looking to pick one up used and I really am out of the loop when it comes to boats and motors.
I'm looking to spend up to $7,500 or so and have found that I can pick up an early to mid-1990's Ranger for that. Specifically, I've been looking at several 361V models. From what I can tell so far, it seems like that's a solid choice as a good fishing boat. I'm in Orlando and don't expect to fish many BIG lakes like Okechobee [sp?], but may hit some "rough" water from time to time. For the money, is this a solid choice? I've noticed that the same money would buy a newer Nitro or ProCraft, etc.
Also, I'm partial to Mercury motors as my first boat had a 115 Merc that just ran like a scalded ape. I also had a boat with a 150 Johnson that seemed to be a dog. In looking at some of these Rangers, I've noticed that the Johnson 150 Fast Strike is a popular motor as well as the 150 Mercury. Any opinions out there on which motor would likely provide the best mix of performance and durability? I know this is a loaded question
Specifically, one boat I'm looking at has a '96 Merc 150 ProMax with an XR6 lower unit. Apparently, the original gray unit blew up and was replaced with a unit off of an XR6. Is the ProMax prone to failure, either on the powerhead or lower unit? I appreciate the high performance and don't mind extra maintenance, but I don't want to pick up something that is much more likely than other motors to catastrophically fail.
Any insights would be appreciated!