Thinking about getting a Ranger Reata 223F pontoon. Any Likes or Dislikes about these new pontoons? Would like to hear all opinions. Thanks.
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Thinking about getting a Ranger Reata 223F pontoon. Any Likes or Dislikes about these new pontoons? Would like to hear all opinions. Thanks.
Ranger is entering an already crowded retail market. Out of the couple of dozen brands, only two are experiencing sales growth year to year.
The more popular and established brands are hard to compete with, in that they may have 4-5 different lengths, 3-4 different models/price points and 10 or more seating configurations. A new company just cannot compete with an experienced company with over 100 different boats on the market.
Getting in the pontoon/tritoon business was just not a smart move for Ranger. They need to keep their resources where they have been in the past.
We are considering a pontoon too. Went to a boat show in Austin this weekend and looked at the Avalon. Pretty nice boats!
I bought a 2017 Ranger Reata 223F with a 150 Four Stroke from Pete Peterson of Pro Choice in Warsaw Missouri and like it a lot. It has light charcoal fencing and black powder coated logs. The interior is very nice and roomy. Cushioned vinyl flooring, adjustable and reclining captain chairs at the front and console, fishing chairs at the back, lots of seating on the rear bench and curved couch, very nice console with power steering, great gauges, AM/FM Bluetooth radio, USB charging and power ports and flush mounted Lowrance Hook 5 fish finder/gps, a folding stainless steel rear step ladder, vertical rod holders on front and back fishing positions, lots of storage, pop up changing curtain, lockable rod holders for storing up to six 7' 6" rods, two live wells with automatic off/on controller and magnetic door holders to hold doors open. All the seating vinyl is much thicker and plush than I had on my 2004 G3 pontoon. The Bimini top has lift assist for one handed deployment and take down. The fencing is lifted off the vinyl floor about 1/4 inch all around the edges to make it easy for water to run off the floor when rinsing the floor off with a garden hose. With just me, 36 gallons of gas and the top down it will get up to 39.2 mph gps. With top up 38.4 mph gps. Loaded with 5 people and gear it will go 35 mph gps. With 4 people and pulling one on skis or a tube it will go 34 mph gps. Fit and finish is excellent. My only problems I have had are these. (1) When I first put in in gear and ease the throttle forward the there is a temporary vibration noise as the boat starts to idle forward at low rpms and 1-2 mph. Same thing happens when I start idling backwards in reverse. Once I give it a little more throttle and get up to 3 mph the vibration stops and the motor is hardly heard going forward or going in reverse. I think it may have something to do with the optional ski tow bar I had the dealer install. I plan to have this checked, but the closest Ranger dealer that I've found is over 100 miles away, unless my local Cabelas or Bass Pro Shop can do it. (2) The 5 amp fuse for my docking lights blows every once in a while and there is a slight hum coming from the radio speakers when the docking lights are on. Since I hardly use docking lights it is no big deal, but I will have that checked also when I take it to a Ranger Dealer. I had the dealer add a Xi5 trolling motor, two trolling motor batteries, a 3 bank battery charger, a HDS12 Gen3, TotalScan transducer, Point 1 antenna, Ethernet, and NMEA 2000 network to the 223F, so maybe somehow the wiring got messed up some causing this docking light problem. Overall I am very pleased the Ranger 223F and it is a very nice looking pontoon boat. It get lots of compliments from people at the marina where I keep it.
Had the same rattle on a pontoon with a 2016 Mercury 150 four stroke. changed the prop hub from a Flo-Torque II to a Flo-Torque IV and like magic the vibration went away and has not returned:thumb up2:
Thank you HalfBaked. That would be a simple fix. I will try that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Half Baked
That was it HalfBaked! She purrs like a kitten when idling with the Flo-Torq IV. No more rattle sounds at slow speeds. It also stopped the clunk when I engage in forward or reverse. Thanks so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by texasfisher
Glad it worked for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by texasfisher
My wife & I sold our Ranger Walleye boat (621FS) and bought a 223F Ranger Pontoon boat this year. We love to fish and this is the most practical, comfortable, boat we have ever had.
The Ranger Reata 223F is the best fishing boat in our opinion on the market and we looked at everything for 3 years before make our decision to buy a tritoon. We got the 200 Merc,
it is a solid 45 mph boat and what a joy to fish out of. It has every feature you could want and the construction is solid. The stringers start at the back at 12" centers, then go to 18", and
then to 24". Do I miss my 60 mph boat, maybe a little, but the room and comfort makes up for it. There is absolutely room for this pontoon in the market, just go look at one or better
yet, take a ride. This boat smooths out the white caps, it is a great ride. For a fishing tritoon this boat rocks.
I looked at many fishing pontoons before I made my decision to get an Angler Qwest. No other came close for a fishing platform. Nothing wrong with the Ranger of course, it’s Ranger Quality.
Angler Qwest is a great boat, lots of very cool features. We could not afford one, but would have liked to had one. I probably should have stated for the money the Ranger is a good boat.
I really was replying to the post above that stated Ranger should not have got into this market. I think they did good job with the features they brought to the market at this price. I looked
at others and Ranger had .1 gauge pontoons, in floor 3rd log storage, 52 gal gas tank, 26" logs, changing room, very solid z channel construction, 200 HP motor, and 2 lifting strakes on each
of the 3 logs. They also built mine with two live wells up front so me and the wife could keep our fish separated. This package was mid $40's, were are retired so this fit our small budget, we
just Crappie and Walleye fish, no skiing, etc. Life is good. Oh, and the new interior this year is real pretty.