I just purchased a new Ranger RT 188C. I crappie fish but really did not care if the boat had the front livewell or not. Had to have the 3 seat bases at the front. Found the color I wanted at a good price. I did not want to order a 2020 model. I have a question on storage. There is a carpeted filler plate in front of the console and a small one just in front of the side rod box. 10' crappie rods won't fit in the rod box. Don't have a problem with that. I took the filler plate off in front of the rod box and it was painted aluminum. I assume it is the same in front of the console. Has anyone been brave enough to cut an opening and place hinges to filler plates to add storage? Post pics please if anyone has done this.
I modified my 2018 RT188C by making an additional storage box in front of the console. After removing the carpeted filler plate I found a painted aluminum subdeck with a small hole (probably to shoot foam in that area). I cut a 13 1/2" x 20 1/2" rectangle with radius corners and exposed the area below. I had to remove a minimal amount of foam to expose the area at the bottom to make the size of box I needed. The area available for storage was also open the the aluminum box which the fiberglass console is attached to. I found a black rubber mat at Lowes which is cut to fashion a floor and side liner for the storage box area. I ordered and aluminum piano hinge and rubber boat storage locker seal (which matches the center storage locker) from Amazon. I did not install a locker handle on the carpeted filler plate because I can open the lid by lifting from the corner of the filler plate. It makes for a lot more storage in the 188C. This should have been a factory produced feature!
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