I'm looking at buying a 1995 19' Rajin Cajun with a 2003 150hp Evenrude motor on it. The boat looks in pictures to be in good shape but looks can be deceiving. I know nothing about these boats actually have never saw one other than pics. Not very comman around here. Would like to know all pluses and minuses if I could.
Triton 2003 TR21
2010 225 HO E-TEC
HHBC
Plus is from all that I gather they are very well made and crafted boats and were either bought out by mastercraft or was always a division of mastercraft boats.
transoms and hulls are typical good with care.
cons are they dot make them anymore and parts and supplies for the boat itself are harder to come across but not impossible.
Theyre a pretty common boat around my way, if it's in good shape and a good price it won't let you down
a lot of good people in this forum that have much more knowledge than me. I am new to the Cajun world as well!
I bought one a couple years ago. 17.5 ft dual console, 150 HP Evinrude. I runs and rides great. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the brand and they were made at a time when thinks were built to last with Quality materials.
Jim
Jim
1991 17 ft Ragin Cajun
150 Evinrude Intruder
I bought one a couple years ago. 17.5 ft dual console, 150 HP Evinrude. I runs and rides great. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the brand and they were made at a time when thinks were built to last with Quality materials.
Jim
Jim
1991 17 ft Ragin Cajun
150 Evinrude Intruder
Like any other boat, you need to be checking for maintenance stuff. I would be looking for soft spots in the floor and rear deck. No parts department means you need to think outside the box and be able to get your hands dirty. I would stay away from a ficht evenrude.
William "Bill" Kyte
Waldorf, MD
2018 Shenadoah Kerr lake BFL Co-angler Champion
2020 Ranger 520L Evinrude G2 250HO
A big plus for the Cajun is the aluminum/composite transom (no wood). Haven't heard anyone on the internet have a rotten transom issue with Cajuns in that time frame. The hull and deck were joined with a screws and rivets into a backer plate behind the entire joint - making for a pretty solid structure. The hulls are pretty rugged, and rough water performance is great due to the generous vee in the bow. Their narrow beam make them rock a bit, and chine walk can be an issue that you will learn to drive through.
There is wood in the lower portion (step) area of the transom, as well as stringers, floors, etc. The underside of wood seat bases and floors were not sealed with resin, but typically painted black. This can lead to rot, and results in soft spots in the floor, transom step, etc. Be sure to check the cockpit floor, poking with a pick especially around the floor drain and under consoles.
The factory carpet wasn't the highest quality, and fit and finish was generally average. Wiring is decent - harness with corrugated wire loom throughout, and tightly bound wiring at the gauges. The factory may have made a standard harness for the 20' model, and simply looped the excess for shorter models... at least that is what it appears on my 18' Rajin Cajun model.
I think the TrailBoss trailers were very well made... assuming it's a factory trailer. Great workmanship, very well sealed electrical wiring, great primer/paint work, and bunks fit the boat perfectly. Mine is still strong as a bull at 22 years old.
All in all, they are a decent boat if you can get a good deal on one. They won't have the resale of a Ranger, Triton, Skeeter, etc. But if the price is right, you'll get a boat that will get you to the fish as well as any of the other brands.
Couple things based on reading through this thread...
A poster says that Cajun was owned by Mastercraft. Cajun was actually owned by Mastercrafters. Mastercrafters was a completely different company and is now defunct - not to be confused with the currently existing manufacturer of pleasure boats, Mastercraft.
Also, I see CastingCall's very knowledgeable post, and one question I've had since I bought my 88' Cajun Espirit is the composition of the transom. I've searched far and wide for that information, and while I haven't been able to definitively learn what my particular transom is made from, the information I have found suggests that Cajun used a wooden transom until they switched over to composite around 87/88, and only in some models - and then gradually switched over to 100% composite in the early 90s.
Is this understanding incorrect? I'd be very happy for CastingCall to be correct here, and for my prior understanding to be in error.
I honestly don't know when they started producing the composite transom. I've got an original 1995 sales brochure (when I bought mine new), and it touts the aluminum transom construction. Prior to that, I have no idea.
That 87/88 time frame sounds about right, I wish I could remember. The first boats with the composite transom may have had a 5/50 year decal on the rear of the cap. Cajun had several firsts in the Bass boat development. First with up right flotation, first with aluminum lids, first with optional extra tough hulls, and first with lifetime transoms. They had some great ideas and some horrible ones, it seemed like they sometimes made a great model of boat up to a point and then had a brain fart. I still run my 1991 178 pro Sport with a 1991 Evinrude Intruder 150.
Last edited by 316jughead; 09-26-2017 at 07:47 PM.
I really wish someone with concrete knowledge about the advent of the composite transoms would stumble on a thread here and chime in. I've got no transom issues in my 88 Espirit, but it would give me some peace of mind to know exactly what I'm dealing with, and if I have any headaches to look forward to. I use my boat heavily, so she isn't just getting to be an old lady, she's getting rode hard as she ages.
I know for a fact that my 17' 87 Ragin Cajun had a wood transom. When hung my 2007 Evinrude E tec 150 HO on the back the transom dang near broke due to being rotten. If it were me I would pull the motor mounting bolts out of the transom and reseal and check for any water leaking. It's also a good idea to remove the external transducer if it has one and check for any water leaking out of the hole. As stated above check the deck and the floor especially around the drain. I still have my Cajun. Its a rcket shit witj the 150 HO. Remember its only a 17' er
Triton 19 XS Elite, 225 Mercury Pro XS, Minn Kota Ultrex 112, Hydrowave H2, Twin 8' Power Pole Blades, Power Pole CHARGE, Lowrance HDS 12 and 16 at console, Lowrance HDS 9, Garmin LiveScope at bow, Mercmonitor, Rigid Industries Deck lights and other stuff to come that will make me go more broke
I have an 88 Paul Elias Fishing Edition that has the composite transom, it has a lifetime warranty sticker on the back of the boat. Its been said to have the strongest transom that was ever built. My boat is built like a tank. Here is an article from 1990 that features a number of bass boats with one of them being a Cajun, it talks about the transom.Originally Posted by Cain Roberts
https://books.google.com/books?id=qe...ransom&f=false
http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=53481
Would it be safe to assume if you have a “limited warranty” sticker on the back the boat would contain a wood transom? My transom sticker on my 89 cajun believe to be demon model has a master-crafters” limited warranty sticker on the back, with the flotation sticker.
Mine has no sticker.
I'm not sure, I assumed they all had that type transom after a certain year. Maybe it was only offered on their top tier boats. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will weigh in to help clarify.
My 91 has the mastercrafters sticker mentioned above and the 5/50 year sticker on the top cap in the rear.
It's the 5/50 sticker that counts.
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