fish and ski

[biskitboy]

anybody have any input on who makes the most fishable older model fish and ski ( ebb tide, pro craft, etc) late 80s early 90s.
thanks

[ChampioNman]

Champion made them in both the runabout style and conventional bass boat style. In the bass boat style they padded the rod locker lids.

[MengRanger]

I had a early 90's Ranger F&S. 19 with 200 Pro V Yamaha. It was built on comanche hull with some adjustments made to top deck. Probably the closest to a bass boat style.

[coolcajun]

I have a 2004 ranger 180vs. After looking at all of them the ranger had the best fishable front deck.

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

Hard to find but I had a 20' Viper Coral 202 fish N ski for 14 years and it was a great family boat and very good bass boat. I pulled my family around on tubes and fished tournaments out of it. I think your research will bear out that the Coral is considered the best Fish N Ski every built. Mine with a 225efi would run 70mph on gps, had a great hole shot with a 25P tempest prop, had a tournament quality 40 gal. live well, decent rod locker. All in all a great boat which I miss every time I take a few people out in my regular bass boat. Good luck. A lot of "purist" put down the whole fish n ski concept as being a compromise and in truth it is but what in life isn't? My family really enjoyed our Coral, we made a lot of great memories and that's what it is about.

[Table Rock 1]

WE have a Triton Allure 186 F-S awesome boat. Also had a Skeeter SL 190 F-S good boat also. If you go back 25 years we had a Cheetah F-S. All were great boats but the Triton Allure is the Best of both worlds..

[bigkahuna19]

I absolutely love my 1986 Ranger 357V

[FX210]

I had a 1999 Skeeter SL200. Fished a lot of tournaments with it. Came with a 175 VMAX.

[fsh4fun05]

I looked at all sorts of fish n ski's. I bought a Coral in 2006 and love it so I much I put a new motor on her last year. I can put 8' rods in the lockers, I have a windshield on cold, wet days, I can camp out of it at Lake Powell or pull the kiddos in a tube. I used to fish tournaments and there is plenty of room for another angler. There aren't many kicking around that are for sale but on other places like TFF or Craigslist they will come up for sale sometimes. There is also the Cobra forum here that may be able to point you in the right direction if one is for sale.

[TableRock Coral]

I have owned a few fish & ski boats and driven many more. IMO the most fishable and best performing fish & ski boats are the Champion 21SX and Viper Coral 202. They are becoming harder to find and aging now, so you may have to look at some that are still made, such as Ranger or Triton.

[n2ratfishin]

I was the only angler to qualify for one of Champions Ultimate Challenges from a F/S, a 181SX. I won quite a few tournaments out of that boat as well as pulled my son a couple hundred hours on water toys. It's bigger brother the 191SX wouldn't fit in my garage or I'd bought that one. Those were built prior to the 21SX. They were on a bass boat hull. The Corals were also well laid out.

If you can find find a clean well kept copy (good luck) the Stratos 198 was an excellent laid out F/S made in the late 80's.

[Idaho Sandman]

Viper Coral 202 with a 225opti. I will never sell mine. Hauls the mail and fishes awesome, even with 3 guys in it. Loads the family comfortably and pulls the kids around with ease.

[davidsa]

my 1995 Ranger VS497 as I recall was very nice

[I.P. Freely]

Skeeter Sl190 or SL210. I've had both. Great boats. Bimini top, stereo, swim ladder, low profile windshield for cold mornings, dual live wells, ski locker, and removable cushions for the front and rear of the boat if your significant other wants to lay out and get a tan. Also like that they come standard with Yamaha motors.

[Red Mist One]

I have the same Ranger as bigkahuna above. With 2 labs and 2 adults, the layout is perfect for me.

[akaslyguy]

Viper Coral 202 for me. I love mine. Great for family and fishing. Have no plans to change.

[alli ss]

Viper coral is the only f&s id even consider and thats only if all the xb2003 allisons fell off the planet.

[rchavis]

Stratos and Winner made a nice one for the price at the time .

[Cain Roberts]

I have a 19.5' Cajun fish-n-ski, and it's very fishable. Back deck converts from a 3-4 person bench seat to a very large back fishing platform.

[Jwolff]

Viper Coral 202 for me. I love mine. Great for family and fishing. Have no plans to change.

Allison 2+2 or Prosport. Seat 5, lay 7’ poles on the front deck without laying over the edge, and 50mph in an Allison feels like 30 in other boats.