I bought a new 2015 Ranger 1850 LS Reata when they first hit the market and it's been one of my favorite boats over the past 40+ years. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use it nearly as much as I'd hoped and it was hard to justify it's cost, so in a weak moment, I sold it a few weeks ago. I instantly had seller's remorse, but knew that I had made a good financial decision.
My attention then turned to possibly buying an aluminum bass boat (Ranger RT188 or similar), which I could justify financially and a boat light enough to double tow behind my fifth wheel.
What I found with the aluminum bass boats is that they have a very limited passenger/weight capacity, which wasn't going to work for a PawPaw (me) and a hand-full of grandkids.
My attention then turned to an aluminum Multi-Species or Fish & Ski. After doing some research and talking to 5 or 6 Aluminum Deep-V owners to get their input of the pros & cons of owning a Tin Boat, I decided that I was a Glass-Guy, not a Tin Man. I also abandoned my double-towing plans, since most of the "higher quality", aluminum V-hulls were going to exceed the 3,000 pound tow rating of my fifth wheel.
As luck would have it, I found a like-new, one owner 2007 Ranger 1850VS Reata that had been serviced & maintained better that any other boat I'd ever seen (with the exception of my own).
I feel like I'm "having my cake & eating it, too", since I found a great boat and it cost less than 1/2 of what I got from my 2015 Reata. I think I'll sleep easier knowing that It will be easier to financially justifying it's existence, should I not be able to use it as much as I plan.
I'm back in a Reata.....Happy! Happy! Happy!
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Originally Posted by 12many
