Howdy,Originally Posted by Roger MN
Can we get an answer to this question? Can the rod tubes be modified (cut the ends off for example) to accommodate 9ft rods?
No disrespect to Vexus, but building a multi-species boat that can't accommodate 9' rods, even with some creative modifications, is like building a bass boat with rod lockers designed for 5 1/2ft pistol grips.
Take care,
Ruddiger
Sorry for commenting
Last edited by bloodman; 03-22-2019 at 07:01 PM.
Wormdunker says,
"Why? Ranger has resorted to plastic, an abundance of cheap, thin, noisy plastic to dress their boat up. I remember a day when you could look down the gunnel on a ranger and see the smoothest cleanest surface, perfect. Now they appear wavy and inconsistent. Also, is there a limit to how many tool holders a boat can possibly have? Well Ranger seems to think you need one everywhere you look, and Chrome coat it so if you happen to step on it barefoot on a hot day you scald your foot. I don't know, there is just a lot of plastic, on a 520L the plastic molding that surrounds the seat backs is just junk! The ranger seats used to fit snug to the rear deck, contoured and fitted. Now they fill gaps with plastic molding. The Ranger seats look more like a Color palette now a days, the boats I saw had about 40 panels of color, almost all had different texture vinyl, and colors. It is as if they said, how do we make a seat better, Add more colors! they are way too busy for my liking."
And the designers/producers of this was none other than...…...the very people you are praising
This is the reason most of the Sr. leadership/Engineers left. They did not want to be associated with the direction JM was taking the business. So they launched Vexus to continue to build a quality boat.
2021 Vexus 2080, Merc ProXs 200
2019 Vexus 1980, Evinrude G2 150 H.O. - moved onto a new owner
Didnt mean to start something here. Carry on.
Last edited by bloodman; 03-22-2019 at 06:59 PM.
Not even close to the amount of low grade plastic the recent generation of boats flaunt. The materials in just pre-johnny boats, although not glass and so forth, had a solid feeling of quality. They used more solid materials than what is on these boats. The new boats have the quality (lack of) of plastic used in cheap tin boat consoles. The passenger rod ramp on the 520L is an embarrassment. Electronic keypads are no longer recessed or flush mounted, now they are just big square blocks mounted on top of a cheap plastic panel. Just a lot of changes I don't feel are for the better.
Anyone know how many boats are allowed to be made with one mold nowadays? Rumor had it they doubled the limit when BP took over. Could that be why the surfaces appear to be less consistent than older boats?
Checked out DVX boats a Minneapolis show. Appears port side running rod rack near the passenger seat would accommodate 9' or longer rods. I measured length of tube from console to end going towards the bow with a tape on the DVX 20 - 6'. 3 more feet to the support and more space behind that. I did not photo but if you look on Vexus Boats Midwest Facebook site, they have the setup pictured on the 22 (which I did not measure). Had I been thinking of it, I should have borrowed a 9 footer from the Thorne Brothers booth and given it a try.
A number of years ago I heard from someone that I consider a reliable source that when Irwin Jacobs took over, he increased the number of boats made from each mold. Comparing the look of my 1991 Ranger 390 to my compared to my 2001 R91, I can believe it. Wouldn't surprise me if this is a cost cutting measure that JM's bean counters would endorse.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Well I was visiting annually in that timeframe for training and annual meetings, they always made it a point to highlight the limited number of boats they create off a mold before retiring or reconditioning.
So was I, at that time.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
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