Splitting a Ranger

[johnsinbelton]

Ok...I am looking at buying an older (mid 84 model 350 V series ) that has some work that needs to be done. The front deck is soft and there is a 2 foot long hole in the bottom of the boat. The guy wants 500 for it I can probably get him down to 250...but I am wondering just how hard is it to split a Ranger? Has anyone done it ? Due to the damages it would be easier to just spllit the top cap off the boat to do the work. If it wasnt for the price with a 150 Johnson on it I would probably pass it up .Any help or a point in the right direction would greatly be appreciated....

Thanks,
DeSean

Modified by johnsinbelton at 10:22 AM 7/31/2008


Modified by johnsinbelton at 5:38 AM 8/4/2008

[jseasor]

a ranger i imagine will be a tough to split. i currenlty own a 300 series and will tell you they were built very well. how's the transom? i think in this situation, it all depends on how much work you want to get into. its gonna be some work whether the transom is rotten or not, there are some great forums here that will help you do what you want to do. as far as the top cap and stuff goes, IM North Texas Fiberglass that will be glad to help you.


on a price basis, its gonna be hefty if you wanna go about it right. im putting carpet, deck extension, painting the cowling, ram mounts, decals, ect. and im around 1400 bucks right now. if you need places to get carpet, latches, hinges, shocks, etc. let me know

[johnsinbelton]

The transom seems ok. Just would make life eadier to split the top off. I currently own a 362 that I am recarpeting and buffing but I saw this one locally and didnt know how difficult it would be. I will pm Mike at North Texas Fiberglass and see what he thinks...

Thanks,
DeSean

[Delw]

its pretty easy just takes time.
you will need a sawsall

take everything out of the boat then take the molding off the sides, then all the rivets and scews. they join the top half and bottom half together with fiberglass also in some places ( front and back mainly) that you need to cut free it works best with a small batt. operated drywall circular saw) like the 4" makita one thats what I used
I did it on a 1980 179v(little 18 foot ranger boat) back in 1992/ 93

also some spots on the floor are fiberglassed into the sides so watch that.
when you think the two pieces are free check again and make sure you support the middle with wood beams other wise it will bust in the middle from the sag.

[carpetman]

The 2 foot hole? Is it actually in the bottom of the hull? Where is it located. As a bass boat restoration guru, I'd be a little leary of this unless you plan on letting a boat guy take a look at the structural part of this boat.
It can be fixed but be sure it's done correctly so it doesn't delaminate when you are on the water!
Rick the Carpetman

[johnsinbelton]

Its not on the center bottom...its like two feet from the center on the flat part of the boat...say if you looking at the side..go underneath about a foot and there it is... I went and relooked and it is only maybe a foot long...its not in any wood stringers that I could tell...

Thanks,

DeSean

[Delw]

my ranger way back when, I bought from a crack whore (seriously) and her husband had just died from a OD and drinking binge.
I shouldnt have bought it but felt bad for the chick, plus she was wearing hardly any clothes and well iy was hard to pass up.

it ran good for a few weeks then the motor blew, so while waitng for the new motor to come in I decided to clean it up . I found a 3-4 foot hole in the bototm of the boat that was covered with bondo and painted.. ah now I knew why she was selling it LOL.
so we did the hole entire thing splitting the deck, gel-coat to wiring. swore I would never do it again....

but now I am doing a 210 cajun but this one will be awsum when its done, no corner cutting

[johnsinbelton]

Well I went ahead and picked it up..one thing I didnt notice is it had a jack plate on it...never seen one before on a Ranger..Anyways now I'm up to two projects going ( it too hot to fish down here right now anyways...gets to 106 in the day). Will post pics of both boats ... anybody know where I can get parts for these boats? Stuff like new dash panels and foward panels...stuff like that?

Thanks,
DeSean

[arjone01]

you make em'.

[soulsekr]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by arjone01 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> you make em'. </TD></TR></TABLE>

These old rangers are classics and you just have to custimize alot of things

[pappastratos]

Delw said """" plus she was wearing hardly any clothes and well it was hard to pass up. """""""

Did you remember what color the boat was ???

[johnsinbelton]

How was the splitting Delw? were there any hidden spots where they fiberglassed? I am looking at mine ( 84 350 V ) and it doesnt appear as though there are any but then again...wont know till ya pull it off, right? I pm"d Mike at North Texas Fiberglass and hope he may know some as well...

Thanks,
DeSean

[North Texas Fiberglass]

Desean, I responded to your PM and hope you got it.

Here's the skinny on Rangers. When they were built, they were glued together with floation foam. Literally. You can split them, but it is MUCH harder than the average boat. What will happen is when you cut the top cap loose, you will have to use 4x4's across the rigging well, and then hook up to all the cleats and pull the top cap loose from the foam. Of course, you have to COMPLETELY cut out the floor, rod boxes, storage boxes, and all other areas that are glassed to the floor as well. Once you get that done, you pull the cap from the foam. That is when you are going to run into problems. The foam acts like glue, and you will have stress cracks around the consoles, cleats, splash well, ect. Places that you didn't have cracks, will develop them. If you can cut directly through the floor to access the damaged area, that is a much better way of getting to it.

Good luck. There is nothing more I hate worse than decapping a boat. It is just such a pain in the arse.

[johnsinbelton]

Thanks Mike,

I think I wont be splitting it. I will just do the repairs from the outside...thanks for pming me back, I would hate to cause more work or even ruining a boat just to fix one problem..

Thanks,
DeSean

[SwatDawg]

If i had to split a boat, it would not be a ranger.