30k for any tin

[GabeJ]

Beam doesn’t give you the width of the deck at the pedestal seat post. I think the beam measurement is garbage. So I have started measuring decks at the post. Or, because I live in nowhere Oregon, I ask others. Here are some I have:

1997 Skeeter zx185c (my boat)
59 inches

Crestliner xf189
71 inches

Vexus 1980c (new model with wide deck)
70 inches

xpress x18
65 inches

Vexus adv189
65 inches

Ranger rt188
61 inches

Width at the post is only part of the story. But it’s a good objective measure for what I want. But there is more to the Ranger than width at the post.

Hope maybe this helps someone. Please feel free to share numbers. (I am keeping a spreadsheet.)

[yadkincustomlures]

I would buy whichever boat has the thickest aluminum and best craftsmanship (welding) in your price range. A boat constructed out of .100 aluminum would not be in the conversation for me personally

[GabeJ]

I think the thing the old rangers did was have an extra layer down the keel. I read about plenty of issues with some thicker tin boats. I think quality of welds is important. I just know that there are a ton of happy RT owners.

[Crankinh20]

Got a 2018 rt 188 love this boat sits level and flat not bow high.
im a big guy 270 and another buddy 220 and I Carrie a lot of tackle
the whole rod locker is full of tubs of plastic and hard baits as well as starboard locker.
46 yesterday merc 115 command thrust 21 tempest got a setback plate on it.
Also have a power pole and ladder.
Hydaulic steering fortrex 24 volt and I got the good c frame trailer.
only thing I don’t like that is just about all boats have is rod tubes I’d rather have just a normal rod box no tubes. But since I don’t use mine guess it’s a mute point.
Ranger has good quality boat not saying others aren’t well made.
Seats that come in this boat are well made I’ve numerous fiberglass bass rigs that weren’t nearly as good. Definitely ain’t no bass tracker not even close.
J. D.

[Crankinh20]

I prefer the 2016 - 2019 year models. The first 2 years of production lacked some preferred options but by 2016 they were were more fully featured. Equally important is they redesigned and significantly strengthened the trailer in 2015.
When JM started producing the boats in MO, (about 2020) he redesigned the hull to match his production processes and eliminated the thick extruded aluminum center keel. I think this thick keel is important for pulling up on gravel banks or running in shallow rivers.
If It were me, I would look for a good low hour garage kept used RT188 in those model years with a 115 Yamaha or Mercury 4 stroke. Both are great engines. I would not consider an Optimax.

In my part of the world, I would expect a really good one to be $18,000 to $22,000 but don’t know if that applies in your vicinity.

Concerning the deck size: I drove BassCats prior to downsizing to Tin and this deck is 4 inches wider at the seat post than my Panterra.

doubt your gonna find a super nice rt here in Texas for that.

[bassfisher444]

I prefer the 2016 - 2019 year models. The first 2 years of production lacked some preferred options but by 2016 they were were more fully featured. Equally important is they redesigned and significantly strengthened the trailer in 2015.
When JM started producing the boats in MO, (about 2020) he redesigned the hull to match his production processes and eliminated the thick extruded aluminum center keel. I think this thick keel is important for pulling up on gravel banks or running in shallow rivers.
If It were me, I would look for a good low hour garage kept used RT188 in those model years with a 115 Yamaha or Mercury 4 stroke. Both are great engines. I would not consider an Optimax.

In my part of the world, I would expect a really good one to be $18,000 to $22,000 but don’t know if that applies in your vicinity.

Concerning the deck size: I drove BassCats prior to downsizing to Tin and this deck is 4 inches wider at the seat post than my Panterra.

Why would you not consider an Optimax? The small 75-125hp models were very reliable, and don't have nearly the amount of problems the bigger and/or older models do. Mine is 13 years old and still runs flawlessly. All it has had done to it is routine maintainence and a couple ignition coils replaced, which are the same coils the 4 stroke uses. They are also stronger running motors than the 4 strokes.

[GabeJ]

All this talk really makes me want a tin boat. One I am looking at has an Evinrude 115 on it. 60 hours. Seems like a great motor. The other has a Pro XS. I think I could be happy with either. I'm bummed that I have never seen ANY RT boat in person, but thems the breaks when you live in Nowhere, Oregon.

[Highcentered]

Why would you not consider an Optimax? The small 75-125hp models were very reliable, and don't have nearly the amount of problems the bigger and/or older models do. Mine is 13 years old and still runs flawlessly. All it has had done to it is routine maintainence and a couple ignition coils replaced, which are the same coils the 4 stroke uses. They are also stronger running motors than the 4 strokes.

Have you ever run one of the new 4-strokes? What you're saying was 100% true 15-20 years ago but not anymore. One thing I will say about the newer 4-strokes is they can be a little more thirsty than their DFI 2-stroke counterparts. I'd still never consider a 2-stroke on a used boat for a multitude of reasons.

[PatriotAW4]

Why would you not consider an Optimax? The small 75-125hp models were very reliable, and don't have nearly the amount of problems the bigger and/or older models do. Mine is 13 years old and still runs flawlessly. All it has had done to it is routine maintainence and a couple ignition coils replaced, which are the same coils the 4 stroke uses. They are also stronger running motors than the 4 strokes.

Agree 100%, I am approaching 1600 hours on my 115 Optimax and it still starts right up and runs great. Powerhead has never been touched, original compressor, and injectors. Only real issues are the oil pump had a leak and all 3 ignition coils have been replaced at least once. I certainly wouldn't shy away from a boat that had an Optimax on it, I actually prefer them over a 4 stroke.

[bassfisher444]

Have you ever run one of the new 4-strokes? What you're saying was 100% true 15-20 years ago but not anymore. One thing I will say about the newer 4-strokes is they can be a little more thirsty than their DFI 2-stroke counterparts. I'd still never consider a 2-stroke on a used boat for a multitude of reasons.

What have I said that's not true anymore, and why would you not buy a boat with a 2 stroke? Yes you have to add oil to the tank every once and a while but it's not a big deal, I have to put oil in the tank about every 4 tanks of fuel that I go through, I buy 3 gallons of Pennzoil XLF in bulk and it lasts me all year, and it's less expensive than changing the oil in a 4 stroke, less work also. I don't know why people make such a big deal about poring oil into a tank. Power wise a 2 stroke turning at 5500 RPM is firing twice as many times as a 4 stroke so they hitting twice as hard as a 4 stroke which allows them to make more power with less displacement, and less RPM, they also have less moving parts since there is no cam, timing belt or valvetrain, all of that was true 15-20 years ago, 100 years ago and is still true now.

[Fireball]

I would buy whichever boat has the thickest aluminum and best craftsmanship (welding) in your price range. A boat constructed out of .100 aluminum would not be in the conversation for me personally

I have owned nothing but aluminum boats and all navigate Lake Erie. I would never own a welded boat.

[tcesni]

What have I said that's not true anymore, and why would you not buy a boat with a 2 stroke? Yes you have to add oil to the tank every once and a while but it's not a big deal, I have to put oil in the tank about every 4 tanks of fuel that I go through, I buy 3 gallons of Pennzoil XLF in bulk and it lasts me all year, and it's less expensive than changing the oil in a 4 stroke, less work also. I don't know why people make such a big deal about poring oil into a tank. Power wise a 2 stroke turning at 5500 RPM is firing twice as many times as a 4 stroke so they hitting twice as hard as a 4 stroke which allows them to make more power with less displacement, and less RPM, they also have less moving parts since there is no cam, timing belt or valvetrain, all of that was true 15-20 years ago, 100 years ago and is still true now.

Using the Opti oil priced at $50/gallon adds $1/gallon to the price of the gasoline you are burning. I recently went from from a 90 hp Opti that gave me 19 years of dependable service to a new 4-stroke 115 Pro XS. Would I consider a used boat with a 99-115 hp Optimax? Absolutely, but I’d prefer the 4-stroke as I probably was going through 10 gallons of oil annually (maybe more).

[bassfisher444]

Using the Opti oil priced at $50/gallon adds $1/gallon to the price of the gasoline you are burning. I recently went from from a 90 hp Opti that gave me 19 years of dependable service to a new 4-stroke 115 Pro XS. Would I consider a used boat with a 99-115 hp Optimax? Absolutely, but I’d prefer the 4-stroke as I probably was going through 10 gallons of oil annually (maybe more).

Don't use Opti oil, problem solved. 13 years of using Pennzoil XLF that I can get for less than $20 a gallon and no issues yet, costs more to get an oil and filter for a new 4 stroke than what I spend on 2 stroke oil every year.

[Bill Reynolds]

The reason I don’t recommend buying a used Optimax is based on my experience with a new 115 HP. I went through about 18 months where just about every component on the motor failed including the block and lower unit. All these were repaired under warranty but it spent more time in the shop than on the water. I will say that once it was completely rebuilt, it ran great but the memories lingered.
I have fished with the same club for 45 years and have seen all the brands go through engineering disasters. Most of that time I was driving EFI Mercurys and had no complaints other than excessive gas usage. The majority of the guys that tried Opti’s had problems but a few were ok with them.
During the 8+ years that I owned the Opti, I also had a Yamaha on my Pontoon boat so total cost of ownership was an an easy comparison. The Opti was really good on fuel consumption averaging about 5.0 to 5.3 MPG but oil consumption was another matter.
I normally bought 1 gallon of oil per month at $32 per gallon. Even at a conservative 10 gallons per year that is $320 as opposed to one oil change per year in the Yamaha at $45.
I posted quite a lot about my perceived excessive oil usage and some owners posted that they were burning 60 to 70 gallons of fuel per gallon of oil. There was no empirical evidence available so I created my own. The attached spreadsheet screen shot shows individual test instances and a summary of oil and fuel usage on my motor.




So while there are a lot of happy Opti owners out there I’m not one of them.

[bassfisher444]

The reason I don’t recommend buying a used Optimax is based on my experience with a new 115 HP. I went through about 18 months where just about every component on the motor failed including the block and lower unit. All these were repaired under warranty but it spent more time in the shop than on the water. I will say that once it was completely rebuilt, it ran great but the memories lingered.
I have fished with the same club for 45 years and have seen all the brands go through engineering disasters. Most of that time I was driving EFI Mercurys and had no complaints other than excessive gas usage. The majority of the guys that tried Opti’s had problems but a few were ok with them.
During the 8+ years that I owned the Opti, I also had a Yamaha on my Pontoon boat so total cost of ownership was an an easy comparison. The Opti was really good on fuel consumption averaging about 5.0 to 5.3 MPG but oil consumption was another matter.
I normally bought 1 gallon of oil per month at $32 per gallon. Even at a conservative 10 gallons per year that is $320 as opposed to one oil change per year in the Yamaha at $45.
I posted quite a lot about my perceived excessive oil usage and some owners posted that they were burning 60 to 70 gallons of fuel per gallon of oil. There was no empirical evidence available so I created my own. The attached spreadsheet screen shot shows individual test instances and a summary of oil and fuel usage on my motor.




So while there are a lot of happy Opti owners out there I’m not one of them.

Sounds like you got a lemon then, like I said mine is 13 years old and has never had any major problems or repairs done, I am the 2nd owner the orginal owner had records of all the service that was done to it. For oil I only have to add a gallon every 4 times I fill up which is roughly 18-20 gallons every time and 3 gallons lasts me all year so it's not an issue at all. It would cost me more to change the oil in a 4 stroke every year.

[Grizzly]

I drove a Xpress H18 and it was nice. Decided to go with a glass boat but the Xpress was at the top of my list. It was a tank.

[Highcentered]

I drove a Xpress H18 and it was nice. Decided to go with a glass boat but the Xpress was at the top of my list. It was a tank.

Great rig to fish out of that's for sure. Worlds better than my 175txw. The seadeck is nice on the earth pounders too.

[GabeJ]

I am in the process of completing a purchase on a Ranger RT198P. I am so excited.

[Wildcat62]

You are gonna love it.

[GabeJ]

I hope so!