Bay boats - If I had to do it over again...
 

This is probably going to sound like heresy to a lot of people, but I
got to ruminating about my Ranger bay boat while working on building
two rods for a couple of Quantum reels I picked up this morning.
Thinking it over, I think there are a few things I'd do differently if
I ever bought another one.

One of the areas where I think I went wrong is the T-top. Adding a
custom made T-top to a 20 foot center console wasn't the smartest
thing I could have done. As much as I hate to admit this, Harry and
John may have done better with their bimini's than I did with my
T-top. It tends to get in the way sometimes. Thinking back, I may
have done it more for the looks of it rather than the practicality
although it it's defense, it's handy having the rocket launchers
holding extra rods and use as the occasional teaser rod holder. It's
also extra storage which is important on a small boat - good place to
put the extra gear stowed under the T-top.

Another issue is downriggers - there is no place on the boat currently
to put a down rigger where it won't be in the way and still be
structurally adequate. I think, if I were to do it over again, I would
have had pads built into the transom where the battery boxes are
rather than the rear seats and put the doors to the battery boxes in
front rather than on top.

Another thing I would have done is had the boat plumbed for a live
bait well in front of the console. There is a cooler/seat formed into
the console and while that's fine, it's not really something that I
use to keep munchie supplies and drinks cool. A much better use for
it would be to use it as a bait well keeping the 32 gallon live well
for holding fish - as in tournament style.

The one thing I would do immediately if I bought another one would be
to add a 6 inch hydraulic jack plate - I fought that idea for years
contending that it really didn't make a difference, but it does - when
I added one to the boat when I purchased the 25" shaft E-TEC I must
admit that there was a huge performance difference - it jumped up in
speed trimmed out by 6 mph with very little difference in mpg.

Leaning post vs seats - very definitely a do over and I still might
retro fit a custom leaning post if I don't sell it. Fortunately I'm
good friends with a fiberglass fabricator who builds custom leaning
posts so I can pretty much design my own - add some storage while I'm
at it.

Bay boats - If I had to do it over again...
 

Zombie of Woodstock wrote:
This is probably going to sound like heresy to a lot of people, but I
got to ruminating about my Ranger bay boat while working on building
two rods for a couple of Quantum reels I picked up this morning.
Thinking it over, I think there are a few things I'd do differently if
I ever bought another one.

One of the areas where I think I went wrong is the T-top. Adding a
custom made T-top to a 20 foot center console wasn't the smartest
thing I could have done. As much as I hate to admit this, Harry and
John may have done better with their bimini's than I did with my
T-top. It tends to get in the way sometimes. Thinking back, I may
have done it more for the looks of it rather than the practicality
although it it's defense, it's handy having the rocket launchers
holding extra rods and use as the occasional teaser rod holder. It's
also extra storage which is important on a small boat - good place to
put the extra gear stowed under the T-top.

Another issue is downriggers - there is no place on the boat currently
to put a down rigger where it won't be in the way and still be
structurally adequate. I think, if I were to do it over again, I would
have had pads built into the transom where the battery boxes are
rather than the rear seats and put the doors to the battery boxes in
front rather than on top.

Another thing I would have done is had the boat plumbed for a live
bait well in front of the console. There is a cooler/seat formed into
the console and while that's fine, it's not really something that I
use to keep munchie supplies and drinks cool. A much better use for
it would be to use it as a bait well keeping the 32 gallon live well
for holding fish - as in tournament style.

The one thing I would do immediately if I bought another one would be
to add a 6 inch hydraulic jack plate - I fought that idea for years
contending that it really didn't make a difference, but it does - when
I added one to the boat when I purchased the 25" shaft E-TEC I must
admit that there was a huge performance difference - it jumped up in
speed trimmed out by 6 mph with very little difference in mpg.

Leaning post vs seats - very definitely a do over and I still might
retro fit a custom leaning post if I don't sell it. Fortunately I'm
good friends with a fiberglass fabricator who builds custom leaning
posts so I can pretty much design my own - add some storage while I'm
at it.


I had a custom tee-top built for my 19' SeaPro. In the end, I didn't
like it much because it didn't provide as much shade from the horrific
florida sun as a good bimini. It was also a pain in the ass to walk
around, going from the stern to the bow because the smaller boats don't
have a lot of foot space between the console and the hull sides.

The big bimini on my Parker folds down against the bow and is completely
out of the way when I don't want to use it. When I do pop it up, it does
what it is supposed to do - provide a lot of shade. It doesn't get in
the way of fishing. It's also heavy enough and strapped enough not to
wiggle-waggle in the boat at 30 mph. I haven't run the boat faster than
that with the top up.







--
The modern GOP is little more than an army of moral absolutists led by a
gang of moral nihilists.