Thread: My New Ride

2006 Ranger 188vs with 150 Yamaha Four Stroke.

Bought it from a retired gentleman up in Jacksonville who couldn't handle the size boat with some back issues. It was a good little hidden gem for me. He was the second owner and has used it infrequently the last three years. New powerhead less than four years old and under 40 hours on it. Previous powerhead was replaced due to a manufacturers defect, so it is a like new engine, and was recently serviced. The boat needs some TLC, nothing a good scrubbing and polishing won't fix. Two small areas on the top transom had some sun fade so a little wet sanding there is in order.

So to back track, my mom was off for spring break and wanted to make the road trip with me. Good thing, cause hit an hour delay turnpike on the way up, and of course hit that real nasty weather on I-4 in Orlando on the way back.

Gentleman took us to the launch on the St. Johns and he told me to take the helm and fire it up and lets go. So I did. Put her in gear and idled out of the no wake zone that took a couple minutes. Then he says go ahead and open her up and go that way. So I naturally floor the throttle and wait for it.... ...... ... NOTHING. The kind gentleman that he was says, Nate, you need to use the hot foot . Needless to say we all had a good laugh and the boat drove beautifully. The engine was even quieter than the brand new Mercury 115 I just had. Tested all the equipment and everything worked as should. Couple gauges will need to be replaced, but I will go with one of the all-in-one digital readouts down the road.



Couple of the perks were that it had a power pole, keel guard, 36v Fortrex installed with onboard charger, and a hydraulic jackplate (which I will have to do some learning on).

Like I said, it will need a bit of cosmetic attention, but I look forward to putting some of my own sweat and style in it. The other main issue is the setup for crappie fishing. There's no way I can use a cable steer for long lining. Will have to see what I can do about swapping back into a Terrova. Also, the fish finders are terrible, and will need upgrading. Gonna be without side imaging for a while...maybe it will make me a better angler until then. In any case, this baby is ready to fish now.

To conclude this little adventure, I did the research on the specs for this particular model in advance and obviously know my garage size or lack thereof. I thought it was going to fit, but I didn't "know" if it was going to fit. That made for a fun four hour drive home. Add the torrential downpour and attempting the first backing in at night, well all I will say is:


IT FIT!!