My New Old Boat

Ok guys I know this is a long post with several pics but bear with me. I have told a few of you over the past few months that I was restoring an old Ranger boat to be my “New” crappie rig, so I thought I would share my old boat’s story and some pics of the process. I bought the boat which is a 1974 model TR-10 Ranger about 10 years ago. Just for my own curiosity I contacted Ranger and tried to find out as much as I could about the boat. According to the folks at the Ranger Boats factory, back in the day that this boat was manufactured you could basically tell them where you wanted everything and they would put it there. (Much different than the way most new boats are ordered today) I was told it had “Factory Modifications” done as they were building it. They said this was evident since the letter “F” is at the end of the serial number and the livewell and storage configurations are arranged differently than the regular TR-10.

How this whole boat transformation came to be is a story all its own. I have bass fished all my life and fish several tournaments each year but I have always loved crappie fishing. Recently, my family and I moved, and now live on a good crappie lake and this just made me delve into it even more. I really became caught up in it after fun fishing several times with a friend of mine who is a crappie guide, along with reading posts and looking at the pics on Crapppie.com. Since I already had the boat and my 6 year old daughter adamantly didn’t want me to sell it, I have been working to make it into something she and I can use to catch “Crappie”.

Ok, as far as what has been done to the boat. Since I have owned it I have only used it on a small limited horsepower lake so I had a 9.9hp engine on it. Now that we live on a much larger lake I replaced the 9.9 with a 50hp. Mercury. When I bought the boat it was partially restored which put me in a good position to finish the job. I have had the gunnels re-glassed in red to get rid of the 10,000 holes that had been drilled in it over the past 40+ years. I only had to buff and polish the hull. I tried to get original “Ranger” plastic emblems for the sides but due to its age, the Ranger factory didn’t have any. They did however, send me oldest emblems they had so I used them on the sides and kept and used the one original emblem on the console. I made a deck extension for the front which will allow me to use the underneath for storage. The boat did not have any seats in it when I bought it and it really didn’t matter before, but now I am in the process of adding seats over the livewell lids. The fishing seats I had from a previous boat. I also installed transducers and Structure Scan just like my bass boat so now I can switch my Lowrance units from boat to boat and have Structure Scan, Down Imaging etc. The rod holders are a combination of Cumberland Crappie 360’s (front) and Hill’s (rear). I have arranged the rod holder bases so I can Spider Rig from the front, Brushpile fish off either side with rods in the front and back or Longline with 8 rods in the front and 4 in the back. The boat is really too narrow to fish 2 people out the front so I just worked around that issue and set it up so we can fish out of the front and the back. The three white transport holders I made out of BassPro Shops 4 position rod racks, 3/8” all thread and pipe hangers for the bases. I currently have a MotorGuide 46lb. foot control trolling motor which will do fine for most of my fishing, although I am considering a Quick Release Trolling Motor Mount so I could possibly use a remote controlled motor for Longlining in the future.

I know she isn’t a new ride but one I am proud of nonetheless. My daughter and I have had fun working on it and she can’t wait until we can go try her out.

I have attached several pics, some of which are from the previous owner as he began the restoration process, some as I was working on her and some of how she looks now that she’s finished. I also put in a few old advertisements that I thought would make you appreciate just how much fishing boats have changed over the past 40+ years. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for letting me share and tight lines to you all,
Richard


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OUTSTANDING !! :HandsClapping

That is AWESOME. Even more that you got to involve your daughter in the transformation. Neither one of you will ever forget the time spent together.

I'm stuck indoors due to an ankle/foot injury so most of my day is spent watching fishing vids on YouTube and visiting Crappie.com. Earlier today I watched footage of the '72, '73, '74 and '83 Bassmaster Classic and my first thought was how cool the boats were.

That is a true piece of American fishing history. Hope you guys enjoy it.

I 'll say .......its Awsum....thats a classic....you did a good job.

Very nice work! You have a classic that has passed the test of time.

I remember very well when those type of boats were the rage in bass circles. I remember the 1st local guy who bought a bow-mount trolling motor. We all thought the concept was strange because up until that time, the only trolling motors were transom mount clamp on units.

Funny story, it was around 1970-71 when friend of ours bought a fiberglass hull bass boat with what I remember to be about a 70 HP outboard. Years have faded the memory of what brand it was. He launched it at the ramp at Port Ken Bar Marina that my Dad managed. He idled it around to the gas dock where we all slobbered over how beautiful it was and what a step up it was from the aluminum jon and v-hulls with skulling paddles and 18HP outboards we were all used to. He idled away from the dock and to about 1/2 way to the breakwater. He pushed the throttle wide open and the boat stood straight up in the water but wouldn't let the nose down. He did this several times then turned it around and limped back to the dock. We all took turns guessing what might be the problem as our friend went from red-faced embarrassed to red-faced mad. We finally got our mechanic away from what he was working on to come out and check it out. He stepped into the boat and sat down at the console. He fooled around with the throttle for a bit then got to wondering what the switch on top of the throttle did. When he pushed it, we heard a noise coming from the engine and the lower unit dropped lower into the water. We all, boat owner included, had just discovered what a trim switch was and what it did. Needless to say the owner was happy and his next try at planing the boat off went off without a hitch.

Enjoy your beautiful ride and watch out for Forrest Wood coming by to reclaim it.

Wow...That is a super cool boat,great job!

That is a beautiful old boat and something to cherish and enjoy. Many happy memories will be made in that boat by you and your daughter.

very nice! good job. we used to have a 74starcraft like that. it was a stick steer though.

Nice job. I believe I had just as soon have a old boat like that as a new one....Great job!!!! One of the reasons I guess I really like that boat is I was growing up when that boat came out new and it was what everyone wanted.

Very very cool. Thanks for sharing!

Awesome job. Love those old boats. Sure brings back memories.

Awesome.............

Excellant.

A wonderful piece of history and an excellent job of restoration. A local guide made a living out of one of those for many years. I wonder where it wound up. Makes me happy to see someone go through the changes to bring it back to life in such a professional way. Good Job Mister!!

What a work of art! You should be proud. Congrats on a great project and the fine work you put into it.

This boat still has my interest. Did you have it gel-coated or did you paint it? Just wondering it looks sharp. I have thought several times about restoring one myself. I would probably restore a Ranger or old Skeeter if I ever do one. First I have to finish a 68 Mustang. Maybe a early Ranger or Skeeter to pull behind it.

This boat still has my interest. Did you have it gel-coated or did you paint it? Just wondering it looks sharp. I have thought several times about restoring one myself. I would probably restore a Ranger or old Skeeter if I ever do one. First I have to finish a 68 Mustang. Maybe a early Ranger or Skeeter to pull behind it.

Hat's off to ya .....tastefully done!

She's beaming to have another dance on the water, you may have found a calling in restoring boats...WTG!

you did a great job on that Boat, I looks awesome for sure !!! congrats on a beautiful boat !!!!

That's a great job. I have experience in restoring by fully restoring a '69 Bronco. It takes a lot of time and patience. It looks like you used a lot of both.

Excellent job! You're a fine craftsman.

You done a great job !!!!!

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

Great craftsmanship. I like the red. Congrats to you and may you and your daughter create awesome memories on the water.

Wow! Nice boat.

Very nice job of bringin' her back brother. I know first hand what a huge (but fun) project it is.

Nice restoration.

Regards


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Beautiful. Made me very happy to see it and very happy for you. Thank you for sharing.

Amazing work that you've done, great pictures showing the progression. I'm sure you're proud as you should be.
Bet the little girl is Proud of herself and daddy!

theysaid can't add anything to that

Be prepared for long talks at ramp and tackle stores.My buddy got a 1966 Skeeter Hawk and everyone stops him to talk about it.You will meet a lot of people with great stories.

Beautiful boat,enjoy.

That is great. I did an old Kingfisher that I am really enjoying.

I wanted to let you guys know I really appreciate all the nice comments.. I guess you could say I'm addicted to working on it. It seems like any time I look at it I can find some little thing that I think I can make better. Sometimes, I just think about the stories an old boat like that could tell if it could talk.
Ah well, I guess it's my escape from the world!

Thanks again,
Richard

Wow that is a classic.

Changing the top cap to red really ...really looks good and dresses it up very nicely. I remember when they first came out with trihulls they were going to be the future of boating. WELLLL we all see how that turned out they were a good riding hull in the day.

That is a single poling dream boat right there!!! Congrats on a awesome ride!!

TOO COOL:cheers2

My paw-in-law had one of these, and also two stick steer quachita's, it was an awesome fishing rig. I remember it was bright orange and gold metal flake. I used it several times back in the day and still regret not buying it from him.


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Very nice boat and awesome restoration. Congrats. Now to get some fishes over into it. Get that girl fishing.