IS IT AN UPGRADE OR A MONEY PIT? RANGER 99 R71

[BASSEDOUT]

you all have steered me in the right direction before, and away from some boats I was going to buy. I will ask you your help once again. I currently tournament fish out of a hooked up 1436 tracker topper. we hold our own out there with the nicer boats, but its quite comical between hitting each other on hooksets, to almost falling out when someone aggressively sneezes or sets the hook and we literally have no room with all our gear and our cooler livewell. but we are on the water and happy fishing. we are going to try some bigger waters this year and we were thinking about upgrading. I have come across a 99 ranger r71. 80lbs trolling motor, and a  mercury 125 elpto motor. awesome looking rig, really well maintained, claims to have perfect compression on all cylinders. the guy selling it is a serious bass fisherman, pretty sure he fished the hell out of it, but he also takes great care or it. for the electronics he has a Lowrance hds 7 and x135 graphs.(I have no idea if that's good or not, or old, or new.) asking price is 6,200. any info/thought/recommendations/advice would be greatly appreciated. I would also have it looked over by a mechanic/dealer to check transom, trailer, hull, and motor over. just wondering if this would be a good first "nicer/bigger" boat for me to own and fish waters I currently can not.

[TOXIC]

Moving into the realm of bigger bass boats is probably in your future just because you like to fish tournaments and as it stands, it sounds like you are somewhat hindered by your current setup.  Some things to consider are towing a bigger boat resulting in more maintenance/gas/upkeep to your tow vehicle, higher insurance for the boat, maintenance on the boat/trailer, gas/oil/batteries for the boat and a few other things.  Some positives are as you stated, more room, more and better gear storage and possibly opening up water you couldn't get to before and being safer on the water when your tournament day is affected by weather.  I guess what I am saying is that if you are ready to step up to a bigger boat there are good and bad things that go with that decision.  Sounds like you have a level head and are not trying to jump up too far and as far as the specific boat just have it checked out by a good mechanic and make sure everything works as it should.....lights/graphs/pumps etc.  Make sure the boat is solid (transom/floors, etc.).  Google for the same boat and compare prices to get a feel if the boat is in range with what the market is telling you.  Good luck!!    

[BASSEDOUT]

thanks for the response toxic, one thing I didn't think about was the insurance, I assume on bigger water and bigger tournaments insurance is a must. maybe its a must for bigger boats. I don't need any for my 1436, and our tournaments are pond tournaments. so far from what I have been able to look up, the price seems good, people are trying to sell similar ones for 10,000 or more. but I think those are way overpriced.

[TOXIC]

Most "Sanctioned" trails require $100,000-$300,000 worth of liability insurance on your boat policy.  

[slonezp]

Boat insurance is not very expensive 

 

[Smalliefan2]

Check Kelly Blue book for boats, that will give an idea of worth, if you had to talk to a bank. They won't loan a lot over book. The x-135 is old, 10+ years. HDS 7 not so much. Toxic is  on point with the other considerations. The other thing to consider is how long do you plan on keeping. Paying a little more for a boat you are not selling soon isn't a bad thing. I over paid for one, and had it almost twenty years, so that wasn't too bad.

[BASSEDOUT]

thanks smallie, I don't know what to realistically expect out of a boat that is 20 years old already. I would keep it as long as I possibly could. I just don't know if anyone has had any experience in buying an older boat like this. I don't have a problem doing all maintenance needed, and fixing a few things down the road, I just don't want a money pit. the research I have done on the r71 has nothing but good things to say about it. and I will keep it garaged, hell I keep my tin garaged. im gonna go see it in person in the next week or so if its still available. its not like I have to upgrade now, but if its a good deal I would do it. I just have to figure out if its worth it or if I should just keep a look out and just be happy fishin my ponds for now.

[Dirtyeggroll]

I have done a ton of research on the R70/R71 Ranger boats and just recently purchased a 1996 R70. They are a great hull and fish two people very comfortably. $6200 is an EXCELLENT price if it is in decent condition. The Mercury 125 ELPTO is a great motor that is a gas sipper because it runs two cylinders at low RPM and jumps up to 4 at higher RPM pushing the R70/71 up to around 45-50 mph.

 

The biggest 'complaint' people seem to have about the R70/71 hull is that the rod lockers only hold rods up to 7'4".

 

They are absolutely a great entry level boat. Even though it is a 17' boat most people comment that it fishes like a bigger boat. They are a very affordable option. Furthermore it will fit in most garages and you can pull it with a mid-sized SUV or compact pickup if necessary.

 

Insurance should run you about $200-$350 per year depending on your provider and coverage.

 

ABSOLUTELY get it checked over by a certified dealer/mechanic and expect to pay roughly $100 for a good inspection.

 

That model of boat is in my opinion the best in that size and price range.

 

GO FOR IT! Good luck

 

 

[Dirtyeggroll]

Oh... and all boats are money pits

[BASSEDOUT]

thanks dirty, im gonna see it in person this week or next, I know the top of two seats are ripped a bit, but im not tryin to sit im tryin to fish. I can sew them easy. if I can figure out a way to put pics on here I will, and ill get more detailed ones when I see it next week. thanks again to all of ya, if there is more info please share.

I figured it out

 

[slonezp]

It looks really clean for an old boat

[BASSEDOUT]

yeah I thought so too, the guy is d**n near a pro fisherman, he travels the country for tournaments and is on the state team, somethin like that. he has three d**n boats, lol. the others are much nicer.

[Dirtyeggroll]

if I would have seen that boat when I was looking I definitely would have seriously considered it.

 

Hope it checks out in good condition for you. If it doesn’t though, don’t be afraid to walk away. Deals that seem too good to be true often are. Keep us updated.

 

What state is that boat located?

[JoeyT]

Looks like a clean boat... factor in upgrades and fixes to the cost. If you can deal the boat for a price your happy with add an extra few thousand for the upgrades and fixes. Use the boat for the season, if it fits the bill and looks like it's gonna be a solid rig you can use 3-5 years then you can decide on larger upgrades like a refurbish that include new carpet, seats/skins, pumps, wet sand trailering upgrades and possibly a motor upgrade.  If it ends up being a flop then just use till she dead and start over. The good thing is your not into it for a crap load of money. 

[BASSEDOUT]

there is another guy going to look at it this weekend. I'm not able to have a mechanic look at it till next week. I may miss out on a dream boat (for me at least), and as much as I want to run up and just pay him, since I talked him down to 5500, I just cant without someone else looking it over. I don't know enough to inspect it thoroughly like someone should.

[TOXIC]

Be patient and check back with the seller to see if the sale falls through.  There are a lot of tire kickers out there.  Better to miss a good deal if that good deal ends up a nightmare because you didn't get it checked out.  There are a lot of boats out there for sale.  

[MarkH024]

I have an 01 R73. Good little boat. Biggest con is space/storage. Doesn't accommodate todays 7-8ft rod norm. R71 might fit 7+ as is. But the boat rides really well and it isnt a beast to tow. 

 

[BASSEDOUT]

meeting with mechanic tomorrow to go over the boat, the other guy didn't show. maybe she will be my new money pit!

[Dirtyeggroll]

Lucky you!

[BASSEDOUT]

SHE'S MINE! thanks for all your help, I greatly appreciate all of your advise and knowledge.

[FishOn!GetTheNet]

Awesome congrats seems like a great deal 

[TOXIC]

Pics or it didn't happen!!

[Dirtyeggroll]

On 2/8/2019 at 3:35 PM, MarkH024 said:

I have an 01 R73. Good little boat. Biggest con is space/storage. Doesn't accommodate todays 7-8ft rod norm. R71 might fit 7+ as is. But the boat rides really well and it isnt a beast to tow. 

 

 

I can fit a 7’4” rod in the locker of my R70.

[BASSEDOUT]

i'm special, and cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the pics from my phone to the computer, ill get my wife on it this weekend. the boat is nice, transom/motor/hull/trim/electronics/steering/water pump all checked out with mechanic. it has its share of nicks, dings, and scratches, but over all its in pretty d**n good condition. ill address the deeper gel coat scratches this upcoming winter, but for now I think I'm gonna just use some compound, buff, finish, and wax. I still have to do my research on all that, but I think that's the process until I wet sand her in some areas. I have to fix a few trailer lights this weekend to pass a one time inspection for trailer, then its time to fish.