New Ranger 208 Alpha

[gim]

Looks like a fiberglass bass boat, but its aluminum.  Can handle a 250 outboard like a glass boat.  Brand new to the Ranger lineup for 2024.

 

https://www.rangerboats.com/aluminum/bass/alpha/alpha-208.html

[Susky River Rat]

It’s a bass tracker in drag! Kidding sweet looking boat. That price tag for aluminum though ouch. 

[casts_by_fly]

looks like they had the Lund Pro-v Bass in mind when they designed it.  I'm sure they are direct competitors for the high end tin bass boat.

[Jig Man]

They did that same thing a while back with the tracker line.  I think it was called targa but I am not sure.

[DaubsNU1]

Good looking boat. 

 

But for that kind of money, I'd rather have @A-Jay's Lund. 

[gim]

11 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

They did that same thing a while back with the tracker line.  I think it was called targa but I am not sure.

 

They did what?

2 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

But for that kind of money, I'd rather have @A-Jay's Lund. 

 

Not really a good comparison because his is an 1875 Pro V Bass.

 

A better more similar comparison would be the 2075 Pro V Bass.

[DaubsNU1]

@gimruis, good catch!

[A-Jay]

Nice looking rig.

Still has that 20 inch transom though.

Weighs 500lbs more than my rig

But that 250 should be fun.

 

I just "built" one.

Not exactly what I'd get but sort of close.

Came in at 85.5K.

Sweet ! 

A-Jay

 

[gim]

12 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Came in at 85.5K.

 

[J._Bricker]

 

[casts_by_fly]

58 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

They did that same thing a while back with the tracker line.  I think it was called targa but I am not sure.

 

46 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

They did what?

 

 

 

The tracker was the tournament V-18, or TV-18.  There was a 17' version as well but they are a lot less common on the used market so I bet they didn't sell well.  It was a fully decked 18' deep V rigged for bass fishing.  Tiny boat nation did a refurb of one a couple years ago (with an awesome teak wood looking foam deck) and turned me on to wanting one.  Its almost certainly not quite the boat that the Lund or Ranger are but I think it was the only thing going at the time in the deep V aluminum bass boat range.  And with trackers distribution and price it had a lot of fans.  I'm pretty sure one of the pros fished the BASS with one for a while.  Maybe Rick Clunn?

 

[slonezp]

Nice looking boat. I wouldn't buy it because it's welded. Personal preference.

[Capt Ed]

I'd love to have either of these two boats, but like many others, for that much money, I'd go fiberglass.

 

I priced the Ranger 208 and the Lund 2075 Bass XS using each builders build option, equipping them as close as possible.  With a Pro XS 200hp, I got $63,220 for the Ranger and $73,899 for the Lund.  

 

As I look at the two boats, it seems to me Ranger has focused on designing a purpose built boat for bass tournaments and those who value top speed.  Because of what appears to be a bigger cockpit, the Lund was built for bass fisherman who might want to chase other species as well.  

 

Lund certainly has a better reputation for aluminum boat durability, but Ranger seems to have made a lot of progress in their hull design reliability over the last 4 years.  

 

For those of us who live in the Southern USA, finding a Lund dealer is a tough proposition.  

 

Again, these are just my thoughts, not facts.

 

 

 

[12poundbass]

19 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

 

 

The tracker was the tournament V-18, or TV-18.  There was a 17' version as well but they are a lot less common on the used market so I bet they didn't sell well.  It was a fully decked 18' deep V rigged for bass fishing.  Tiny boat nation did a refurb of one a couple years ago (with an awesome teak wood looking foam deck) and turned me on to wanting one.  Its almost certainly not quite the boat that the Lund or Ranger are but I think it was the only thing going at the time in the deep V aluminum bass boat range.  And with trackers distribution and price it had a lot of fans.  I'm pretty sure one of the pros fished the BASS with one for a while.  Maybe Rick Clunn?

 

Are you referring to the Tracker Avalanche from way back? That was their full size aluminum bass boat.

 

 

 

I built one and it came out to $80k, (To quote the sharks on Shark Tank) “for that reason, I’m out.” 😂

[casts_by_fly]

3 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

Are you referring to the Tracker Avalanche from way back? That was their full size aluminum bass boat.

 

 

 

I built one and it came out to $80k, (To quote the sharks on Shark Tank) “for that reason, I’m out.” 😂

 

no, it’s the Tracker Tournament V-18.  First link is from boat test from 15 years ago. The second is the TBN refurb.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKyZu-OJD2M

 

 

 

[Vilas15]

15 hours ago, slonezp said:

Nice looking boat. I wouldn't buy it because it's welded. Personal preference.

 

Same. Not with White River's history with welded aluminum hulls. Rivets leak and the fix is replace the rivets. Welded hulls crack and the solution is replace the whole boat.

 

Thickness is 0.125 which matches the ranger deep Vs. The ranger mod Vs are 0.1 as far as I can tell.

[J Francho]

The V-18 was a deep v aluminum. 
The Targa were multi species/walleye/multi purpose aluminum boats. 
The Lund Pro-V bass are aluminum deep v boats. 
This looks more like a competitor to the Vexus aluminum bass boats. They are both pad hull designs. 
 

And I'd rather a Pro-V bad than this. Good luck with that price tag. 

[Susky River Rat]

18 hours ago, slonezp said:

boat. I wouldn't buy it because it's welded. Personal preference.

Why may I ask?

[slonezp]

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

Why may I ask?

Cracks and, even more so, warped/buckled hulls. I've owned 2 riveted hulls, a Mirrocraft and a Lund. If you look at some manufacturing videos between different aluminum manufacturers, you'll see the stringer systems in both of those riveted brands are far superior than any welded brand, at least, that I've seen. The stringer systems dissipate energy thru ought the entire hull. Lund also uses a double plated bow to absorb wave impact. 

 

The above being said, If you are using the boat on water that rarely sees anything above a 2ft chop, it's probably not a big deal. If you frequently fish larger rougher bodies of water, there might be better options. 

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

The V-18 was a deep v aluminum. 
The Targa were multi species/walleye/multi purpose aluminum boats. 
The Lund Pro-V bass are aluminum deep v boats. 
This looks more like a competitor to the Vexus aluminum bass boats. They are both pad hull designs. 
 

And I'd rather a Pro-V bad than this. Good luck with that price tag. 

Going to correct you sir. The Lund is more of a hybrid hull. Deep V in the bow and pad in the stern.  

[Susky River Rat]

@slonezp makes sense. The rivets would allow the boat to flex and absorb. The welds make it very stiff. No one around here would touch a non welded hull. So I do not have any experience with them. We will punch holes in them before we hit two foot rollers everytime out. 

[Alex from GA]

Does anyone have experience with Avid boats.  My friend has a 20XD and loves it.

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

Going to correct you sir. The Lund is more of a hybrid hull. Deep V in the bow and pad in the stern.  

No correction necessary. ALL Lund deep-v hulls have a pad. That doesn't make them a pad hull and the 17* deadrise at the transom should be the clue to that. From chine to chine, the pro v bass is the same hull as the pro v and tyee.