19ft ranger aluminum or Z19 pro

Both are about the same price. Which one would you guys pick and why.

A z19 pro nitro is the same price as a 198p ranger? And that's a legit question as I've never looked. Wow. But makes me wonder what's on the nitro. What motor size? I believe that boat is rated for a 200. If it has a 150 I would be hesitant. Could be a dog and hard to resale. That's a tough decision but fiberglass is always better than aluminium


Upon looking at nitro website the z19 is standard with a 200 and starts at 36 so I assume you found a 2018 leftover. I'd buy the nitro

Yeah I looked at the nitro site and thought, Ranger aluminums are this expensive? The 2nd thought was he must be looking at Bass Pro where they under power and under equip the boats to make the price look low.

If equal I’d rather have the fiberglass

I have an aluminum boat right now, and while I love it when fishing shallow water, I’m counting the days until I can trade it in for a fiberglass. If I fish off shore or really anywhere but a protected creek in more than 8-10mph winds I spend more time fighting the wind and current than I do fishing.

I ran a 19 foot tin rig for several years and this is right. You better look at the wind forecast before you go out if you don't plan on fishing the backs of creeks all day.

Get the Z19. No question. I would choose a different brand than Nitro given a choice, but they are really pretty good boats. The glass boat will be night and day better in MOST conditions.

Best to have it rigged with max HP as suggested. Underpowered, they are kinda dogish and resale will suffer a lot.

FWIW - After a couple of 20' - 21' fiberglass boats (Ranger 520 and Z20) I bought a new boat almost 3 years ago now, and I went aluminum. I love the aluminum for a number of reasons, including ease of towing, moving around in driveway/garage, fuel economy on boat and tow vehicle, no gouges (just dents of course), and I think it will look much better for years to come. Sure, I would love a fiberglass as well so I could choose what I felt like on a day-to-day basis, but I have not regretted buying the aluminum.

i would think the fiberglass would be around $10k more.

i have a ranger aluminum, and agree with most of the comments above. but i fish a lot of private lakes, and just launch off the bank with my boat. couldn't do that with the z19. however, if i was going to be on a big lake every weekend, i'd want the fiberglass (if i could afford it).

that's why they make different types of boats; everyone has their own "needs".

Z19 is a good boat. Fishes great and fast. Mine tops out at 72mph with the 200.
I have a lot of extras on mine. I will be selling it if your interested. Going to get a 21’ boat.
Pm me your cell and I will text you some pics. Located in Ft Worth.

I run a Z19 with a 150 pro xs, rides good, runs around 60-61, can run for days on 50 gallons of fuel. Gets out of hole quick. Great boat for 2 people. Lots of storage, I usually have 20-25 rods in the rod boxes plus 60 pounds of tackle.

Only thing I would change is upgraded electronics and 24 volt ultrex. I have a 24 volt fourtrex and 7" hds units at console and bow currently.

I too have aluminum rt 188 after owning fiberglass no regrets.
Good stable fishing boat for a helluva lot less than a quality fiberglass boat.
Easy to maintain and tow . Never go back to glass .
J D

Doesn’t putting an Ultrex solve all problems relating to wind and aluminum?

I put a 24v Terrova on my tracker 175. 60 in shaft. I love fishing off the back of the boat with that spot lock on! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go out in stupid windy days but I sure can handle the windier ones now that I couldn’t with a 12v cable steer motor guide....

The 19 foot aluminum ranger I found is 37,500 with everything except fishfinder. The nitro z19 pro I found is 40k. It is on display at one of the Bass pro shop stores.

I've got a 2017 Ranger Z175 with upgraded to Ultrex, Lowrance HDS 7 Gen 3 bow and dash I'll sell you for $30K. EXCELLENT condition. Looking to upgrade to a 21'.

For fishing..... yep. Sure does. It will still beat you to death on windy days when running.