Here's the deal... Dad's got a 1972 Ranger, stick steering, with the original Johnson 65 on it. And miraculously hasn't missed a beat and that johnson has fired up every single time. It needs some slight fiberglass work, but still runs. If we had a penny for how many fish thats been caught outta that boat.

With all that typed.. we want him to have an upgrade.

A brand new boat, or year old...

He obviously wants a Ranger, but we've heard Johnny Morris's Ranger is not Forrest Wood's Ranger. We've also heard many bad reviews on the Mercury Fourstroke especially compared to the SHO. So perfect world? A Ranger with a SHO... I've learned thats tough to find.

So... what should we buy? What would y'all buy? I got an old school dad, and given his experience, he's a Ranger man.

Thank you so much for the input and opinions.

Watch Ken Smith boat reviews he does a great job on a lot of boats. He goes over every boat with great detail on and off the water. Worth the watch if you are looking for a new boat. Most boats he runs are experienced boats that have been run for at least 6 months to year. Some you will not be interested in just move on down the list.

Solid idea here...
For me, I'd go with a new FXR21

Caymas CX21 w/Mercury 250 four stroke

I love mine, best boat I’ve owned.

Skeeter or Bass Cat.

I would definitely look at every one of the already listed boats and I would add a Ballistic to that list.

Being a big guy I would want a wide deck myself.

There are plenty of great boats out there with narrow decks but they are not my style.

Very solid, he won't be going Ranger and I wouldn't either now they've been Nitro-ized

Besides brand, take into account where he fishes and also the primary species he chases. There is a big difference from fishing off a stick steer boat where you're seated compared to modern style bass boat with front and rear stand up casting decks. Stick Steer boats are still very popular on no wake private lakes where I mainly fish and personally I'd rather have a stick steer on that kind of small, no wake lake compared to a larger bass boat where the outboard engine is mostly a rudder for the trolling motor. On the other hand, if he's on big water and has always wanted a modern style bass boat, he'll likely enjoy the NASCAR like upgrade. If he decides he wants a modern, fiberglass stick steer, take a look at Royal boats.

Also, if he happens to have a boathouse or dock, make sure the newer style boat will fit. Lots of older docks for stick steer boats were built too narrow for a modern boat.

Blue Moon

Never, ever buy a brand new boat unless you have money to burn and waste. There's a tremendous number of used, like new boats for sale that will still carry a warranty. That's the best advice that I can give. Brands of boats and motors are too subjective for me to comment on....

This^^^^^^^

Ranger still has the best finishes in the game and it is a solid boat in rough water. I think the Phoenix is the closest on finishes. The Skeeter Apex I tested didn't have the finishes of the Ranger and while it was much faster, that was the only upside.

The Caymas looks awesome, but they will be sold in 3 years, just like every other boat company Bentz has started.

As far as power, I've never had an issue with my Mercury and it has 300 hours on mine. Runs like a top.

I'd buy a Ranger. I don't think the quality has changed one bit.

If no one bought new boats there'd be no used boats.

I would probably buy the same thing I own now, a Skeeter ZXR. Ranger would be tempting. I might take a look at Falcon, Nitro and Phoenix if I decided to change it up a bit. Pretty well a Skeeter and Ranger fan