Ranger Boats from Back In The Day

Bud Kennedy · October 26, 2021, 06:02:03 PM

Eric-Maine · October 26, 2021, 07:20:40 PM

I started in the mid 80s and the 391 was my dream ride. By the time I could buy a bass boat Ranger had ended the 300 series so I settled. My first Ranger was its 50th anniversary edition.
I was fortunate in that I got to hear Forrest and Ray reminisce about those early years and their dream. Their dream became mine and we all benefited from their vision.

Thanks for the video

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Bud Kennedy · October 26, 2021, 08:16:28 PM

Eric, I have owned two Rangers and both of them have been a 300 series. In fact my current boat is a Ranger 365V made in 1991. I love this old boat and have no intentions of getting rid of it. I bought this boat to keep at my place at Santee about 12 years ago.

Eric-Maine · October 26, 2021, 09:22:52 PM

Quote from: Bud Kennedy on October 26, 2021, 08:16:28 PM
Eric, I have owned two Rangers and both of them have been a 300 series. In fact my current boat is a Ranger 365V made in 1991. I love this old boat and have no intentions of getting rid of it. I bought this boat to keep at my place at Santee about 12 years ago.

Timeless design, the 300s. Best in the 150hp era and still a great ride

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rb-nc · October 27, 2021, 10:01:43 AM

They used to play that song at the Classic too. Don't forget the 461. Awesome boat. First Ranger I owned

apenland01 · October 27, 2021, 10:53:40 AM

I love my Ranger 492VS, it'll likely outlive me....

Wizard · October 27, 2021, 01:08:50 PM

Thanks, Bud. I saw Shoestring Dubois working on the floor. He was with Forrest from the beginning. My grandad and Forrest were long time friends as both were guides on the White River. I stopped by and chatted every trip to Flippin. My grandfather and some of the family are buried in Flippin. Forrest helped me out in getting me started in tournament fishing. I've had many Ranger boats with the 20X being my last. The little 340 in the video and the 354 were the GoKarts of the line back in the day. Even smaller was the 334.

Wizard

Oldfart9999 · October 28, 2021, 06:06:17 AM

Those early Rangers are timeless for looks.
Rodney

FlatsNBay · October 28, 2021, 06:33:14 AM

When I was a kid, before I was old enough to drive, I bought a Ranger ball cap. I was the coolest!

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Smallie_Stalker · October 28, 2021, 12:56:56 PM

Back in the late 90's one of the guys in the club I was fishing with bought an old Ranger tri-hull.

Every other boater in the club had some kind of go fast, sleek boat with a 150 of some kind on the back.

That little tri-hull looked out of place but it was a classic. And guess who won club AOY 2 of the next 3 years?

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Pat Dilling · October 31, 2021, 10:18:19 AM

My first bass boat was a 1993 365 with a Yamaha 150 Pro V. I bought it from Gary Dobyns, one of so many that he won in tournaments. That was in the time when the prize boat was right there and you pulled it home the day you won it. I had it for almost 8 years and caught a lot of fish out of it. I managed to blow up that Yamaha twice, no easy task. After the first time we souped it up with bigger carbs and high performance reed block. It would walk away from other boats with 175s and even 200s. Probably why I blew it up the second time. Those boats were tough, built like tanks. Probably why you see so many older ones around. Ranger still builds great boats, and they forced other builders to step up their game too. But, for my purposes and use, they are priced out of my range these days.