89 Ranger Bassmaster Classic 363V

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 07, 2012, 12:03:38 PM

I've been looking at a bunch of used boats. To keep long story short, there's an 89 Bassmaster Classic 363V with an 89 Evinrude XP 150 for sale in my housing development..Looks to be in Decent shape but needs cosmetic TLC Hull looks like it will clean up nicely, but I have not gone to see it up close in person yet. I can work with the cosmetics..but, are there any probelm areas witrh this boat that I should be mindful of that would be a deal breaker? Asking price is 2250 negotiable, which I'll make an offer based on what I see. Not looking for show, but go and I'll take care of the minor things as I go along. This will be my first boat. I have strong electrical and mechanical skills and can perform most repairs on my own...Thanks in advance..I'm sure you guys get general questions like this all the time.

Donald Garner · June 07, 2012, 02:47:38 PM

BassMasterSgtUSMC

Check out this article from UB members. I hope this helps; Just click on the link below.

How to buy a used boat

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 07, 2012, 07:00:17 PM

Donald,

Thanks for the link some good info in there. A little more info. The lady from the add emailed me back said that she inherited the boat from grandfather 2 years ago and never used boat due to starting a family. Was taken to the shop last month to be checked out and engine serviced in order to prep for sale. engine got clean bill of health from shop, and fluids changed which I'll have to verify.

She's out of town for the rest of the week so I'll have to wait to reall check it well, but i went into the boat storage lot to take a closer look. The Hull looks solid with a few scratches here and there but nothing deep. The bottom of hull where the "V" comes to a point has some wear. The clear coat is dull and needs a good polishing. apolstery and carpet look better than the pics they look more dirty than anything but I was peeking under the cover and didnt want to overstep my bounds with the owner not present. Tilt/Trim worked and transom felt and looked solid. Trailer is very solid and seems really heavy duty, paint is faded but no rust, does not appear to have been in salt water.

Does anyone know if the stringers/braces in the hulls in the 89's were composites of some kind or do they have wood in there that I need to be looking at?

Scott F · June 07, 2012, 07:42:21 PM

$2250 for any Ranger is a steal. People are getting that much for a used 20hp motor by itself. I don't need another boat right now, ( I am the original owner of a 1988 Ranger) but I'd buy that boat in a minute.

Bigwrench · June 08, 2012, 07:27:45 AM

That looks a lot like my 1990 330v , it was in terrible shape when we picked it up. With a little TLC you will have it up and running in no time. That price is a steal too ! Good luck with it and if you have any questions on the restore just ask we took ours down to the fiberglass hull and redid basically everything ! I have a ton of before and after photos if your interested . We sold ours this spring cause I bought a 518 but sure miss the old girl. See it on the lake once a week or so and the new owner loves it !

Please do not use Outdoor Hub Mobile, Please find and use TapaTalk for your phone

Donald Garner · June 08, 2012, 09:17:45 AM

Thats a nice boat there. Hopefully once you get it out on the water for a test ride it will preform good for you.

Good luck in getting it.

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 08, 2012, 09:56:17 AM

Thanks, it looks like I will pick it up if everything major works on it. Owner gave me permission to go take the cover off and look at everything, so I'll do that this weekend. Does anyone know if there is wood inside this boat that I need to look at? Seems sturdy and built like a tank.

If it passes the visual inspection, then I'll see about taking it on the water next week when the owner returns.

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 10, 2012, 11:11:49 AM

Went to take a closer look yesterday. Owner was not there so I have some questions.

-At the back bottom of the boat there are 4 holes. Which one(s) are supposed to be plugged before putting it in water? I'm just guessing that maybe 2 or three are for intake for the live wells? I don't want to put it in and take on water if I plug or don't plug the right ones.

-There's an Oil tank in the battery compartment. I'm assuming that you might need to prime it to ensure the engine can inject the oil into the fuel?

-What am I looking at to replace the windshields? Both have corners chipped off.

-I could not hear anything when I tried to turn on the live wells but I may not be doing it right, there are a few different switches. Do these draw their power from the Deep Cycle aux batts?

-There's Another Ranger 363V but older 1986 for sale in a couple hours away for a little more $ but a lot cleaner and ready to go. Are there any major differences in construction between these two year models?

Other notes:

-Floor felt solid, just very dirty you can tell this thing has been sitting for a long time..
there were two large deep cylcle batteries in the batt box that were both disconnected, so I could not test the trolling motor out. Do the live wells work off these batteries too? Batteries look like they will need to be replaced. They had a lot of corrosion on the terminals. Starting battery was brand new. Checked over the transom area real close. Felt solid and no visual signs of damage. Clear coat dull and dirty. Might shine decently with a good rubdown with some compound. Owner should return tommorow to discuss further. Thanks in advance.

Mike Cork · June 10, 2012, 11:33:12 AM

The four holes should be one for each livewell intake one for livewell overflow and one for bilge. The drain plug should only fit securely into one of them.

The oil tank should not ever need to be primed. Once it's initial install is complete it should be fine, just keep it full.

Windshield price varies but I've seen them as low as $80 and as much as $200 you'll probably have to go through Ranger to get them replaced.

Yes your livewells will be hooked up to the main cranking battery. Usually not directly but through a power block under the console. You may have to turn on a main power switch first or flip a breaker that kills the system when not in use.

I'm not a ranger guru and can't help with construction questions.

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 10, 2012, 12:09:09 PM

Mike, thanks for the reply. The owner never used the boat so, looks like I'll have to figure out a lot of things on my own or with help from you guys.

Bigwrench · June 10, 2012, 12:18:09 PM

I can tell you the windshields are available for $81 or so , as of last June . I bought one from ranger for my 1990. The original windshield on mine had a reddish color the new ones are smoke . May have faded a red color over the years but even in the pictures of the day
My uncle bought it new it looked red but fit was perfect and came with all new hardware. You would be surprised at what is all still available for that year model .

Bass Fishin & Banjer Pickin !

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 10, 2012, 04:34:57 PM

Thanks for the info. There's another guy selling an 86 in the area. Same model boat same HP engine (150) any big differences that you all know of?..Thanks

mrshakeyhead · June 13, 2012, 10:50:17 AM

I bought a brand new 360 (1988 model). At that time, Ranger had just switched over to an all synthetic transom (no wood). Therefore, I'm assuming that any boat built before '88 would still have the wood transom enclosed in glass. For the asking price, I'd stick with your original seller. You can call Ranger and ask about the transom, but I'm pretty sure I'm right about that. They're a very stable fishing platform.

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 13, 2012, 03:21:36 PM

Thanks for the info. I made an offer on the boat and waiting on a decision from the owner. Should know by tomorrow.

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 18, 2012, 08:44:15 PM

Thanks for all the info guys. I made a lowball offer of 1200 thinking not a chance in hell, owners countered with 1500 and I jumped on it. I picked the boat up Saturday, and have been going through it ever since. Lots of stuff to do. The boat had been sitting for over 3 years it looks like. Vacuumed it all out and then started checking things over. Both trolling motor batteries were shot. One is missing a terminal Due to corrosion and the other wont hold a charge over 10.8 Volts, probably dead cell in that one. Too bad both Die Hard deep cycle dated 2008. Hooked trolling motor up and it works so thats good, I just need terminal Lugs bug enough for the cables.

Fuses to both livewell aerators and one bilge were blown, motors were frozen. A little cleaning and WD40 they all three purred like new.

Gotta get this area squared away, tidy up the wiring, clean up gunk and recconect all the fittings with new clamps.

Lots to do still, after I get the bilge area squared away, however the motor idled up in the driveway with the ears on so that was good to go. Hopefully I can put it in the water this weekend... Once I get all the maint done and things fixed I'll try buffing out the clear coat, it dont look bad, I think it will really shine with some work. I'll keep you guys posted.

Donald Garner · June 18, 2012, 09:31:16 PM

Glad to hear you got a good deal with the boat. Good luck getting it cleaned up and water ready.

Bigwrench · June 18, 2012, 09:55:36 PM

Sweet ! Can't wait to see some more photos of the restore ! Congrats on the desk too !

Bass Fishin and Banjer Pickin !

CliffL · June 19, 2012, 07:17:36 AM

Saweet! Looks like you got a deal. Be sure to check the live well valves while your in there. The flappers are a cheap fix.

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 19, 2012, 10:09:09 PM

Got the live well pumps back in and the system works, looks like I need new control (flapper) valves though. They both leak Maybe there's a kit for them. The back corner were I've been buffing with some compound seems to be shining up nicely.

the windshields were both chipped, decided to cut them to size..

I'll have to see how these look on the boat. Need another deep cycle battery for the trolling motor and a few odds and ends and I'll get it in the water hopefully by the weekend.

CliffL · June 20, 2012, 08:03:04 AM

You can pick up new flappers and install them fairly easy while you have the batteries out. Just make sure put them together the same way they came apart or they will work backwards.

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 23, 2012, 05:54:31 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY2nNgtrqDc&feature=plcp

Quick vid of motor running in triveway

BassMasterSgtUSMC · June 23, 2012, 06:00:01 PM

Took it out today for a shake down run..Man, this boat handles nicely, the motor sounds great and gets the boat up on a plane quickly. It took me a bit to figure out the trim but was easy to do once I figured it out. A few bugs to still work out with the fuel setup. After a while it loses its prime, I think there may be a pin hole or something in the supply lines sucking in air into the system. Every once in a while the motor would stumble and after shutting it off and squeezing the priming bulb it wold work fine for a while then I would have to do it again...I could feel and hear bubbles in the the priming bulb. The boat has two fuel tanks been using the starboard tank, but when I switched the selector valve to the port side tank I was unable to coax any fuel to the motor. I think I'll replace all the hoses starting from the tank all the way to the motor...fuel filter and fuel water separator recently replaced, but maybe sediment in there..I'll do those too. Thoughts?