New Member, Old Boat 1985 Ranger 373V

[Mickyd]

Just want to say hello. Just purchased a 1985 Ranger 373V bass boat powered by a 2003 Mercury XR6 150. I am very pleased with the boats overall condition and the OB motor is worth the price I paid for the boat. Of course the 30 year old boat needs a little TLC. ex: One small soft spot on passenger side floor. The Ranger for the most part is rock solid, the transom is sturdy and true. The decks are like concrete. And the ride is a smooth 60 MPH! (when you go WOT at 5400 rpm) trim up.
I hope to share pictures soon and I look forward to input from other Ranger lovers out there.
Thank You,
Mickyd .

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

You ought to investigate that soft spot ASAP, I hate to be the one to tell you this but normally any soft spot in the deck is bad news. It's not uncommon to find more rot than just the deck, including stringers and all the way back to the transom.

At least, as you mention, the engine is worth what you paid for everything.

 

[Mickyd]

I am going to rip it out and check for cancer. I'm not scared of itching for a week or two.

P.S. Where can I get me one of those "metric crescent wrenches?"

 

[roffey]

Canadian Tire, right beside the plaid paint and the rope stretcher.

 

[jbcurt00]

Decks that are like concrete dont typically have soft spots

How did you test the transom is sturdy and true?

Lots of great help on iboats, so no matter the extent of the damage, they'll help you get it water ready again

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

I am going to rip it out and check for cancer. I'm not scared of itching for a week or two.

While you're checking things out I'd suggest drilling into the transom in several spots from the inside, only go about halfway through. What you want to see is clean, dry wood shavings; what you don't want to see is any moisture or dark shavings. You can put the shavings in a ziplock plastic bag and let it sit out in the sun, if there's moisture in the wood you'll see condensation. Once you're done fill the holes with something like JB Weld (or a slurry of milled fiber, cabosil, and epoxy resin if you happen to have fiberglassing supplies handy).

 

[Mickyd]

Thanks for your replies. The decks that are like "concrete" are the upper fishing decks where the fishing chairs are. I completely removed all the live well pumps, bilge pump and plumbing to inspect transom area. hammer test, I shook the b'jesus out of the motor with it trimmed up, not a bit of flex (I'm a big guy} But can a soft spot in the floor around 5 feet away travel through the stringers and somehow make it to the transom? The spot is right where one would hop in if it were on the trailer. I know the saw blade will tell the tail. I'm a little worried only because I know me, I wont stop until I'm satisfied that EVERYTHING is solid. I hope it's not the tip of the iceberg But if it is. I'm not scared, I like the smell of glass in the morning..

 

[gm280]

Mickyd, Wait first and don't start cutting anything until you drill some sample holes to see what is going on. Yes the soft spot is rot, but you can drill a few inspection holes in the lowest section of the transom you can get to, to see if there is any rot there. If so, then yes the transom needs replaced. If not, you are golden. So drill first to see if dark wet wood shavings comes out or light colored dry wood. If the dry wood, there is no rot in that area. It is a lot easier to plug a few inspection holes with some 3M 5200 then to cut up things to see what's going on. Same with the floor and stringers as well. JMHO!

 

[NYBo]

Welcome to iboats:welcome:

Guys, it IS possible for there to be a soft spot that doesn't spell trouble for the stringers and transom. Rangers are very well-built, and it's possible that the sole has been damaged by repeated blows from people jumping into the boat on the same spot. Micky, how much give is there?

 

[jbcurt00]

IMO tbe old adage

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

Was specifically written to address boats w smallish soft spots.

Go thru the resto forum, significantly more small spots growing into full guts then small spots that are simply patchable w no other repairs to below deck structure.

Off hand, all the small patch jobs were bandaids where the owner knowingly covered additional damage they choose not to fix. A few were planned short term repairs, but as far as I know, none came back to update their topics.

Wonder what the status of those boats is currently?

Sounds like Micky has a good plan and has done quite a bit of inspections of the damage and testing the transom.

 

[Mickyd]

NYBo, the give in the area is about 1/2inch when you pushdown, It's concentrated in an area of @ 6 inches in diameter. Located about 1' 1/2" left of the center floor drain. It feels very solid every where else, even around the drain itself. I will peel up the carpet and drill a couple holes first. Should I find foam in that area under the floor? If so will that block my view of the stringers?
I knew I would need to put TLC in the boat. But I gotta say it runs like a dream, very smooth and quiet ride. So much better than my glastream was.
Thank You everyone for your input. I genuinely appreciate it.

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: aboard the iboats forum Mickyd,

We all love to see new projects boats and well any boat for that matter. So post up some pics of your Ranger for us when you get the chance.

I've never seen anything good come from soft deck investigations of 30 year old boats. Like said normally it's rotten wood stringers below that causes the condition.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

:welcome: aboard the iboats forum Mickyd,

I've never seen anything good come from soft deck investigations of 30 year old boats. Like said normally it's rotten wood stringers below that causes the condition.

What I've seen over the course of 3 rebuilds is that the wood in stringers isn't totally isolated from wood in the deck, and wood in the transom is often not totally isolated from wood in the stringers. Which means that moisture and rot in one can readily migrate to another. Also, on a 30 year old boat there's been plenty of chances over the years for water to get into the transom because of sealant on screws etc. going bad (they didn't have 3M 5200 30 years ago).

Anyway, best of luck when you investigate the soft spot. Hopefully it'll turn out to be isolated. At least you've got a boat that's worthy of the effort of doing a proper repair job no matter what you find.

 

[trailking82]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... Boats rot from the bottm up, transom to stringers to deck. Rangers of those years and prior can and will rot the same as other boats. The unfortunate thing is Rangers are built well, so well when it does come time to rebuild they will not come apart easily. My initial project this year started as a Ranger, i could not get the top cap off to access the deck/stringers/transom without completely destroying the boat. If full rot is found the only safe repair is gaining full access and rebuild, laying sheets of plywood on rotten wood will not accomplish much. I really like Rangers but have learned anything prior to 1988 maynot be worth the time of rebuilding or upgrading. I wish you the best of luck and i am hoping for a good outcome here.

 

[Mickyd]

Well I started cutting, and the floor is soft in a lot of area but not forward of the consuls. I can talk about it but that's not as good as pictures. I will take a lot of them so I can get feed back. I hope a member on this forum is knowledgeable with the construction of the 85' Ranger 373V, The "stringers" appear to be two large 12" wide CSM beams that run parallel to one another then stop before the battery, bilge and transom area. Any and All comments are welcome as long as they are constructive. Talking82 is right about one thing "there built good" but I will say the transom is right in your face, very easy to get to and inspect.