680T Question

I have my eye one a 680T that I know of for sale and visited it tonight. The boat seems to be in good condition with few major cosmetic flaws. However, I noticed a coupe items that are making me nervous and would like some expert opinions.
-bowed floor in lower deck – is this a major concern?
-cracked fiberglass next to the main control console- sign of underlying damage?
-dented metal support rail with what looks to be fiberglass damage- is this a big concern?
-amateur electrical work with rats nest of wires by battery console? – can be fixed but will take a lot of work.

This is my first boat purchase and I want to make sure I don’t get stuck with a boat that will need a lot of investment. Your help is greatly appreciated.

What year? Usually electrical isn’t a factor to buy or not to, but can be a point to bring up to lower price.

Beware that in 1988(I beleive) transoms went from wood to composite. Can call factory with hull id to determine.

Might be a good time to ask them about floor.

Good Luck

jmatura brings up a great point, 1988 they switched mid year from wood transoms to composite pultrusion. Only way to know is to call Ranger with a serial number. Re-doing a floor is one thing but re-doing both a floor and a transom I would walk the other way unless you plan to do an entire refurb job at a high dollar.

I own a 1989 680T. By “bowed floor”, do you mean the center of the floor is slightly depressed from the sides of the floor? If so, mine is similar and I believe they were manufactured like this to promote drainage. The console is made of pretty thin fiberglass. I think an accidental kick could crack it and don’t think that is a major deal. The rail & fiberglass damage is your call, but doesn’t sound significant to me. Rats nest sounds familiar…that’s exactly what mine looks like! I direct wired two sonar units to the battery, which added wires to the already installed system. If the price is right, I think you’ll do okay with this boat.

Quote:

---

I own a 1989 680T. By “bowed floor”, do you mean the center of the floor is slightly depressed from the sides of the floor? If so, mine is similar and I believe they were manufactured like this to promote drainage. The console is made of pretty thin fiberglass. I think an accidental kick could crack it and don’t think that is a major deal. The rail & fiberglass damage is your call, but doesn’t sound significant to me. Rats nest sounds familiar…that’s exactly what mine looks like! I direct wired two sonar units to the battery, which added wires to the already installed system. If the price is right, I think you’ll do okay with this boat.

---

Thanks for the feedback, it is down the center of the floor like you describe, I plan on calling Ranger later today to get their thoughts on it as I really like this boat. On another note, do you feel a 12v 55lb thrust transom mount trolling motor is sufficient to push the boat around?

“On another note, do you feel a 12v 55lb thrust transom mount trolling motor is sufficient to push the boat around?”

No… I really looked at buying a 681t two years ago and did a lot of research on a number of fronts. TM was one and if you can fit the 2 batteries in the floor go with the 24 volt. I ended up with a 16 foot Yar-craft tiller (200 pounds lighter than the Ranger) and put in an 80 lb thrust Terrova iPilot. I troll all day long and also spend a lot of time in river currents and I will drain it down in about 8-10 hours of use. Have never run out of juice but have been close. I bet I’d get a half day of power with a 12 volt 55 lb thrust.

Always go with more power

You’ll never be disappointed by having to much

24V is much more efficient too