Tiller Comparison

Looking at older tiller boats, but newer to me… Anybody want to explain the pros and cons or selling points of a warrior vs. skeeter vs a ranger?

They all float, they all are fiberglass, they all have a good reputation. You can’t go wrong with any of the 3 if they check out condition wise.

Enjoy.

Sorry dutchie I completely disagree with this. I’ve fished out of all three of these. They are very different and have a lot of pros and cons.

Ranger has a nice layout in my opinion and yields to easy fishing of a lot of species. There’s a lot of nice dry storage and the boat tracks in the water really nice. But they are hard to find and relatively expensive.

The Skeeters are also nice but in my opinion and many others they are a lot more tippy. When you get a side wave they pitch and roll a lot more than a ranger does. I know a very reputable Muskie guide that had a skeeter and said he’d never fish out of one again. He went back to a ranger.

Warriors are also not cheap but they’re awesome boats. But they do not have the flat storage all the way around the outside like the Ranger does. (Nice for walking or sitting on) This is not bad it’s just different. The storage is different and how you will be able to use the boat is different. I recommend either a warrior or Ranger and I would fish out of both of them before you decide. They are both nice but depending on your needs one might be a strong frontrunner. Hope this helps.

There is no doubt each is a bit different from the others. You can even say the striping and colors & graphics are different. However to the average Joe all 3 will do the job. If he is a guide he will already know what he wants and needs in a boat.

I’ll stick with my opinion that all 3 are nice fishable boats. In fact to muddy the waters even more I might suggest he add Yar-Craft to his search.

I am not a guide… I have noticed that the floorplan and layout differs greatly between brands. I am know I enjoyed my warrior when I had that and would buy one again in heartbeat, but they hard to find in my area. I have thought about giving the guy that bought mine from me a call, but would like to get to a 20 footer.

Pretty much spend 70% of the time I fish using crawler harnesses or lindy rigs. I also troll cankbaits 25% of the time and cast very little. This boat will be used mainly on the Missouri river in SD, Winnie/ Leech lake and possibly on Mille Lacs, now that I have a buddy that has a place on that lake. I may go up there for a weekend occasionally. All I know is I would like to have a bait well in reach, some tackle storage in reach (enough for a few 3700 boxes) and have a decent ride with enough room to fish 3 guys sometimes, but most often 2. Does not need to be a speed demon but cruise at 30-35 without being wide open throttle. If the ride is comfortable at those speeds I do not mind taking a longer ride up or down the river to get to a spot.

If it were me I would be very concerned about the ride, from what I have read on this site the big advantage to glass is the hulls can be designed to push water away, for a smooth dry ride. If you watch Tom Boley you see that his new Warrior does this very well-just spend 100k on a new Warrior!

All 3 are fiberglass.

tim hurley wrote:

If it were me I would be very concerned about the ride, from what I have read on this site the big advantage to glass is the hulls can be designed to push water away, for a smooth dry ride. If you watch Tom Boley you see that his new Warrior does this very well-just spend 100k on a new Warrior!

I wouldn’t be concerned one bit about the ride being all 3 are fiberglass and he wants used

Kidding about the new part-its the shape of the fiberglass that matters, I would be concerned if I were out on ML, quick check on-line sounds like Rangers are more of a bass one and Warrior more big water walleye just saying its worth looking into.

tim hurley wrote:

quick check on-line sounds like Rangers are more of a bass one and Warrior more big water walleye

While it is true that Ranger makes bass boats and Warrior does not, that really has nothing to do with it. They both make very nice fiberglass walleye tillers. And non tillers.

Ranger is more diversified with their offering on boats. They make aluminum and fiberglass. I don’t think Warrior makes a tin boat, or a bass boat.

In 20ft warrior is going to be tough to beat and easier to find.
Just not a lot of Ranger and Skeeter tillers out there in general since they discontinued them.
I ran an 1890 warrior for 7 years great boat. The 20 footers are even better.
Yar Craft makes a pretty nice rig now as well.
I’m a windshield guy now but miss my tiller from time to time.

tim hurley wrote:

Kidding about the new part-its the shape of the fiberglass that matters, I would be concerned if I were out on ML, quick check on-line sounds like Rangers are more of a bass one and Warrior more big water walleye just saying its worth looking into.

Not true. All will handle the pond with ease.

tim hurley wrote:

Kidding about the new part-its the shape of the fiberglass that matters, I would be concerned if I were out on ML, quick check on-line sounds like Rangers are more of a bass one and Warrior more big water walleye just saying its worth looking into.

I don’t believe you know what you are talking about. But OK

I owned a Ranger multi species for 10 years and fished Mille Lacs & Rainy often. I owned a Skeeter tiller and fished Mille Lacs, Kabetogama & Namakin.

Anybody that says any of the 3 won’t handle big water have never been in one.

I personally like the layouts of the 620t and 2000t over the 2090. 2095s are great boats too so don’t overlook them as previously mentioned.

A downside of the skeeter is their max hp of 115 aside from one model year. Ranger had essentially the same max hp (I think technically 125) until the early/mid 2000s. Newer model 620s have plenty of 150 and 200s on them.

All will be great boats and if you’re not looking to go fast, then find the newest, cleanest one (regardless of brand) in your price range and don’t look back.

Bear-When I talk about what I,-ME, I, would look for I am the undisputed expert!!!!
You cannot disagree with me when I say ‘I would……. ‘(fill in the blank for future posts) NEVER claimed to be an expert in glass boats, Dutch just said Rangers handle big water well, great I believe you Dutch. Maybe every glass boat is the same-ok, but maybe they are not. ‘I don’t believe you know what you are talking about’ is harsh.

tim hurley wrote:

Bear-When I talk about what I,-ME, I, would look for I am the undisputed expert!!!!
You cannot disagree with me when I say ‘I would……. ‘(fill in the blank for future posts) NEVER claimed to be an expert in glass boats, Dutch just said Rangers handle big water well, great I believe you Dutch. Maybe every glass boat is the same-ok, but maybe they are not. ‘I don’t believe you know what you are talking about’ is harsh.

My point was all 3 have big water tillers. Exactly what the op is asking about.

Cool, had you stuck to that point.

Now,now boy’s lets not fight.I don’t believe that will help the OP choose a boat.
JBG they are all a nice quality boat,just look at any you find in your price range.I would look each one over good ,sit in them an look over storage,pump access,and how it feels for reach as far as the motor goes.Then a test ride and not a 5 minuete one either.
GOOD LUCK.

I had a 1790 2003 skeeter and that handled everything from Devils lake Lac Suel and leech and Winnie never was scared in it, I know some of the early warriors’ had wood in the transom Skeeter was all composite, never cared to fish from a Ranger it always felt like the main floor was to narrow. The first year Skeeter 2000t came with a 150 hp . Any of the three are far superior to a tin boat for ride and comfort.

I fished out of a 2014 skeeter 2000T for 3 years and have had a 2021 2090 for the past year. Full disclosure my trim tabs have not worked on my warrior since I got it (I just thought I had the wrong size so they didn’t do much). I enjoyed both boats and had them both on big water and waves. The warrior does crush waves better BUT for the price difference you will find in them I thought the skeeter was excellent. I had a large hydrofoil on my engine and when I would trim all the way down I believe it acted like a trim tab and helped keep my bow down. Both had a ton of storage. The only knocks I have with the skeeter is that the 115 max doesn’t give you a ton of power to get out on plane if you have 4 guys in the boat. I would also make sure you have steering of some sort because nothing is worse that getting caught in big waves and having your arm want to fall off because of all the engine torque. I never found the skeeter to be ‘tippy’ in fact I have found my warrior to be more tippy. I have never fished out of the ranger tiller in big wind so I can’t speak for that.

Yarcraft makes dang good tillers but I really don’t like the layout and storage in them. I’ll throw another name in the pot. I am intrigued by the crucial boats that are coming out with a 20 footer. You might be able to get into one of those new for what the warrior and rangers cost used. It sounds like guys love their 17 footers so just another thing to think about!

Yarcraft makes dang good tillers but I really don’t like the layout and storage in them. I’ll throw another name in the pot. I am intrigued by the crucial boats that are coming out with a 20 footer. You might be able to get into one of those new for what the warrior and rangers cost used. It sounds like guys love their 17 footers so just another thing to think about!

Problem is John doesn’t have one a guy can look at. He announced he would have them out in early summer and as of now I haven’t seen one.

I owned a 20’ tiller-Skeeter, Yarcraft, and Warrior. My tournament partner for some of that time had a Ranger 620T. They are all good boats. In my opinion, the Warrior is the best all around boat-ride, layout, and storage. If you want to talk more, you can shoot me a text at 763-226-4526.

All 3 have good points and viable boats. The main difference in floor plan are the side boxes that both the Skeeter and Ranger have vs Warrior side compartments. The muskie folks generally prefered the option to walk the side of the boat. Warrior will have a cleaner floor plan in my opinion and many state it tracks slightly better and fishes backwards better. The skeeter with 115 is still readily available from time to time and idles down nice and does a good overall job.
Fifes offer to discuss each is very valuable.

Dutchboy wrote:

Yarcraft makes dang good tillers but I really don’t like the layout and storage in them. I’ll throw another name in the pot. I am intrigued by the crucial boats that are coming out with a 20 footer. You might be able to get into one of those new for what the warrior and rangers cost used. It sounds like guys love their 17 footers so just another thing to think about!

Problem is John doesn’t have one a guy can look at. He announced he would have them out in early summer and as of now I haven’t seen one.

I agree it’s just going to be an option.

I agree the more options the better. I’ve been waiting for him to roll it out. I only live a 1/2 hour from his shop and would take a look as soon as he gets one done. He had mentioned it would come with a 175 hp motor which would be more than enough for that boat. However I would want the full power steering (Mercury) and not his system. I’ll also be interested to see where he comes in with his pricing. He’ll sell them if they are in the low to mid 60’s but people will head to the name brand boats if it is much more.

To be honest, I doubt he rolls it out this year. He’s been to quiet for to long.

I see John listed a new boat on WC. It’s a 17’er but the price is right at $39,900 brand new. Good to see he is still plugging away at it.

Check out some of Clayton Schicks videos. He bot a tiller a couple of years ago and really likes it. Consider contacting him. He seems like a super nice guy and would likely offer good advice. Good luck.