I’m currently looking at buying a bass boat. My 3 options are: 2000 ProCraft 200 Super Pro w/ a 200 mercury optimax w/ 50 hours on it and no graphs. 2nd is: 98 Nitro 884 w/ Mercury 150 efi with no way of telling how many hours w/ lowrance HDS7 w/ structure scan and a HDS 5. 3rd- 2000 Ranger R83 w/ a Mercury 175 efi with 500 hours w/ 2 power poles and no graphs.
All 3 are right around the same price. Just seeing if there are goods/bads with all 3 of them
Of those 3 Id go with the Ranger. You do get a little more motor with the Procraft but depending on Boat length and weight it may or may not gain you much in speed. The finish details and quality of overall boat will be much greater on the ranger than the other 2 choices. The Nitro would be my last of the 3 choices. Just not impressed with the quality of the Nitro’s in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. The resale on the ranger will remain the highest as well.
x2 on the Ranger. Pretty solid motor on there as well.
-J.
Not familiar with the ProCraft, but I did own the exact same Nitro for five years and sold it in favor of a step-up to Ranger. That Nitro will be a fast boat, but will beat you to death with the rough ride. The superior ride, fit and finish, and better re-sale tip the scale in favor of the Ranger. That would be my choice.
Of those 3, the Ranger looks to be the best on paper. What’s your budget? Have you looked at Bassboatcentral’s classifieds? You might have to travel a ways, but you’ll probably find a better deal than just looking locally. You should look into the Skeeter ZX lineup (not knowing your budget, I can’t say what years you should focus on) but they are awesome boats and will likely already come with a majority of options you would be looking for. It’s best to find a boat with the electronics stripped off already, this way you can get the latest technology and set it up how you want it vs using outdated stuff rigged for somebody else…
finding a good used boat takes time, so patience is key
I’m looing for something under 12,000, 18-20 ft in length. I was thinking the procraft at first because of the price and the extremely low engine hours. The guy barely used the thing. The rangers show some wear and you are mainly paying for the name. I’ve heard about all manufacturers having a terrible ride until you get into the newer ones. Also, I’ve heard that ProCraft was bought out by tracker marine group the year before the Z series bass boats came out and they used procrafts’ hulls for the Z series.
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Seems your mind is made up, good luck and enjoy the new Pro Craft.
I’d recommend the low hour ProCraft. The Ranger is the R83 which was their budget line at the time, so it’s not your “typical” Ranger fit and finish that you think of. You get more boat with the 20 foot ProCraft. That boat was pretty well laid out. You have a low hours motor, which is a major deal. To me, it’s an easy choice.
Low hours can be a curse and a blessing both. Blessing in that it hasn’t had a lot of hours on it, curse in that lack of use with an engine can be just as harmful. I learned that with my current boat, 2001 with fairly low hours. Turned out the seals on both fuel pumps had dried out (one visibly leaked that I didn’t see when buying it) from so little use. So 1000 bucks later I had 2 new pumps along with fresh fluids and a tune up. All in all not a bad deal as I got a good price on the rig and am very happy with it, but low hours on an older rig isn’t always a great thing.
The Procraft is a 19 ft 6 inch and the ranger is a 19 ft. so not much difference. Also, the procraft weighs just like 100-200 lbs more so not much more there either. The biggest thing was the procraft has only 50 hours on the motor and the ranger has 500.
I’d make sure a mechanic checks out which ever boat you look at, but especially the Pro Craft. I’d be a bit leery of an early 2000’s big block Optimax unless it’s been updated. There were issues with fuel delivery, specifically the fuel rails if I remember right. It caused quite a few engines to seize up. They are great engines but need to have the update done.
How does a 16 year old motor only have 50 hours on it? Seems questionable to say the least.
How does a 16 year old motor only have 50 hours on it? Seems questionable to say the least.
Maybe the guy is married. 
My buddy is offering to sell me his 94 skeeter zx175 dual console with a mercury 175 xri for half the price of the other 3 here. Any thoughts on these skeeters. Great compression on that engine too
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