[Vincent A Sawchuk]

Hello All,

I am in the market for a smaller skiff... For poling and fishing SW Florida, Matlacha, Pine Island Sound, and Chokoloskee areas.

Can anyone that has experience with these boats give me their honest opinion on the price, fit and finish, polability, ride, etc.?

The one I'm looking at is firm at $12,000... 2006 with a Yamaha f60 with 150 hours, Jack plate, trim tabs, minn Kota 80lb thrust I-pilot, 6ft power pole (not working properly). The boat looks to be in very good condition for an 06.

Thank you in advance for any help!

-Vince

 

[HPXFLY]

Ive been on a couple and my number one take away is they are rough riding and very very wet. Like ranger should give you a couple rain suits when you buy a boat wet.

 

[Vincent A Sawchuk]

Ive been on a couple and my number one take away is they are rough riding and very very wet. Like ranger should give you a couple rain suits when you buy a boat wet.

Thank you for the information! When you were out was it sporty weather?

 

[HPXFLY]

5-10mph wind at the right angle and you are soaked. Wouldn't call that sporty.

 

[not2shabby]

My first skiff was a 2005 168 Phantom. It was a great first skiff. I ran it all over south Texas and it performed great. I had a Yamaha 70 2-stroke. Here are my honest thoughts.

• The Phantom is a great flats skiff and a below-average poling skiff.
• The skiff is heavy. I expect you would feel under-powered with a 60.
• The skiff is wide, stable (like a barge), and runs/floats surprisingly shallow.
• The skiff does not pole well and especially not in any wind over 15mph. This is ultimately why I sold mine. I had a TM, but I poled about 95% of the time. It is not a skiff you'll want to pole all day every day. It is not bad on the trolling motor.
• It can be wet, but it's not so wet that it would keep me from buying it. It can be a rough ride since there is little deadrise and you will probably get a little wet, but I never got soaked. You'll need good tabs and need to know how to use them.
• The wiring on mine was terrible, but I blame that on the previous owner, not Ranger. I re-wired the entire skiff and it made a huge difference.

It was a great first boat. I learned a lot about what I did & didn't want in my next boat.

For the package you're looking at, $12k seems like a good deal. If you're looking for more of a flats skiff than a poling skiff, I would not discourage you from checking it out.

 

[Vincent A Sawchuk]

Thank you, I really appreciate your honest feedback!

What boat did you get after the a phantom or do you have now?

 

[snookchaser42]

I owned a 2008 Phantom 168 for 4 years and agree with just about everything not2shabby had to say. Mine had a 70hp Yamaha 2 stroke and got 33 mph top end so I would imagine this boat would be somewhere around 30. Amazingly stable and honestly a pretty dry ride for what it is. It is not a boat you want if you predominately pole though. Worked perfect for me as I fished solo a lot and was 75/25 TM to pole. In today's market, that is a good deal for this boat, as long as there aren't any serious issues with it.

 

[Vincent A Sawchuk]

Thank you for your input! If I purchase the boat I will probably sell the f60 and look for a yamaha 70 or 90 2-stroke... Since the weight seems to be about the same as the f60. Thinking I could probably get around $2,500 for the 06 f60 with about 150 hours.

 

[not2shabby]

What boat did you get after the a phantom or do you have now?

I got a 2002 HB 17.8. I gave up a little stability, but I can happily pole all day.

For what it's worth, I believe the Phantom hull is rated for 70hp. Up to you what you do with that information.

 

[Vincent A Sawchuk]

Thank you... I'm talking to a guy now about buying his Yamaha 70 2stroke

 

[DuckNut]

One issue I have heard of is the fuel tank. They foamed it in place and caused corrosion.

May not be an issue on this particular model but it is on others.

 

[not2shabby]

One issue I have heard of is the fuel tank. They foamed it in place and caused corrosion.

May not be an issue on this particular model but it is on others.

That is true. Something to look at. The good thing is, you CAN look at it. On the '05 I had, you could get to the fuel tank pretty easily through the front hatch. It was in good shape, but would have been easy to replace regardless.

 

[DuckNut]

That is true. Something to look at. The good thing is, you CAN look at it. On the '05 I had, you could get to the fuel tank pretty easily through the front hatch. It was in good shape, but would have been easy to replace regardless.

That is good news. The Cayman models required cutting the floor and the front deck bulkhead. These were the real problem ones.