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Thread: Ranger Jet Boats

  1. #1
    ITSWILD
    I have a 1978 ranger jet boat with a 454 chevrolet. Can you give me any information about this boat with a panther jet? Any type of information would be appreciated.

  2. #2
    RangerJet
    I have a 1978 17' Ranger Jet Boat, model ssk17 360 AMC motor, panther jet. I have an original brochure lurking around somewhere, what kind of info are you looking for?

  3. #3
    ITSWILD
    Great all the info. you can find would be helpful. Its my brother in laws boat and we can't find anything one who know about the hulls. Thanks for all the help.

  4. #4
    flat broke
    I'll give this topic a stab but bear in mind that some of this is suposition and should be verified with someone that was in the industry back then like Old Rigger. I believe Ranger was a brand owned by General Marine. They made boats of all shapes and sizes (trihulls, 18'er jet boats, mini day cruisers, etc.) From the Rangers I have seen in the trader and the two my family has owned, I can say they are solid but heavy. On the trihulls and at least the 19' mini day cruiser that we had, they were chopper gun boats, not hand laid glass. It's quicker to build em that way, but a well made hand laid hull of equal strength would be lighter. My guess(here comes the suposition) is that they bought other companies molds and then used faster/less expensive production techniques to spit out custom looking boats at entry level prices.
    As far as the 454 and Panther combo, it is not anywhere near as bad as you might have heard. As long as you don't have a major hankering for a huge rooster tail or triple digit speeds, the Panther is fine and possibly even a better pump when compared to a stock Berkeley in a recreational boating application (pulling skiers, tubes , etc) The Panther is an axial flow pump which works off of volume to achieve thrust rather than pressure like a mixed flow pump(berk, dominator/AT, Aggressor) The result is that you will probably have a slightly better hole shot with the Panther than you would with a stock Berk of equal state of tune. Other pluses for the Panther are the built in adjustable ride plate and stainless steel impeller. Negatives are the lack of aftermarket add ons for the pump. Panther is still in business and Steve at their shop up in Drain Oregon is a nice guy that gets high marks from the Panther owners around here.
    Thats about all the info I have, but perhaps Old Rigger or someone else on the boards will post up with more info for you.
    Chris www.liquidaddiction.net (http://www.liquidaddiction.net)

  5. #5
    ITSWILD
    flat broke & RangerJet
    Thanks for the info. its alot of help.
    ITSWILD

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