HookedOnFishingBoats.com

Is bigger always better? Maybe not, but when it comes to boats, we all have experienced three-foot-itis before, the disease that drives us to buy boats that are bigger—and better—then the ones we have already. But if you’re a bay-boat lover and you have a Ranger Bay Ranger 2400, three-foot-itis won’t hit you ever again, because this is one of the biggest bay boats around. And even with a spacious 24 feet of fiberglass underfoot, this rig can hit some seriously shallow water with its 13.5” hull draft.

Giving you access to both deep and skinny water is what bay-boats are all about, and as I discovered when I ran a 2400 rigger with a Yamaha F-250, this boat makes that accessing those waters a ton of fun. Throttle up, and you’ll break the 50-mph mark. Throttle back to 3500 rpm, and you’ll run around 30-mph while getting nearly four mpg. That means you’ll be fishing all day without having to refill the fuel tank before your next trip. And you could do it all day, every day, thanks to construction methods that set the bar high. Check out a deck hatch, for example. You’ll see that a single, long hinge runs along the entire hatch. Stress is evenly distributed down the entire length of it, so bent metal and ripped fiberglass—something you’ll discover on lesser-built boats—will never be a problem. Next, make sure you check the underside of those hatches. They’re fully finished, thanks to RTM molding. The same process also ensures an optimal resin-to-fiberglass ratio, so the hatch is light while maintaining maximum strength. Go ahead—jump up and down on one, to prove it to yourself. I did, and it didn’t flex or creak one bit.

The transom and backing plates in the Ranger are another strong point, and are unique among boats. Ranger has a method of chemically bonding multiple layers of fiberglass, called Pultrusion, which allows them to make glass denser and thicker than traditionally possible. They use it to construct the 2400’s transom, and pultruded plates are used for hardware backing throughout the boat. All cavities below the deck are pressure-injected with foam, the switch panel is rubberized and watertight, and all of the coring in the deck is high-density closed-cell urethane. Even the console is a cut above, molded with its own bottom and that matches up to a raised section of the deck. The two are mated, then secured and made watertight with through-bolts and Plexus adhesive/sealant.

Put these construction techniques together with that bigger-is-better LOA and you have a boat that punches through big waves with a solid, vibration-free ride. Add in fishing features like a twin rodboxes that hold rods up to 9’6”, an insulated fishbox, four vertical rod holders on each side of the console, a cooler in the forward console seat, trolling motor pre-wiring, and a 24-gallon livewell with a timer-equipped aerator, an LED light, and a dedicated recirculation pump, and you’ve got a bay boat that makes news. News that’s best described with one word: BIG.

LOA – 23’7”

Beam – 8’5”

Draft – 1’1.5”

Dry weight – 2,750

Fuel capacity – 80

Max. HP – 300

Price – Right around $50,000, depending on power choice.

Observed performance notes w/2 people and full load fuel, single 250 HP Yamaha F-250 four-stroke outboards, swinging a 15” x 19” three bladed stainless-steel prop: