By Terry Brown

 

Where I live small lakes are the norm and horsepower ratings limit the size and type of boat. Horsepower restrictions vary from 10 hp to unlimited, but the lake I fish the most has a 10 hp limit. Looking for a boat that provides the fishability of a big boat being powered with a 10 hp is tough. Speed is not really an issue, but you do want a boat that has the accessories and width but also the ability to move around. I have owned and again looked at several different aluminum johnboats, but most were narrow or too large for my horsepower considerations. I finally decided on the Ranger 168.

 

When I began to rig out the Ranger Banshee 168, there were a lot of considerations taken into account. First, I wanted my small boat to fish like my big one. I wanted the same features. I wanted a 24-volt Minn Kota Trolling Motor, the best electronics, the best pumps and switches, the best wiring and the best batteries, and I wanted the BEST on board charger at the best price. I wanted this boat to be as comfortable as my big one for good reason. I spend more time in it.

 

The Ranger Banshee is a fiberglass flats boat. I was converting it into a bass boat and because of the layout and width and 4-inch draft, it was perfect. It has an 84-inch beam and is a light 675 pounds dry. It has three storage compartments and was laid out perfectly for what I had in mind. With a little elbow grease and a some creativity, I had the exact boat for which I was shooting. Believe it or not, performance and comfort can be accomplished in a small boat.

 

Back to the charger. I looked at all of them and was torn between the Minn Kota, Guest and the Pro Mariner. I had always had Dual Pro chargers in my big boats, but I was looking for lightweight, four-battery capability, 12/24/36v, with self monitoring, and definitely wanted reliability and 100-percent waterproof functionality. It also was going under the back deck so being able to stand up to the elements was very high on my list. 

 

The first thing I did in my research was look at the specs and start reading other angler reviews on the internet. I went to Bass Boat Central, Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, and West Marine for these reviews. I found it interesting that Cabelas has a Pro Mariner Cabela's branded. That fact did positively impact my decision  To be honest, the reviews were a mixed bag. Some had glowing reviews and loved them while others were so-so on a recommendation. I tried to read between the lines on these reviews and really keyed on three items:

 

1. Was durability a concern? Would it hold up? 

 

2. What were the strengths? What were the reasons for dissatisfaction?

 

3. Were the good comments exceedingly good or just so-so?

 

Without minimal prior experience with either the Minn Kota, Guest or the Pro Mariner choosing between them was tougher. I had owned a Guest on another aluminum boat but only had it for a short time and it was on it as part of the package. I wanted to dig further. This is where the reviews paid dividends.

 

Based on those reviews, discussion with several boat dealers, and talking to a trusted friend in the boating business,  I decided on the Pro Mariner. Most all of the reviews had information that this was a durable unit and would do the job. Boaters like the automatic multi-stage charging, distributed on demand charge where the least charged battery gets the juice, the versatility of battery types including flooded(lead-acid) /STD AGM, GEL & High Performance(HP) AGM, and the fusable links to the batteries. All of these factors were important to me.

 

They also liked the LED display where at-a-glance status of: AC Power, Charge Mode, Battery Type, and Ready/Maintenance Mode was present. The negative comments were a bit of concern but most were cosmetic, size and color,  or price. This unit weighs 8 pounds.