Ranger Boats for Sale

Forrest and Nina Wood

Forrest Wood and his wife Nina ran a fishing guide and float trip business on Bull Shoals Lake, the White River and Crooked Creek in the late 1950s. Wood started glassing the outside of wooden johnboats to stop leaks, and when the new dam lakes in north Arkansas opened up, he turned to building a proper lake fishing boat. In 1968 the couple built six boats in a building in downtown Flippin that is now City Hall. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas credits Wood as the creator of the modern bass boat, and says the name honors both the Army Rangers and the Texas Rangers.

Ranger is still headquartered in Flippin. In 2015 it joined White River Marine Group, part of Bass Pro Shops, which also owns Tracker, Nitro and Triton. Most new Rangers are rigged with Mercury outboards, but older boats carry Yamaha, Evinrude and others.

How the lineup breaks down

• Z-series fiberglass bass boats. The Z518, Z519, Z520 and Z521 are the core tournament boats. For 2025 Ranger dropped the Z519 and replaced it with an all-new Z519R. The "R" boats (Z519R, Z520R, Z521R) are the newer design; "Cup-Equipped" versions come with electronics packages that qualify for Ranger Cup tournament payouts.
• Z185, a smaller fiberglass bass boat for single anglers and small lakes.
• FS fish-and-ski, the 620FS, 621FS and 622FS Pro, for families who want to fish and pull a tube.
• MS multi-species boats such as the 1850MS and 2050MS, built for walleye and big water.
• RT aluminum boats, the RT188 and RT198 families, a cheaper way into a Ranger badge.
• Ranger also builds saltwater bay boats, waterfowl utility boats and pontoons.

When you read a used listing, the first digit or letter tells you the family and the rest tells you length class. A Z520 is about a 20-foot boat; a 621FS is a 21-foot fish-and-ski.

Before you buy a used Ranger

Run the hull ID and the engine serial. Bass boats are trailered constantly and stolen more than most. Make sure both numbers match the title and registration.

Transom and jack plate. Most Z-series boats run a big V6 or V8 outboard on a hydraulic jack plate. Check the bolts and the transom around them for stress cracks, and watch the transom for flex while someone trims the engine up and down.

Gelcoat on the pad and keel. Look at the running pad and the keel for deep scrapes and repairs. Tournament boats get beached and loaded fast at crowded ramps.

Hours and how they were put on. A tournament boat can rack up hundreds of hours a year at wide-open throttle. Ask whether it was fished in events and get the engine's service history and a dealer readout of hours and fault codes if it's a Mercury or Yamaha with that capability.

Electronics and wiring. Rangers often carry a lot of aftermarket electronics. Check that the wiring is neat and fused, the trolling motor batteries hold charge and the charger works. Newer boats use Ranger's Umbilical electronics harness; on older ones, see how much drilling the previous owner did.

Livewells and pumps. Run every pump: livewell fill and recirculating, aerators and bilge. On a sea trial, check that the hull stays dry and the boat runs straight at speed with the jack plate set.

Trailer. Ranger sells its boats on matched trailers. Look at the tires, bearings, bunks and brakes. A worn trailer is a cheap fix, but a trailer that doesn't fit the hull points to a swap.