Seeking to buy 19’ Sea Ranger Hard top

[Don Hynes]

I'm looking for a 19' Sea Ranger hard top with low motor hours. Not looking for a new boat as my budget is $20-30K.

[davidsea]

I'm looking for a 19' Sea Ranger hard top with low motor hours. Not looking for a new boat as my budget is $20-30K.

  Unless you find a really uninformed seller, a low-hour SR19 Hardtop for under $30K is going to need some money added to be a safe, reliable boat.  Finding one after the weather turns nice will make it even harder.  It would be helpful to know where you are and how far you're willing to travel to bring home a boat.    ( New ones are $70K and up.)

[Don Hynes]

You may be right but I'll keep looking. I'm in the San Juans and willing to travel, when I can, through the Puget Sound area.

[amazing grace]

I would agree with Davidsea. Finding a later model with a lower hour (under 500) in your budget will be tough. Maybe a soft top or possible skiptower. Maybe at the very top of your budget with patience you may find what you are looking for. Just be ready to pounce.

Fwiw, all of us that have what you are looking for have more into ours than your budget .
Good luck.

[headduck]

Scrub the hard top and grab the nearly new 19 softop that's listed for 27... it's a ridiculous deal... have off the hook make you a top after that... come out way ahead with much more boat for the $$... my 3 cents.

[Jamesonm]

Scrub the hard top and grab the nearly new 19 softop that's listed for 27... it's a ridiculous deal... have off the hook make you a top after that... come out way ahead with much more boat for the $$... my 3 cents.

Is the hull missing added reinforcement is it did not come out of the factory with a hard or skip top? I've read that it's not advisable to add extra weight as it's missing some production extras.

Cheers
J

[Don Hynes]

Thanks all. I'll look into the soft top.

[Don Hynes]

I looked for the 19 soft top for 27K but couldn't locate on the forum. Someone provide a link?

[longfield1]

Scrub the hard top and grab the nearly new 19 softop that's listed for 27... it's a ridiculous deal... have off the hook make you a top after that... come out way ahead with much more boat for the $$... my 3 cents.

Is the hull missing added reinforcement is it did not come out of the factory with a hard or skip top? I've read that it's not advisable to add extra weight as it's missing some production extras.

Cheers
J

The hardtop is extra weight that came from the factory. I built myself a pilot house that weighs the same as my skip top. It just moves the center of gravity of the boat forward which is hugely beneficial. The hull is the same for hardtops/skip tops/soft tops so its not  like a soft top Arima couldn't handle the weight of adding a Hard top.

[disposable]

arimas are known to pound in some conditions and most of the factory boats really want trim tabs if you'll ever encounter short-period swell. I'm not aware of any factory changes to the lower forms when they add the house or hardtop. as far as I can tell, the hull/deck/interior forms are the exact same on all their "top options". and like longfield says, I found that adding some weight in the front improved the ride tremendously for me. some folks believe that arima perfected the design  and they are best when they leave the factory, but some of us have found that a house (aka extra weight out front) improves the ride (in my case, a belly tank, too).

[headduck]

No extra structure. A bolt on in both cases. I have the skip and use the additional weight of the freshwater tank also.

The soft top is on craigslist.

[Jamesonm]

Scrub the hard top and grab the nearly new 19 softop that's listed for 27... it's a ridiculous deal... have off the hook make you a top after that... come out way ahead with much more boat for the $$... my 3 cents.

Is the hull missing added reinforcement is it did not come out of the factory with a hard or skip top? I've read that it's not advisable to add extra weight as it's missing some production extras.

Cheers
J

The hardtop is extra weight that came from the factory. I built myself a pilot house that weighs the same as my skip top. It just moves the center of gravity of the boat forward which is hugely beneficial. The hull is the same for hardtops/skip tops/soft tops so its not  like a soft top Arima couldn't handle the weight of adding a Hard top.

I'll try and find the info I dig up during my some of my earlier research that referenced the added reinforcement of some kind. Maybe Im mixing it up with something else... I can't remember if it was related to the factory only making a particular skip top on one of the models for a couple years prior to being discontinued. The supports, because of the pounding effect was affecting the integrity of how it was being supported and failures.

[disposable]

i've dug around the site pretty well but i'm sure some of the really old old-timers will correct me...

but as far as i know, the only common/frequent failures of the factory HT are the window frames, which loosen over time and will result in a wobbly HT roof (and in some extreme cases, window problems).

structurally speaking, arimas have a pretty good reputation, with minimal structural failures at all, for any factory configuration. all the starboard/wood paneling and various doors/lids can rattle like crazy, and those little screws come loose easily; microcracks are sometimes found in the gel coat at the deck corners; and some seat base deck screws have pulled/rotted out... there have been a few "fluke" problems with stringer separation, hull compression from trailer rollers, and least one hull failure from compression by the "toilet well" in the cuddy... but i consider these unique and incidental outliers, not really a configuration flaw.

as far as i can tell, aftermarket tops are not that common (pretty sure they're more rare than factory tops), but bolted or bonded, wood or glass or aluminum, i haven't heard of any structural issues that were clearly tied to their installation.