I am contemplating the purchase of an Esquif Rangeley for fishing. I have an SOT that I also use. Was wondering if anyone in this community has any experience with one of these?
I haven’t used one, but I’ve seen them close up, and they are clearly within the family of old-style square-stern boats of decades gone by, which once were much more popular than today. I know I’d be happy with one. Here in Wisconsin, once you go up to the north woods, small boats like these are still relatively common. I would think that if a relatively portable little boat (no trailer needed, especially if you have a partner to help with cartopping), suitable for use with a small outboard is what you want, a Rangeley would be fine. Choosing boats like these isn’t rocket science. It’s more a matter of dimensions, weight, and your own ability to be comfortable in a boat that’s a far cry from those virtually navy-ship-sized craft being used by nearly all other motorboat fishermen these days.
Thanks for your comments, Guideboatguy. I have put a down payment on a Rangeley 15 for delivery after the first of the year. I had one of those larger “navy-ship-sized-craft” until recently. Found that was I was only using it 6 or 7 times a year. Except for two local lakes, all of my local lakes are electric only. I predominately flyfish and find line maintenance challenging on a kayak. Like many retired people, I remember using small rowboats to fish from in my youth. Increasingly over the last few years, I have been going to northern Ontario and Maine every summer and was looking for something light weight I could trailer up there. These are my reasons for searching out this type of craft. I had considered getting an Old Town Discovery Sport 15 but decided on the Rangeley after looking at one.