family values

I was recently involved in a series of emails with a guy looking for a 680t.  We found a boat for him to look at and everything looked great but he expressed some concern about the Shorelander trailer under the rig.  The asking price of the boat for sale was reasonable enough and I assured him it was worth the price, but he was wondering if the rig was worth less due to it not having the original RangerTrail. 

This opened up a whole new can of worms, and I felt it might be worth mentioning on the blog to try to explain it to the 680tiller.com family and friends.  The general rule of "it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it" definitely applies to the 680t/681t boats.  I have several car collector friends and a lot of parallels can be drawn between their hobby and ours. 

I have yet to meet or talk to anyone that is/has bought a classic Ranger tiller strictly as a collector piece.  In many peoples eyes this would be acceptable (guilty here) but the main reason they are so highly sought after is the form and function.  When the value of a boat & trailer is in question, then the fine-line between buying the unit to use, or purchasing an investment, gets a little blurry.  Will resale value be affected by the lack of a RangerTrail trailer?  Probably, a little...depending...I guess, on the buyer.  Does the RangerTrail track and tow better than any aftermarket trailer?  Yup, undoubtedly.  A trailer that is specifically built to mate the boat that sits on it will treat you better than a generic trailer built for every boat.  I've had friends that have upgraded their aftermarket trailers to a RangerTrail and couldn't believe the difference. 

As it is with many things in life, it all comes down to personal preference (and that's about as philosophical as I'll ever get on this blog).  Would I buy a 680t on an aftermarket trailer?  Maybe, if the boat were in great condition and was rigged the way I wanted, or if it were an unusual color combo.  With that said, I would also keep my eye on the Internet to try and find a RangerTrail to rest the boat on eventually...just my personal preference.