Thinking about pulling the trigger on a Mamba 227 fx. Does anyone own one and if so how do you like it? Going to start fishing the bay system so getting rid of my bass boat. Can't decide between Mamba or rangers line. Any help is appreciated.

What do you mean by rangers line?

Its a cut down Blazer Bay. They have been popular with the go fast tournament guys.

Rangers bay boat. Like the 2510 are something along that line.

I like to go fast lol but any idea how it rides or fishes?

Don't own one but have been on a few. Yes they are fast. They ride nice and smooth. Not the most shallow boat esp getting up.

The guide we've been going with out of Clem's Marina (under the JFK) runs a Mamba 24 VX that he took delivery of a few months ago. It's his second. VERY nice, very fast (nice for land cut runs), and fishes well. I would take one in a heartbeat based on my trips with him in those boats. …don't know about the smaller VX or their cats first hand but I would be surprised if they're much different, performance-wise.

Aggie Hunter said:

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Thinking about pulling the trigger on a Mamba 227 fx. Does anyone own one and if so how do you like it? Going to start fishing the bay system so getting rid of my bass boat. Can't decide between Mamba or rangers line. Any help is appreciated.

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What bay system and how do you want to fish are critical questions here.

Ranger is no longer building the 2150 Center Console. The 2360 is the smallest. Comparing that style center console to the Mamba is really two horses of different colors entirely. They are two different hull types with very different capabilities and functionalities.

Mamba Boats is owned and operated by Jim Poole (Dad) and Jarrod Poole (Son). Jim Poole owned a Bass Tracker and Nitro Dealership for many years in the Dallas/Forth Worth area. When Bass Pro (Johnny Morris) built their locations in Dallas and Forth Worth they bought out Jim Poole's dealership and Jim and his son opened Waypoint Marine in Corpus.
In the last few years they brought out the Mamba Boat. It is a typical rolled gunnel/cap design with splatter coat floors and deck finish. It's a 22'7" boat that weighs 1650Lbs. Similar to style and weight of some other local/regional boats built along the Texas Coast of that similar design and use. I have known the Poole's for many years in the marine business and they have always been very good guys and have a good reputation. I don't think they would build a bad boat, would think a pretty good one.
I have not heard anything bad about Mamba boats. You need to first decide what type of hull you want and the needs of your fishing style.

Man that is some great information. I know nothing about bay boats because I have been a bass tournament guy for 14 years. I think a v hull is more my style. I wont be in the backwater much and Galveston bay system is a bigger system then most. I do want the ability to still bass fish and go to Rayburn when I want. I also want the ability to pull the kids on a tube or skiing at times. So I guess I am looking for the trifecta boat salt/bass/play!!!

What are the ones you recommend I look at for something like this.

The "Flats" style V-hulls are going to be your performance hulls like the Mamba you are looking at and other similar hull and interior designs of such. Other examples of very high quality boats of this similar nature would be the Shearwater X22 Hybrid the Sterling 220 XS, and the Bullet 220FS ….Sleek, fast, made for flats type fishing.

Nevermind. Missed your previous post that answered the questions I just posted.

One thing I'll add. If you're fishing Galveston, find a local dealer. I had a JH Outlaw out of Richmond and boat was on North Padre. It was a huge pain in the ass when I needed warranty work

FWIW- if you're wanting a bigger center console for the Galveston Bay system and still be functional for bass fishing or family rides you'll be hard-pressed to beat a Pathfinder. IMHO, they're the best production manufacturer out there. Or they were- their group was bought a few years ago and I forget who bought them but I haven't heard anything about their QC or anything dropping off.

Rode in one at boat show in the spring, seemed to handle well, ran faster than I care to go with the Merc racing 400. Seemed to take chop ok, seemed stable under power. Expensive as hell though but prob inline with all the custom boats these days. I think that all their molds burned up in a fire earlier this year or late last and that orders had been stacking up while they got re-tooled so lead times may be way out for a custom build. I will caution you if you do a custom build with Jared make sure to read the specs carefully, because we had a Dargel Kat built through them when they were still dealers. When pictures at factory started coming out, there were mistakes in color and in some
Of the details that we wanted, so had to have them corrected which added time to the build. The mixup was with the middle-man So be careful and bird dog the build.

I was told by them 6-7 months on a personal build

That's good, in the spring they were over a year. I guess they're back up n running.

Scott Diehl sold Maverick, Hewes, Pathfinder, Cobia, a few years back to a holding company. They now call it MBG. Scott no longer has any affiliation with them.
The brands have declined somewhat in market share and their old dealer network has gone through lots of changes. They really declined in the Florida market where they were very dominant.
I have heard complaints that the new company is not supporting older customers with parts and service on older boats.
They aren't showing up in market reports as new boat sales as often as in past years.
Compared to some brands on the market, imo, they are still a very decent boat, albeit they are not as hot of a product as they once were ….i think that has more to do with the marine industry as a whole being down coupled with they have a lot more boat brands building quality boats competing against them now.
I still think they build a viable product.

If I was buying a boat, I would definitely take up Gunny on his offer to talk it over. The man knows boats! And he is very fair-minded.

My only additional advice is post pics when you buy one.

I have a 227 Mamba with a 300R AMS. It's very smooth riding, fast and dry. It drafts a little more than my previous Majek Xtremes Most of the weight is in the back and that contributes to the draft, spray line and speed. The storage compartments under the front deck are awesome. My wife loves it and we'll never have another boat without shock wave seats. It seems to run a little skinnier than my extremes but takes a little more to get up.

The hull was originally the Fury made here in Corpus. The Poole's added a pad and stepped the hull.

The fit and finish is a little disappointing for what they cost. I would buy another one with a more thorough punch list.

Do you have the fx or vx and how long have you owned it? My biggest concern is resale.

Unless you just want to spend more money, take a look at express bay boats - great boats for half the price. I bought a bay hyperlift 8 years ago and it has been a care free boat with the Yamaha VMax SHO 115 HP. Have run it at 45+ which is way more than I need.
https://xpressboats.com/bay-boat/

.......bless your heart.....