With their excellent fishability, shoal draft, and solid performance, bay boats became popular along the Gulf Coast over a decade ago. Since then we’ve seen a slow but steady encroachment by the bay boat design into our region. And it’s no wonder; as light tackle fishing has become more popular, boats appropriate to it have as well. The downside? Many bay boats simply don’t have the beef and brawn needed to take on a steep Chesapeake chop. Their low deadrise, light build, and minimal gunwale height adds up to a wet, bumpy ride when winds top 10 knots on the open Bay. So if the bay boat design is one you like, choose carefully. Fortunately, you do have plenty of boats to choose from. And one that should probably be on your must-see list is Ranger’s newest and biggest bay boat, the 2510 Bay Ranger. I had the chance to jump aboard one at the Miami boat show and drove it across a very bumpy Biscayne Bay.

Why all the bumps? Dozens of sea trials were taking place, all for the show and all at the same time in the same place. You know what that means: the washing machine effect. Steep boat wakes rolled back and forth in every direction on top of the wind-driven chop, and it was tough to run for more than 50 yards without getting hit from port, starboard, ahead, and astern. In other words, it was a magnificent opportunity to put this hull to a rough water test.

Time was limited, so I was not inclined to be gentle. I nailed the throttle at the end of the speed zone and opened up all 300 horses, courtesy of Yamaha. And if you trust me on nothing else, trust me on this: the 2510 blasted out of the hole like a bullet leaving a gun barrel. My head snapped back, and by the time I straightened it up we were on plane; less than half a minute later I was tweaking out the trim and the (standard, hydraulic) jack-plate to maximize speed. This wasn’t as easy as it sounds, because by the time we passed 40 miles per hour (which happens at around 4500 RPM), we were going airborne every few seconds as we careened from wave top to wave top. The bottom line? Running at the top-end of 50 miles per hour isn’t exactly comfortable, but it is do-able even in bumpy conditions.

The Bay Ranger has a relatively moderate transom deadrise of 14 degrees, pretty common for this type of boat (which usually ranges from 10 to 16 degrees). That’s one of the ways it attains its minimal draft and good performance and efficiency (best cruise, at 30 miles per hour, nets you a better-than-expected three and a half miles per gallon).

But that also means it needs to bull water out of the way, instead of splitting it. Ranger accomplishes this with construction as much as anything else. The 2510 is built with a foam-core stringer grid, high-density urethane core sandwiches, vacuum molding, and pultrusion. Put them all together, and the boat is exceedingly solid. When you slam into a wall of water, instead of feeling those painful vibrations that rattle up your spine, you feel a muted thud.

Such construction techniques don’t come cheap. The 2510 is in the upper third of the price range for bay boats its size (pricing starts at $71,000). But it does come well-equipped and ready to fish. The fishbox is a highlight, holding 320 quarts with a 120-quart cooler playing second string. That means you have enough fish-holding capacity to bag a black drum at Stone Rock, catch your limit of stripers, and toss in a mess of croaker as well. The leaning post livewell holds 40 gallons, and three tackle boxes, a washdown with a self-coiling hose compartment, a five-gallon bucket stowage compartment, and locking rodboxes are all integrated. If you don’t opt for the Power-Pole (bad move—light tackle anglers will love it), there’s an anchor locker with a Danforth in the bow.

Unlike most bay boats, the Ranger does have enough space in the console compartment to hold a head. I’m a skinny guy, and it was a tight fit; but hey, it’s there in case you need it. Another comfort boost comes from the aft deck, which incorporates flip-up seating. This may not be anything new for a bay boat, but what’s cool is the self-deploying arm rests that also swing up out of the deck. They make kicking back for a long cruise down the Chesapeake far more enjoyable.

Long cruises down the highway will also be pleasant, since Ranger packages it with a tandem-axel, torsion-suspension aluminum trailer. It’s a nice rig, with a swing-away tongue, LED lights, polished aluminum wheels, retractable tie-downs, hydraulic surge disc brakes, a center-swing jack stand, and oil-bath bearings.

Will you want to run the 2510 across the Bay when there are sustained winds of 20 knots? Nah. Will it be a good choice for cruising the family to Kent Narrows for brunch? Uh-uh. But if you’re looking for a light tackle fishing boat that can take on a lot more chop than the average bay boat yet still scoot through shallows from the Susquehanna Flats to the Tangier marshes, the Ranger 2510 Bay Ranger is going to whet your appetite. For fresh fish, that is.

LOA: 24'7"
Beam: 8'6"
Draft: 1'1" 
Displacement: 3050 pounds
Max HP: 300
Fuel Capacity: 97