To tow or not to tow?

I've been pondering this question for quite a while. Am I missing out by not towing? Surely one of the great advantages of the Ranger tug is that it can be towed without permit but are there offsetting advantages by keeping the boat in the water? I thought I would post a few thoughts just for the sake of discussion.

All figures are quoted in Canadian dollars with my estimation of the conversion to US dollars in parenthesis.

I bought a 30 ft boathouse 8 Years Ago in Sidney, BC. It was supposed to be an investment at the time but presumably because of the financial crisis it promptly depreciated. At one point people were selling these for a dollar because nobody wanted to pay the moorage. Since that time they have rebounded nicely and I could sell for a little more than I paid. I did install an electric roller door with remote that cost me about $5,000 ($4,000) and was worth every cent. Maintenance has been negligible so let's say that my depreciation has been $5,000 ($4,000) over eight years, let's say $650 (520) per year including the fee for me to hook up to electricity. Moorage costs me $5,000 ($4,000) per year including free Wi-Fi, water, parking at the marina and use of their excellent facilities. Total costs $5,650 ($4,520) per year.

So how does $5,650 per year compare with owning and operating a truck and a trailer? I'm going to invite others to add some accurate numbers here since I don't have any actual experience. My guess is that a new F250 would cost approximately $50,000 ($40,000) and could be viewed to depreciate to zero over 10 years. That's about the same as I pay for moorage. We live in a place (Sidney) where we can enjoy walking to almost all destinations and only need one medium-size car [10,000 km/6300 miles] per year. The rest we do by public transit or bicycle. We actually could not park a truck in our garage and would therefore have to pay storage for both it and the trailer ($2,000/$1,600 per year??). Most likely it would become an "additional vehicle". What does a trailer cost? Do they depreciate? How about insurance, fuel etc.? What should I be adding in to the equation?

From an operating perspective I've just seen some comments about the cost of cleaning and polishing. This I do myself or with the help of a good friend. Thinking more of the Venture I have usually hauled the boat once a year to service the motors and while I've been doing that my friend has put a coat of wax on the hull. I did the same to the Tug when I hauled it last summer to change the zincs. No need to polish before waxing since the boat is out of sunlight and I rinse off the hull with salt away after use. For the topsides I have typically done a polish/wax over the winter every two or three years. The boathouse also means no daylight under the boat so bottom paint easily lasts three seasons and if it gets a bit thin there is no growth in any case. The exception is slime in the stern area where daylight comes under the door but that is minimal and easily blown off with a pressure washer.

When I get down to the boathouse I start the engine, disconnect the AC and cast off four lines [and one heavy-duty bungee cord that keeps the boat centred] before being ready to go. As long as I remember that the mast and radio antenna have to be raised after leaving the boathouse and [more importantly] lowered before reentering departure is relatively stress-free. Most of the time I am out cruising single-handed and I always make a point of taking a trip at least every two weeks during the winter. Spring/summer/fall as we all know is great for cruising but I am limited somewhat since I am not towing. Really I am restricted to the Gulf Islands, lower mainland around Vancouver [not so interesting for me] as well as the San Juan Islands and down into Puget Sound. Obviously if I were towing the boat I could go further afield so that's a real negative. I could also use the tug for "boat camping" if I had a tow vehicle and trailer which is another disadvantage.

Every boat is a compromise and so is the way that we choose to use our toys. I have obviously chosen not to have a truck and trailer and so I am somewhat tending towards moorage as the right choice for me. Others will have chosen the different choice and I'm sure will be absolutely convinced that theirs is the right one and that they have so many more advantages. Both choices are absolutely fine and perfect for some . My objective here is NOT to have fierce disagreements but rather a friendly discussion.

Was that last comment about being limited in cruising areas just tongue-in-cheek??

Your RT-25 is capable of the whole inside passage without being towed anywhere!

You can cover more distance in less time, and burning less fuel by towing. That being said however, I found I use the boat more when I can just step aboard, crank it up, and go. Driving to the boat launch, putting the boat in the water, hauling it out later, is just more trouble. If I lived inland I would want a trailer, but here in the Pacific Northwest we have such a vast cruising area open to us that I just don't see the need.

I don’t think it is as simple as just comparing the costs. It’s apples to oranges.

Convenience has value. As Brad says, it is worth something ( I think a lot!) to have the convenience to just go so quickly from the dock.

Maintenace costs are also hard to compare. On the trailer the boat will have less bottom maintenance costs but wear due to the weather if not in a garage.

In our case we have chosen a cross between the two options. Lease a covered slip in the spring/summer/fall and then on the trailer in the garage in the winter for maintenance and moorage savings. I don’t own a truck and just borrow one twice a year to launch and retrieve. This Arrangement works for us. If I were in your situation I would go the route you have. If you want to cruise areas only accessible by trailer you could buy the truck and trailer, travel boat for a year or two and then sell when you are done.

Back to the economics of a truck. If you already have one or need one for your job there’s really no incremental cost for using it to tow your boat occasionally. I spent about $3,000 getting my truck properly equiped to up its towing capacity but find that extra-heavy duty suspension comes in handy for moving rolls of sod, wet firewood and other heavy loads in the truck bed. My incremental costs to tow are really just my fuel costs and trailer maintenance expenses.
Off season maintenance is much easier with the boat in the driveway. And, it won’t sink while in the driveway! We save on slip costs and the avoid the effects of salt water (on zinks, etc.) most of the year.
Finally, because we live in Oregon, we keep it out of WA state (where we launch from to get to Canadian waters) almost the whole year and avoid those exorbitant WA state sales taxes and registration fees.
Even with all the issues with towing I’m pretty sure we save $$$ by doing it!

We all have different desires. We live in a sub-tropical climate, on a canal, with a dock just steps from our door. We bought that property because of the immediate access to the boat. While our water is warmer, the sandy beaches are beautiful, and we can comfortably boat year 'round, we do not have the unlimited cruising opportunities like in the Pacific Northwest.

Towing gives one the opportunity to experience cruising far beyond our local waters without the tedious or beyond-range stretches. Coast-to-coast-to-coast cruising opportunities abound for those willing to tow. The years we spent towing/cruising are priceless... the PNW, the Florida Keys, San Francisco/Delta area, Lake Powell, the Gulf Coast, Lake Tahoe... and that was just the first year. 😉

The experience and memories are priceless, but there is the expense of a proper tow vehicle. I totally get both sides on this discussion, but trailerable was first on our list when boat shopping at the time. We enjoyed having and driving a comfortable diesel truck for a decade, too. It also did duty hauling a 5th wheel RV when we decided to do more land traveling again.

You do what works for your situation and desires. Enjoy!

For us, we wanted a boat we could tow. We already had a tow truck, use it for towing the trailer for our tractor, our utility trailer and for plowing snow. It is going to cost about $150 for parts to upgrade the towing capability to handle the 27OB we are getting. (New ball mount and ball) We are 3 miles from a ramp to put our boat in the ocean. But, we also wanted to take the boat to the numerous lakes here in New England. We want to take the boat to North Carolina when we go to visit the grandkids. It is much faster and easier to hitch up the trailer and go, rather than motoring all the way down there. At this point in our lives we just don't have the time to spend boating all the way to NC. Although that is on our list of things to do once we both retire. We want to go to a rendezvous in Canada. It will take about 10 hrs of driving or about 8 days to get there by boat. I have also discovered it looks like insurance will cost about 1/2 keeping the boat on a trailer rather than at a marina. If we had property on the water with our own dock, then it would be a different story. But that will have to wait until I hit the lottery.

I would have to echo what the others have already said; towing or not is a personal choice based on your own situation. We are 100 miles from the Alaska coast, and within a couple hours drive of numerous large lakes, so towing makes sense for us. We have the boat stored at home; easy maintenance and no moorage. We can run out to a lake for a day trip, weekend, or spend a week or two on a 100 km long lake if we want. And we have the option to tow to the coast and spend weeks on the Alaska coast, which we will do in the summer holidays.
We have always owned a truck for hauling our camper, firewood, or ATVs. Seven years ago we upgraded to a 2006 GMC 2500HD 4x4 with the 6.6L Duramax diesel and 6-speed Alison transmission. We picked it up at a lot for $17k and couldn't be happier. Regular maintenance, some new tires, an upgraded hitch and electric trailer brake controller are really all we've spent on it.
Our plan will be to retire to Vancouver Island in a couple years, and then things may change. If we don't have parking space, but are close to lots of marinas, we may end up opting for the moorage instead. Or we may enjoy "boater homing" across North America. Who knows. Nice to have options. Every marina has a boat ramp, so we can still go where the marina boats go, with the option to pop it in the lake or go travelling. That's why we bought into the Trailerable Trawler lifestyle.

Hello everyone. I'm glad I was able to prompt some interesting discussion. Although most of the views were what could be expected it has been interesting so far to read the experience of others.

To Spinner: it is true that I have the whole inside passage in front of me but, as I mentioned, I tend to take shorter cruises [maybe a week] as I don't like to leave my better half at home pining for my return 😉 for too long. Though it's only a one-day trip up to Nanaimo and I have good opportunities beyond that I would obviously have much more range if I towed the boat up to Port Hardy and launched from there. I do agree though, I have one of the best cruising grounds in the world right on my doorstep with very little limitation.

To Brad Owens: we agree! That's particularly the case during the late fall and winter months when a nice clear crisp day presents an opportunity for a spectacular cruise of a couple of hours.

To Red Raven: you seem to have an excellent arrangement. The covered slip will certainly reduce significantly the amount of damage done by the summer sun and our flying friends and you don't have the expense of a truck. A really great compromise.

To scross: when we lived in Maryland I used to have similar needs in terms of roles of sod, wet firewood etc. etc. and we had the acreage to store the boats and trailers so we went the same way except we used a utility trailer for the heavy loads and stored that as well. It's great if you have the space and the requirements. Now we have changed and have neither. I'm not so sure about whether I should be worrying too much about the boat sinking. For sure I close the seacock if I'm leaving it for some time but the history of boat sinking in our Marina is short. Being permanently plugged into shore power gives a little confidence that the bilge pump will keep going for a while and I visit every couple of days. We are in something of a hot Marina and I have had to change zincs after a year but I'm hoping the recent installation of a galvanic isolator will help in that regard. Off-season maintenance is actually remarkably easy with the boat in the boathouse. A great day can be had tinkering with some music in the background while it is raining cats and dogs outside. All circumstances are different.

To James TX SD: your adventures are well documented and mind blowing! We have never had the urge to do the coast to coast to coast cruising that you have documented so well. I do understand about the dock being convenient. When we were in Maryland on the Chester River it was really easy to walk down the dock and board the boat on the lift. No need to even undo dock lines before dropping it into the water. The boat did, however, take a real beating from that sunshine and needed polishing a little more often than every two or three years.

To everyone else: I think what we have discovered is that everyone has their own needs, limitations and desires and have adapted accordingly. Isn't it just great that we are even able to get out on the water and enjoy this spectacular pastime?

A good quality 2500 truck, particularly a diesel will not be worth zero in 10 years. I doubt you will beat it to death. It may be worth 50 cents on the dollar in 10 years, but a nice truck will be worth a bunch at 20 years if well maintained. I bought my Dodge diesel in 2007 at 1 year old and 35000 on the odometer. It cost 25 grand. Now, 10 years later with 170000 on the odometer, it still books at 23000 in good condition. We use it for travel unloaded as well as towing our Tug or a Travel trailer. Basically flat depreciation. It makes a good second "car."

There has been a great exchange of thoughts here on "to tow or not to tow". In my opinion there is no right or wrong, good or bad as it relates to towing or not to tow. It really gets down to what works best for the individual/family. We bought and used an R27 for the specific reason of trailering to places we had not boated or places we had boated but wanted to return to, trailering made this possible for us.....it fit our needs and desire to explore. Now that we have an R29S we're still trailering however because of the "oversize load" permits and restrictions we'll not trailer as free wheeling as we had with the R27. With that said we don't get to excited about spending the winter months being boatless in the frozen tundra of northern Michigan so we trailer Kismet to Florida, it's nice to have options. Besides we have the option to trailer back to the PNW in a year or so for another stretch of cruising.....not right or wrong, it just fits who we are as boaters. Make it work for you, the way you want is what is most important.

Jim F

Another option would be to buy a trailer and then pay a commercial boat mover to haul your boat up to Port McNeil and launch it. Put it at the dock at North Island Marina for the summer, and commute by car from Sidney to your boat. You can then take 1 or 2 week trips into the Broughton Islands area and still get home in between. North island Marina has several customers who leave their boats there for the summer and commute.

The boat could be stored on the trailer for the winter, or returned to the boathouse. Perhaps you could rent out your boathouse for the summer. A trailer alone is much cheaper to buy and maintain than a combo truck/trailer.

Agreed with the many previous comments that, just as every boat represents certain compromises, so does whether to tow or moor. Each individual puts value on different aspects.

For us, like Red Raven, we built a custom boat garage and the ability to tow (and store our R27 at home) was #1 on our list of criteria. Some can relate to our rationale; but some of our rationale is likely unique to our needs:
1. We previously both towed and moored different boats, and the added cost and wear on the boat from mooring was something we absolutely wanted to avoid. We took it the next step to build a garage, and our 2013 still looks new and I’m yet to even apply the first waxing/buffing.
2. We live in Anacortes, so towing is not so much to access great areas to boat (we’re spoiled with the San Juans, Canadian Gulf Islands, and entire Inside Passage at our disposal) but rather a means to boat more economically. That said, we have family who live on Lake Chelan (Eastern Washington) and also Lake Coeure d’Alene (further East in Idaho), so while towing to distant areas away from prime NW boating, we may take advantage of our mobility by planning future trips to one or the other. Without truck or trailer, I would not have this option.
3. A very nice, easily-accessed, safe, and uncrowded boat launch (Cornet Bay) is just 5 miles away. We can load up Seaquel in our driveway (much easier than hauling gear/food up/down ramps at the marina) and be launched IN THE WATER in just 20 minutes from leaving our driveway. For most, mooring is more convenient (and comes with added costs and harsher environment on the boat), but hard to beat prepping our boat in the garage and being launched so easily and quickly.
4. Cost savings are significant: we save not just on moorage, but insurance, and maintenance. Yes, we spent a bundle on the garage, but we added to our home value by doing so and eventually get that cost back as home equity when we eventually sell.
5. The truck does not have to break the bank! We have a perfect tow vehicle in our Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Mega Cab, which is diesel and pulls our R27 effortlessly. Oh, it is a dozen years old, has a couple hundred thousand miles on it, and we bought it used 2 years ago for a fraction of the price for new. A round-trip launch is just 10 miles, so my truck is not being asked to continue to pile up high mileage. I’ve never understood why folks figure they need to spend $50K to $80K on a truck. That’s if you want a NEW truck, but if you want a serviceable tow vehicle, go used and put your money into the heavier chassis, diesel torque, and 4x4.
6. Having a truck is also multipurpose: we don’t use the truck for commuting, but it is very handy for hauling waste to the dump, getting firewood, or just helping our kids when they are moving furniture, etc.
7. Because we trailer, the majority of fueling is done on the hard, so we not only pay far less at the pump than at a marina; but we also claim for a tax refund because even though a service station is cheaper than a marina, the pump price includes a healthy road tax that we get refunded as this does not apply to fuel for boats. Once per year I get a nice rebate check from Uncle Sam, kinda like another Christmas!
8. We bring our disabled daughter, Nicole, with us on most trips. Getting her on board is more work than actually launching the boat, so we very rarely use the boat for just a day or even a short weekend trip. Most of our trips are at least 3 or 4 days, and often 1 or 2 weeks. So running down to the marina for a quick spin is not on our boating agenda. However, at Cornet Bay one can moor on the docks as part of the State Park program (just like mooring balls and other State Park docks like those found at Sucia or Jones Islands). So if our other kids/grandkids are coming to visit, sometimes we will leave Seaquel moored for those occasional day trips.
9. Lastly, by towing (and having a garage), I sleep easier at night when the temps drop in the Winter, or the Fall winds blow, knowing that Seaquel is safe and sound, tucked into her heated garage. Also allows for easy access for year-round projects as we continue to customize around our unique needs and dreams.
For all of these reasons, at least for us, towing makes practical and economical sense.

Wow, I'm new to this community and never realized 'to tow or not to tow' would be an issue. The ability to personally tow a quality livaboard boat was a crucial part in our decision to also invest in an R25sc. IMO If the economic decisions of others is even a question, maybe you should sell the Ranger, buy a touring yak and a roof rack.

Bigsky":2mgerb34 said:

Wow, I'm new to this community and never realized 'to tow or not to tow' would be an issue. The ability to personally tow a quality livaboard boat was a crucial part in our decision to also invest in an R25sc. IMO If the economic decisions of others is even a question, maybe you should sell the Ranger, buy a touring yak and a roof rack.

Click to expand...

I didn’t intend to start an “issue” but simply a discussion. Costs are only a small part of the question but I think an interesting part. I’ve heard some good ideas such as mooring part of the year and trailer storing during the winter, using the park docks for overnights etc. For sure personal preference and practicality will finally decide how we boat. For me having a boathouse is the game changer. I don’t have to polish/wax or paint the bottom so often. I can quickly take a winter cruise and have a dry closed space for maintenance and just ‘messing about ‘ on the boat. I have no idea where I would put all the spare genders, lines, liquids, dinghy and mounds of incredibly useful (in my mind) stuff I have accumulated. I recognize that I am missing out on some things.

Sorry if others see this as any sort of argument. That wasn’t the intention.

Chimo:
I did not take this as an argument or an issue; just a friendly exchange of ideas and opinions. That's what why we are Tugnuts...to share information and ideas. Some I may not agree with, but many others have prompted those "I Never Thought of That" moments.
It's all good! 😀

Ron, you are right. Chimo, I apologize if I was a bit pointed in response to your discussion. Guess I'm still trying to justify the route we've chosen to enjoy this substantial investment. Trailering (at least for now) is the only way we can make this work. Sitting here at -10 outside and a boat in storage may have made me a wee bit jealous of those who can pop on down for a cruise. Ron, I'll bet you can empathize with that one.

Bigsky, I now exactly how you feel. Every day I look over at out poor frozen tug sitting under her tarp shelter with temperatures down in the -20 to -30 Celsius; and I feel sad for her. But for us too it was the only way to make it work until we move south. So I putter with gear, do research, and spend my time here in Tugnuts till spring comes back. And keep reminding my self that its still way better than having no boat at all!

Bigsky. All good here. 🙂

Hey Ron and Chimo, thanks for the support. It finally warmed up today (18 F) so I got down to the boat for a 2 hr charge. My goto friend here (an old school sailor) convinced me not to yank the batteries provided I can get them plugged in a couple times/week. John says "ya just gotta show'em some love". I finished a flip down footrest for the 1st mate station and working on a softer bedding project in the vberth. I'll post photos when I get my poop in a pile. I've learned from TugNuts that in order to enjoy the journey...the 1st mate had better be comfy. 😀 Hope to one day meet you guys over there.

Cheers, Bill