Today I was at Bremerton Trawlerfest and had the opportunity to see/review the R-23 and the new 2018 R-27 side by side... well, actually one behind the other as they were tied up along the dock.
🙂
I had already had a good look at the R-23 at my Edmonds Marina... the owner of which was kind enough to show me around onboard and his experiences having owned/operated the R-23 for some 6 months.
The R-23 at Bremerton had only one real change to the one I had already seen and this was the new technique RT developed for attaching the kicker motor. No steel bracket is required and the swim step has been modified to accommodate the motor without the need for a steel bracket.
I went back and forth between the two boats to assemble legitimate differences in my mind that were important for my wife, me and family to enjoy. Being 100% caregiver for my wife I always need to keep her needs in mind as well as mine. It was tough as both boats are superb in their own right,
but in the end the new 2018 R-27 won the day. I sat down and placed my order for the new 2018 R-27 with Andrew and with no hesitation and much excitement at my decision. Hull color will be Midnight Blue with red pin stripe ... all very nautical, navy-like and Ranger Tug-like.
😀
The R-27 won the day because for me the following things were important/significant for me
1) Cockpit space having two double wide flip down seats with backrests. In addition, there's an option for a small refrigerator that resides in the forward port side of the cockpit. Not having this option then means improved/additional cockpit storage space. It also serves as an additional seat for the cockpit. If the refrigerator option is chosen than of course this lessens the burden on the cabin's refrigerator. It may also be useful for keeping freshly caught fish. For me, it serves as another place to maintain cooled fresh water bottles and other type drinks.
😉
2) Built-in transom removal electric grill with wind protection SS sides as well as a large SS surface behind it. Has a deep sink/bucket beneath it as well. When this grill is
all buttoned up you would be none the wiser as it becomes completely hidden.
3)
Larger full width canvas canopy extending from cabin
to transom.
4) Integrated cockpit table that services people on
both the flip down/up double wide seats.
5)
Stock downrigger plates along with special shelving for fishing gear on starboard side of cockpit.
6) Swim platform being an integral part of the boat's superstructure and not a bolt on is a good structural design IMO. This swim step platform is very substantial IMO and appealed to my engineering background. Being an integral part of the transom there are no supporting struts/rods beneath and no through hull bolts securing the support struts/rod ends. No underwater anodes needed for the supporting struts... GREAT. This eliminates the aspect of the supporting poles/struts and through hull bolts rusting/corroding over time, which was evident on my previous R-25 (Classic). The R-23 has the conventional bolted on swim step platform.
7) Propane tank cabinet is an integral part of the transom rather than a rear swim-platform mounted cabinet. It's on the port side of the transom and has more room than necessary for the single tank inside. With the cabinet's lid closed there's a matching colored cushion that sits on top making a nice rear facing seat for a person to enjoy the rear views.
8) Hidden ski tow pole. This is easily released and raises up with its top end well above the Yamaha's engine cowling height. This is one item I will not mention to my grandkids... at least not for a year or two from now.
😉 With this pole deployed I found it very useful as a grab bar as I traversed back and forth and side to side on the swim platform in front of the Yamaha engine.
9) Studying the cockpit it was easy to envision 6 to 7 people sitting and all enjoying the cockpit space with room to spare.
10) Storage space below the cockpit floor was
very very generous. In fact the center storage can easily accommodate my wife's transport wheelchair when folded up.
😎
11) Cabin layout is flipped port to starboard compared to the R-23. That is, the galley is on port side of cabin and abuts to the cabin's rear wall. Port side Nav seat is a single seat with a fold out facing teak table (wasn't present on the show boat).
12) Helm seat is double wide with foot rests for two people. It can be moved/slid fore and aft, and flipped to face the dinette table.
13) The helm console was a complete redesign and very sensibly laid out IMO and it impressed me with all the easy to reach displays and switches.
It simply wants you to sit in front of it and take control of the boat (ha ha). The console is not simulated-leather faced but has a very nice mocha-colored backing which I found very attractive and yummy looking, blended nicely with all the stuff mounted on it and geometrically placed well, and was non glaring and smooth to touch. There are two vents on/near the console; one in top right hand corner and another on the shelf at top right of the console. These provide warmed air from the Webasto furnace or fresh air and have directional flaps for directing the air flow. Sitting at the helm it was nice to feel the fresh air flowing around my face. These air vents can be used to warm the Captain and/or defog windows - a nice touch IMO. The Webasto furnace routes warmed air to the foot of the helm position and into the V-berth on starboard side.
13a) Compared to the R-23, the new 2018 R-27 comes
stock with a larger Chartplotter screen and the useful and wanted AIS 300.
🙂
14) The dinette table hinges up on its gangway facing edge (much like for other RT models, but not on the R-23). This effectively allows more gangway width for two people wanting to pass each other as well as providing cup holders and useful grab bars when raised and noted by Jeff Messmer in several of his boat videos.
🙂
15) Port side Propane two burner stove with oven, adjacent sink and stacks of counter space extending to the port-side Nav seat folded forward.
16)
Moving to the V-berth area; it's more like a forward saloon IMO and artfully designed. There are significant and useful changes in the R-27 compared to the R-23; Clothes hanging open closet, TV/DVD that can swing between facing the V-berth and the cabin, storage draws and shelves on port side and opposite the head, super large private head enclosure with electric flush head on starboard side (my wife has Parkinson's and her balance and hands are really wonky so things have to be very easy for her.... I will need to install a grab bar to one side so she can steady herself (maybe I can convince/persuade Andrew to add this during the boats assembly
😉 ), fixed piston pole supporting center table that lowers easily to increase the V-berth bedding surface and in its raised position allows 4 people to sit around it for conversation, card/game playing and whatever, well thought out V-berth bedding cushions that are VERY easy to lift and turn to gain access to the storage areas on port and starboard sides, both V-berths are long enough for tall people IMO, and a single over head hatch (R-23 has two) which is designed to allow/accommodate the sun-loving people on a double wide lounging chair with provided cushions that can be raised on the foredeck easily - a well thought out and cleverly designed addition IMO.
On the R-23 there are two very large anchor lockers; one on both port and starboard sides. On the new 2018 R-27 there's only one anchor locker on port side. This allows the starboard side V-berth to have a better head clearance at the bow end and overall length that unfortunately is shortened due to the location of the head enclosure. This is just another example of RT's careful planning IMO.
The new 2018 R-27's V-Berth saloon area will allow my wife to bed down in comfort. On our R-25 (Classic) and especially on our current R-21EC it's simply not possible for my wife, given her condition and my 100% attention to her, to find the V-berth areas comfortable, along with the head arrangements. As my wife's Parkinson's progressed we found that when stopping at a remote destination it was important for me to secure land accommodations in hotels/motels/rented apartments for her to spend the night at. This carried an increased cost beyond just operating the boat. I believe the new 2018 R-27 will avoid the extra cost and allow us to enjoy the boating life more so. We are both intent on making the best of our situation. The extra storage the new 2018 R-27 offers will allow easier storage for my wife's transport wheelchair as well. Not having to always find a port that has adjacent land accommodations will allow us to visit more locations as well.
16a) The large mirror in the head enclosure that is positioned high on the aft wall I assume can be easily removed to gain access to all the wiring and some fuses behind the helm console. I gently pulled on this mirror but stopped as I did not want to get into a situation that I could not reverse...
😉 The mirror did seem to not resist being pulled out slightly.
17)
All the filling/vent ports and drain ports are are on the starboard side.
This includes the filling port for the Webasto furnace's diesel tank (which Andrew said is 5 gallons vs. 3 gallons on the R-23). The R-23's tank filling port being on the port side makes for awkward filling when having a starboard tie at the dock, which is typically my preference.
18)
150 gallon fuel tank (2x that for the R-23)
19) I've opted for the kicker motor for my new R-27. Its steering is different from what is offered on the R-23. The R-23's kicker steering is controlled wirelessly and the kicker motor has a large white-looking box on its starboard side. For the R-27, the kicker motor will be closer to the main Yamaha engine and the resulting space too little to accommodate the wireless white box. The RT solution is for the kicker motor steering to be controlled with the helm wheel and with the Autopilot feature and an App on the iPhone can be controlled with the phone as well.
20) Trim tabs: Andrew mentioned that when the engine is turned off the trim tabs automatically return to full up position - a nice feature IMO. I don't know if this same feature is available on the R-23 also.
Also, as far as the trim tabs being in the way of the swim ladder (as reported elsewhere for the early R-23 productions), there's no concern as the swim ladder is located on the aft of the swim platform rather than on its starboard side. This ladder positioning is done primarily to provide better assistance to the returning swimmer and the location of the SS rail aligned to the starboard side of the platform.
21) Tender, dinghy issue: Of course there's the overhead luggage rack/bars for holding say a kayak (as shown in the photos below). Talking with Livingston about this there's some thought about engineering a special lift attached to rear of transom that would hold a tender/dinghy in a horizontal position and above the Yamaha engine cowling and low enough to not obstruct rear viewing. This lift would lower the dinghy across the engine cowling and place it flat down on the water behind the boat. I suspect RT will spend some time looking at this as a possible solution to address peoples concern about having a dinghy with the boat.
For me, I will quite likely go for a reasonably priced inflatable that can be stored in a bag and stowed away when not needed.
The above items are what I recall to steer me to favor the new 2018 R-27. Ranger Tugs has done a marvelous job with the new 2018 R-27 in many ways and what it offers in addition to the R-23 makes the new 2018 R-27 reasonably priced IMO. The boat has a hull length of 27-feet and with the engine platform/swim step goes to a little over 31-feet. Now add on the raised Yamaha engine for maybe another 2-feet and we get to some 33 feet.
😱
Andrew brought the R-27 to Bremerton and had taken a few short movies/photos during his trip (included in my photos link below). Viewing Andrew's movie showed the engine noise to be minimal and much much less than for the inboard diesel engines, rear view was awesome and a top speed of around 41 mph was mentioned (and is shown in the photos link below being displayed). Andrew started the Yamaha 300HP engine; after the initial
rumble there was essentially zero Db to be heard in the cabin with door and all windows open and no noticeable vibrations within the boat. When viewing the movies on Andrew's phone taken of the running boat the noise level was extremely low and I cannot image it will interfere with conversation in the cabin nor in/on the cockpit. On my R-25 (Classic) I had recorded Cabin dB vs. engine RPM, and it was very evident it had a very noisy environment. See below...
Noise level measurements
2010 R25 - Yanmar 4BY2-150
Mar 18, 2013
Calm and no wind
Cabin door closed
0 RPMs 50 dB
1000 RPMs 70 dB
1500 RPMs 75 dB
2000 RPMs 78 dB
2500 RPMs 83 dB (85dB door closed)
3000 RPMs 87dB
3500 RPMs 93 dB
4000 RPMs 95 dB
My wife is hard of hearing and wears Hearing Aids (HA) in both ears. On the R-25 (Classic) at cruise speed my wife sitting on the Nav seat simply could not hear me talk... I had to shout really really loudly, and of course this was distracting for me at times. Our solution to this was to replace the HAs with a new technology that employed Bluetooth (BT). Once these HA were
onboard so to speak and with a small Bluetooth Mic attached to my shirt we could communicate more easily and wife's BT HA actually was able to drown out the high dB in the cabin. This was also a useful solution when we were not in a clear line of sight with each other. Wife quickly learned to turn off the BT feature when retreating to the head. :lol:
My guess is that the interior cabin noise for this new 2018 R-27 will be in the 70 dB range for all engine RPMs... and easily so with windows and cabin door closed.
I captured around 100 photos and have placed them at the below link without any editing at this time. If you see something you don't understand or want more info/details then PM me and I'll do my best to answer your enquiries. You are welcomed to download any of the photos for your personal use.
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0iGqkRUiGrb911