Do Ranger Tugs come with a “Calm Seas” button?

Hi everyone,

I’m Jorge, and I’m new to TugNuts. I’m in Dana Point, CA, and I’ve been seriously looking at Ranger Tugs for a while now, particularly the R-25 and R-27.

At this point, I feel like I’ve watched just about every Ranger Tug video on YouTube but one thing I’m curious about though, is how different the Ranger Tug experience is here in Southern California. So many of the videos I see are from the PNW or Great Lakes, where they seem to be cruising through relatively protected waterways. Here in Dana Point, once you leave the harbor, you’re pretty much heading straight out into the Pacific.

For those who own Ranger Tugs in Southern California, what has your experience been like? Do the R-25/R-27 handle our typical coastal conditions well? Am I overthinking the difference between boating here versus the PNW?

Looking forward to being part of the community!


Jorge

The boats are pretty strong. It’s more about your personal comfort level.
In our R-25 Classic we occasionally were in solid 2 ft / 2 second seas. Not fun but not really uncomfortable. When they got over 2 ft we looked for closest shelter.
Our C-28 is a bit beefier. Seas of 2 ft / 2 seconds are ok. Not fun but ok. We have been once in unforcasted 4 ft / 2 second seas and it was VERY uncomfortable. By 4 ft I mean solid foot or more blue water over the bow and crashing hard on the windshield. My biggest concern was the windshield giving in. We could feel the boat flex fore and aft - which the factory later confirmed is by design. That 45 minutes did about $2,000 in damage to the boat and gear.
If you want to see what conditions are in the area you plan to operate, get the Windy app and check it frequently. If it consistently reports waves at or under 2ft / 2 seconds in your area you are probably ok.
I think all of have held in sheltered positions waiting for better weather. Or ran like hell to get to to safety ahead of bad weather. While cruising you need to be checking the weather (current and forecast) frequently.

PS Martin of Channel Surfing has a video of similar rough sea conditions on YouTube. I think it’s titled: “The Johnstone Strait Misjudgment”

Hi Jorge,
What is your intended use? I have a R-27 OB down in San Diego and don't have any problems in the ocean. I frequently take it out and it handles well as long as you adjust your speed accordingly. I've made two upgrades that help with larger seas. One is a 5 blade prop that allows me to stay on a plane at lower speeds to match the ocean conditions and the other is the SeaKeeper Ride trim tabs that help with the how the boat handles (e.g., reduced slamming and pounding), it automatically manages pitch, roll, and yaw. It's not a boat you can blast out to the fishing grounds at WOT in any conditions, but certainly a boat that is capable. I've made the round trip journey to Catalina from San Diego in less than ideal conditions with pretty sizable ground swell and wind chop. Feel free to reach out or come down and we can go for a ride.

Offshore is the same for all of us small boats. Watch the weather forecast, that's your limiting factor.

It's not even so much about what the boat(s) can handle. The USS Tinosa, SSN 606, pulling into the east side of Panama (to go through the ditch), we surfaced and were doing 45 degree rolls, port to starboard. Submarines are round bottom boats, not deep V. As a result, they are awful on the surface with bad seas. The big difference between then and now: Back then, I was being paid to endure 45 degree rolls. On Channel Surfing, I'm paying, instead of being paid, with the intention of relaxation and enjoyment with my family onboard. Therefore, the weather forecast is everything.

The R27 I feel is better suited over the R25 primarily because the R27 has a much larger fuel tank (99 gal vs 150 gal), and the R27 has more weight, with additional HP (300HP), all which help with the waves. This footage is all wind waves stacked close together. Off-shore swells we've also done, 4foot on 12 seconds. That's where the prop matters. The PowerTech Channel Surfing edition 5 blade prop picks up the stern of the boat and allows us to run autopilot at 15 mph, and remain on plane. Works great with off-shore swells.

This has some of the best footage of the R27 crashing through seas up to 4 foot.

Johnstone Strait in 2-4 foot seas.

Thanks for sharing the videos, at one point the sea state looked like Lake Erie, as we are new to the boat and power boats, we are cautious about plowing through the waves, not riding like our sailboat, or at the same speed!
This video helped our confidence level. Thanks for sharing!

As you may have already noticed, Martin and La Zina’s video content provides a wealth of information and perspective! Very much appreciated!

I have owned both a C28 (Volvo Penta) and a C32CB (Yamahas) and operated in the PNW, Florida/Bahamas, and Great Lakes. I've found that under 15 knots of wind is the go zone, 15-20 kts is the yellow zone, 20+ knots is the no go zone. Wind waves dominate experience for a planing hull.

In the yellow zone, if it is a tail wind you can go, if it is a head or beam wind it's no go. 10-15 kts head wind is somewhat uncomfortable but doable.

Obviously special circumstances like the gulf stream current crossing rules off Florida apply.

These boats are great at what they are (affordable relative to the competition, trailerable, usable) - but the biggest drawback at least for the Cutwaters is that you really can't go slower than about 20 knots, or on my C32 really about 22-24 knots, so when the going gets rough you can't slow down much unless you want to wallow at 6 knots.

My next boat is going to be a semi displacement hull with stabilizers because I have found that when cruising, that 10-20 knot zone is about 50% of the days. 🙂

My experience with the R25 and R27 mirror what others have said. We chose the 27 because it was better mannered than the 25 in rough chop. Also know your own tolerance and seamanship. As Armor indicates, there are easy days, and dicey days, and wind driven chop is rougher than long period swells . As Martin has indicated, 15 MPH is a good "slow" speed - the ride is more comfortable, but you're still getting some dynamic stability from the hull. We've often had to drop down to that speed when the weather kicks up. The difference with an R27 and the stock prop is fuel economy drops significantly, the 5 blade overcomes that impact.

A&Etug said:

Thanks for sharing the videos, at one point the sea state looked like Lake Erie, as we are new to the boat and power boats, we are cautious about plowing through the waves, not riding like our sailboat, or at the same speed!

Click to expand...

The footage in those videos is from Johnstone Strait (British Columbia, Canada), Clarence Strait (just north of Ketchikan, Alaska), and Seymour Narrows (British Columbia, Canada).

On a power boat, it's easier to head into the waves than have a following sea in my opinion. Keep the bow up, on the up-hill side of every wave and Channel Surf it! (Ha!) The worst thing to happen is a following wave from the stern pushes the bow of the boat into the bottom of the wave in front, which can submerge the front of the boat entirely.

I very much prefer heading into the wind and the waves than a bad following sea.

Bad seas will also burn a lot of gas. I usually see about 1mpg when crashing through the waves (I'm usually at 1.7mpg).