A tug on my mind

[Chimoii]

After years of being a Boston Whaler believer (3 - 2 power and 1 sail) in the Chespeake we have returned to the Pacific Northwest and left all the floating toys behind. Looking now at a new toy to explore the Gulf Islands and the Ranger seems to be ideal. I spotted a couple of used 21 boats around. The most recent is a 2005 which is obviously not the EC era. Some advice please.

How do I find out what is a good price for a 2005?

Is the original 21 going to be all right for a day/picnic boat or should I save my cents until I can afford the EC?

I will obviously get a survey before I buy a boat but are there any particular points I should be looking out for?

Again, I will obviously take a seat trial before buying but just looking at the hull form it strikes me that I might be in for a fair amount of rolling under way. There also doesn't seem to be much freeboard aft. Is there much problem with taking water in rough weather? How well does the self bailing work?

I could imagine that I will get lots of very positive comments about the 21. Those are given 🙂 What would probably be most helpful would be a list of the negatives.

Any advice would sincerely be appreciated

Chimo

 

[captain's cat]

If you've had/know boats pretty well, for a 21, I'd get advice here and save the several hundred $$ it would cost for a survey. Unless the boat is in questionable condition for either the hull or the engine (sea trial it), look it over good out of the water. If it looks OK and you can afford it, have fun! You might ask for an engine oil change and look at what comes out, other than that, you should be able to SEE what's wrong without paying an expert for a little boat.

If you were buying a wooden hulled larger boat over 30 feet long, definitely go for a survey. For a 21 or 21 EC, don't spend the bucks! IMHO, 2cents worth....

Charlie

 

[Texas Steve]

My impression is that, if you're looking for comfort for two, you might want to go for the EC. I concur with previous remarks regarding any obvious problems... visual inspection, change the oil, take her for a run and you should know all you need to know. The boat design will cause you to take water over the rail. I don't personally have a back up to the self bailing system, but you will see that others have done a redundant system for safety's sake. Side roll can be very unpleasant, so I've learned to quarter into or adjust throttle to run before the sea... requires some sailing concepts, but you will get there safely. These boats run forever on 18 gallons of diesel, but you have to understand that you won't ever get anywhere in a hurry. There is a lot of good engineering and thought that went into the design of these tugs!

Texas Steve

 

[ron cowan]

You should go to the C-Brat forum and to the forums and read all under the Ranger all the time forum. I love my 2006 Ranger Tug (prior to the EC) for a day boat with my wife. The comment on speed is the only negative that I have but that is the design and I knew that upon purchase. Boats must be the world's greatest compromise and you get one thing to give up another. Your intended use should be the driving force in selection and a lot of thought should go into that before purchase. The C-Brat forum existed long before The Tugnuts and Ranger owners were allowed in while Ranger and C-Dory had a sales association. It has a lot of good discussion and information you will enjoy. In an earlier post in Tugnuts I referenced an issue related to getting to the bilge pump and stuffing box on the prior to EC models but solved that with a battery relocation. Since I am an inland water cruiser I can't speak to the sea roll but know it is better to take large wakes from other boats on the quarter. After reading the other forum, if you have specific questions please bring them up or PM me. Ron

 

[captain's cat]

You should go to the C-Brat forum and to the forums and read all under the Ranger all the time forum. The C-Brat forum existed long before The Tugnuts and Ranger owners were allowed in while Ranger and C-Dory had a sales association. It has a lot of good discussion and information you will enjoy. Ron

Ron, you're still "allowed in" and are most welcome to the C-Brats,as is everyone! I recommended some time ago that that thread on Rangers be moved over here for convenience. Our site (C-Brats) will be upgraded shortly and maybe they'll do the move after that. I'm sure our nerds are very busy with the transition to the new site right now! I enjoy both sites and am eyeing both the R25 and R29. It'll be hard to give up my TC255 but who knows!! :?: I'll be at the VIP nite for SBS09 and at the show too! Hope to see you all there!

Charlie

 

[Chimoii]

Many thanks for the good advice. I guess it was fairly obvious that we need to take a 21 out for a ride and put it through its paces. If my wife and I both like it then we can go from there.

Any thoughts on a good price for a 2005?

Thanks again

 

[Tom Ray]

How well does the self bailing work?

The cockpit is not self bailing. It drains to the bilge, and is pumped overboard by the bilge pump.

 

[Chimoii]

Thanks for that tip. I have been spoiled by Boston Whaler in the past (fully swamped 13 drains nicely if you put her in gear) but do realize I am changing lifestyle. A good capacity bilge pump should be OK.

 

[Chimoii]

OK folks. The weather smiled and my wife and I went out to take a look at a beautiful 2005 on sale for a very reasonable price in Sidney, BC (33K Canadian). We had the idea to do a sea trial but a serious thought about space and usage brought us to the conclusion that we needed a bit more (different) boat. This little lady is as cute as heck but I can't picture the two of us stuffed in that cabin. This is a pre-EC model and it's very easy to see why the extension is necessary.

Now I've got my heart set on a 25. Need to do some serious savings at this point but I did receive the brochures to drool over and a great hat.

I'll stay around 🙂

 

[denny]

You are on the right track. The R-25 is a much safer boat for the Northwest. I would have real concerns about a boat that does not self bail on the Puget Sound. The R-25 has much more room and amenities. Go for it! Denny

 

[SlackwaterJack]

I found the pilothouse to be a bit tight for 2 until I removed the fold'n'flip bench and replaced it with 2 30' folding barstools. The driving position improved and the stools are very stable even in a serious roll from wake or waves. When it gets really rough I always stand up to drive anyway.

Regarding the 21's ability in bad seas and water in the boat...From a previous post...

ANY boat with an open cockpit is prone to swamping, even if they are "self bailing". The question here is more about operator judgement. The R-21 is just that , a 21 foot boat... THAT IS SMALL and offshore use should be limited to fair weather and how far you can run from bad weather surprises....and at 8 mph, that ain't very far.
It's high bow/pilothouse and hull shape make it exceptionally seaworthy even in a hard blow, but the R-21 is basically an open 21 foot boat with a protected helm. keep that in mind when you venture offshore.

Some ramdom thoughts:
>The R-21 "EC" while it has an 18' longer cabin also has an 18' shorter cockpit. It's a big leap from an R-21 to the R-25, personally I wouldn't consider the R-25 a "day" or "picnic" boat.
>Unless caught away unexpectedly I really (personal opinion only) can't imagine overnighting with 2 people on either R21. Two in a V-berth has long ago lost it's appeal (as has sleeping in a puptent on the hard ground and showering with a bag of water hanging from a tree branch). This definitely has more to do with my age/volume than the size of the V-berth.
>The 21 tows well behind a small truck with a V6. the 25 needs a lot more tow vehicle.
>Unless you plan on using all the "stuff" on a cruiseing boat, it'll break/rust/fall apart before you know it or use it.
>Picnic or Dayboats don't need a frig or full time head... a cooler and porta-potti work fine (don't get them confused they can look kinda similar in the dark).
>If the cost of boat aquisition and proper maintainance prevents you from taking your spouse** out to dinner once in a while, or on a nice trip once a year you may as well convert your boat to planter...at least that way it'll occaisionally see some water....**spouse/ the person (frequently female) you live with that didn't come up with the idea of buying a boat.
>Don't buy as much boat as you can pay for, buy as much boat as you can afford to use...be honest here or you could end up watering an R-29 full of geraniums at the side of your house when all you really wanted was to go fishing.

NOTE: Pizza from a place that also delivers isn't "out to dinner" and a long drive to pick up a fuel filter isn't a "nice trip".

 

[Texas Steve]

Everybody's got an opinion and mine is worth about what you're paying for it, but I have to echo Slackwater Jack's comments regarding these boats. We have the R21 EC and really love the boat for many of the same reasons you outlined in your initial post... it is a great day/picnic boat. Further, you will never find a more economical boat to own and operate. You won't believe the fuel consumption until you actually experience it. Other items like insurance and cost to maintain have been well below what I expected.

We keep our boat in a covered slip on a huge lake on the Texas Oklahoma border and spend two nights aboard nearly every weekend from April through October. It took us awhile to get her comfortable for the overnights, but we now have her set up so that we truly enjoy our time aboard and tend to sleep much later aboard than at home. We have built out our oversized slip with a bar, chairs, storage, etc. We also had a bimini built to cover almost the entire cockpit. This makes the Texas summers bearable for midday cruising.

The boat certainly has limitations and they are outlined here fairly well. It isn't fast and it doesn't like a beam sea very much. Beyond that, it's very capable and, when operated by a competent skipper, very safe, even in rough weather.

We are seriously considering moving up to the R25 or R25SC, but the increase all the way across the board is a heavy consideration for us. Don't forget the need for a larger tow vehicle either.

I guess, all I'm saying is that it might be worthwhile to take a look at an EC before you make up your mind completely.

Texas Steve

 

[Chimoii]

Just thought I'd update my story here since it's been a year since my original post. We finally bought a 2008 C-Dory 23 Venture. It's really turning out great. You would frown at the 3.5 mpg economy but all boats are a compromise.