Anchoring out in the R-27 OB

[TomFin]

My partner and I currently have a R-25 moored in Edmonds, WA that we have been enjoying. We don't get a lot of time off of work so the thought of the expanded weekend cruising grounds the faster R-27 outboard would provide has become very enticing. We are actually 3 slips down from Baz and walk by his boat often.

As we are thinking though the decision, there are a few question marks that come up I was hoping the forum could comment on. We almost always anchor out and prefer the quiet after busy weeks.

• How do you generate hot water for showers or dishes without shore power?

• Is not having the tender on the back as much of a pain as I am imagining?

• Does anyone have a comparison of noise at anchor between the new 27 and the R-25SC? Does the water slap more with the faster hull design?

• Does the electric grill work without shore power?

• Do you find there is adequate power in the house bank when spending a night and two days at anchor?

Thanks for the help. It's fun to dream of getting past Kingston on a Friday night!

 

[ixlr8]

My partner and I currently have a R-25 moored in Edmonds, WA that we have been enjoying. We don't get a lot of time off of work so the thought of the expanded weekend cruising grounds the faster R-27 outboard would provide has become very enticing. We are actually 3 slips down from Baz and walk by his boat often.

As we are thinking though the decision, there are a few question marks that come up I was hoping the forum could comment on. We almost always anchor out and prefer the quiet after busy weeks.

• How do you generate hot water for showers or dishes without shore power?

• Is not having the tender on the back as much of a pain as I am imagining?

• Does anyone have a comparison of noise at anchor between the new 27 and the R-25SC? Does the water slap more with the faster hull design?

• Does the electric grill work without shore power?

• Do you find there is adequate power in the house bank when spending a night and two days at anchor?

Thanks for the help. It's fun to dream of getting past Kingston on a Friday night!

I believe if you don't try to run the water heater or electric grill, and you have sunny days for the solar panels, then a day or two on the hook would be fine.
If you want to run the water heater or electric grill without shore power, you need to have some sort of generator. I am opting to get a $1000 Honda generator rather than spend $15000 to have RT install the generator and AC.
I don't have a tender of any sort yet, nor do I have any experience with the R-25.

 

[baz]

How do you generate hot water for showers or dishes without shore power?
The heater is electric and powered with shore power.... don't use the inverter.
If you want hot water one could heat the water before leaving the dock and maybe within a day the water would still be hot/warm.
You can heat water for washing dishes by using the propane stove. This is what I've done.


Is not having the tender on the back as much of a pain as I am imagining?
All depends... I have an inflated SeaEagle FasTrack kayak on top of my cabin. It's easy to get off to the water and a bit more effort to get it back up there, but can be done. Of course, it could be deflated and stored in the center cockpit storage locker which is huge. I've had my SeaEagle deflated and in its bag along with paddles and back seats and it simply disappears into the hold and even with my late 1st Mate's wheel chair.


Does anyone have a comparison of noise at anchor between the new 27 and the R-25SC? Does the water slap more with the faster hull design?
The water slapping noise IMO will only occur when the boat (R27/OB) is underway.

Does the electric grill work without shore power?
No

Do you find there is adequate power in the house bank when spending a night and two days at anchor?
Can't say for sure and of course it depends on what kinds of devices you are using that require electricity. The solar panel could provide some relief with this concern. Maybe a 2nd solar panel or having another house battery installed or getting yourself a Honda generator as Jim has said he's doing.

BTW... if all goes well my R27/OB will be leaving Port Of Edmonds within next few weeks and making its way back to the RT Kent factory to be sold as a trade in for my new 2019 R29 S. I'll have to move to a different dock in Edmonds as the R29 S will likely require a 34' slip....Maybe the Q or R dock. A new 2019 R29 S actually arrived yesterday at Edmonds and it's temporarily docked on the Q Dock.... very nice indeed. It's Hero Red just like mine will be and maybe we will be immediate neighbors and if so hope we don't get mixed up as to which boat to board.... :lol:

 

[Matty]

Not sure how you can walk by baz and not already have all the answers. He seems to do very thorough research and lots of experience. We have the 27OB with the factory generator, solar and inverter. Seems we have all bases covered for power and use them all. Blue berry muffins in the morning from gas oven. Coffee from inverter. Grilling hamburgers with grand kids off the generator and back grill. Not to mention a/c for the hot summer days in FL. We call it roughing it smoothly.

Heating the water the night before helps ( got that idea from baz a few months back). If you don' t go with a generator perhaps two more batteries will help.

 

[scross]

If you are mostly doing weekend trips and staying mostly in marinas you are missing most of what cruising in the PNW has to offer IMHO. There are literally hundreds of safe and beautiful mooring and anchoring spots in the San Juan and Gulf Islands.

In our old RT 25 Classic we get about 3 days of power on house batteries, 5 days on our 30 gallons of fresh water and about 20 days of black water holding tank capacity. We don’t have a generator or solar panels. We do have 4 house batteries installed. Cruising from one mooring location to the next charges up the battery for the next 2-3 days. By managing power, water and holding tank capacities, you could overnight at mooring buoys and at anchor indefinitely only making a few hour long stops at marinas for resupplying food, water and the occasional pump out.

The tender issue is a problem if you need to move people or stuff to shore. If your fine staying on board and not going onshore it’s not an issue. It’s a reason we would never own another out board and one of the key reasons we sold our outboard to get an onboard diesel. We like onshore hiking and exploring the places we are visiting. We also like longer duration cruising and including many venues that aren’t marinas in our journeys.

I’m sure you can do and experience much, much more with your boat than you can imagine! It starts with a full understanding of how all the systems on your boat work both on and off shore power. Enjoy your next steps!

 

[TexasEye]

Advise on choosing safe mooring/anchorage.


We headed up the Tennessee intending to RON Chattanooga via Ditto and Goose Pond. The Math and sunlight didn't work for the Goose Pond Leg to CHA without anchoring or mooring out. This wasn't part of the plan so the Mate suddenly was promoted to Commodore and belayed the CHA trip. Headed home with my tail between my legs I realized I needed a plan and practice choosing good overnight hook sites. In all honesty, the Commodore was correct, we have only deployed and retrieved the Anchor once in drills, the sight was a well know anchorage at our home Port.

Any good drills or key things to look for on the chart and in surveying the site would be appreciated.

 

[scross]

TomFin,
I have been giving your original post a lot more thought. I think you already have the perfect boat for what you want to do - long weekends cruising to spots other than marinas in the San Juan’s and possibly the Gulf Islands.
I’m going to throw out some suggestions that may or may not be exactly what you were thinking but might solve your concerns.
First, I dont think you don’t need the extra speed of the 27OB. You would benefit from having a dinghy for your 25SC if you don’t have one already. Getting a dinghy is cheaper than buying a new 27OB!
Move the boat for a month or two to Anacortes during the summer. Use your home marina’s subleasing of your spot that Baz has mentioned to offset the cost of the slip in Anacortes.
Use your long weekends to drive to Anacortes and start your trips from there. It’s really not that long a drive from Seattle to Anacortes with the right traffic. From there your 25SC can take you almost anywhere in the San Juan’s and Southern Gulf Islands and back to Anacortes in 3 days.
If you spend both nights at anchor on your 25SC, you might want to think of adding an additional house battery or two. Or one or a second solar panel. Adding batteries was a cheaper, easier solution for us in our 25 Classic.

 

[BB marine]

Advise on choosing safe mooring/anchorage.


We headed up the Tennessee intending to RON Chattanooga via Ditto and Goose Pond. The Math and sunlight didn't work for the Goose Pond Leg to CHA without anchoring or mooring out. This wasn't part of the plan so the Mate suddenly was promoted to Commodore and belayed the CHA trip. Headed home with my tail between my legs I realized I needed a plan and practice choosing good overnight hook sites. In all honesty, the Commodore was correct, we have only deployed and retrieved the Anchor once in drills, the sight was a well know anchorage at our home Port.

Any good drills or key things to look for on the chart and in surveying the site would be appreciated.

We just completed the run on the Tennessee River. Started at Knoxville ended at Grand Rivers Ky. The run from Goose pond Colony marina to Chattanooga is doable in a day. It is a long day 85 miles with one lock. There are many good anchorages between Chattanooga and Goose pond. We use active Captain as our resource to plan anchorages. I had three anchorages planned for that day in the event that the locks tied us up. Shell Mound recreation center ( 1/4 mile upstream of the Nickajack lock) There is a T dock with plenty of water, Free tie up or there is a large cove to anchor. In sight of the Lock. There is also Hales Bar Marina 30 miles down stream of Chattanooga Making the trip a 55 mile day upstream. Below the Nickajack Lock, Battery Hill anchorage deep water and great scenery. Jones creek is a good anchorage. I found these on the Chart Active Captain all had reviews. I found that talking to local people at the marinas or even the Harbor Master about river conditions and anchorages is best. Most of them know the river and boat there so they know the anchorages up and down the river. I called Goose pond the day before leaving Chattanooga and confirmed a transient slip. I also asked if he could recommend anchorages if we didn't make it that far because of the locks or some other issue. He said there are several. I asked about the 3 that I had picked out. He responded with a yes all good anchorages. We have an advantage to most larger boats cruising the rivers. Our draft, most that post in Active Captain are drafting much more then Tugs and Cuts.
When you try the trip again I will guarantee a beautiful scenery. We enjoyed the whole river.

 

[TexasEye]

Advise on choosing safe mooring/anchorage.


We headed up the Tennessee intending to RON Chattanooga via Ditto and Goose Pond. The Math and sunlight didn't work for the Goose Pond Leg to CHA without anchoring or mooring out. This wasn't part of the plan so the Mate suddenly was promoted to Commodore and belayed the CHA trip. Headed home with my tail between my legs I realized I needed a plan and practice choosing good overnight hook sites. In all honesty, the Commodore was correct, we have only deployed and retrieved the Anchor once in drills, the sight was a well know anchorage at our home Port.

Any good drills or key things to look for on the chart and in surveying the site would be appreciated.

We just completed the run on the Tennessee River. Started at Knoxville ended at Grand Rivers Ky. The run from Goose pond Colony marina to Chattanooga is doable in a day. It is a long day 85 miles with one lock. There are many good anchorages between Chattanooga and Goose pond. We use active Captain as our resource to plan anchorages. I had three anchorages planned for that day in the event that the locks tied us up. Shell Mound recreation center ( 1/4 mile upstream of the Nickajack lock) There is a T dock with plenty of water, Free tie up or there is a large cove to anchor. In sight of the Lock. There is also Hales Bar Marina 30 miles down stream of Chattanooga Making the trip a 55 mile day upstream. Below the Nickajack Lock, Battery Hill anchorage deep water and great scenery. Jones creek is a good anchorage. I found these on the Chart Active Captain all had reviews. I found that talking to local people at the marinas or even the Harbor Master about river conditions and anchorages is best. Most of them know the river and boat there so they know the anchorages up and down the river. I called Goose pond the day before leaving Chattanooga and confirmed a transient slip. I also asked if he could recommend anchorages if we didn't make it that far because of the locks or some other issue. He said there are several. I asked about the 3 that I had picked out. He responded with a yes all good anchorages. We have an advantage to most larger boats cruising the rivers. Our draft, most that post in Active Captain are drafting much more then Tugs and Cuts.
When you try the trip again I will guarantee a beautiful scenery. We enjoyed the whole river.

Active ZCaptain, humm...I'll try it, and local folks are really nice and full of info, I'm learning. I've noted the suggestions on the chart for the next trip. Thanks

Tex

 

[YukonRon]

We spent 4 weeks out on our R25sc this summer; a two-week trip on the ocean and 2 one-week trips on big lakes. We anchored out for all but 2 nights. It worked out well for us and we had a great time!
Some of the take-aways we came home with:
-We love the convenience of having the dinghy on the swim step. We love to explore and walk on shore whenever we can. I have back issues, so I can't image how we would deal with an R-27 outboard.
-The hot water tank will heat from the engine when you're cruising and will hold heat for a while. Take showers at lunch stops or after arriving at anchor.
-Use the microwave when the engine is running. For early morning starts, we take off and then heat porridge and coffee water in the microwave (we use a press to make coffee). Heat soup, etc for lunch before you stop. Heat water before you arrive at your anchorage and fill up some thermoses, wrap them in towels, and store for later; warm water will give you a head start when you need to boil water later. At anchor you will heat water in the kettle on the alcohol (or propane) stove and it takes a while.
-We bought a small crock pot that fits in the sink. Put a roast or stew etc in it during the day and it cooks while cruising, powered off the 110v volts from the inverter. Arrive at your destination, drop the hook, and dinner is ready!
-A small BBQ on the stern rail does a lot of the cooking while at anchor. Lots of accessories are available to expand the BBQing menu: cast iron griddle for bacon and eggs, pancakes etc; baskets to stir fry veggies; foil pouches for potatoes and veggies; etc. Get creative.
-We have a third house battery and can live on the hook easily 2 days, or 3 with very careful power management. We also go a week on our water tank and holding tank. But we have a lifetime of experience with tenting and truck-camper camping in the bush, so lots of experience managing resources. Having said that, I do want to install solar so we can stay longer and worry less about power.
-Anchoring gets easier with practice. I have marked the rode (chain and rope) at intervals with colour coded stripes. We have a cheat sheet at the helm and taped to the underside of the anchor locker lid. Circle the bay to check depths, wind, and currents; then watch your markings to get your scope as you let the rode out.
-Most importantly, BE FLEXIBLE. Allow extra time to stay put if weather dictates. Move if the holding doesn't feel secure, or find another spot if your chosen destination doesn't offer the protection you expected.
I don't have experience with the new OB boats, but if you are willing to spend some time practicing anchoring out on your R25 you just might find that it fits the bill just fine.

 

[TexasEye]

We spent 4 weeks out on our R25sc this summer; a two-week trip on the ocean and 2 one-week trips on big lakes. We anchored out for all but 2 nights. It worked out well for us and we had a great time!
Some of the take-aways we came home with:
-We love the convenience of having the dinghy on the swim step. We love to explore and walk on shore whenever we can. I have back issues, so I can't image how we would deal with an R-27 outboard.
-The hot water tank will heat from the engine when you're cruising and will hold heat for a while. Take showers at lunch stops or after arriving at anchor.
-Use the microwave when the engine is running. For early morning starts, we take off and then heat porridge and coffee water in the microwave (we use a press to make coffee). Heat soup, etc for lunch before you stop. Heat water before you arrive at your anchorage and fill up some thermoses, wrap them in towels, and store for later; warm water will give you a head start when you need to boil water later. At anchor you will heat water in the kettle on the alcohol (or propane) stove and it takes a while.
-We bought a small crock pot that fits in the sink. Put a roast or stew etc in it during the day and it cooks while cruising, powered off the 110v volts from the inverter. Arrive at your destination, drop the hook, and dinner is ready!
-A small BBQ on the stern rail does a lot of the cooking while at anchor. Lots of accessories are available to expand the BBQing menu: cast iron griddle for bacon and eggs, pancakes etc; baskets to stir fry veggies; foil pouches for potatoes and veggies; etc. Get creative.
-We have a third house battery and can live on the hook easily 2 days, or 3 with very careful power management. We also go a week on our water tank and holding tank. But we have a lifetime of experience with tenting and truck-camper camping in the bush, so lots of experience managing resources. Having said that, I do want to install solar so we can stay longer and worry less about power.
-Anchoring gets easier with practice. I have marked the rode (chain and rope) at intervals with colour coded stripes. We have a cheat sheet at the helm and taped to the underside of the anchor locker lid. Circle the bay to check depths, wind, and currents; then watch your markings to get your scope as you let the rode out.
-Most importantly, BE FLEXIBLE. Allow extra time to stay put if weather dictates. Move if the holding doesn't feel secure, or find another spot if your chosen destination doesn't offer the protection you expected.
I don't have experience with the new OB boats, but if you are willing to spend some time practicing anchoring out on your R25 you just might find that it fits the bill just fine.

The RT25 is definately a great little trawler, inexpensive and has all of the whistles and bells to make a good Captain. I'm working on learning everything I can about her capabilities and limitations. I learn something (normally many somethings) every time we take her out. This blog has been a treasure, nice folks, and the previous owners gave us tons of good advise. I simply havent done my due dillegence on operating the anchor. This will be addressed this weekend.


Tex

 

[Matty]

There are a number of good videos on proper anchoring on you tube. My biggest issue with anchoring is paying attention to what I learned when researching. This weekend I (and therefore my wife and son) got quite frustrated not being able to get the anchor to hold. I was frustrated at the anchor and my wife and son at me not listening to them. When I later thought about it I realized I was not paying attention the 5 to 1 rule of thumb. I did not let nearly enough chain/rope out. I suppose that was because in my mind we were in fairly shallow water. Additionally, I could not tell how much I had let out since I have yet to make the markings YukonRon mentions. So I agree - practice makes perfect or at least a lot closer.

 

[TomFin]

Thank you all for the thoughtful responses! We enjoy anchoring now and want to keep that going if we get into a new boat. Electrical loads are just the refrigerator and heater for us so we have had good luck with the house bank.

The idea of using a small honda for running hot water or the grill sounds like a good idea.

Barry, the way you talk about that kayak makes it sound like the hot ticket. We actually haven't used our tender too much as we often will just stay on the boat all weekend but I think it's important to have the option. More research needed but it sound like there are solutions out there. -ps I saw that new R29 at the dock this weekend, sharp looking boat!

While we would love to take weeks or more to explore, work just doesn't allow that to happen often enough. With a faster boat we could see more on the available weekends. Personally, we have a hard time relaxing until we have the anchor set.

For those who have been wanting to try anchoring but haven't, I say go for it! We picked up a copy of gunkholing in Puget Sound to start that listed a lot of detail on anchoring in different places like where in a bay to pick and what the bottom looked like. This helped confidence for the first few times. Now it almost seems easier than pulling into a marina. Let out lots of line and give it a shot!