Riverexplorer
New member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2018
- Messages
- 4
- Fluid Motion Model
- C-24 C
I am a long time boater----I have been boating all of my life---almost since before the time I could walk when my dad way back in the early 1960s bought the first of many boats we would have as a family or I myself would have.
At present--the only boats I do have are a few kayaks, having sold a 20' Sylvan pontoon boat with a 115 HP Four Stroke Suzuki OB in June 2017. Seems I tend to buy and sell boats in June for some reason--got the big boat I talk about below in June one year and when it came time to sell--it sold in June 2015.
Among the boats I have owned or operated: Woody Chris Craft cruisers, Owens, Sea Rays, Wellcrafts, Boston Whalers, Robalos, Sea Craft, various other makes of pontoon boats and a boat that many of you may not be familiar with Monticello River Yachts--we had a 70 footer that we operated out of Cincinnati---running the Ohio, mostly between Cincinnati and Louisville.
I have boated all kinds of waters to some on the Great Lakes, the Ohio and other rivers, inland lakes in Ohio and now down here in Florida--most recently the Harris Chain of Lakes and on the St. John's River.
I also am a veteran of the US COAST GUARD---having spent most of the four year enlistment serving aboard a now long gone class of USCG Cutters--the 95 Cape Class WPB coastal and mid-range patrol class cutter, having been based out of Key West, Miami, Tampa and Fort Pierce--that time aboard an old 82 WPB.
Right now--this being without a power boat--that is like the first time in 30 years I haven't had some sort of powerboat large or small, but one day soon that will be rectified.
What I am looking for is some sort of boat that is trailerable--something surely that a 70 footer was not. At one time on the Ohio---since pretty much every town or settlement on the river had docks that could handle most boats. Today--many places do not have docks that can handle barely any boat, let alone one that large. Even Cincinnati---while it has plenty of private docks that can handle boats of all sizes--we kept ours at the Four Seasons Marina---one of the largest inland marina facilities in the US--at least on the navigable rivers--there IS NO DOCK for transient boaters to be able to stay at in the downtown area. They were supposed to have put one in---a lady with means had left the city something like $15 million in her will with the specific instructions that the city council would put in such a dock and I thought that this had been approved and voted on--because before moving from the area five years ago---I had attended a series of Cincinnati city council meetings in which they had approved and moved forward with the plans to put in such a city dock, complete with fuel, some stores, showers and so on. I do need to check about what happened to that---perhaps though it was due to issues getting the permits from the ARMY Corps of Engineers and other agencies...they can all be a big pain in the ass that way....
So--a boat of that sort--is really not a practical boat for many reasons----one of which is that I do want something that I can single handedly run it since so many family members are now among "the dearly departed" since the time I sold the boat back in 2015. It also seems that those who are around-the younger generations--they are so busy in raising their families, doing all that you do with school aged kids like football, cheerleading, band or whatever---no one has the time to come take a cruise on a boat it seems.
While I now live down here in Central Florida--at least for now--I still am not done with boating the Ohio River and all the places that it affords access to like also running tributary rivers like the Kanawha, the Tennessee, Tenn-Tom, the Cumberland and on up the upper Mississippi and up the Missouri as far as you can get till you hit the first dam.
So--for me---I have plans to run the Ohio from Pittsburgh to Cairo, the other rivers I mentioned. Down here--run the St John's and up and down the intracoastal and even perhaps in a few years----become a "Looper."
So to that end----I have been researching boat makes and models that offer the ability to single hand it, tow it, and run long distances so the Cutwater and Ranger Tug lines both have appealed to me.
Last weekend I finally got to go aboard both Cutwaters and Rangers at the in water portion of the St. Petersburg Boat Show. I had thought that I liked the Cutwater best thanks to seeing them online and every so often out on the waters--the 24 model seems to be kind of popular on the St. John's River, but after comparing and contrasting the two similar boats----I really do prefer the looks of the Ranger Tugs and really like the R-27 with the Yamaha OB. I had liked the single Volvo diesel--but really think going with an OB is really a better choice for me.
Now---other boats I am considering are C-Dory's, a stable mate boat line made by the same company that makes C-Dory's--the Sea Sport. I also like the boats from Eastern-----they had one of those as well at the St. Pete show.
I am just trying to gauge people's degree of satisfaction of those of you who are owners of both Cutwaters and Rangers and if anyone has either direct experience with either of those other makes of boats or know those who do and what your feelings are about them.
I know that for those who own C-Dory's---most of their owners are very happy with them and that is often expressed in that they have had several models of the boats--usually moving up or sometimes down in size depending on their situation in life.
Along with being able to tow a boat to a point on a river to do some traveling and exploring--I also would like to tow to and put in to explore many of the big impoundment lakes found in the southeastern US and out in the west as well.
So--any comments and so on that you can offer on Cutwaters and Rangers--I would appreciate.
What I do like about these boats and the others I have talked about---is that they all in their way---to my mind---LOOK LIKE REAL BOATS.
Sea Rays, Four Winds, Formulas, Rinkers, Regals, Montereys and other makers---make some boats that look pretty good in one way---but to me---they just lack something.
I like boats of a more classic, look, feel and vibe. If money were no object at all--I'd probably go with a maker like an MJM, Hinckley or Marlow Yachts--but I don't have that kind of scratch!
Hell--if I was interested in buying something to do some real exploring and for not much more than what I might wind up paying--they had an interesting boat at the St. Pete show that is 52 foot, single engine diesel powered trawler from a custom yard that the owner has taken across the Atlantic to Europe and down to the Caribbean more than a few times--with that boat having a cruising range of 5000 NM on one fuel load, but I will just be happy to do what I plan to do and fill "my bucket list" before its time to cash out my ticket for the ride down here on planet Earth!!
If I were just strictly interested in running only the rivers, I'd think about buying one of the other Monticellos that are up for sale on the broker market or maybe a Pluckebaum---but like I said--between only wanting to run such a big boat with a full house and the number of places left that can handle such a boat on the rivers is dwindling these days, and they really are too big to handle alone--you need a crew for them just to handle lines as you land or get underway or lock through the big USACE L/Ds that you go through as you boat the rivers and those boats would not be good for doing "The Great Loop" trip.....they just are not very practical any longer.
Sorry I was so long winded---but that is just me! 🙂
I guess that as far as quality issues go with the Cutwaters and Rangers--the situation with that capsized Cutwater is a concern--but maybe not since I am partial to the R-27 with the single Yamaha. Some of the issues others have expressed with things like leaky hatches and windows bothers me too and that one guy having so many problems with his dealer. That sounds bad.
It does seem to me though----that most of those who do have either of these boats--overall seem quite pleased and happy with their purchase.
My concern is not that I will face too many harsh conditions while underway mostly running rivers--even though of course you can get some heavy and nasty weather at times---this would be more an issue while doing a Great Loop trip in a few places like the Chessapeake and the Great Lakes portions and making the crossing across the Gulf from Carrabelle over to Steinhatchee, or on directly to Tarpon Springs. You can always have potential big failures due to many factors--I just don't want to buy a boat that nitpicks me on little things that should not be an issue with a quality boat maker.
Well--I will finally shut the heck up now and will come back to see what sort of comments you good folks care to make and leave for me and for that I most sincerely THANK YOU in advance!!
At present--the only boats I do have are a few kayaks, having sold a 20' Sylvan pontoon boat with a 115 HP Four Stroke Suzuki OB in June 2017. Seems I tend to buy and sell boats in June for some reason--got the big boat I talk about below in June one year and when it came time to sell--it sold in June 2015.
Among the boats I have owned or operated: Woody Chris Craft cruisers, Owens, Sea Rays, Wellcrafts, Boston Whalers, Robalos, Sea Craft, various other makes of pontoon boats and a boat that many of you may not be familiar with Monticello River Yachts--we had a 70 footer that we operated out of Cincinnati---running the Ohio, mostly between Cincinnati and Louisville.
I have boated all kinds of waters to some on the Great Lakes, the Ohio and other rivers, inland lakes in Ohio and now down here in Florida--most recently the Harris Chain of Lakes and on the St. John's River.
I also am a veteran of the US COAST GUARD---having spent most of the four year enlistment serving aboard a now long gone class of USCG Cutters--the 95 Cape Class WPB coastal and mid-range patrol class cutter, having been based out of Key West, Miami, Tampa and Fort Pierce--that time aboard an old 82 WPB.
Right now--this being without a power boat--that is like the first time in 30 years I haven't had some sort of powerboat large or small, but one day soon that will be rectified.
What I am looking for is some sort of boat that is trailerable--something surely that a 70 footer was not. At one time on the Ohio---since pretty much every town or settlement on the river had docks that could handle most boats. Today--many places do not have docks that can handle barely any boat, let alone one that large. Even Cincinnati---while it has plenty of private docks that can handle boats of all sizes--we kept ours at the Four Seasons Marina---one of the largest inland marina facilities in the US--at least on the navigable rivers--there IS NO DOCK for transient boaters to be able to stay at in the downtown area. They were supposed to have put one in---a lady with means had left the city something like $15 million in her will with the specific instructions that the city council would put in such a dock and I thought that this had been approved and voted on--because before moving from the area five years ago---I had attended a series of Cincinnati city council meetings in which they had approved and moved forward with the plans to put in such a city dock, complete with fuel, some stores, showers and so on. I do need to check about what happened to that---perhaps though it was due to issues getting the permits from the ARMY Corps of Engineers and other agencies...they can all be a big pain in the ass that way....
So--a boat of that sort--is really not a practical boat for many reasons----one of which is that I do want something that I can single handedly run it since so many family members are now among "the dearly departed" since the time I sold the boat back in 2015. It also seems that those who are around-the younger generations--they are so busy in raising their families, doing all that you do with school aged kids like football, cheerleading, band or whatever---no one has the time to come take a cruise on a boat it seems.
While I now live down here in Central Florida--at least for now--I still am not done with boating the Ohio River and all the places that it affords access to like also running tributary rivers like the Kanawha, the Tennessee, Tenn-Tom, the Cumberland and on up the upper Mississippi and up the Missouri as far as you can get till you hit the first dam.
So--for me---I have plans to run the Ohio from Pittsburgh to Cairo, the other rivers I mentioned. Down here--run the St John's and up and down the intracoastal and even perhaps in a few years----become a "Looper."
So to that end----I have been researching boat makes and models that offer the ability to single hand it, tow it, and run long distances so the Cutwater and Ranger Tug lines both have appealed to me.
Last weekend I finally got to go aboard both Cutwaters and Rangers at the in water portion of the St. Petersburg Boat Show. I had thought that I liked the Cutwater best thanks to seeing them online and every so often out on the waters--the 24 model seems to be kind of popular on the St. John's River, but after comparing and contrasting the two similar boats----I really do prefer the looks of the Ranger Tugs and really like the R-27 with the Yamaha OB. I had liked the single Volvo diesel--but really think going with an OB is really a better choice for me.
Now---other boats I am considering are C-Dory's, a stable mate boat line made by the same company that makes C-Dory's--the Sea Sport. I also like the boats from Eastern-----they had one of those as well at the St. Pete show.
I am just trying to gauge people's degree of satisfaction of those of you who are owners of both Cutwaters and Rangers and if anyone has either direct experience with either of those other makes of boats or know those who do and what your feelings are about them.
I know that for those who own C-Dory's---most of their owners are very happy with them and that is often expressed in that they have had several models of the boats--usually moving up or sometimes down in size depending on their situation in life.
Along with being able to tow a boat to a point on a river to do some traveling and exploring--I also would like to tow to and put in to explore many of the big impoundment lakes found in the southeastern US and out in the west as well.
So--any comments and so on that you can offer on Cutwaters and Rangers--I would appreciate.
What I do like about these boats and the others I have talked about---is that they all in their way---to my mind---LOOK LIKE REAL BOATS.
Sea Rays, Four Winds, Formulas, Rinkers, Regals, Montereys and other makers---make some boats that look pretty good in one way---but to me---they just lack something.
I like boats of a more classic, look, feel and vibe. If money were no object at all--I'd probably go with a maker like an MJM, Hinckley or Marlow Yachts--but I don't have that kind of scratch!
Hell--if I was interested in buying something to do some real exploring and for not much more than what I might wind up paying--they had an interesting boat at the St. Pete show that is 52 foot, single engine diesel powered trawler from a custom yard that the owner has taken across the Atlantic to Europe and down to the Caribbean more than a few times--with that boat having a cruising range of 5000 NM on one fuel load, but I will just be happy to do what I plan to do and fill "my bucket list" before its time to cash out my ticket for the ride down here on planet Earth!!
If I were just strictly interested in running only the rivers, I'd think about buying one of the other Monticellos that are up for sale on the broker market or maybe a Pluckebaum---but like I said--between only wanting to run such a big boat with a full house and the number of places left that can handle such a boat on the rivers is dwindling these days, and they really are too big to handle alone--you need a crew for them just to handle lines as you land or get underway or lock through the big USACE L/Ds that you go through as you boat the rivers and those boats would not be good for doing "The Great Loop" trip.....they just are not very practical any longer.
Sorry I was so long winded---but that is just me! 🙂
I guess that as far as quality issues go with the Cutwaters and Rangers--the situation with that capsized Cutwater is a concern--but maybe not since I am partial to the R-27 with the single Yamaha. Some of the issues others have expressed with things like leaky hatches and windows bothers me too and that one guy having so many problems with his dealer. That sounds bad.
It does seem to me though----that most of those who do have either of these boats--overall seem quite pleased and happy with their purchase.
My concern is not that I will face too many harsh conditions while underway mostly running rivers--even though of course you can get some heavy and nasty weather at times---this would be more an issue while doing a Great Loop trip in a few places like the Chessapeake and the Great Lakes portions and making the crossing across the Gulf from Carrabelle over to Steinhatchee, or on directly to Tarpon Springs. You can always have potential big failures due to many factors--I just don't want to buy a boat that nitpicks me on little things that should not be an issue with a quality boat maker.
Well--I will finally shut the heck up now and will come back to see what sort of comments you good folks care to make and leave for me and for that I most sincerely THANK YOU in advance!!
