Great Lakes cruising

[South lake]

Hi,

My name is Jeff Marcum and my wife and I are long time boaters who have made two cruises from Lake Erie up through Tobermory, across the North Channel, and down Lake Huron. The last time we did so was in a 40' Searay Sundancer. Our most recent boat was a C-Dory 25 cruiser which we sold in October but our prior Great Lake cruising was in a 33' Doral and the 40' Searay.

After the first of the year we want to buy a R25 or R27 and use it on the rivers and inland lakes but were also wanting to revisit some of our trips to Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, the North Channel, etc.

Since this represents a big difference in the size of the boat we've made these trips in, I was wondering if those of you who have cruised these areas in R25's or R27's could share some of your experiences and offer any special considerations we should take into account. For example, did you trailer up to Canada and start from there, did you make many open water crossings of Lake Huron or Georgian Bay, etc.? On our past trips, we would leave Port Huron and go to Goderich, Ontario which as I recall was about 60 miles. From Tobermory to Beaverstone Bay was around 50 miles and the run from Gore Bay, Ontario through the Mississauga strait to Presque Isle, MI was about 85 miles.

Any advice or experience you can share would be appreciated. If you are aware of blogs or other sites that have this kind of info specific to Ranger Tugs that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks...

Jeff and Deb

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Hello Jeff and Deb:

We live in Traverse City, Michigan and, like you, have cruised the Great Lakes, North Channel, Trent Severn, etc in a 40' but have recently changed boats and now own a Ranger Tug 27. Our plan is to cruise the areas you mention however we plan on trailering our R27 up North, cruise the North Channel and then trailer it home. Could you cruise up to these areas? I think with a good weather window, if someone was not on a rigid schedule and therefore could wait out rough water then I feel it is very doable. The R27 and R29 are very sea worthy vessels and from the 100 hours we've put on ours I'd have to say it is a better handling boat then our prior 40' trawler...not as roomy but the trade off of where you can cruise to, trailer to, etc far out weigh any downsize of size. Maybe some of our PNW Tugnutters will chime in from their experiences in the Puget Sound, San Juan Island areas with there thoughts, as the areas have similarities.

Jim F

 

[Bruce Moore]

Check out the R25 Laurie Ann's blog, which includes a lot of info about their Great Loop experience. And you'll find links to other Ranger Tug owner blogs on the home page of this forum, discuss many aspects trailering and cruising.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[lornec]

The only thing I would add would be the first stop. Make it Bayfield which in 12 miles south of Goderich not a commercial port.The town itself is a lot quieter and no lakers in the harbor approaches.

 

[Favunclerich]

Hi,

I have an R-25 named "Roam." My wife and I live in Sterling Heights, Michigan and did a cruise of Lake Huron's North Channel along with northern Lake Michigan in August. Here is a link to some captioned photos from the trip;

http://odendahls.com/roam/northchannel.pdf

We trailered to Detour Village and launched there. As you know, the Great Lakes can be very temperamental, with short, choppy seas on windy days. We stayed put whenever the waves exceeded 2 or 3 feet. The North Channel is relatively well-protected and we had little problem with the R-25. When we returned to Detour, several other boats were planning to brave the 30-plus knot headwinds to head out into Lake Huron and then west to Mackinac Island or to other points in Lake Michigan. We decided to put Roam on the trailer and did 55 knots to Charlevoix and cruised on the protected Lake Charlevoix waters for a couple of days before heading out onto Lake Michigan for the crossing to Beaver Island.

Please feel free to email me at rich@odendahls.com or call 586-254-6415 if you would like to discuss this further.

Rich

 

[RProffer]

I have not been to the Great Lakes, but have been thinking about it. I have concern my R21EC can transit the lakes. I have heard the waves can get monstrous. I just found two NOAA links that show current and predicted surface conditions for the lakes. This link is for a graphical representation: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/. This shows a representation using Google Maps: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/kml/glcfsmap.php?lake=a&param=waves_ft. I am sure these links can help anyone planning to transit the lakes.

 

[Favunclerich]

I certainly don't want to scare anyone away from cruising the Great Lakes. There is much wonderful scenery, many interesting ports, and you and your boat will love the fresh, clean water. While it sometimes does get rough, most summer days have light to moderate winds, and the relatively flat waters make for very comfortable cruising.