How mechanically adept does one need to be to own a Ranger?

[Smokeyham]

I've sailed boats for many years, but never owned one and am considering purchasing a Ranger tug.

However, I'm wondering how mechanically inclined one needs to be in order to own a boat such as ranger tug? I'm willing to learn, but I've never been a competent do-it-yourselfer for tasks around the house or on my car, so I am a bit worried about the discussions I see which seem to focus on maintaining the engine, electrical systems, sewage system, and other systems on board.

Any feedback would be appreciated, and would be especially interested in hearing from people who have succesfully owned a Ranger and who feel they are not mechanically inclined.

Thanks.

 

[baz]

Basically, if you do confess and admit you're not mechanically inclined and maybe always end up making a mess of things, you're best to leave things well alone and let other more skilled do the tasks. Many people are in this category and leave things to professionals and will pay to have things done.

Even those that claim they are inclined can end up with a mess and break things.

My approach is to always review/research and get advice for tackling something I'm a bit nervous doing. I don't like to mess with electrics and will pay for advice and/or have a qualified person do the work along with a warranty for what's done.

I would not let this aspect deter you from considering owning a Ranger Tug. There's plenty of help on this forum and the Ranger Tug service department will bend over backwards to help you with anything related to the boats operation.

Do not be intimidated by postings made here by people who are obviously very skilled at doing and repairing things. All boats will require some maintenance, so there's no getting away from that.

I would say that Ranger Tugs make their boats with an eye on easy operations and back that up with their excellent after purchase service activities.

If you have questions do not be shy about posting them here.

Good luck.

 

[elly]

I don't think this is a RT specific question but more of a boat question.

There is always something that needs fixing or tweaking. The more you know the less intimidating the boat is. Learning to do simple things not only saves you money but makes you less dependent on your local marina. Once you do something once you are almost an expert. There are lots of good resources- classes, tugnuts, fellow boaters etc.

There are always little things that will need to be done- tightening a clamp, sealing a leaking window, changing bulbs, troubleshooting a new noise. Stuff that you just can't call the marina for every time.

There is a lot to learn with these boats as they have lots of systems. Learning is part of the ownership experience. If you don't like doing any of that kind of stuff maybe boat ownership is not right for you. If you are willing to learn then join the crowd.

Even a basic pontoon boat requires attention.

 

[South lake]

I've owned too many boats, too many cars, and too many trucks. I've always had them serviced by professionals and paid the price to do so. Sometimes because I don't know how to do the work but more often than not because I'd rather spend my time doing other things. But I always made sure the professionals I used were competent and treated me fairly. The first time they didn't, I found someone else.

But I've never regretted owning any of the stuff that I paid to have maintained. Especially the boats! Just my thoughts...

 

[Smokeyham]

Great feedback!

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input. Part of the fun would be learning to do (simple) maintenance tasks, but good to know that there are options for tasks which are beyond my very basic abilities, and that should not preclude Ranger Tug ownership!

 

[Spacetrucker]

You can take a auto class at a colleg, and wiring class to read books on all to. A must when boat stops in the ocean or lake no help? Good tools will help. You can do it. Really you can do this work.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

The question reminds me of the song "How Deep is your Love?".....both are very personal. But seriously it really boils down to personal preference and how deep your wallet is. I like to do as much as I can and have a basic understanding of anything I pay to have a professional do. That's me. What's right for one person is not necessarily good or right for another.....depending on wallet, knowledge, working schedule, age or body constraints and or tools owned. I've got to go out to the boat and replace the choker valve in the head.....maybe I should start to rethink my priorities!!!

Jim

 

[Smokeyham]

The question reminds me of the song "How Deep is your Love?".....both are very personal. But seriously it really boils down to personal preference and how deep your wallet is. I like to do as much as I can and have a basic understanding of anything I pay to have a professional do. That's me. What's right for one person is not necessarily good or right for another.....depending on wallet, knowledge, working schedule, age or body constraints and or tools owned.

I've got to go out to the boat and replace the choker valve in the head.....maybe I should start to rethink my priorities!!!

Jim

Thanks Jim, and everyone else! Good to get the perspectives on this. I'm reassured by what has been posted here, and also be seeing how helpful people have been on this board, and the great reputation for service which Ranger Tugs has.

 

[Levitation]

Well, owning a Tug is like facing down a grizzly. He can smell fear. The weak need not own a tug.
So it is with attending a tug gathering. We can smell the timid and the weak and we leave no bone ungnawed.
Very likely we will first force you to change out the joker valve Jim mentioned - the horror, the horror
***** we will watch from a distance, preferably upwind, while you do it****
Then we will make you diagram the battery system and point to where each and every fuse is
****no one has ever passed this test****
BUT, if you successfully manage that then there is the oral exam to explain the operation of the Blue Seas charge isolator relays.
****if you manage to pull that off we will send you to the factory to explain it to them :mrgreen: ****
Finally, you will have to change the shear pin on the stern thruster - 90 degree/90% humidity day
*****unfortunately, no one has ever done this and been the same afterward - but hey, there's always a first****
.
.
.
.
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Welcome aboard


and I have bene known to exaggerate just a wee bit, once in a while

 

[Smokeyham]

Well, owning a Tug is like facing down a grizzly. He can smell fear. The weak need not own a tug.
So it is with attending a tug gathering. We can smell the timid and the weak and we leave no bone ungnawed.
Very likely we will first force you to change out the joker valve Jim mentioned - the horror, the horror
***** we will watch from a distance, preferably upwind, while you do it****
Then we will make you diagram the battery system and point to where each and every fuse is
****no one has ever passed this test****
BUT, if you successfully manage that then there is the oral exam to explain the operation of the Blue Seas charge isolator relays.
****if you manage to pull that off we will send you to the factory to explain it to them :mrgreen: ****
Finally, you will have to change the shear pin on the stern thruster - 90 degree/90% humidity day
*****unfortunately, no one has ever done this and been the same afterward - but hey, there's always a first****
.
.
Welcome aboard

and I have bene known to exaggerate just a wee bit, once in a while

Yikes! Quite the initiation rite you have there!

My friend poured 5 gallons of diesel down his black tank clean out pipe by mistake, and it overflowed the toilet and went into the bilges. We spent a fun warm summer evening breathing diesel fumes and other odors while we cleaned everything out. That was quite the rite of passage as well! 😱

 

[Levitation]

My first "real" boat was a Pearson sailboat (yeah, I'm a ragbagger)
Sailed it 50 miles up the coastline of Lake Huron to the Tawas Bay Yacht Club as my first outing in any boat longer than 10 feet.
The boat had been fitted with pressure water to the galley by a previous owner. While there I hooked up the dock water and turned it on. After a minute there was a muffled 'boom' and I heard water running rapidly. Turned off the dock water of course.
With the help of the boat owner in the next slip we found that the previous owner, not a master plumber he, had plumbed the water inlet to the vent for the black tank. The black tank not designed to hold 60 psi internally exploded with the usual results. (obviously he had never tested his handiwork)
Well, I was pretty depressed. My daughter had flown in to Michigan from her modeling job in NYC and with her mother had driven to Tawas Bay for us to spend the 4th of July weekend on the boat. I thanked Bob and said we would come back the following weekend to have the boat hauled.
But Bob (no better good Samaritan ever lived) said, 'no you are not. Send the wife to buy some Pine-Sol while you and I take the flooring up and remove that tank.' And that is what we did with him sweating and inhaling stink right along with me, then washed the boat down with multiple applications of soap and a spray nozzle. In the end we had the cleanest bilge on Tawas bay We slept there that night with the (rather strong) odor of Pine-Sol instead of sewage. We had a wonderful time and belonged to that club for about 15 years until life changes moved us on in this journey.

 

[Smokeyham]

Just realized I never thanked you for posting this!!! Wonderful story of how helpful other boaters can be, and inspirational for someone like me who is nervous about buying/maintaining a boat!

Thanks!

My first "real" boat was a Pearson sailboat (yeah, I'm a ragbagger)
Sailed it 50 miles up the coastline of Lake Huron to the Tawas Bay Yacht Club as my first outing in any boat longer than 10 feet.
The boat had been fitted with pressure water to the galley by a previous owner. While there I hooked up the dock water and turned it on. After a minute there was a muffled 'boom' and I heard water running rapidly. Turned off the dock water of course.
With the help of the boat owner in the next slip we found that the previous owner, not a master plumber he, had plumbed the water inlet to the vent for the black tank. The black tank not designed to hold 60 psi internally exploded with the usual results. (obviously he had never tested his handiwork)
Well, I was pretty depressed. My daughter had flown in to Michigan from her modeling job in NYC and with her mother had driven to Tawas Bay for us to spend the 4th of July weekend on the boat. I thanked Bob and said we would come back the following weekend to have the boat hauled.
But Bob (no better good Samaritan ever lived) said, 'no you are not. Send the wife to buy some Pine-Sol while you and I take the flooring up and remove that tank.' And that is what we did with him sweating and inhaling stink right along with me, then washed the boat down with multiple applications of soap and a spray nozzle. In the end we had the cleanest bilge on Tawas bay We slept there that night with the (rather strong) odor of Pine-Sol instead of sewage. We had a wonderful time and belonged to that club for about 15 years until life changes moved us on in this journey.

 

[Mr. T]

I would highly recommend taking the Engine Maintenance class from the US Power Squadron. At the very least you'll become familiar with the various systems on your boat, know what maintenance needs to be done and if you're not interested in doing your own work, be able to accurately describe what appears to be going wrong with your boat to a mechanic. I've taken many Power Squadron classes and I highly recommend them.

 

[Smokeyham]

I would highly recommend taking the Engine Maintenance class from the US Power Squadron. At the very least you'll become familiar with the various systems on your boat, know what maintenance needs to be done and if you're not interested in doing your own work, be able to accurately describe what appears to be going wrong with your boat to a mechanic. I've taken many Power Squadron classes and I highly recommend them.

Thank you! It may be a bit of overkill, but I am thinking of taking the 9-week Chapman's Mariner's Course, which seems to cover everything. http://www.chapman.org/p/150/educational-objectives

 

[Levitation]

Even a short course on repairs and mechanical thingies does wonders for ones confidence and willingness to tackle a job even if you are not sure how to do it.
The biggest problem with Tugs (and 99% of other boats) is not the mystery of taking the bolts out of the thruster motor to change the shear pin - it is how does anyone who is not double jointed with 4 foot long arms reach the consarned thing.
The biggest problem on a Tug is not changing that fuse but where the heck did the demented squirrel who wired the boat bury it.
Most, if not all, repairs on a Tug are straight forward - it is finding it and once found reaching it that makes it seem complicated.
Now if you have not a clue what the difference is between a taper pipe thread and a straight pipe thread either taking a course or a little help from your friends will help to ease the learning curve.

 

[Smokeyham]

Even a short course on repairs and mechanical thingies does wonders for ones confidence and willingness to tackle a job even if you are not sure how to do it.
The biggest problem with Tugs (and 99% of other boats) is not the mystery of taking the bolts out of the thruster motor to change the shear pin - it is how does anyone who is not double jointed with 4 foot long arms reach the consarned thing.
The biggest problem on a Tug is not changing that fuse but where the heck did the demented squirrel who wired the boat bury it.
Most, if not all, repairs on a Tug are straight forward - it is finding it and once found reaching it that makes it seem complicated.
Now if you have not a clue what the difference is between a taper pipe thread and a straight pipe thread either taking a course or a little help from your friends will help to ease the learning curve.

Uh oh! I don't know the difference between a taper pipe thread and a straight pipe thread, so a course is definitely in my future! I also going to start working on stretching the length of my arms! 😱

 

[jkurlanski]

I'll put my two bits in: I specifically chose the Ranger Tug because I'm mechanically challenged, but I was told the R21-EC with the Yanmar engine was something I could handle. They were right.
The engine is VERY accessible on this boat and I found the electrical is fairly easy to follow, The documentation and DVD provided some very easy pointers on engine maintenance. It helped that my surveyor was an old diesel mechanic who showed me around much of the engine and how to winterize it. I took copious notes which came in handy this fall when I fully winterized the boat. Every time I figured one thing out, I had something else to chase down. Nothing was broken - it was all operator error! :lol:
My last boat was a 26' Bayliner with Merc 350 engine. It didn't have a trailer, and I couldn't do any of the work. I paid more to put that boat in, take it out, store, winterize, and get it ready every season than I did for the boat in the end. It sure would go fast, but I also poured $300 in gas into it every couple of weeks. The very definition of a hole in the water I shoveled money into. My total diesel bill for the Tug this season: $60, which includes the fill up after I pulled her out at the end of the year.
Sure I paid more for the Ranger and I max out at 9 knots (with the wind and tide behind me), but I'm having a lot more fun with a boat I can trailer, store at my house, and perform all the routine maintenance on. 😀

 

[McThomas]

If you can sail, you can tug! Seriously, knowing how to float around without hitting anyone is much more important than knowing the fineries of engine parts that you can't possibly repair (nor would want to) while at sea. I took a diesel course which was great - if the diesel in question is sitting on a workbench in the middle of a large room with everything labelled. Join Boat US, get upgraded towing and relax. Tugs should be less stressful than sailing, not more!

 

[Scuffy]

Being mechanically adept can be learned if you have the desire IMHO. I do oil and filter changes along with fuel filter changes as well as service the generator and the transmission. I paid a Volvo guy and watched closely and asking lots of questions to do the first time oil and filter change to avoid making any dumb moves. There are a lot of things you can do to limit the likelihood of failure on a lot of the systems. Such as taking care or preventing corrosion on battery terminals and using anti corrosion sprays plus having marine anti seize and using it on bolts/fasteners that are subject to corrosion. Changing the zincs and learning where they are located. Being careful of unwanted salt water intrusion sure the bilge pumps are in operating condition. But all things considered some basic tools should be on board. A set of all the square bits to fit a magnetic nut driver would be a good investment. I'm not sure the full blown tool set is warranted if you do not have the inclination to use them. I would think if a dealer once a year does a service like changing the oil and zincs and oil and fuel filters with a general check over along with replacing the raw water impellor would keep your boat pretty healthy. Plus winterizing/ storing procedures. I would recommend having a spare impellors, zincs, any belts, fuel filters on board. That way when you go in for service you won't have to wait for basic service parts. I'm sure I've missed something. Plus use this forum and ask lots of questions. The private message thing is a great tool for when you want to direct a question to an individual.There is more than one way to skin a cat. Can we even say that anymore?

 

[REO6205]

If you can sail, you can tug! Seriously, knowing how to float around without hitting anyone is much more important than knowing the fineries of engine parts that you can't possibly repair (nor would want to) while at sea. I took a diesel course which was great - if the diesel in question is sitting on a workbench in the middle of a large room with everything labelled. Join Boat US, get upgraded towing and relax. Tugs should be less stressful than sailing, not more!

Not all of us have Boat US towing available in our area. If I needed a tow locally my choices would be between a really expensive commercial outfit or some well meaning but unskilled good samaritan. If it was a life threatening situation I could call the Coast Guard.
Being able to change a belt or a fuel filter or even an impeller can make all the difference between a good day on the water and a really bad day on the rocks.