mlanger
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 12, 2022
- Messages
- 292
- Location
- Malaga, WA
- Website
- www.mygreatloopadventure.com
- Fluid Motion Model
- R-29 CB
- Vessel Name
- Do It Now
Last autumn, after a difficult experience on the Great Loop's inland waterway -- the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers -- I posted an angry complaint about problems I was having with my boat's battery system. I had been told by a Volvo mechanic I hired at the Turtle Bay marina in Kentucky that my boat did not have an engine battery, which is why I was having so much trouble starting it after a night at anchor. Silly me: I thought the mechanic actually knew what he was talking about -- after all, I paid him $350 for a Volvo computer update and help troubleshooting my power issue so he must know what he was doing, right? (Wrong and if anyone wants to know what Volvo mechanic to avoid in that area of the country, get in touch and I'll tell you.)
In any case, I was angry and I was rude right here in this forum. Unfortunately, I was angry for the wrong reason -- there was indeed an engine battery hiding way back behind the house batteries where it should be and it was likely age-related weakness that caused all my problems. (Replacing those five batteries resolved the problem.) The anger generated the rudeness, which is what I really regret and have come here to apologize for.
To all the folks at Ranger Tugs, I hope you'll accept my much belated apology for my rudeness back then. It has been a lesson to me to count to 10 (or 20) before letting anger influence what I say online.
I want to add here that although I have found it somewhat difficult getting Ranger Tug-specific support in my travels -- I've covered more than 3,000 miles, mostly solo, between my first cruise (to the Rendezvous) last September, my start of the Great Loop in Chicago in October 2022, and putting the boat on the hard in Maryland in late April 2023 -- I have recently been able to get the support I need from the Pocket Yacht Company, which is an east coast dealership. Although their Jensen Beach FL location wasn't quite as helpful as I'd hoped -- and I think that was related to the person I was dealing with -- their Chester, MD location has been extremely helpful. Not only did they install a Nebo device and Garmin Blackbox 800 AIS transmitter for me, but they also fixed a leak behind the wall in my galley that was, over time, going to destroy my wood shelf under the window.
I'll be returning to the boat in late September for a winter trip to Florida before I complete the Great Loop next summer. I love my Ranger Tug -- it's a perfect boat for single-handing. If any of the folks reading this will be on the Great Loop next spring, summer, and autumn, I hope you'll look for me. There aren't many Ranger Tugs or Cutwater boats on the Loop, so we certainly get more than the usual amount of attention when we pull into a marina or anchor out in a calm bay.
In any case, I was angry and I was rude right here in this forum. Unfortunately, I was angry for the wrong reason -- there was indeed an engine battery hiding way back behind the house batteries where it should be and it was likely age-related weakness that caused all my problems. (Replacing those five batteries resolved the problem.) The anger generated the rudeness, which is what I really regret and have come here to apologize for.
To all the folks at Ranger Tugs, I hope you'll accept my much belated apology for my rudeness back then. It has been a lesson to me to count to 10 (or 20) before letting anger influence what I say online.
I want to add here that although I have found it somewhat difficult getting Ranger Tug-specific support in my travels -- I've covered more than 3,000 miles, mostly solo, between my first cruise (to the Rendezvous) last September, my start of the Great Loop in Chicago in October 2022, and putting the boat on the hard in Maryland in late April 2023 -- I have recently been able to get the support I need from the Pocket Yacht Company, which is an east coast dealership. Although their Jensen Beach FL location wasn't quite as helpful as I'd hoped -- and I think that was related to the person I was dealing with -- their Chester, MD location has been extremely helpful. Not only did they install a Nebo device and Garmin Blackbox 800 AIS transmitter for me, but they also fixed a leak behind the wall in my galley that was, over time, going to destroy my wood shelf under the window.
I'll be returning to the boat in late September for a winter trip to Florida before I complete the Great Loop next summer. I love my Ranger Tug -- it's a perfect boat for single-handing. If any of the folks reading this will be on the Great Loop next spring, summer, and autumn, I hope you'll look for me. There aren't many Ranger Tugs or Cutwater boats on the Loop, so we certainly get more than the usual amount of attention when we pull into a marina or anchor out in a calm bay.