Looking for Ranger 21

[sunfishman]

I am new to the forum. I just recently sold my beloved Montgomery 17 sailboat. My wife was always leary of the water and moving around ondeck. And that was on flat water. Family circumstances led to the sale and as fate would have it she broke her leg the day after I decided to sell boat and give up the slip. So it was meant to be. She has always liked the lobster style boat and I think this is the direction in which we want to go. I am interested in a Ranger 21. Not sure when the extended cabin came into being or whether or not we really need it at this time. We are located in Orange county NY and would appreciate any leads for used Rangers that the members could give us. Have only seen them online. Thanks Kevin

 

[Aintso]

Hi Kevin,

Sorry to hear about you wife's leg I hope she is healing quickly.

My wife and I have a 2003 R21 classic, (not-extended cabin) that we got this year. Though we are new to the boat, so don't have a lot of time with it yet, we love it. Relatively simple, and very economical to operate equals more time on the water for us.

I do not hold myself out to be an expert but I will share what I learned on my recent R21 hunt. 2006 seems to be the year the last R21 Classic was made and the first R21EC with the extended cabin appeared. The Classic has the shorter cabin and tends to be a little more spartan in its finish. Many of the R21 classic owners opted for the mast that steps just behind the pilot house most often used to rig a sunshade, but I have read (never seen one) of a steady sail rigged there also. At the time Ranger extended the cabin, they also modified the hull a little bit by adding a "step" in running across the hull in the area just above the prop. This was done I presume to add volume back there and keep the boat from squatting as the speed increases and up the cruise speed. They claim that the ECs cruise at 8kts, I am sure you can get tons of verification on that from the 21EC owners on this site. My Classic likes 6 knots. It seems to hit that at between 2200 and 2500 rpm. I can go to max power (3600 rpm on my 27hp Yanmar) and I burn more fuel, make more noise, and get a whopping 7.8 to 8 knots.

That's one thing about these boats, they are displacement hulls and, like a keel sailboat go at hull speed. You have to be ok with that or this is not the boat for you. If you are a former sailboat owner (me too) the speed is just fine, and to me preferable. If that is the not case, try a C-Dory. They are great boats too and worth a look if you need to go faster.

Notes on looking for these boats: My gathered knowledge only, so...
Start here. There are 2 for sale on this site. I think Ron Cowans boat was the last Classic made in 2006.
Boat Trader on line lists many, there is a company named Ranger that makes bass boats (lake style fishing type not cutty hunk bass boat). There are a ton of those on the market and can cloud your search results. It can be helpful to search for a Ranger manufacturer with a min length of 21 and a max length of 21, that weeds out a bunch.
These were also known as C-Rangers for a while (not sure when, years) due to a marketing arrangement with C-Dory. So you can search for that too.
Use of the Key word "tug" can help.

Through looking at adds on online I learned that there is a dealer in NY:
Coeymans Landing Marina
20 Marina Drive
Coeymans, NY. 12045
1-518-756-6111
www.coeymanslanding.com

I know nothing about them and have never had any contact with them, just giving you the info.

Hope this helps, we love ours.

Dave

 

[Gregg]

Hi Kevin,
I can identify with your thinking. My first boat was a Bayfield 25. It was part of the family. But my wife, while enjoying the water, wasn't crazy about all this "heeling" business when it was blowing. So, we sold it and now have a 2008 R21ec, launched just the other day. The Ranger has many similarities to the Bayfield. She rolls a bit with waves on the beam. She's a bit cranky in reverse, (but the thrusters make up for it). What the Bayfield lacked in cockpit space, the Ranger makes up in spades. Loads of room for the whole family. The Cabin is tight but 3 persons is workable. There's lots of headroom and real working room when at the stove and sink (or on the potty).

On a cruise last night we saw mostly 6-6.5 knots running (GPS) between 2200 -2500 RPM. And I agree with Dave; I think the law of diminishing returns applies when adding more power. We saw about 7.5+ knots at 3000 RPM. But it was loud and the boat seems to be somewhat out of sorts at that speed. At about 2400 Rpm, it finds it's niche; it's wonderful. Even with a couple coats of VC17, this is really a 6.5 knot boat kept at comfortable pace.

LG is a very capable, seaworthy boat, and we just love it. I don't think you can go wrong with either a Classic or the EC version accomplishing all the things you need it to do.

Gregg

 

[sunfishman]

Thanks for all the good feedback. Not having been on one yet, how would you describe the noise level at that optimum speed. Is it less noise or more noise than an outboard on a C Dory at its optimum speed. Also, how is it to launch and retrieve at the ramp? Kevin

 

[Aintso]

Hi Kevin,
I had the same question about noise before I got my boat. At my normal 2200-2500 rpm cruise, I can easily have a conversation, or phone call with the door to the pilot house open. Quieter with it closed. My guess is that the new boats are quieter, as they have headliners and what looks like better sound isolation stuff in the engine box.

The sound level in my boat is not at all objectionable to me and it was a criteria of my boat search that the thing be quiet. With the door closed and the windshield tilted open, I can hear the bow wave.

Can't really answer the C-Dory vs R21 db debate.

Easy to get on and off the trailer.

 

[Gregg]

I would describe the noise level as non-intrusive. It's there, but it goes into the background fairly quickly.

I've had the boat off and on a couple of times and its a snap. It's on a bunk trailer with load guides. On each occasion, there was someone to help guide it off. I think though, with a bit more practise, launching can be a 1 person event without much difficulty.

Gregg

 

[ron cowan]

Kevin,
My 2006 21' is at Wefings for sale. An answer to a couple of your questions would be; the boat is easy to off-load and load at the ramp. Most of my times out, I was alone and it was no problem The biggest problem was that I would not drive all the way on the trailer and would climb over the rail and winch it the rest of the way up. I just bought a Classic C-Dory and the noise level on the tug is no more than the outboard on the C-Dory. The diesel put would put my wife to sleep every time she got on the boat.
I got the C-Dory and am selling the tug because my grandchildren were 4 hours away by tug and 1.5 hours by C-Dory. I loved the tug and did two items that the next owner will love.1( relocated the batteries to give good access to the bilge pump and stuffing box and 2( added a hard cockpit cover for shade. See my album both here on Tugnuts and C-brats.
Ron

 

[ron cowan]

Kevin,
I forgot to mention, if you have any questions about the tug that I might can help you with, feel free to call me on my cell phone. (256) 318-4608. Ron

 

[TF Varley]

Kevin,

My situation may be similar to yours with regard to my wife's interest in boating. She's ok with boating but it's not her real interest and she goes occasionally to spend time with me or sunbath. She has little interest in how the boat operates and wants no responsibility. Operating the tug is not like sailing in that when one person goes forward to raise the sails a second person has to be on the helm steering the boat into the wind. The tug has no sheet lines, outhaul, downhaul, vang or traveler that requires attention. She has no responsibilities and simple relaxes reading, napping, listening to Ipod,etc. Sometimes we anchor and have lunch and those have been the only times I've asked her to stand-bye the helm to through the engine in reverse when I lower the anchor. The tugs are easy to operate and like most of the captain's on the board I really enjoy being on the water and boating in a safe and responsible manner. I'm a memebr of our local Sail and Power Squadron and have taken numerous safety and seamanship classes over the years and I think that helps in reducing any leary feeling she has being on the water. These are good boats that you can have confidence in and as my knowledge and skills have increased I think my wife feels more comfortable with boating.


Tim

 

[sunfishman]

TF Varley,

Sounds like my situation in a nutshell. My wife likes to read the paper and a magazine on the boat. On the sailboat I never felt comfortable with her going forward. She was a willing first mate,but her nervous level steadily progressed as the wind grew. I wanted to go out when it got wild and she would be petrified . I would be unhappy that I was losing valuable time on the water when the winds were wild. A Ranger would only be used on freshwater lakes like the sailboat, Winnipesaukee and Skaneateles, maybe Cayuga. I'll be in touch once I can figure out when I can get down there for a look. Kevin

 

[sunfishman]

Ron,
Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear the noise level is not higher than an outboard noise. I did notice your prior boat at Wefings, will try to get down there too. Just wondering, we have no intention of extended trips or even overnighting so do you think the regular cabin would be more than enough room? Kevin

 

[captain's cat]

TF Varley,

Sounds like my situation in a nutshell. My wife likes to read the paper and a magazine on the boat. On the sailboat I never felt comfortable with her going forward. She was a willing first mate,but her nervous level steadily progressed as the wind grew. I wanted to go out when it got wild and she would be petrified . I would be unhappy that I was losing valuable time on the water when the winds were wild. A Ranger would only be used on freshwater lakes like the sailboat, Winnipesaukee and Skaneateles, maybe Cayuga. I'll be in touch once I can figure out when I can get down there for a look. Kevin

Kevin, for goodness sakes, buy some lifejackets that inflate automatically so that when/if she falls in, it will hold her up. Then, when the water is warm and calm, have her or you jump in and show her how it works. She'll have less concern after that! :x

Charlie

 

[ron cowan]

Kevin, There is not a lot of room in the regular pilothouse for two but the wife and I did boat a lot this winter and we both stayed inside where it was warm with the diesel hot water heater. When just traveling up the river to eat out or something she would sit beside me on the seat but when we were going a distance she loved to sit on the v-berth and lean against the port wall and read. We did spend the night on the boat and she loved it, although we would do this at a marina so we could leave the tug for meals. Meals on the tug were composed of lunch that we would take out on a cruise for a day outing and coffee that I fixed for her breakfast. I made a curtain that hung from my hardtop so I could move the porti-pottie out into the cockpit area on the nights we stayed on the boat. (with my wife that would have been required with any size pilothouse) Ha!
Neither of the tugs have a lot of room in the pilothouse and your intended use will determine if either has enough. If it was not the issue of time to see the grandkids I would still have the tug. It is the most fun boat I have ever owned and got more comments from others. You can not beat cruising at 1/3 gal/hr fuel burn and having a neat boat also.
Yes I am trying to sell a boat but dare say you will not find anyone that has been around one that can argue with the comments. My wife had only been on a few boats in her life and had never slept on a boat but she loved it and could not wait to go out to sit in the sun(and sleep). I designed my hardtop such that the rear sit still had sun for her. All the engine cover had shade and the flip seat I had the factory install had shade for me when we were just out at anchor or such.
Good luck in your search. Ron

 

[johnniethek]

I have a different question re: the R-21. How does it fish? I know there are two pole holders on the railing in the cockpit, but I'd like to know from someone with experience about how well the 21 trolls and how suitable it is for fishing.

Thanks,

JtheK