New here: questions on R-21EC and marinas in WA

[Drew J]

Hello. My name is Drew, and I hope to soon be the proud owner of a Ranger Tug! I'm from the gulf coast and had never really been all that much into boating, although my family has always had a 19' Cobalt and a 33" Tiara sport fisherman. I have moderate experience piloting both, and have always enjoyed it.

Anyway, my fiance and I just recently moved out to Seattle. There were many reasons for the move, but one of them is my dream to sail up the inside passage to Alaska. I saw a documentary about 10 years ago, and the views were absolutely stunning. My fiance works at Lake Union Sea Ray in Seattle, and gave me a couple free tickets to the Seattle Boat Show. I went with the express purpose of dipping my toes into the water and seeing what kind of boats were out there. I wanted something with a fully enclosed cabin with a v-berth and enough amenities to be comfortable. I also wanted decidedly more comfort than fishing in the style of boat. Well, I found the Ranger display and fell in love. I've spent about 2-3 hours checking all the offerings out, and then I went home and read everything I could find (much of it on this forum) about the boats, their history, the Livingstons, reviews, videos, blogs, etc. I also checked out other styles such as the C-Dory and other similar pilot-house style boats.

I have decided that the 21EC is just about perfect for my needs, but I have a few questions. Please forgive my general ignorance of most things boating. I am a total novice on many fronts.

1. Are there power outlets for things like a laptop, coffee maker, etc?
2. I know there is an alternator on the engine that charges the batteries while the engine is running. Is there also a shore power hookup? Is it 20amp or 30amp?
3. What are some questions you wished you'd asked before buying your 21? What are common complaints? What should I look out for?


Also, we are trying to get my parents to buy a place with a dock near Anacortes, and since my brother and sister-in-law have my parents' only grandchild here in Seattle, and are soon to start trying for a 2nd, my parents will probably be doing this relatively soon.

That said, I'm not sure I want to waste this entire next summer without a boat. My fiance and I rented a small ski-boat just to putter around Lake Washington, Lake Union, and the Sound, but I really want to start getting out on the water in the San Juans. A few weekends back we took the ferry to Friday Harbor, and it was so beautiful.

So I'm looking at different marinas in the Anacortes area, and am basically looking for the cheapest one we can find. So far after just a couple hours, the cheapest I've found in the area is Shelter Bay Marina, which looks to be around $150/month for a 21EC which is about 24' LOA.

Are there any cheaper marinas you know of? Are there any websites or other resources to go about researching this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time. Cheers!

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Drew,

There are no electrical outlets on the 21EC but there is a 12volt plug in on the starboard side below the throttle. The shore power hook up is a 120 volt plug at the base of the rear cushion and connected to a battery charger. My 2009 21 EC has a 30 HP 3 cylinder Yanmar. The newest 21s have a Volvo engine. We love our 21 and have made some modifications in the V-berth and I have added shore power for AC. So far other than having an underpowered 12 volt AC, which I have switched out for a 120 volt, we have had no major issues with our Ranger.

Cheers!

Karl

 

[Drew J]

Oh cool. So it's like a car power plug? I have an inverter from when I used to go camping in my Bronco with an air mattress. That would work perfectly.

I'm really not too worried about shore power, although it would be nice. I have no need for an A/C being that the boat will be used in Washington/Canada/Alaska.

How liberal with power can you be, and still be sure to leave enough juice for the bilge pump? Do you guys leave your fridge running at night? Should we only charge cell phone/laptop while the engine is running? Is there a volt-meter for the batteries, or do you just have to be careful so as not to overdrain them?

I'll definitely be going with an older Yanmar powered model. We don't have a very large budget.

 

[LAKERtoo]

.. I can't give much advice regarding the Ranger itself, as I'm still looking for one in my price range, but you might consider installing a suitable solar panel and converter as a separate system to take care of cell phones, lighting etc .. theres a lot of rechargeable technologies out there these days .. Rob

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Drew,

There are two batteries on board. One is a house battery the other for starting. The alternator keeps a good charge on both and if you are on shore power the batter charger does its job. When we are out on the hook we enjoy listening to music played from our ipad thru the AUX on the radio late into the night and have never had a battery issue. The fridge runs all night. No problem. There is no voltmeter to monitor discharge but again we've never had an issue. We even charge our phones and ipad using the plug-in connection I mentioned. We use a solar powered anchor light so that does save some draw on the battery. All in all given the easy engine access for maintenance, the great fuel economy and the reliability of the Yanmar diesel we are very pleased. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm always happy to talk about our boat.

Good luck in your search,

Karl

 

[Drew J]

Thanks for the replies. I have one more question about the batteries and shore power. I never got clarification: does the 21EC come with a shore power plug? If not, how does the boat not sink considering it isn't self-baling and the bilge pump has to run to pump out the water? If the boat wasn't cranked/batteries recharged after a a couple good rains, wouldn't the batteries drain and thus the bilge stop working? What am I missing, because I know obviously this can't be a valid issue, because nobody would build or buy a boat they couldn't leave in the water for weeks or months at a time between uses.

 

[Kenny Marrs]

Hello Drew,

The boat is NOT equipped with a 30amp shore power outlet. We do install a battery charger and a 15amp outlet for an extension cord. The battery charger chargers both banks, House and Engine.

Thanks,
-Kenny

 

[SparklePlenty]

Hello Drew,

I bought a 21EC at last year's boat show. I had shore power with two electrical outlets added, and am glad I did. About the batteries running down or dying: there are two batteries, but one is isolated to be your start battery for your engine. When you run the engine, your other battery will charge. I have not heard of anyone's house battery dying, but some owners do have a third battery installed in the lazarette.

I live in Anacortes. Moorage is hard to find at a reasonable cost, but there are options here. Sometimes you can find an owner of a waterfront lot in the Skyline area who would be willing to rent out their boat slip, but you will have a lot of competition for such a slip because they can earn more by renting to someone with a larger boat. My boat does not have bottom paint, so I keep my boat on its trailer, in gated and covered storage at Summit Park Storage on Hwy. 20 just outside Anacortes, for a little under $150. Uncovered storage there is MUCH less than that. I launch my boat at Skyline Marina, in their sling, where you can pay per launch or buy a yearly pass. Parking is extra. The boat stays cleaner, although it is slightly less convenient than having a boat in the water. You can also launch directly into the water yourself at Washington Park in Skyline, and pay for parking.

The 21EC is a great boat. The space is a tight for two people, but a lot of couples cruise on them. The one drawback I have found is that the fuel sloshes back and forth in the tank, and makes a loud boom each time it goes from one side to the other. It's not bothersome at a quiet dock, but if you are on a buoy or at anchor, expect to hear the pounding when there is any little wave action.

I believe there are two 21ECs for sale in Anacortes. Good luck finding the right one!

Jeanie

 

[Drew J]

Hello Drew,

The boat is NOT equipped with a 30amp shore power outlet. We do install a battery charger and a 15amp outlet for an extension cord. The battery charger chargers both banks, House and Engine.

Thanks,
-Kenny

Awesome. Thanks for the clarification. I knew I was missing something!

 

[jcarrdive]

Drew, welcome to the Tugnut family!
You made a couple of good calls and one great one. Good for you for moving out here! Puget Sound is so very cool. Anacortes is a very nice place to "home port" from. Your great call is getting a Ranger Tug. They are fantastic boats.
Hope to see you at the next tug rendezvous in Roche Harbor!
jeff and Ela
Bobolink R27

 

[Captain Nice]

"The one drawback I have found is that the fuel sloshes back and forth in the tank, and makes a loud boom each time it goes from one side to the other. It's not bothersome at a quiet dock, but if you are on a buoy or at anchor, expect to hear the pounding when there is any little wave action."

You may want to investigate fuel tank foam cubes to help baffle the sloshing, such as KSR Industries.

 

[Drew J]

What's the max passenger capacity (legal) of the R-21

 

[johnniethek]

Eight people or 1,400 pounds, whichever comes first!