New owner please post "must know" suggestions

R

ragman

Active member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
43
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2721J112
Vessel Name
Luna Rossa
Hello,
I officially became a lugnut today. My admiral and I put a deposit on a "new" 2012 27'. It was used as a display boat for the boat shows.

We have transitioned from sail (38' Shannon Ketch). We have done all the ocean cruising we need in our own boat, and have ample opportunity to feed that addiction on OPBs. The Ranger will be used to explore the coast of New England.

What do we "need to know" about any peculiarities or idiosyncrasies of our new baby?

Thanks

Wayne
 
I meant to add: Since the moon was full today and it was a "blue moon" *also called a red moon sometimes), and the hull is red, we have chosen the name "Luna Rossa".
 
Luna Rossa, for a red tug, on a red moon. Cool!

Gini
 
From another Baystater, where will you keep your tug?
 
Welcome to the world of Tugs! If your new Tug has a Yanmar engine I have lots of notes for you.

Pat & Carolyn, Ladybug, Too
 
Welcome to the clan! As far as must know suggestions go; use it often, have fun and keep up on periodic maintenance. After that you will probably get a book full of advice from all of us. Your boat is built well and the Ranger Company is second to none.
Use your boat for a season or two so you can figure out what works for you before you make any permanent changes.

Looking forward to crossing paths in the future!

Mike Rizzo
 
Welcome aboard. Basic seamanship should be pretty much the same from your old boat to your new boat. Something I did when I ordered my new boat was read all the posts on Tugnuts. I copied neat tips and recommendations from the posts and pasted them into a Word document for future reference. Make sure you put Andrew's phone number and email address into your cell phone. If you cannot otherwise find an answer, he can. We will look forward to seeing you at a future rendezvous in either the North East and/or Chesapeake rendezvous.
 
Welcome to the Ranger /Cutwater family,
We at Ranger /Cutwater are here to help, call if you have any questions.

Ronnie Gonzales
Cutwater/Ranger Customer Service
ronniegonzales@cutwaterboats.com
425-220-3932
 
Thanks to all for the very warm welcome. We signed all the documents yesterday. There is a very short punch list of things to do. Hopefully, we will get our shakedown cruise a week or so from now. That will probably happen on the Connecticut
river.

Thanks again
Wayne and Sarah
 
It took awhile, but I got through browsing all of the forum topics. I learned a lot, not the least of which is how much support each of you provide one another. It is refreshing to go through hundreds of posts and not see one sarcastic or insulting entry. I think I'm going to like it here.
 
Wayne: Welcome to the forum where we all help each other navigate the various boating issues that inevitably arise. Does your 2012 R-27 have the Yanmar or Volvo engine ? Just curious...
 
baz":2z9nzzjh said:
Wayne: Welcome to the forum where we all help each other navigate the various boating issues that inevitably arise. Does your 2012 R-27 have the Yanmar or Volvo engine ? Just curious...
Click to expand...

We have the Yanmar.
 
I am not sure if the warranty issues from Yanmar apply to your boat as on the 25. Make sure that these are corrected, there are 2 that I know of, my Yanmar had both (heater hose from motor and oil line). Never run the boat without a good supply of water from the fresh water coolant source, (open grid on bottom of boat is your fresh water intake), your impeller will fail almost instantly should this occur. This means avoiding seaweed, plastic bags and the like while in motion, I had this misfortune as well. Check your anodes every three months of time in the water, mine need to be replaced about this often except for trim tabs anodes. If you keep your boat in the water consider a "house zinc" install as well as donuts for the swimstep struts. Get the updates from Garmin for you chart plotter to avoid erratic behavior of the Garmin system. Put a super absorbent diaper in the area where the rear thruster resides to absorb water that is not supposed to be there. It could cause thruster failure as mine recently did. Lubricate the bolt connection between the rudder and the piston arm with a heavy grease. Get spare fuses for everything, especially the 150 amp fuses. Be aware that your boat has very little directional maneuverability in reverse so practice with the thrusters. Spend a lot of time on the shake down cruise, I mean a lot of time to get all the little things taken care of. Making sure your dealer will service what they sell is also very important.
 
Thanks
 
Get a good rundown on your boat's electrical systems and how they are switched. Most have circuit breakers but some have inline fuses located at various places throughout the boat. I have an R-25 and it has three switched DC systems, two switched AC systems, and some DC circuits that are continuously hot (e.g., bilge pumps). Getting my head wrapped around how all of these systems interrelated was my biggest frustration when I first got my boat.

Get a good rundown on how to winterize your boat if you plan to lay it up over the winter. There are multiple fresh water systems in your boat that can freeze if not properly winterized with RV antifreeze. It takes about 12 gallons to winterize an R-25. Suspect the R-27 would be similar.

When you first operate you boat at night, be prepared for a lot on internal reflections on the pilothouse glass from shore lights that will make it hard to see navigation markers. This is something you will get use to but a bit disconcerting when you first experience it.

Welcome to the Ranger Tug family and happy tugging.
 
I've spent two days operating every electrical component on board and studying the wiring diagrams. I have to admit, I am surprised at the number of fuses in "odd" locations. I would have prefered a single source point for all power with circuit breakers at that location. I can see that there is a cost savings by using fuses for some systems, just not as "neat" as I would like. But, at least I know where everything is.

thanks for everyone's advice
 
Where do you add the RV antifreeze for the fresh water systems. Just where you add water to the holding tank?
 
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