New R-27 Enclosure now, later or never for our usage.

N

njtugger

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Sep 24, 2020
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14
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Greetings,
We take delivery of our new Ranger in May. We boat in NJ and envision north to the Hudson river and South as far as MD. We only boat from May to October, We are considering an enclosure but mostly for bugs. I would like to hear some pro's and cons regarding the idea of the enclosure. For example visibility, storage( we have the boat shrink wrapped for winter)
ease of in and out while docking, etc. How much extra work is cleaning it and getting it off and on. Another factor may be us putting a dinghy on the swim platform. Not sure how that works with the enclosure for tie down, etc.
I am thinking maybe just skipping it for the first year and using a fan if we are sitting at a marina having cocktails.
We don't need the space for guests sleeping and we will spend 80% of our time at marinas vs. anchoring out.



Thanks

Ralph
 
My advice to all new boat owners is use it for a season and then decide what you want or need. Sometimes you don't miss what you never had. We never had the enclosure. I can see in the PNW with the somewhat rainy seasons. We have never really had an issue with bugs so we never saw a need for screens either. Every one is different so you will get differing opinions. Using it and determining your own requirements is probably best.
 
We have a full cockpit enclosure on our R23 and love it. Makes the boat seems bigger and really feels like an "extra room." Our enclosed cockpit is our hangout spot.

We are in the Southeast and use it with the screens for hot buggy times, but in cooler weather the plastic makes the cockput usable instead of too cold.

My two cents.....
 
I think it is a lot of money to spend if you are usually at a marina. There are enough other options to get off the boat and change your surroundings without needing to focus on improving the usability of your cockpit. Go for a walk, hit the coffee shop or pub patio, etc. In the PNW for the gunk holing crowd it's a great addition but even then we rely on our Bimini 90% of the time, only zipping in the plastic or screen sides when it is consistently wet and windy to get a little more elbow room. There is usually some breeze at anchor or we are far enough from shore that we have actually never used the screens. Once it's full dark out in the summer and the bugs start to make inroads we usually call it quits and go to bed anyway. We actually use an old curtain more than the enclosure, just to hang it on the sunny side to cast some shade on a hot day. We do that with some parachute cord and a few clothes pins. So much for my beautiful custom made multi panel enclose times two - one for bugs, one for foul weather... Nice to have certainly, but we never go to marinas and we still hardly use it. Having said that, we kinda stopped winter boating - that's a different matter!
 
Ralph,
I'm also in NJ. I'm in the market for a full enclosure. My reasons are for the extra room and bugs. The biting flies can be a real pain at times, not to mention the green heads. I don't have screens for the door or flip up window, so there's no way to keep them out. I would like the extra shade and useable space in case of a passing rain shower. The AC gets so cold I could hang meat if the cabin, so I'm sure it will cool the cockpit with the sides and back closed.
 
I agree with the other post about waiting for a season or so. We have a 2020 27 OB in Manchester, MA. Did not think of the enclosure given our season. Cabin is fine and comfortable while hanging on our mooring in the rain.

A reason not to get the enclosure is the longer term cost of maintenance. Resewing exposed seams is inevitable, if you want to extend the life .

Regards,
Oh Well
 
We had a full enclosure completed on an earlier boat thinking we'd use it all the time. The cover in the PNW is nice as we used the boat year round. However the sides often got left behind or taken down and left somewhere. In the PNW we rarely have bug issues. If you can work with your canvas maker have a bimini made and if later you decide you need sides add them.
 
I would not have a Tug in the Northern states without a cockpit enclosure. It is the best thing on our boat.
 
As others suggested we waited a season before deciding on an aft enclosure. The R31 came with a cockpit roof but in the PNW rain blows in, so nothing stays dry “under cover.” The surround expands the cabin space and serves as a mud room on rainy days. In winter it stays warm out back with the cabin door open and Webasto running. The one feature I would like in an upgrade is a lightweight roll up shade system. For sun avoidance late in the day, we pin up light fabric curtains to the frame. King Marine in Ballard does quality work.
 
We love the full enclosure. Having a small boat we wanted more living space. Our enclosure has 7 panels, 3 with screens all panels can roll up so we have a full open cockpit with just Bimini. My cockpit stays 90% dry, no spray while cruising, all storage areas are always dry, with no evidence of mildew from moisture. The bilge pump in the boat has only been used when I use the hose to run fresh water in it to remove stagnant bilge water. The auto bilge pump has never come except when I test to make sure it works. Bilge and cockpit look factory new after 5 years of use. My personal opinion I would not own my boat with out an enclosure. We can comfortably sit in the cockpit when it is raining or cold out. Even when it is very warm out and we close the enclosure open the door to the pilot house turn the air on and the cockpit is cooled and we are comfortable. ( at a Marina not on the hook) We are not campers. We enjoy being comfortable. We all have our own requirements.
 
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned how the enclosure restricts fishing. I guess you can remove it when wanting to toss out a line... I'm not a serious fisherman, but Karen loves to... No enclosure for us.

-John
 
I remove the panels for fishing. It’s an easy <5 minute process to unzip the 8 panels and store them neatly below.
 
Dubs":2xedeoc1 said:
I remove the panels for fishing. It’s an easy <5 minute process to unzip the 8 panels and store them neatly below.
Click to expand...

On my R29 CB with its full cockpit enclosure, and wanting to troll/fish for salmon, I simply roll up the side panels and deploy my Scotty down rigger. Easy peasy, and all done in a few minutes. If I need to get onto the swim step I roll up the panel that drapes down to the cockpit door to the swim step.

I'm in the PNW and would not ever be without my enclosure. If I want it off (for say summer time), its easy to slide the 8 panels off from the hard top's piping, roll them up and store them into the cave on one side leaving stacks of room for sleeping and stowage. The trick it to number the panels so it's clear what the order is for sliding the panels back on. 😉

I've owned 4 RT and have had cockpit enclosures on all four.
 
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