October Tugnuts Photo Contest

[Brian Dickhaut]

Hi all,

When you own a boat it's more than just a vehicle, it's a mobile basecamp that provides limitless adventure, lasting memories and it becomes a part of the family. That's why we name them! Often it's a clever pun, a play on words, a unique fragment of culture, but there's always an interesting story behind it. For October, the Tugnuts photo contest theme is "Boat Names" - Let's see a photo of your boat and please share the story behind how your boat got its name!

To enter, please send your photos to briandickhaut@rangertugs.com

We'll be taking submissions until October 31th 2020 at 11:59pm PDT.

If you're not familiar with our Tugnuts Monthly Photo Contest, every month we give away a pair of custom embroidered Ranger Tugs or Cutwater Boats jackets! Each month has a new theme and entry in the contest is simple, just email your photo and a description or comment to briandickhaut@rangertugs.com and at the end of the month we'll hold a vote here at the factory to select the winner. If you win, we'll announce it here on Tugnuts and send you an email to arrange delivery of your free jackets.

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Ed F.

"Here we are on day one for the factory training in Port Alberni, BC. It was November, cold and wet but we were lovin’ it! Kim and I had been looking for something new to experience together so we enrolled in the Canadian Power Squadron boating course in Campbell River and bought the Ranger Tug 27 way back in old ‘16. We just put two and Tug together. Still shines like new."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Bob D.

"Scuttlebutt was a cask containing a ship’s daily supply of freshwater. A long standing tradition
(although not necessarily honorable) was to gather around the drinking place to share sea stories and socialize! Keeping a tradition going with a nautical term I named my boat Scuttlebutt as a place where friends and family can gather and socialize have a drink and share in some great sea stories.

Just a side note: Sea stories are exaggerated or embellished tales from previous fishing trips, they almost always involve alcohol and should always involve creative embellishments, add some contemporary details in as much as you should tell it better than the last time it was told."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Karll R.

"Years ago we were on vacation in Belize on the island of Ambergris Caye and as we were being shuttled to our condo by boat a boat past us going the other way and when my wife and I saw the name we both said that is the name we want for our next boat. Along with the name 'SEAduced' their skiff was named 'Lil SEAduced.'"

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Jerry D.

"When I was just a youngster, my dad would occasionally use the term skookum to describe something that was, or looked to be well built. Skookum has stuck with me all these years as I have applied to to things or people that I admired, or thought of as particularly sturdy. When we finally decided to purchase our R29 last October, it did not take my wife Molly and me more than about five minutes to land on a name for her - SKOOKUM! In Chinook jargon, Skookum carries several somewhat connected meanings; amongst those is strong, powerful and brave - all seem a perfect fit for a Ranger Tug...right?. And the bonus is that I know my dad would have absolutely loved our boat and the name."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Zachary G.

"When we bought our 21EC we not only bought the boat but also the previous owners experience. Capt’nKarl pioneered several modifications to enhance usage and comfort of our 21EC. He also provides an incredible amount of knowledge that is easily accessible, via phone, text or in person. Capt’nKarl has visited with us 3 times since we bought the boat in July (an hour drive each way). Beyond his experience and knowledge, he’s an all-around great guy.
We decided to name the boat after him as soon as he agreed to sell it to us. It’s a great name and everyone that meets our 21EC not only loves the looks but loves the name, Karl."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Richard and Jan.

"We took ownership of our R23 in March of this year. I came up with the name "Tugget" since we would use our truck to tug it around to different cruising locations. My wife, Jan, decided to give the word "Tugget" its own definition--actually two definitions.

Tugget
noun
a valuable nautical idea
a handy nautical expletive

The photo was taken on the Stono River near Charleston, SC. "

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Matthew S.

"We named our R29 T-LUV for our Weimaraner, who is not always able to join us on cruises. Tucker is a special part of our family, who we decided to name boat for."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Barry S.

"Our boat name is LAXEY and was selected by my late wife Gill.

Our first RT was the R25 (Classic) and I wanted Gill to name the boat for us. She took a few weeks
to think about it, and then one day exclaimed it must be “LAXEY”.

One thing about choosing a boat name is for it to be clearly communicated to the Coast Guard in an emergency,
and LAXEY was simply ideal for this. It’s a name that IMO is quite unique so easily remembered by people.

So where did the name LAXEY come from. Gill is Manx (Isle of Man); an island in the middle of the
Irish sea some 200 miles west of Liverpool, England.

54° 14´ 9.9960'' N
4° 32´ 53.0160'' W

There’s a town on the east coast of the IoM called LAXEY, and Gill had fond childhood memories of this place. We have
both visited this lovel town over the years.

Laxey is famous for its Great Laxey Wheel… it remains the largest working waterwheel in the world https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxey

For the four Ranger Tugs we've owned since 2009 each boat has been named Laxey, along with the Flag of the Isle of Man 3-Legs emblem,
and the mast always flies the Isle of Man Naval flag.

It has amazed me the number of people that comment on the Isle of Man flag knowing it's for the Isle of Man, also famous for the
Time Trials (TT) motor cycle races.

Photos attached…

LAXEY being applied at the RT Kent factory.

LAXEY applied to the R25 (Classic)’s Sunset Yellow Portland Pudgy

LAXEY - RT21 EC at the Stimson Marina

The template for LAXEY for the R29 CB

LAXEY - 2019 R29 CB Northwest Edition
LAXEY at its permanent dock/slip at Port of Edmonds

As you can see, there aren’t too many LAXEY boats; in fact there’s only one and it’s my R29 CB.

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Kent and Wendy M.

"Our names are Kent and Wendy and when our boating friends get “fortified” with adult beverages, our names almost always turn into Went and Kendy. Miss Kendy seemed appropriate."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Martin and LaZina N.

"How we got our name:

Channel Surfing: "The practice of quickly scanning through different
television channels or radio frequencies to find something interesting
to watch or listen to."

In 2010 we found ourselves doing a lot of channel surfing. Nothing good
was ever on when we sat down to watch TV and we were paying a fortune
for it. Click, click, click, as we flipped through the 300+ channels of
endless television. As a result, 2010 was the year we cancelled cable
TV. Instead, we chose to stream content off the Internet at our
convenience for the little TV that we do watch. It's hard to believe
it's been 10 years now without cable TV.

When we purchased our Ranger Tug earlier this year, in searching for a
name, we came across "Channel Surfing" which fit us best.

Instead of television channels, we are surfing channel's throughout the
Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, and hopefully soon (once the USA/Canada
Border opens), Canada and Southeast Alaska, on our 2021 Ranger Tug
R27-OB! As I'm sure you all can imagine, it's quite easy for us to find
a channel to watch in our Ranger Tug, full steam ahead..."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Dan S.

"I went to the FLIB and looked at the Ranger Tug R23. My intuition told me this was probably the perfect boat for me. Lucky for me I have great intuition as the boat has been fantastic.
What else was I going to call it?"

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Fred K.

"Our R 25 Classic is our real joy. She is a freshwater trailer trawler in our home port of Port Huron, Michigan, at the south end of Lake Huron. I have been boating here since 1954, diving since 1961, and no matter where I was in the world, I could only stand it so long until I was back on the Great lakes. Diving, boating, water skiing, vacationing, traveling, whatever… as long as it involved the water. When my wife met me almost 40 years ago, she realized very quickly that my life revolved around the water, and that I really believed the sign in my office which read “A bad day on the water is always better than a good day at work”. When we got our first boat together shortly after we got married, she started the campaign to come up with a fitting name that recognized my passion.

Since we love northern Michigan as much as our home port, we try to get to Lake Michigan, the Traverse Bays, Lake Charlevoix, as well as northern Lake Huron, Mackinac Straits, and the inland waterway several times a summer. Plus as often as we can here on Lake Huron or the St. Clair River. With our trailerable trawler, all these locations are within 6 hours of home. Our Tug is seen many times a summer going up I-75 at 65 mph, and probably holds a couple of Ranger speed records I should not talk about. And now, we are comfortable, dry, warm if needed, and ready to go almost any time on the big lakes in our Ranger.

So, why PanaSeaAh Too? PanaSeaAh was the name my mate decided I had to have on our boat, since boating was literally my “remedy”, or the “cure”, the meaning of the actual word. “PanaSeaAh” is the spelling you get when the creative decision is made by a librarian. “Too” was added because it is our second boat with this name.

It is a tossup whether we spend more time explaining the features of our boat or the boat name to people who stop to see us when we travel, but it is a lot of both."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Bill K.

"This is Ranger Tug “Cookie”, a 2012 R27. Here’s the story behind the name. It’s a long one. I hope you understand.

My father was a WWII Pacific Theater combat veteran. After the war came to its abrupt end, my father had to wait in the Philippines several months for his turn to go back home. He was just 19 years old. During the wait, he and a friend came into possession of an 18’ boat, fixed it up, and put an engine in it they got from the Navy.

My father wrote many letters to his girlfriend back home. That girlfriend later became my mother. My mother kept every letter he wrote, more than 100 in all. The letters detailed his life in the Army, and after obtaining the boat, he wrote about the progress of fixing it up.

My mother wrote him nearly every day. She knew he loved boating because they spent time on the water together with friends before he went into the Army. In some letters, she would include magazine advertisements she cut out for him promoting boats that would be available after the war.

After finishing work on the boat, my father and his friend only got to enjoy it for five weeks before it was destroyed in a typhoon. It would be the only boat he ever owned.

A year after my father returned from overseas, he and my mother married. Starting in the early 1950s, they added three kids to the baby boom. All of my father’s time and money went to providing for his family and he started a business in the early 1960s. Tragically, just as his business was starting to flourish, in 1967 both he and my mother were killed in a car accident. I was 10 years old.

Fifteen years later, in 1982, my two sisters and I went through things that had been put in storage after the accident. In bags of seemingly useless papers, I found the 100+ letters my mother had kept. My father began many letters to my mother using her nickname— “My Dearest Cookie,” he would write.

In one letter written in November 1945, he told my mother his name for the boat. He wrote, “I think we’ll call it “Cookie” in honor of you. It’s a swell boat and you’re a swell girl.”

When I bought my Ranger Tug in 2017, I named it “Casper’s Cruiser” as a nod to the boat my father never had. However, in a bit of serendipity, my daughter, as part of a gift project, went through the letters my mother had kept. In that process, she discovered the passage about naming the Philippines boat. I had seen it years ago, but had forgotten all about it.

After some discussion, it was decided that a name change for the Ranger Tug from “Casper’s Cruiser” to “Cookie” was in order.

My daughter is named after my mother and, like her namesake, she is a highly skilled artist. She created the boat name graphics by scanning my father’s handwriting from the actual letter where he told my mother he was naming his boat “Cookie” in her honor. A local sign shop then made up the decals.

In another amazing bit of serendipity, the profile drawing of his boat my father included in that letter bears a remarkable resemblance to a Ranger Tug!

So there’s the story. I’m just delighted that there’s another boat carrying on the name “Cookie.”

Bill K.
Goshen, Ky
"

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Dan H.

"The "So Damn Lucky" name for our Cutwater 32 came from its namesake Dave Matthews Band song. We truly feel "So Damn Lucky" to be able to enjoy the boat and the greater Pacific Northwest when we are out on the water. The rest of the logo pays homage to the things we love....beer (homebrew), fishing, and crabbing. If you are a true Dave Matthews fans, you'll pick up the easter egg hidden in the log."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Marie and Cameron J.

"We named our Ranger 23, Coddiwomple, which means "to travel purposefully to a vague destination". My husband and I started a competition to see who could find the best name for our boat. I ended up finding the word on the internet, had no idea what it meant up until then, or that it was even an English word. But right away we both knew that it was the boat name for us! It is unique and often starts conversations. The name fits our adventurous style of boating. We know we're going somewhere but we don't always know where we'll end up."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Doug S.

"We have been sailing/racing with the same group of friends for decades, in 1999 we purchased a J24 (24’ racing sailboat) and on a whim in a reference to the movie Caddyshack named it “Free Bowl of Soup”, or “Soup” for short. In 2010 we upgraded to a J105 (35’ racing sailboat). The J105 is big enough to race offshore (has been to Hawaii) and cruise (regular in the San Juans in the summer) , but far from comfortable. A running joke from the spouses at events or walking the docks was someday we’ll own a comfy powerboat and name it “No Soup for You”, or “No Soup” for short.

A close runner up for the name was “Soupy McSoupFace” (in homage to the British research vessel Boaty McBoatFace naming debacle), so that became the tender/dinghy’s name.

BTW, in keeping with the theme, the J24 became “Free Cup of Soup” until a team member bought it and re-named it “Soupa Libre” and races in Seattle. Eric/Amy’s son has an International 14 named “Turtle Soup” (spends quite a bit of time upside down…).

FYI, we purchase “No Soup” in late Fall last year in Kalispell, MT and trailer it home just before the snow started accumulating. Both boats are at Portland Yacht Club in Portland, OR. Have been enjoying some local Columbia River cruising, but looking forward to traveling when more feasible again (trailer was a big factor in our choice of the Ranger) and meeting more owners/families!"

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Marcel L.

"My boat’s name came from a Newfoundland song, Saltwater Joys. There’s a line in the song that says, “ I was born down by the water and that’s where I’m gonna stay”. Most Newfoundlanders feel this way when they are growing up. Unfortunately for me, job opportunities in my little home town were pretty limited so I moved away to find work and support my young family.

Fast forward 33 years of working in Northern Alberta, I retired in 1993 and move to Vancouver Island, BC. With saltwater in my blood so to speak, I wanted a small boat so I could fish and enjoy time on the water which was something I could not afford to do at a young age in my hometown on the East Coast.

I first saw the R21EC is a boat show in Vancouver and immediately knew this was a boat for me as it reminded me so much of the little inshore fishing boats back in NL. The following spring (2014) I saw the boat at a boat show in Victoria on Vancouver Island and bought it from Dave Turner of Port Boathouse. They set me up with downriggers, rods and reels, tackle box complete with everything I needed to fish and as a part of my on water orientation they showed me how to use it to fish.

As part of the purchase they wanted me to name it so they would have it for registration and then add it to the boat prior to delivery. Saltwater Joy was an easy choice for me and although I had ended up moving from the East coast of Canada and settling on the West coast I felt the line, "I was born down by the water and that’s where I’m gonna stay”, was still applicable. With over 2300hrs and counting, Saltwater Joy continues to give me hours of “pure joy” fishing with family and friends on the waters off of Vancouver Island.."

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Jerry and Colleen W.

"After purchasing our Cutwater 28 it came time to give her a name. We live in Utah, which is obviously a long way from the ocean, so buying a ocean (Saltwater) boat seemed to many to be a bit crazy.

We had contemplated many names, but one morning we were listening to music from one of our playlists and one of our favorite songs “Crazy Heart” came on. This prompted a discussion of possibly using the song title as a name. Shortly thereafter, I read an opinion article in Yachting magazine by Chris Caswell. In the article he writes that there is simply no way that we boat owners can justify the cost of our boats financially. He concludes with, “If you try to justify it in your wallet, you’ll miss out with your heart.”

At that moment we knew our boat’s name: CRAZY HEART"

 

[Brian Dickhaut]

From Captain Matt W. on MV BLue Jean

"We are the proud owners of a brand new 2020 R-27, the BLue Jean. Our dealer, Voyager Yacht Sales, was and continues to be the best of the best dealers we have ever done business with. Here’s the back story on how we came up with the name:

Since our hull color is Midnight Blue, we wanted to incorporate “blue” into the name. We thought of all kinds of stuff, but then I had a brainstorm. I thought of who the 3 most important, wonderful and loving women in my entire life have been - my wife Kimberly Jean, my mom, Luella (going on 93 and goes by Lue) and the best mother in law anyone could ever have and who we lost last year, Lois Jean (hated the name Lois and went by Jean). So all of a sudden one day it came to me - BLue Jean. My wife loved it and we went with it.

I have attached some pictures for your review.

Thank you and thanks to Ranger Tugs for making such an awesome boat!!!"