Potential Long Island owner

[Oppiefive IV]

good morning to the board...

So, my wife fell in love with that little red one at the NYC boat show..WOW.comming out of a 28 Grady...time to slow down and enjoy a slower pace. I am located on the south shore of long island. My issue is docking in wind/ current..i am located on a major channel and am concerened about docking .. Obviously nothing like having twin screws(had 28 bertram prior) but would like to,get some feedback about handling in the current and wind around the docks..boat does have a thruster.

Would like to speak to anyone on Long Island who may have this vessel.


Thanks to everyone

Peter Oppenheimer

Long Beach, NY

 

[rt11002003]

Probably the R25 and R27 folks would suggest their vessels because of having both bow and stern thrusters which makes docking fairly easy.

I've owned two R21ECs, still own the second one. I feel, because of the larger rudder, the R21EC handles better than either the R25, or the R27, except when backing down. Going in bow first is easy, the bow thruster really helps with current and wind. Backing into a space is a little trickier, the big rudder is not as much help. I found the best approach is to get as close as possible to the space going forward, then turn away 90 degrees, trying to stay in line with the space. The idea is to have least possible distance to back up. The R21EC is really light weight and has a lot of surface area for the wind to act against. That's a plus and a minus. One can use the wind and current to place the boat. But, a wind gust can move it quickly.

After using a R21EC for a couple of months I never noticed any difficulty with a single screw.

 

[Oppiefive IV]

Thanks for the input...that is my only issue, unfortunatly where I dock, i am limited to stern in..stern thruster???i guess overkill..


Thanks

Peter

 

[Irish Mist]

I have had a lot of issues with my stern thruster over the years and I always stern in to our marinia.. I come into the marinia slow and when the stern is close to my slot I turn and face the rear and use the bow thruster to position the boat and use the throttle and the thruster only, I don't touch the steering wheel until the next time I go out. It takes a bit of practice to get a feel for how the boat pivots with the bow thruster as it isn't a perfect science, because you are floating after all 🙂 When the rear thruster is available that adds a lot of help , but very doable with the bow thruster only

 

[Oppiefive IV]

I guess it's somthing just to develop and get used to..in my early years, my dad had a 23 foot Lyman with a single Grey Marine inboard...no gps,no radio,no chart plotter no thruster, just a compass a heathkit depth sounder..and it worked!!!

 

[pugtug613]

I'm on the south shore. I dock in Browns river, Sayville. The bow and stern thruster is great. I put a rear view mirror on the rail and in the spring I will add a rear view camera. It hooks right up to the Garmin 5212. I have a 27 and I love it. You can PM me if you want. I am in Bohemia and have the boat in my yard. It's a great boat and we stay on it every weekend (more or less)

 

[rt11002003]

Irish Mist's explanation is what I was trying to say, better job than mine. It's actually very simple to back down. Backing into a slip is always my first choice, keeps the canvas and cockpit in the shade.

Don't let backing down keep you away from a R21EC. You'll pick it up quick.

 

[Oppiefive IV]

Appreciate everyones input...i guesss my biggest obstacle was my wife!! And not the docking issue..and she loves it..the docking should be easy!!


Peter

 

[Oppiefive IV]

I guess my last question is Claret vs Hero Red??

 

[tlkenyon]

Red is bold and fun...like a fire truck. Claret is classy. Just made a deal on a claret 25.