R27 vs North Pacific 28 Pilothouse

[edwardsail]

I understand this forum is based on Ranger/Cutwater (a great forum!) but I have been wondering if any of you ever checked out NP 28 Pilothouse before deciding buying Ranger 25 or 27? I understand that NP 28 comes from China and it just came in North America market last year but its quality looks good to me. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

 

[j&lgray]

We have walked on the North Pacific 28 several times and look at it fairly closely. For us, the Ranger 25 or the Ranger 27 are clearly head and shoulders above the NP 28. The layout is the big deal. The NP 28 is like the early Nordic Tugs, they are cut into three distinct sections, V-berth, pilothouse and salon with each function being independent of the other. For us, this makes the boat feel smaller. You have to walk substantially down into the salon while a roof hatch is open to avoid hitting your head. The pilothouse is fine. The V-berth feels more cramped than the Ranger.

I am not really sure, but I think the NP 28 is an 8-knot boat. The workmanship and the fit and finish of the NP 28 is acceptable.

For the money, you get more boat and a better re-sale product with the Ranger, hands down. Of course, we are objective, neutral and unbiased.

 

[Spirit of Gratitude]

What John is saying is 100% true. We walked through a North Pacific 28 at the boat show last year when we were looking at buying a Ranger 29. Our feeling on the NP 28 was that is was slapped together with very little thought 😱 :roll: . There was no comparison between a Ranger boats and a NP 28.
The Rangers are much better built, with great resale value and Ranger also provides first rate customer service, and do I need to mention that the Rangers are built in the USA, and the NP 28 is built in :cry: China.

I would strongly recommend any Ranger boat over anything that North Pacific builds. As you can tell, I feel very strongly about this. We have had our Ranger 29 for a year now and it has been the best boat we could have ever hoped for. We have almost 300 hours on her now and she has been very good to us.

For us the Trailerable Ranger boats are the best bang for your buck!

Best of luck with your boat shopping,
Stuart

 

[thataway]

The North Pacific 28 is based on the Chesapeake Marine Design "28' Trailer Trawler", designed by Karl Stambaugh (sort of a kit type of boat initially) and modified for fiberglass construction in the Oriental Market. With A Cummins QSD 150 and a stated speed of 13 knots that puts the boat in the semidisplacement category. I would put my money in the Ranger 27 than the Northwest 28. Plus the great Ranger team and in the USA factory puts it in the winning column.