Ranger 21 ec stability

[Beachbum]

I sail on the gulf of mexico and saw a 21 for sale, wondering how stable a 21ec would be in rough conditions along coast and out to the barrier islands

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Good morning Beachbum
We have a 21EC and live in the Florida Panhandle outside Pensacola. A year or so ago we trailered our boat to Biloxi and then took her out to ship island. We had a wonderful day in the sun and a tour of Fort Massachusetts. You are not allowed to stay on the island overnight so we went to the east end of the island to spend the night. During the night one of Mississippi's notorious thunderstorms popped up and it got VERY ROUGH. About 2 in the morning with 30 MPH winds and 4-5 foot seas I'd had enough so we pulled up anchor and headed back into the Biloxi small craft harbor where we had a slip. The crew, my wife and I, we're the only ones who had a problem. The boat was dry, stable and performed like it was just another trip in Pensacola Bay. So.... Don't worry about the boat. Anything a prudent captain would go out in or be caught in the boat is up for the challenge.
Cheers!

Karl and Sara
Maneo

 

[Beachbum]

thank you Capt'nKarl.. I have been caught under the conditions you speak of twice on the north side of Ship Island, once on an O'day 26 and once on a Hunter 42, on the Hunter we started dragging anchor so after three tries we also headed back to slip

 

[rt11002003]

I've remarked the R21EC reminds me of a duck, or a cork. It just bobs on along, going with the flow. However, if you've observed either, you've noted they conform to the dynamics of the water. Those dynamics can create havoc with the onboard human passengers/crew. One always needs to use a good seamanship in any boat.

The first thing I noticed with a R21EC is how it reacts to weight placement. One can steer the boat by shifting from side to side, just like a small sailing dinghy. One definitely needs to go with forces of the wind and water. It will surf without much effort, if one keeps the forces on the aft quarters. Going dead down wind and waves is squirrely. It hates beam reaching in wind and waves. However, it handles going into wind and waves very well, especially when approaching to either forward quarter; full into wind and waves is asking for pounding and slow progress.

 

[Nicky K.]

So I'm originally from the panhandle of Florida also (Marianna FL) I've had many boats and motored my R21 around in the gulf and currently out here in the San Francisco Bay and honestly i can say for a boat this size it handles like a much larger and stable trawler. I've been absolutely pleased with the way she handles in all weather and seas both east and west coast!

 

[LADY JANE]

With the elegant shape of her wave-slicing hull and some tactical seamanship, the R-21'EC has great stability anytime on the open seas. We go out on the Pacific Ocean to Calalina Island and/or go fishing along the coast from Long Beach, Ca. On the way (and back), we dock for a bite at either "Schooner or Later" the giant "Fish Market" or the ol' "Chowder Barge"...all Tugnuts Recommended.

Cutting through tall waves with solid stability shouldn't be taken lightly. It's a specialty of all RangerTugs.
Also, the flat-bottom stern-hull makes for a stable platform on-deck to move-about while docked, fishing, or when cruising at slow speeds through marinas.

For passenger and crew safety, the cabin has the "Capacity Limits" Placards located in plain sight. It's the Skipper's responsibility to enforce these limits for maintaining vessel stability. RangerTugs are designed and built in USA with
stability and longevity in mind.
-Bill-B and the Lady Jane
R-21EC

 

[tlkenyon]

From a previous post that seems to have some applicability in this thread...

I got kinda intentionally stuck out in a thunderstorm last week...60 mph winds and nearly 2 inches of rain in 30 min with some quarter-sized hail. I wanted to see what would happen and how the boat (R21 Classic) would perform in these conditions. Keep in mind that this is on a 3,000 acre lake with a max 2-mile fetch and lots of places to quickly hide out.

On the extreme downwind side of the lake, after about 20 min or so of 40-60 mph winds across a nearly 2-mile fetch, the waves were large and square and visibility was nil - 50 feet or so in the rain and hail. I took a foot or so of solid water over the bow many times. Reversing into these waves just to see what would happen, I never took solid water over the stern, but as you can imagine, there was a lot of hammering and very heavy spray. Beam-to the waves, Nellie May really rocked and rolled, but never took any solid water over the rail...lost of heavy spray, but nothing solid, even with breaking waves. The bilge pump ran pretty much continuously.

I had the door open pretty much all the time (except for the reversing), and kept an eye on the cockpit. There was never any water that accumulated more than an inch or so, and that was mostly from the very heavy spray while reversing into the waves. While going forward, the drains completely handled the spray, even whilst taking solid water over the bow.

Admittedly, this was on an inland lake, and does not come close to oceanic conditions. That being said, very close, steep waves of 3 feet or more present a pretty good test. Heading into the waves at a slight angle was the most comfortable and driest, as that tended to lengthen the effective distance between crests.

I had my GoPro set up and running. When I got home after the storm, I found that in the excitement, I left the lens cap on <frown>.

These R21's are pretty capable little boats, and I do not think the lack of self-bailing is a real problem. The cockpit is so large and even with pretty large scuppers, a boarding sea would probably be the end of it, and the conditions necessary for that to happen would probably be pretty severe.