Ranger Tug Outstation Desolation Sound

[Hydraulicjump]

I occasionally float an off the wall idea. Like Ranger-swapping (which fell flat). Here is another wild-arse idea.

So many of us cruise/fish the Desolation Sound area. It is as if the area was designed for Ranger Tugs and not the other way around. But we all suffer from the "six for cocktails, four for dinner, two for overnight" problem of a Ranger Tug.

What Jeff Messmer and Andrew Custis need to do is establish a Ranger Tug Outstation in Desolation Sound that we Ranger Tug owners can rent for a week at a time as a place to have friends and family and to mess around in our boats. I have found just the place. For the price of a R29, they can buy this boat-in-only house with dock in Quartz Bay on Cortes Island

http://www.bcoceanfront.com/listing/cor ... tz-bay-lot

then they can VRBO-it to only Ranger Tug owners. We do this every summer. We have friends fly into Campbell River and we pick them up there and scoot out to Quadra or Cortes for a week of fishing and messing around. Then they go away and we head back to Bellingham or go off to somewhere else.

Yea, the place obviously needs work and it is off the grid, but oh my, it is gorgeous and it is within striking distance of Heriot Bay for supplies and Cape Mudge for salmon fishing.

Then again, maybe a coalition of us Deso regulars should go in on something like this as a place to bring our families. Just sayin'. If this place is for sale, we will check it out and report back when we go by after the Rendezvous.

There. Another wild one for a Saturday.

Jeff

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Jeff:

I like your thought process on the outstation idea for Desolation Sound. I'd guess there would be a lot of interest, us included.

Jim F

 

[Hydraulicjump]

My wife pointed out that Ranger Tugs could also set this up as a timeshare. There are 12 premium weeks in a summer. If they sold $25k/week shares, that more than covers the cost of buying the place. Would need dues however because, frankly, that dock will need replacing pretty soon. There is a reason the place is so cheap (that and the week Canadian $).

Thanks Jim. We certainly would be in on this idea. Any others feel free to chime in.



Jeff

 

[JamesTXSD]

Since this is outside the scope of what Ranger Tugs does as their business, I would tend to see this more along the lines of a "users group project." Buy it; sell shares; then promote it to the Ranger/Cutwater owners first, then the general boating public if you can't fill all the weeks.

I don't have a dog in this fight since we are currently boatless. BUT, I don't see the "drinks 6, feeds 4, sleeps 2" as being any kind of "problem"... I see that as the best possible usage!

For most of our adult lives, we have been RVers and boaters - and have happily subscribed to the "sleeps 2" policy. Friends and family are wonderful, but we find we are happiest when we don't have to be the "cruise directors" for anyone but ourselves... and get to retire to our own accommodations each night.

Most folks can make short excursions (a week or less) work with guests on a small boat - you have to get into something sizeable with separate cabins/heads/elbow room to keep all parties happy. As far as investing in group-type vacation rentals: we did that some years ago, and found, while we enjoy going back to some places, we prefer to try new places even more.

For the record, I am not shooting this idea down - just saying I don't see how it fits into Ranger Tug's business model. We also owned businesses for decades... and it wasn't unusual that someone (friends, family, clients) would say, "You know what you should do? I have this idea..." It always involved me spending money and putting in time that would take me away from how I actually made my living. 😉

Go for it!

 

[Spinner]

For $10k (less for under 40 years old), you can join Seattle Yacht Club! 9 outstations from Gig Harbor to Desolation Sound, including Cortes Island. The Cortes Island outstation has three cabins which members can rent. Otherwise, there is no charge for use of any outstation docks.

Might be another option to explore..... Other local clubs also have facilities.