Subject: Report for my first R-21EC cruise
We received our R-21EC on Aug 26th 2015. Kenny was on hand and we played with the R-21EC on a local lake in Seattle on a sunny windless day. All went well without any issues found.
I then trailered the boat back to our house in Edmonds.... some 12 miles away. No issues with trailering using our sturdy MY2012 Volvo XC70 T6 with Polestar engine chip and equipped with a Class III hitch.
Trailering experience report.
Last Tuesday we set off trailering the R-21EC from Edmonds to Skyline/Anacortes which was some 70 miles and mainly freeway roads with few steep hills or declines. The XC70 handles this trailering wonderfully well using it's manual override feature at times to avoid lugging the engine on uphill climbs, and I was not bothered or stressed out in any way trailing the R-21EC on its very well constructed EZ-Loader single axel trailer. I did have all the canvas off the boat per King Marine Canvas Dave's recommendation. BTW... Dave come to my house early Tuesday morning before we set off up to Skyline to install a 3rd cross bar to the framing near to the Pilot House as with some heavy rain the previous week the canvas had sagged and a fair amount of water puddled on top. He even left me with his hand-dandy special allen key for tightening the frame joints. Dave is a big fella with a strong handshake. 🙂 He was obviously anxious about any negative report surfacing about his canvas product at the Rendezvous... 😱
Just for the record here... the MY2012 Volvo XC70 T6 with Polestar engine chip handles trailering the R-21EC without issues. The weight is close to the wagon's towing limit but no matter, it tows nicely with maybe a 1.5" drop at the rear wheel well when the trailer tongue is lowered onto the 2" ball. In Europe this same car equipped with a Volvo diesel engine pulls tin cans (caravans) weighing more that the R-21EC all over Europe. I had been in touch with a person in Wales, UK who used the same Volvo wagon as we have to pull his tin can all the way from Wales down to around Spain and back without issues.
One of my requirements for buying the R-21EC was that it was unnecessary for me to by a truck to trailer it. This trip up to Skyline and back confirmed that my research into this was sound. The XC70 wagon can handle this trailering job. Just make sure the 2" ball is 21" to 22" off the ground. I might invest in some stiffer rear springs if my trailering extends to 1000s of miles.
When we arrived at Skyline we met with Bob/Nita and amazingly enough the R-21EC Zenyatta (Eileen and Jay from Renton, WA) was already lined up ready for its sling launch. After letting our two Fox Terriers take a nature break we lined up for our sling launch as well. Bob & Nita were so helpful and Jay helped me with preparing our R-21EC for the sling launch as well... and I didn't forget to insert the drain plug. 😱 This was the first for our new Laxey to experience salt water.
The R-21EC's performance cruising from Skyline up to Roche Harbour and back.
The plan was to set off at around 9am Wed morning with Bob & Nita on their Nellie Too R-29 and Eileen & Jay on their Zenyatta R-21EC.
All went well as as we started the crossing to Thatcher Pass a very large commercial tug was crossing our path. Bob got on the radio and warned Zenyatta and Laxey that this tug was leaving a very nasty wake with possibly 8' and two smaller 6' waves... Oucheeee I thought... how will our R-21EC handle this. Bob/Nita's R-29 went first with Laxey trailer some 1000 feet behind. The R-29 hit the first wave and when cresting half the front of it was out of the water and then kind of disappeared... 😱 ....and then reappeared to push through the next two waves. I was not looking forward as we approached these three waves. I looked for a break in the tug's wake for smaller waves but it was changing all the time. I simply had to take whatever we would encounter. I slowed down hoping to ride the waves and steered the boat head on and straight at the first loomingly large wave. The first wave caused to R-21EC to raise right out of the water much like for the R-29 and then it was slammed down the other side and into the 2nd wave which was almost immediate. The R-21EC's bow dug down deep and was in my mind out of sight in the water and then sprang back up with water all over us... and then again into the 3rd wave which was a repeat of the the previous wave. My wife sitting on the V-berth was completely lifted up along with the two dogs as we went through the 3 large waves. With the canvas and full enclosure up and zipped we took very little water into the cockpit. Some did make it in but it was nothing to worry about IMO. This was a very hairy ride to say the least... and the R-21EC took it without any serious side affects. Hey, the R-21EC really does float and with careful judgement can handle this sort of thing. 🙂
As we had but 4 hours on the Volvo Penta D1-30 engine I wanted to run it at various RPMs as was recommended in the Operations Manual. This was kind of fun as I would run slow and then fast and Bob just could not keep me in sight at times as I whizzed around him.
After some 3.5 hours we closed in on Roche Harbour. Apart from the commercial tug's wake event the seas were reasonable and the R-21EC cruised effortlessly for us.
I find the noise level on our R-21EC is far less than what we had on on R-25 (Classic) with the Yanmar 4BY2-150 engine. I think this is due to having the R-21EC's engine completing out of the Pilot house proper vs. the Yanmar poking itself into the Pilot House cabin. The R-21EC's engine is absolutely happy running flat out at around 3000 RPM and vibration is almost unnoticeable to this person. At 1000 RPM or less the engine is a bit lumpy but that really is only going to happen when enter and exiting harbors and the like, so I find this not to be any issue.
BTW, the Volvo guy at the Roche Harbour event told me the D1-30 engine is a Perkin's design. 😉
Returning from Roche to Skyline on Sunday was very very pleasant. Clear skies for the most part and the water was just a slight chop at times along with some strong apposing currents at times. With the RPM at 3000 Laxey was doing some 4 kts when encountering strong apposing currents and water swirls/churns. With zero apposing/following currents Laxey would get up to around 9 kts easily at this RPM and this was with a 3/4 full fuel tank, 2 adults, two dogs and tons of gear onboard.
I really like that the R-21EC runs flat (that is, bow does not rise) when running at speed. I always disliked the way the R-25's bow would rise up at speed and make the cabin floor slop backwards. My dogs hated this affect.
The R-21EC's rudder is very affective. Starting at a standstill with rudder hard over and then revving up the boat turns on its axis.
Our Raymarine SmartPilot SPX5-R performed flawlessly. The helm wheel motor does whine a bit but after a while it becomes unnoticeable. I love the Raymarine p70R colored Control Head. It's rotary thumb knob allows easy heading changes vs. the push button design of previous Control Heads.
I found having the helm seat lowered most of the time was best for me. I simply sat on it as a bicycle saddle and found that comfortable.... either this or standing in the middle of the Pilot House and looking straight out in front was comforting for me. I really felt in charge of this R-21EC boat whereas on the R-25 I felt less in control of things.
Bottom line: I'm really liking this R-21EC and find it so much more fun to drive than our previous R-25. The R-21EC almost insists you take charge and be engaged. This I like.
My wife did end up feeling a bit sea sick on the way back from Roche but I strongly believe this was a mix of her Parkinson's Meds and the boat's motion at times. Parkinson's Meds have to be taken at precise times otherwise the person's moods and feeling can go up and down badly.
Laxey performed well during this cruise and I have no issues whatsoever with it. We have joined the "21" club for sure. 😀
We received our R-21EC on Aug 26th 2015. Kenny was on hand and we played with the R-21EC on a local lake in Seattle on a sunny windless day. All went well without any issues found.
I then trailered the boat back to our house in Edmonds.... some 12 miles away. No issues with trailering using our sturdy MY2012 Volvo XC70 T6 with Polestar engine chip and equipped with a Class III hitch.
Trailering experience report.
Last Tuesday we set off trailering the R-21EC from Edmonds to Skyline/Anacortes which was some 70 miles and mainly freeway roads with few steep hills or declines. The XC70 handles this trailering wonderfully well using it's manual override feature at times to avoid lugging the engine on uphill climbs, and I was not bothered or stressed out in any way trailing the R-21EC on its very well constructed EZ-Loader single axel trailer. I did have all the canvas off the boat per King Marine Canvas Dave's recommendation. BTW... Dave come to my house early Tuesday morning before we set off up to Skyline to install a 3rd cross bar to the framing near to the Pilot House as with some heavy rain the previous week the canvas had sagged and a fair amount of water puddled on top. He even left me with his hand-dandy special allen key for tightening the frame joints. Dave is a big fella with a strong handshake. 🙂 He was obviously anxious about any negative report surfacing about his canvas product at the Rendezvous... 😱
Just for the record here... the MY2012 Volvo XC70 T6 with Polestar engine chip handles trailering the R-21EC without issues. The weight is close to the wagon's towing limit but no matter, it tows nicely with maybe a 1.5" drop at the rear wheel well when the trailer tongue is lowered onto the 2" ball. In Europe this same car equipped with a Volvo diesel engine pulls tin cans (caravans) weighing more that the R-21EC all over Europe. I had been in touch with a person in Wales, UK who used the same Volvo wagon as we have to pull his tin can all the way from Wales down to around Spain and back without issues.
One of my requirements for buying the R-21EC was that it was unnecessary for me to by a truck to trailer it. This trip up to Skyline and back confirmed that my research into this was sound. The XC70 wagon can handle this trailering job. Just make sure the 2" ball is 21" to 22" off the ground. I might invest in some stiffer rear springs if my trailering extends to 1000s of miles.
When we arrived at Skyline we met with Bob/Nita and amazingly enough the R-21EC Zenyatta (Eileen and Jay from Renton, WA) was already lined up ready for its sling launch. After letting our two Fox Terriers take a nature break we lined up for our sling launch as well. Bob & Nita were so helpful and Jay helped me with preparing our R-21EC for the sling launch as well... and I didn't forget to insert the drain plug. 😱 This was the first for our new Laxey to experience salt water.
The R-21EC's performance cruising from Skyline up to Roche Harbour and back.
The plan was to set off at around 9am Wed morning with Bob & Nita on their Nellie Too R-29 and Eileen & Jay on their Zenyatta R-21EC.
All went well as as we started the crossing to Thatcher Pass a very large commercial tug was crossing our path. Bob got on the radio and warned Zenyatta and Laxey that this tug was leaving a very nasty wake with possibly 8' and two smaller 6' waves... Oucheeee I thought... how will our R-21EC handle this. Bob/Nita's R-29 went first with Laxey trailer some 1000 feet behind. The R-29 hit the first wave and when cresting half the front of it was out of the water and then kind of disappeared... 😱 ....and then reappeared to push through the next two waves. I was not looking forward as we approached these three waves. I looked for a break in the tug's wake for smaller waves but it was changing all the time. I simply had to take whatever we would encounter. I slowed down hoping to ride the waves and steered the boat head on and straight at the first loomingly large wave. The first wave caused to R-21EC to raise right out of the water much like for the R-29 and then it was slammed down the other side and into the 2nd wave which was almost immediate. The R-21EC's bow dug down deep and was in my mind out of sight in the water and then sprang back up with water all over us... and then again into the 3rd wave which was a repeat of the the previous wave. My wife sitting on the V-berth was completely lifted up along with the two dogs as we went through the 3 large waves. With the canvas and full enclosure up and zipped we took very little water into the cockpit. Some did make it in but it was nothing to worry about IMO. This was a very hairy ride to say the least... and the R-21EC took it without any serious side affects. Hey, the R-21EC really does float and with careful judgement can handle this sort of thing. 🙂
As we had but 4 hours on the Volvo Penta D1-30 engine I wanted to run it at various RPMs as was recommended in the Operations Manual. This was kind of fun as I would run slow and then fast and Bob just could not keep me in sight at times as I whizzed around him.
After some 3.5 hours we closed in on Roche Harbour. Apart from the commercial tug's wake event the seas were reasonable and the R-21EC cruised effortlessly for us.
I find the noise level on our R-21EC is far less than what we had on on R-25 (Classic) with the Yanmar 4BY2-150 engine. I think this is due to having the R-21EC's engine completing out of the Pilot house proper vs. the Yanmar poking itself into the Pilot House cabin. The R-21EC's engine is absolutely happy running flat out at around 3000 RPM and vibration is almost unnoticeable to this person. At 1000 RPM or less the engine is a bit lumpy but that really is only going to happen when enter and exiting harbors and the like, so I find this not to be any issue.
BTW, the Volvo guy at the Roche Harbour event told me the D1-30 engine is a Perkin's design. 😉
Returning from Roche to Skyline on Sunday was very very pleasant. Clear skies for the most part and the water was just a slight chop at times along with some strong apposing currents at times. With the RPM at 3000 Laxey was doing some 4 kts when encountering strong apposing currents and water swirls/churns. With zero apposing/following currents Laxey would get up to around 9 kts easily at this RPM and this was with a 3/4 full fuel tank, 2 adults, two dogs and tons of gear onboard.
I really like that the R-21EC runs flat (that is, bow does not rise) when running at speed. I always disliked the way the R-25's bow would rise up at speed and make the cabin floor slop backwards. My dogs hated this affect.
The R-21EC's rudder is very affective. Starting at a standstill with rudder hard over and then revving up the boat turns on its axis.
Our Raymarine SmartPilot SPX5-R performed flawlessly. The helm wheel motor does whine a bit but after a while it becomes unnoticeable. I love the Raymarine p70R colored Control Head. It's rotary thumb knob allows easy heading changes vs. the push button design of previous Control Heads.
I found having the helm seat lowered most of the time was best for me. I simply sat on it as a bicycle saddle and found that comfortable.... either this or standing in the middle of the Pilot House and looking straight out in front was comforting for me. I really felt in charge of this R-21EC boat whereas on the R-25 I felt less in control of things.
Bottom line: I'm really liking this R-21EC and find it so much more fun to drive than our previous R-25. The R-21EC almost insists you take charge and be engaged. This I like.
My wife did end up feeling a bit sea sick on the way back from Roche but I strongly believe this was a mix of her Parkinson's Meds and the boat's motion at times. Parkinson's Meds have to be taken at precise times otherwise the person's moods and feeling can go up and down badly.
Laxey performed well during this cruise and I have no issues whatsoever with it. We have joined the "21" club for sure. 😀