Sailboat to Ranger Tug? Any one do it? Your thoughts?

[cruz-in]

Hi All,

A little background. My wife and I are long - term sailors (like 30 years). However we grew up powerboating with our dads and have fond memories. Having just recently entered retirement, we find ourselves considering a Ranger Tug. You have no doubt seen my many posts with questions.

I would be interested in any feedback on sailors who made the transition to a Ranger Tug? Was it difficult? Did the diesel noise bother you? Do you like the Ranger Tug Life or do you find yourself longing for your sailing days? etc.

Thanks in advance for your time and input.
Dan

 

[WA6BTK]

Dan,

My wife and I were sailors, both inland and offshore, for roughly 50 years. Cumulatively, we've owned nine boats. Then we decided an inside helm was more comfortable and one thing led to another and after discovering a Ranger tug, we've never looked back. We are 100% satisfied we switched and 100% satisfied we chose a Ranger tug. The only real adjustment has been getting used to a much smaller rudder than you would see on a sailboat.

As far as engine noise, we typically cruise at 8-10 knots and the hum of the diesel is nice. Our three dogs like that speed, too.

With most sailboats, you are "down in" and looking up to see anything outside. One of the many things we like is being able to look out while seated.

Adding to our satisfaction is the level of customer service we've experienced. We've never seen anything like the support we've received from the Ranger Tug/Cutwater team.

Any regrets making the switch? None.

Feel free to PM me if you want more input.

Stu & Sue Clark
Emmy Lou

 

[Oregon Trail]

Dan,
I have had two sailboats, both small. The first was a Lido 14' sailing dinghy and the second was a Seaward Fox 19' cat boat.
I would say we were very casual sailors, never raced, and used the boats on the rare occasions when the kids were not busy with activities. Eventually we became bored with sailing up an down the same short stretch of river at the snails pace the sailboats allowed, or on the couple of occasions of sailing in the San Juans, being pushed backwards by the current faster than we could sail against it. A few years ago we "test-drove" an R-21EC, but at the time did not like the noise or vibrations of the engine. After 25 years or so, I decided it was time to either give up sailing or step up to a bigger power boat. Eventually I purchased a Cutwater 28. It was a huge move up to us in size, comfort, speed, complexity and cost.
We missed the quiet gurgle of the sailboat moving through the water, but the convenience and comfort quickly made up for that. My wife especially appreciated being able to get out of the elements, both summer and winter. We still did not care for the noise and vibration, but loved the other improvements and the ability to see so much more in one afternoon than we had seen in twenty years of sailing.

Good luck with your decision.

Mike

 

[NorthernFocus]

Emmy Lou summed it up pretty well. Being up on deck but inside is a unique concept compared to a sail boat. Standing upright behind the helm in a warm, dry cabin with one's choice of beverage in hand is pretty nice. And the sound of the engine is far outweighed by being able to simply turn the boat in the direction you want to go and going there. Sailing is great for passage making. But for inland boating, gunkholing, and simply knocking about, these little tugs are hard to beat.

 

[stwendl]

I have to admit that after 2 sailboats, one Catalina 34 and a seawind 1000xl catamaran, I too switched to a ranger tug. At one of our club cruise outs a member brought his R25 which I immediate took a liking to. Of course I liked my 35ft cat and its 19ft beam with 3 cabins large indoor cockpit/lounge area. It could be single handed but the extra work was getting to me sailing in the Bay Area and delta. Sure I could go anywhere with it without the fuel question to be answered. But then you have to have the time to get there. Now, I can load the boat up on the trailer, drive to Florida if I wanted without spending two month to get there.

So I downsized and made a practical choice and don't regret it a bit. I did look into all the aspects of trailerable boats and found the r27 to be just the right ticket. And I can not repeat it enough, the support you get from the factory is top notch.

Thank you Ranger Staff

 

[rt11002003]

After more than 45 years of sailboats (20+) racing, cruising and day sailing, I sold my last one last year. During the past 10 years I also owned a power boat; most of the time a Ranger tug. I'll never be an avid power boater,as I was a sailor. But, I've reached the point where to stay on the water, it has to be on a powerboat. Ranger tugs are the way to go!

 

[rick&sue]

We too spent most of our lives sailing. As we have gotten older, the fun factor of sailing has become less and less - to the point that I was giving up being on the water. Typical power cruisers that burn 20 - 40 gallons per hour were of no interest. I happened to run across the Ranger Tug and other pocket type trawler cruisers. The more I investigated the more it was apparent that the Ranger Tug type boat was the way to go for us. The economy of burning less that 2 gallons per hour makes it financially viable. Cruising as fast or faster than our sail boat in all wind directions and most conditions, inside helm, bright airy cabin with everything needed to be comfortable. I was very concerned about the engine noise. I did add noise suppression to the engine compartment and rear hatches. I've tried to measure Db noise levels at cruise - The phone app to measure sound are not very accurate, that said, I measure between 75 and 79 DB. Very similar to a typical economy car. We can carry on a normal conversation while cruising. The 25 and 27 are trailerable without any permits which opens up the possible cruising grounds to anywhere and any coast in the country. This alone convinced me to give it a try. The only thing I do miss is that rare time when sailing under that perfect reach with the boat in its sweet spot, humming along. I have a 17 ft windrider for that. So that said - buy a Ranger Tug - you will love it, keep a small sailboat for that rare perfect afternoon of sailing. Nobody said you can't have both 😉

 

[Hydraulicjump]

Let me add our dimension to this. My wife and I are both life-long sailors. I raced in southern California, she in Chesapeake Bay. After a couple of brutal sailing days in summer in the afternoon on San Francisco Bay and when I (too) enthusiastically endorsed us getting whole hog into racing again, I got the now infamous "nothing in life is worth being cold for, and that includes you dear." Fail.

That is how we gravitated to stinkpots and then settled on the R-27 for so many reasons.

But interestingly enough, and all the sailors will appreciate this, there is no finer pleasure than sitting outside in the cockpit on a beam reach with a following sea and a 15 kt warm breeze. We miss sitting out in the cockpit while underway. So, as you can see from my post last night, we are moving up to the R-29CB so that on the warm days we can recapture that enjoyment again, and still have a boat with lots of interior light and visibility and meets my thermally-challenged wife's needs.

No regrets moving from rag sailing to sinkpot. None.

 

[harry ames]

Sailing is work, and that can't be denied. There is no kicking back when under sail unless it is moderate winds that aren't shifting and easy seas. But, sailing is an art form and power boating is not. That said, we gave up sailing, having done that since the 70's in boats from 19 feet to 32 feet.

Now, we just don't have the energy. Yes, we've become lazy at age 72. Not to mention the occasional aches and pains.

No, now we love the sound of the small diesel and the ease of getting on the water. In our case we trailer as we did with most of our sailing. But all we do now is back the boat into the water and go boating, no masts, no sails etc.

They are two dramatically different experiences. I can say that if you enjoyed your motoring time on your sailboat, that is what you do ALL the time on a power only boat.

My wife and I found ourselves powering 75% of the time on our sailboats. We have also power boated many times since we were married, so power cabin boats have been in the mix and we know the ups and downs of both sail and motor. In fact, my wife of one week in 1964 insisted we go buy a fishing boat and motor. That's why we are still married after 52 years.

 

[tlkenyon]

"

But, sailing is an art form and power boating is not.

Power boating is still art, just a different art than sailing. For instance, elegantly docking in tough conditions can be just as much as an art form as sailing upwind "in the groove." Minimal and exact usage of power and rudder (and not touching the thrusters) takes great skill and judgment, and is a art form to be appreciated, in its rarity.

 

[NorthernFocus]

... But, sailing is an art form and power boating is not...

Different strokes as they say. I always thought of sailing as applied aero/hydrodynamics. Now I'm just glad to have all that top hamper out of the way. Day sailing on small boats and passage making on larger ones is great. But IMO you can't beat a trawler style boat for weekending etc. Add the benefits of a semi-displacement hull and ability to trailer and it is understandable why Ranger found a niche in the market.

 

[tlkenyon]

Rog on the strokes. We love our Rangers, after many years of sailing and being more at the mercy of the weather.

 

[stwendl]

And if you really miss the Rags flopping think of kite boating. There are several outfits that make gadgets in the right size for our boats that allow harnessing the wind for forward propulsion. Look it up