Southern California Tugs/CW's

[KnotLost]

Hello all.

I'm a soon to be RT or CW owner and am curious for some people's opinions. I boat mainly in Southern California and Nevada. My current boat is a 26 foot cuddy cabin Four Winns Vista 248 which has been perfect albeit small, no generator, no AC and not the style of boat I love.

I very much enjoy Catalina Island and usually stay in Avalon or Two Harbors for 2-5 days at a time. I do fish but it's not my main goal for the boat. My current boat is terrible for fishing but I enjoy it and am okay with it.

My question is, how do you guys in Southern California feel your Tugs or CW's are working out? I trailer down from Vegas to cross to Catalina so I've pushed the weather a few times in my FW. But it's performed great and I've never felt out of place (although maybe I looked a little small out there!).

Thanks for any responses!

Edit: If it matters, I am most interested in either a new R23/CW242 or a used CW26 or 28. But all responses will be appreciate!

 

[Captain Steve]

Hello, We have a 2009 25 Classic based in Channel Islands Harbor. Have made the run to islands in the Channel Islands National Park as well as Catalina. Its 63 mile to Catalina and have been known to trailer down to Long Beach and make the 27 mile run to Two Harbors. Looking to trailer over to Lake Mead this spring and spending a couple of weeks cruising there. It does look like the lake level has come up.

Never had any issues with the weather but you gotta learn to studly the forecast and play accordingly.

 

[Barerootsbob]

Hello Knotlost. My wife and I live in Nor Cal but we keep our C28 in Long Beach at Shoreline Marina. We went through a couple steps before ending up in a marina. At first we towed her. 12 hours from our driveway to having her in the water. Then we kept her in dry storage. It cut the commute by a couple hours but still not ideal. Finally we decided to look into a slip in LB. Were both very glad we did.

We use a Southwest cc for everything We can and build up points. With a little pre-planning we can fly into LB airport for very little and usually for free. Jump in a cab and we are at the marina in 15 minutes. The boat is always plugged into shore power. They have locked showers, laundry and rest rooms for boat owners and dozens of restaurants within walking distance. We can sleep there and it’s become our home away from home. We are going to spend a couple days over new years on the boat at the marina. Lots going on there. And if the weather is still nice we might just zip over to Catalina.

I noticed you were considering a new Tug or Cutwater with an outboard. It would be awesome to have a few more knots of speed but sacrificing the easy access to a dinghy would be a problem at Catalina for me. I’m not very patient when it comes to buffalo milks.

Hopefully our learning curve over the past season helps you in your quest. Everything you do to cut down on travel time and hassle adds up to more time on the boat.

Good luck

 

[KnotLost]

Hello, We have a 2009 25 Classic based in Channel Islands Harbor. Have made the run to islands in the Channel Islands National Park as well as Catalina. Its 63 mile to Catalina and have been known to trailer down to Long Beach and make the 27 mile run to Two Harbors. Looking to trailer over to Lake Mead this spring and spending a couple of weeks cruising there. It does look like the lake level has come up.

Never had any issues with the weather but you gotta learn to studly the forecast and play accordingly.

Thanks! I'd love to explore the Channel Islands soon and will be waiting for a Tug/CW to do so. I know this is a subjective question but how do you feel your 25 is on a mooring compared to other boats? Are you happy with the stability? My Four Winns rocks pretty easily which is understandable.

If you are interested send me a PM before you come to Lake Mead. I'm out there every other weekend, and although I haven't spent weeks on the lake, I usually spend a night a two. I have a few spots worth seeing. Don't count on me for fishing tips though I can't catch anything out there.

Also if anything came up I'd be happy to help. Launching, run a spare part to ya, etc.

 

[KnotLost]

Hello Knotlost. My wife and I live in Nor Cal but we keep our C28 in Long Beach at Shoreline Marina. We went through a couple steps before ending up in a marina. At first we towed her. 12 hours from our driveway to having her in the water. Then we kept her in dry storage. It cut the commute by a couple hours but still not ideal. Finally we decided to look into a slip in LB. Were both very glad we did.

We use a Southwest cc for everything We can and build up points. With a little pre-planning we can fly into LB airport for very little and usually for free. Jump in a cab and we are at the marina in 15 minutes. The boat is always plugged into shore power. They have locked showers, laundry and rest rooms for boat owners and dozens of restaurants within walking distance. We can sleep there and it’s become our home away from home. We are going to spend a couple days over new years on the boat at the marina. Lots going on there. And if the weather is still nice we might just zip over to Catalina.

I noticed you were considering a new Tug or Cutwater with an outboard. It would be awesome to have a few more knots of speed but sacrificing the easy access to a dinghy would be a problem at Catalina for me. I’m not very patient when it comes to buffalo milks.

Hopefully our learning curve over the past season helps you in your quest. Everything you do to cut down on travel time and hassle adds up to more time on the boat.

Good luck

Thanks Captain Steve. A C28 would definitely be at the top of my list. I'll see where the used market is in about 9 months. Right now it's just a touch above what I feel like spending. My boat now will work until then. I made the mistake of rushing into a boat purchase previously and won't do that again. The dinghy situation on the outboard Tugs/CW's is a main consideration.

It's funny you mention trailering vs dry storage vs a slip. I have been considering that for a few months. From Vegas to LB launch ramp I can do 4.5 hours with my current boat. I would likely slow down with a C28 so make it 5 hours. Would that change your ideas reference a slip vs trailering?

I have debated renting a slip for 6 months out of the year.. but don't know if the marinas down there would allow that or want to accommodate. Any thoughts?

Thank you again for your advice! I will definitely put it into my decision process.

New Years sounds amazing in Catalina. Every time I go I can't believe no one is there in the winter. I shot these two videos very recently in the "Off season" when it's "too cold".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoB3BLgNbSw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byU8G2sJA8E

 

[Barerootsbob]

Very nice videos. Especially the drone shots of an empty Emerald Bay. I need to add a drone to my Christmas list.

To your questions about towing vs marina, after a dozen nights or so at the marina I think were a little spoiled. Our first plan was to get a slip for a couple months and bring her home for the winter. But now we changed the plan because we all really like the marina life. Every step along the way I intended to save money. But after making the trip we found the marina costs as much per month as one round trip in my diesel truck with a C28 in tow. Probably about two round trips from LV. Plus a Ranger/Cut requires a lot of truck. I had a 2004 one ton and found out immediately after buying the boat it really wasn’t up to the task. And honestly this arrangement is much less stressful for the family and we arrive fresh and ready to go. But you will find what makes sense for you in short order. The only downside for us since we bought the boat is we don’t go to Vegas as much as we used to.

I sure hope we cross paths someday at Catalina.

Cheers
Bob

 

[S@LTD]

Knotlost,
Your thought process is one we too took several years to work through trying to balance the desire for speed against certain conveniences (wet weather protection mainly). We decided to step down in speed from our twin engine 29 ft Cobalt. With a 20 kt average cruise speed the CW28 is a great trade off for what we calculated as about 5 kts per hour decrease in what we were used to. Ability to stay at anchor for 5-6 days at a time and trailerability were our other primary concerns. We tow a lot including up Donner summit routinely to Lake Tahoe. Btw how well the boat is balanced on the trailer makes a huge difference and the EZ Loader trailer has exceeded my expectations. Getting used to looking up for low hanging objects on back roads is the only thing I am still getting used to. Good luck in your search. Prioritizing ones personal wants and needs can be agonizing but it is fun too!