The dangerous side of the Ranger Tug attraction

S

South lake

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Dec 8, 2011
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Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
So, Mike and Judy of Just Dreamin' and Deb and I are planning a trip to cruise the Erie Canal. In preparation I hauled the Get~Aweigh onto the trailer last Thursday to take it in for the 250 hour service and some miscellaneous work.

As I'm going through the various things to get the boat on the trailer and secured to bring it back to my house, the boat drew the usual crowd of admirers. They all had questions and comments and what should have taken less than an hour drug on as boater after boater stopped to look the Get~Aweigh over, ask about towing her, comment on the fact she has two thrusters, the shallow draft, the cool look, etc. etc.

Finally as I went through my mental checklist (interior items secured, radar tower lowered and secured, straps on, anchor secured for towing, swim ladder up and secured, trailer lights working, etc.), I was ready to leave the launch ramp and make the 3 mile drive to my house.

I parked the truck and trailer and Deb and I got a glass of wine and went out to sit on the deck. She looked over and said the boat always looks big behind the truck. I looked over and said something like "Oh Rats"! (Substitute something more profane for Rats...)

It seems in all of the distraction I had forgotten to lower the VHF antenna. It now had an unusual tilt to starboard, a result I'm sure of the trees I drove under on the way home. So I added a new VHF antenna to my list of work for the boat yard.

I've also added this oversight to my list of things I forgot to do while launching/retrieving boats, like the time I left the drain plug out of my Starcraft cuddy cabin.

So, I just wanted to point out the danger of having a Ranger Tug and the constant attention they get that can take our attention away from the work at hand.
 
Yep, it is a problem. I have considered a FAQ sheet with answers and the phone number of all the dealers.
 
I am still in my first year of ownership and one of only 3 Ranger Tugs on the Potomac so I still enjoy the praise and curiosity
 
I always shudder and shake in my boots when they use the word "cute". 😉
 
Couple of weeks ago we were cruising the Hudson River and going North through the port in Albany NY. A commercial tug boat captain hails me on 16 and we switched channels. He goes on and on how he admires these boats and asked a lot of questions about the boat. He said he is getting close to retirement (45 years working on tugs) and a Ranger Tug will be his retirement gift to himself. A week later when we were South bound he hailed us again and asked how our trip had been going. I told him about tugnuts so he may be posting here some day.
While we were going through a Champlain Canal Lock an onlooker said that we have a "Bad Ass" boat. I like that one.
 
We are on the Great Loop and going to new marinas and anchorages nearly everyday as we do this 6,000 mile trip. Nearly everyday, we experience the same dynamic as described in this thread. Very often, people will stop what they are doing, stand and stare at the tug. Because our Ranger 29 is named "Andiamo," we call this "Andiamo Mojo." Most often with us, it happens while docking when people are helping with our lines and they have the top 10 questions. Laurie will often pause during the docking process and give the narrative, leaving the remainder of the tasks to me.

Perhaps, Jeff and the dealers should have an instruction to new buyers about how to handle "Ranger Tug (or Cutwater) Mojo." The instruction should include how checklists, having others give the narrative, and passing out information.
 
Ranger should provide all of us a referral fee.... :lol:

I can't keep count of the number of times I've had to tell people about the Ranger Tug company, its excellent customer service and this friendly Tugnuts forum for long-term help etc. For me, telling them the Tug is built in WA/USA and just down the road at Kent and/or up the road to Monroe almost sells the Tug on the spot. My bright yellow Portland Pudgy on the swim step and the bright distinct orange SmartPlug shore power cable simply cannot be ignored as I always dock stern in, and people have to lean sideways to get a clear look inside the cabin. I've even catch people peering inside when I approach my R-25 on the dock. I don't blame them as it was something I did for myself before buying the R-25 some 5 years ago.

Using the thrusters to dock stern in always gets attention, with people asking --- "does it really have thrusters ?... sooo cool... wish we had them... I wonder if we can add them to our boat...".
 
Interstingly I was warned about this a couple of weeks ago. We hauled out after our final C-Dory 22 trip and coincidentally an R25 hauled right after us. We were parked on the trailers side by side as we both prepared our boats for the road. I mentioned that we had just bought and R25 and this was our last trip on the CD.

In Whittier,AK, you travel back/forth via a three mile long, one-way tunnel that alternates directions on the half hour. So once an hour there is a 15 minute window to hit in either direction. The R25 folks warned us to start factoring in extra time in our tunnel planning due to delays caused by all of the questions from onlookers when hauling out. Good to know...

Off-topic, it was really an eye opener to see the two boats sitting side by side on the trailers. Though I'm a former big boat guy from my youth and we previously owned and lived aboard a Westsail 32, we've been on CD22s for 12 years. In many ways it is going to be nice being back on a "proper boat". But we will no doubt miss the simplicity that we've enjoyed with our little CD. We'll leave her without a cross word. OK, maybe one or two for the Wallas. And we won't miss sleeping in a cave. And there's always that concern of taking a wave over the stern with no self-bailing cockpit. And having to correct trim is someone moves around the cabin under way. And...
 
What the heck happened to NorthernFocus's post? Maybe its just my computer but it looks like it shrank and then finally disappeared!

I find that as I'm getting older I don't multitask well. So that a distracting conversation at work or at the marina will usually mean something forgotten. Definitely double checking myself and lists help.

These Bay Area marina folk are usually on the "cool" side but we still get our fair share of attention. I was told that the snooty sail-only marina up the coast might consider renting us a slip. I guess I'll let that one pass.

Going from a C-Dory 25 to a Ranger 29 there is a lot more systems to deal with.... but well worth it. Congratulations!
 
Yes.... NorthernFocus post was kind of strange in that toward the end the font got smaller and smaller.... very weird. 🙂
 
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