The Doghouse 2 Has Been Sold

[Kimberly Dawn]

We have sold our R27-OB, and look forward to taking possession of our new R29S in April, 2022. She will be christened Kimberly Dawn.

Two elements of our R27 dictated the move up to a longer, wider, and slower boat: a real bed (not a v-berth) and a real, deployable dinghy (not an inflatable kayak). We will certainly enjoy the additional room!

For me, I will join my wife as a journey boater. I've always been a destination boater, and the R27 with a Suzuki 300hp main motor did not disappoint, yet I embrace the coming change! I've never had a diesel or a rudder... I'm excited to learn a different way to navigate.

We look forward to seeing you on the water!

Bob & Kim (berly Dawn)

 

[Mike and Sarah]

Bob, We are so excited for you and Kim. As you know Sarah and I made the switch from the 27 outboard to the 31 CB the end of June. We have not looked back or regretted our decision. The wider beam and less stress worries of constant look out for logs is awesome. Cooking meals, enjoying scenery and conversation while underway is so much more relaxing. Cruise speeds are still very respectable. We have found the inboard to be easier the handle while docking. You just have to learn how the boat reacts by using it. So much less turning the wheel than the 27 when docking. Mike

 

[Submariner]

We have sold our R27-OB, and look forward to taking possession of our new R29S in April, 2022. She will be christened Kimberly Dawn.

Bob & Kim (berly Dawn)

I've heard, if you name your boat after your wife, than anything you buy for the boat, you're buying for her. #winning! 😀 😀

Congrat's!! I can't wait to see the new boat!

 

[baz]

We have sold our R27-OB, and look forward to taking possession of our new R29S in April, 2022. She will be christened Kimberly Dawn.

Two elements of our R27 dictated the move up to a longer, wider, and slower boat: a real bed (not a v-berth) and a real, deployable dinghy (not an inflatable kayak). We will certainly enjoy the additional room!

For me, I will join my wife as a journey boater. I've always been a destination boater, and the R27 with a Suzuki 300hp main motor did not disappoint, yet I embrace the coming change! I've never had a diesel or a rudder... I'm excited to learn a different way to navigate.

We look forward to seeing you on the water!

Bob & Kim (berly Dawn)

Bob & Kim:

I saw this coming some years ago for you both. The R29 S and CB models are an absolute awesome upgrade to the R27/OB for sure, but it comes at a price in various ways as you both well know by now.

Bob is a tall man, and even with the comfy R29S's island bed there could be some foot/leg overhanging.... trust me... I've laid on that island bed in my R29 CB, and I'm 5'-10" tall.

During the time I was selling my R29 CB several of the 'lookers' placed themselves on the island bed and inevitably some portions of their bodies simply were overhanging. The island bed is IMO insufficient for two large people. Having said this, the R29's island bed is a big plus compared to any V-berth design. My perspective using my R29's island bed as a solo boater is that it's awesome, and only had to share it with my Jake - Wire Hair Fox Terrier once he figured how to work his way alongside the bed and jump up next to me. No matter, going from the R27/OB's V-berth to the R29S's island berth will be a big plus for you, and a lot to do with this is the manner and ease of getting into/onto the bed and subsequently getting off it without any real twisting about. However, with Bob being a tall man the offer/option of the island bed for Kim's sole use, and you for the mid-state berth under the dinette area might be the way forward to fully enjoy the sleeping comforts offered by the R29. The Victorians adopted sleeping in separate bedrooms and life was still good. 😀

If my 1st Mate were to be with me today on the R29 CB (which was sold Sept 30th, 2021), I would have offered her the use of the island bed for herself and I would use the very spacious berth in the cave under the dinette area. This would IMO solve the issue of the island bed not really being a Queen size bed as stated by RT or in other publications.

Now, onto the dinghy issue.... and be aware I'm no fan of having a dinghy on such small boats unless their size and styling allows the dinghy to be installed in a 'hidden way' like on the R43. Placing weight on the stern is the worst place from a boat's balance and fuel burn perspective, along with its ugliness sitting vertically. Vertical stern located dinghy is simply an unfortunate compromise one has to make if a dinghy for the smaller boat is a 'must have' requirement.

1) I'm sure you're aware of the recent RT addition for a dinghy to be raised and installed over the top of the R27/OB's motor in a horizontal position, right ? It's a nifty idea/scheme for sure, but a spendy one!

2) For the R29S/CB a dinghy will surely be obstructing the rear view for you both. I've seen Kim sitting in the R27/OB's cockpit presumably to enjoy the views. The upright dinghy on the R29S will obstruct some of the view for her. I personally, consider the rear view one of my top priorities for enjoying my cruising and fishing activities

3) The R29 CB removes the viewing issue I mention in 2). Navigating the R29 CB on top is heavenly.

R27/OB room vs. R29S room (cabin, cockpit, cave area, and fwd state room). Yes, a vast improvement with the R29 S... no doubt about this, and for the R29 CB it's even more real estate to explore and use. The extra 18" in width is all placed to the starboard side of the R29, making the helm seat double-wide, dinette table larger, and the awesome berth/storage area under the dinette area. However, this arrangement means ONLY two people can be at the dinette table when the boat is underway, unless the captain wishes to navigate the boat kneeling on the rear facing helm seat and facing forward to steer and control things - not a good idea at all. For me, this issue is one of the reasons I've opted to scale down to the R25/OB that allows 4 people at the dinette table when the boat is underway and weather not conducive to being in the cockpit. For me, I found it was difficult to justify my R29 CB purely for solo cruising and solo fishing. Hence my decision to scale back down to the R25/OB. I have little need for a dinghy so I don't consider this a negative for the R25/OB, but for my family members, it could be. The least expensive way to solve the dinghy issue would be to have a small one already inflated and installed on the forecastle decking topside.... with a possible issue with it obstructing the forward viewing when cruising at speed.

Fuel use efficiency for R29 vs. R25/OB and R27/OB.....: From my use of the R29 CB you will find the R29 will burn less fuel, but at the expense of increasing the time going from A to B. The expense of diesel currently is less expensive than gasoline is also a consideration. My calculations showed me that for a 81 mile cruise (Edmonds to Roche)....

-The R25/OB running at 27 mph and using some 16.9 gph the ETA would be around 3 hrs, with some 51 gal being consumed.

-The R29 CB running at 14 mph using some 7.5 gph the ETA would be around 5.8 hrs, with some 43.4 gal being consumed... and if you push the R29 to go faster, the fuel used could very well be more than what the R25/OB consumes.

Of course, the R29 provides a more relaxing and slower cruise vs. the speedy R25/OB, with the R25/OB having to slow down to match the R29's speed when weather and water conditions are not that suitable for the R25/OB's hull design.

I could go on about the differences between the R29 and the RT OB models, but will simply stop here, as everybody's requirements are different, and we all have to make compromises etc.

The R29 model is quite likely the best model RT makes these days when considering is value and the comforts it provides. The Volvo Penta engine is a dream engine, and when the R29 is brand new with almost zero gear on board, will push you along close to 27 mph briefly at WOT and will cruise all day at close to 20 mph. Note that the retail price for the R29 has increased enormously from just a few years back. The smaller RT models have also increased in price but not as much as the R29 model line.

IMO.... the RT29 is quite likely the very best pocket cruiser for two people.

Last comment(s).... will you be trailering your R29 S ? What hull color have you chosen ?

Bob & Kim... congratulations on the move from your R27/OB to the R29 S. I know you both will enjoy it, and I hope to cross paths with you on the wonderful PNW waters we have at our doorsteps.

Never hesitate to re-examine your boating requirements as time moves forward and your life style takes on new adventures and challenges that can suddenly arise. 🙂

Both of you take care.

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

Thanks for the feedback... we appreciate it!

I will continue to trailer the boat with a wide load sign, and keep it at home. I need that spontaneous access for my many minutiae projects... lol. The hull color will be Hunter Green.

Barry, I'm sure Kim and I will find the stateroom bed spacious enough for both of us to share. With a dramatic loss of our R27 center cockpit locker, the more spacious cave of the R29 will be that much more utilized for equipment stowage.

Relative to a stern-mounted dinghy, I can't deny added weight. I can, however, offset the visibility issue from the helm / navigator position. We will not be using the vertical dinghy davit (Weaver style) but rather a 45° slant back or a low horizontal davit that allows the dinghy motor to remain fixed while stowed. Olsson davits accommodate this feature. I also plan to mount a rear-facing camera on the mast that transmits to our second helm chartplotter for instant viewing of our "six".

See you on the water!

Bob & Kim
Kimberly Dawn

 

[Rocky]

Congratulations to all of you! The new owner of DH2, is getting an impeccable boat. You and Kim are getting the best model in the RT lineup (but I may be biased.)
Like Mike said....The IB with a rudder and thrusters is a dream to drive and maneuver. That and cooking , and even taking showers underway is possible while becoming a Journey boater. The 10 ft beam offers a better ride overall too.

You wont look back, and no one can no one can take the memories.

Welcome to the diesel club.

Rocky and Tracy

 

[baz]

Thanks for the feedback... we appreciate it!

I will continue to trailer the boat with a wide load sign, and keep it at home. I need that spontaneous access for my many minutiae projects... lol. The hull color will be Hunter Green.

Barry, I'm sure Kim and I will find the stateroom bed spacious enough for both of us to share. With a dramatic loss of our R27 center cockpit locker, the more spacious cave of the R29 will be that much more utilized for equipment stowage.

Relative to a stern-mounted dinghy, I can't deny added weight. I can, however, offset the visibility issue from the helm / navigator position. We will not be using the vertical dinghy davit (Weaver style) but rather a 45° slant back or a low horizontal davit that allows the dinghy motor to remain fixed while stowed. Olsson davits accommodate this feature. I also plan to mount a rear-facing camera on the mast that transmits to our second helm chartplotter for instant viewing of our "six".

See you on the water!

Bob & Kim
Kimberly Dawn

I need to look at the 45º slant back design and the Olson davits that I believe you mentioned to me previously via Text msg. Thanks...

So, reading your rear view visibility solution... I will be expecting to see Kim hosted up on the mast as your rear viewing camera, and in this position Kim will have the 360º viewing option to boot. LOL... 😀 I've used rear facing cameras before and can say they are no substitute for having a real eye view of things, and for gauging distances etc. Maybe having the automobile-like rear viewing camera that lays down lines on the camera's display would be useful here, but haven't seen that technology available anywhere I've looked.

I also believe the newer Volvo Penta 320 HP is both more fuel efficient and quieter... nice benefits for sure.

One other thing I've noticed on my R29, but not really objectionable, was the fact the holding tank is located under the island berth's aft mattress, and to the starboard side of the massive slide out center draw. When this mattress section is raised you might/will get a slight pong, and I cannot fathom and offer you a solution for this happening.

Storage on the R29 is amazing, but being solo on the boat I found I only used a portion of it, and the cave area was always totally unused.

Clothe hanging space is very limited.

If you have the Wine cooler watch out for the inadvertent press on its power button. My grandkids were always powering on the wine cooler, and when wine was inside it, turning off the power.

I also think a grab handle at the entry to the fwd state room is something RT should install. Entering the fwd stateroom when underway with rocking and rolling it can be nasty getting forward without bracing yourself to avoid being pushed off balance.

I wish RT could design the R29's transom to incorporate the butane bottles much like done on the R27/OB. The R29's large locker situated on the it's swim step is obnoxious and somewhat dangerous when moving about on the swim step.

Have you given any thought about using Lithium batteries ?

One word of advice concerning the windshield wipers (the wipers do a fantastic job clearing water spray)... be careful not to operate them when the glass has no water. Doing so will cause undue friction and create a fairly large moment arm force on the wiper motor's drive spindle. There are two spindles that the upper wiper arm attaches to. One is simply an idle spindle and does not rotate, and the other is the drive spindle and the motors used on my R29 CB had a smallish diameter dimension section behind the serrated fluted end that sits inside the wipers C-clamp. This small diameter section is a weak link in the drive spindle design IMO, and can fracture and/or fatigue making the wiper operation useless. In this case the wiper motor has to be replaced as the drive spindle is integral to the motor assembly. This issue happened to me and the motor had to be replaced, and getting the wiper to operate correctly with it parking the wiper correctly when power turned off was a real bugger (labor time likely to be around 3 hrs).

Incidentally, the new wiper motor's drive spindle was obviously redesigned and its small dimension section I mentioned above is twice the size. The manufacturer presumably saw the earlier design to have the 'weak link' I exposed. Hopefully your wiper Motors are like the new ones one can buy as a replacement.

Don't forget to see the very LARGE locker space behind the Microwave, and accessed via a flip down door under the helm seat. It will also need a battery operated light inside it, as it's dark inside that locker.

You are aware that the rear cabin TV mirrors just the starboard side helm chart plotter via an HDMI connection, right ?

Lastly.... The door for the head room opens inwards.... very smart design IMO.

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

Once again, thanks to Mike & Sarah, Martin & LaZina, Barry and Rocky & Tracy... can't wait to take the helm of our new R29S!

Barry, we don't anticipate any issues with the wine cooler. We're having it removed to increase our stateroom storage capacity.

Relative to lithium batteries, I'm thinking we would do what Channel Surfing (Submariner) did with their power system (see their YouTube channel). I would replace the (4) Universal AGM's in the house bank with (4) Firefly AGM's, augment the charging system with a more robust charger, and inhance the solar power. We are already upgrading our solar panel and controller.

The hanging clothes area is a weak link in the R29 design. Kim doesn't have an issue here, but I need to pack lighter!

Bob & Kim
Kimberly Dawn

 

[JeffreyAC77]

Many valid comments above. As an R31-CB (2nd owner) I can attest that the bed works very well with the addition of a memory foam top. I am 6'2" and my wife is 5'10' and e both sleep very comfortably in the forward stateroom. The cave is our basement! You will love your new boat.

 

[baz]

Bob: I'm sure you've taken the R29 out for a sea trial etc. The first thing I noticed was the boat's momentum as it dove into oncoming waves/swells. The extra weight of the R29 compared to the small RT models is immediately felt and gives the captain a very welcomed feeling of the boat's solidness and stability.

The trim tabs do a good job of lowering the bow when at speed. Are the trim tabs on your R29 S hydraulic or electric operated ? If, hydraulic be aware that for the engine hatch to fully open the trim tabs need to be fully up, otherwise there's insufficient hydraulic fluid in the tank for opening the engine hatch fully.

If you have auto pilot there will be the auto pilot's pump to the aft of the starboard cockpit locker on the hull's inside surface. Several hydraulic lines stick out from the auto pilots controller at this location and be careful not to store any loose heavy items that could be thrown up against the lines, as this will cause auto pilot malfunctions or worse issues. Build a plastic surround to protect those lines is my advice.

The water heater is easily accessed by removing a panel at the foot of the cave berth's port side/end. You will have to go head in mind you, and something I did not like doing, but had my mobile phone with me case I got stuck. 😱

 

[baz]

...snip... and less stress worries of constant look out for logs is awesome....snip... So much less turning the wheel than the 27 when docking. Mike

Let me say that logs are a hazard no matter what RT model you have. Hitting a log at 10 mph in the R29 can do considerable damage. I encountered three logs one time running my R29 CB and they were dispersed in such a fashion in my path the only way to avoid them was to come to a complete stop. I did slow down a tad but one managed to slide lengthwise along the keel side and clipped two of my prop blades and slightly bent the tips. Cost to remove prop underwater, rebalance at a shop, realign the two blades, and replace prop under water was around $600. Logs are such a nuisance to us boaters regardless of the type of boat we're running. The outboard motor does have the ability to rotate when hit suddenly, and its prop is on the backside and less exposed compared to the inboard motor's prop drive.

I agree with wheel turn activity when docking in calm waters. The R29 bow/stern thrusters work very well. The OB models will require more attention to wheel and motor angle as one approaches the dock side. But with a beam wind or strong cross currents flowing at the dock, docking on the lee side will be a challenge with either inboard or outboard models. Best to be on the windward side and be blown/pushed up to the dock side. The thrusters work well in clam waters, but get a windy day or having a strong cross current the thrusters may disappoint you and you'll need to use the wheel/rudder as best you can to move the bow and stern into position for docking. With this condition the powerful outboard will do better for moving the stern more easily than the inboard engine boat.