Thoughts on Ranger 21 going to Block Island from Connecticut

N

naturechick23

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Messages
17
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C SE
Hull Identification Number
52435452
Vessel Name
"Tuglet"
MMSI Number
338100809
Hi everyone....I am buying a 2009 Ranger 21 EC next week and have been checking out your site which is just fantastic. I'm stepping up from a 15' Whaler.
I was wondering what thoughts you have on the safety of crossing the sound from the CT shoreline to Block Island in good weather? Would it be crazy,or is the 21 capable of short cruises like this? I think she can do it! I have gotten mixed reviews from everyone that i've talked too, your thoughts can settle a bet....thanks

Vickie
 
Go to the Ranger home page and check the links. There's a story in there of three men who together on one trip took three R21s up the Inside Passage to Alaska.

I see no reason you couldn't do the cruise you're talking about, assuming good weather. I've put a little over 100 hours on my mine in about ten months. It's a sturdy little vessel. I've pushed thru waves that were as high the bowpulpit (looking thru the windshield, I'm 5' 11") in 20+ knots of wind. Today the waves were 1 1/2 to 2 feet, about ten feet apart with 10 to 12 knots of wind. A lot of my three hour cruise involved quartering seas and winds, both sides of the bow and stern. Into the wind and waves we took a lot of spray over cabin, off the wind and waves it got tricky at times. 😱 I think because the waves were so close together I'd get on two big ones at once and they'd take the boat where they wanted to go, not where my helm was telling them to go. :shock:

Gene
 
Vickie,
You should check with John Shea from MA. He just traded in a R21-EC for a R25 with us. He has experience in the waters of Nantucket Sound, which are similar to where you want to use a R21.
Cheers,
Peter
 
I know folks who have headed to Block Island from Misquamicut on Aluminum vessels with a 5hp motor in the summer. Wouldn't recommend that but it's been done.

While I've done this on my 25 foot boat in ~3 hours from the mouth of the CT River, I'm positive the R-21 could make it from that distance but it will take a bit longer (15knts for the 110hp Yanmar vs 8-9 knts max with the 30hp Yanmar). To go and come back in 1 day will be a chore....
 
Hi Vickie,

Your R21 will handle the trip just fine. As you stated, pick a nice weather day.
I have done the trip from Mystic many times in my Stiegercraft 21. I have never piloted an R 21, but it strikes me as being the more seaworthe of the two.
Whats your Homeport? I am at Brewer's in Mystic.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ben Wilde and Marc the Ranger factory rep over the weekend at Wilde Yacht Sales in Essex CT. The 2010 R 29 they had on display had a beautiful Corian like counter top that Ben ordered special for his boat.
I am making arrangements to get one for my 2009 R 29.
I was very impressed with Marc. As soon as he heard my name, he said R 29 from Gratitude.
 
Hi Vickie,

I have an R21-EC in Newport and have not ventured outside the Bay yet. Owned it since July of 09. Should you venture out to Block Island I'd love to hear your experience. It's one of those things I have on my list of things to do. On one trip heading north in the bay I circled Prudence Island and was hit by some nasty wind and waves that were coming from all directions as I worked my way back to Newport heading south on the west side of the island. I had water spraying over the bow as I went from wave crest to trough and No Worries just plowed along and handled it fine. Although being a very green and rookie boater at the time I was not overly excited by the adventure. (AKA - I have ALWAYS had a healthy respect for the water). My wife was less enthusiastic than I so before I can get her to venture past the mouth of the bay where things get a little more dicey at times I'll need to do some research and take it in small bites. Hence I'd love to hear your results if you make the trip.
 
Although I have returned to the Southeast many years ago I was assigned to a nuclear submarine out of New London for a few years in the erly 70's. I often saw small boats much less substantial than your's go out to Fisher's Island or Block Island. I would think a trip over to Newport would be OK with good weather. However, I also remember some bad weather in LI sound.
 
I think you will have no problems. We saw a 21 towing another boat in the middle of Long Island Sound on a pretty rough day and it seemed to handle it really well. It was pretty amazing, actually, an R21 and R25 meeting in the middle of Long Island Sound on chance. We waved at each other and told each other how great our boats looked!
 
What Commander Bill states is true. It's the seas in the Fisher Island Sound area up to Watch Hill (west of Misquamicut) can be a challenge with the changing currents. Definitely for scuba diving.
 
I am interested in the discussion as to the sea keeping ability of the Ranger 21. I would be slightly apprehensive about the cockpit situation in a rough seaway, which is not self draining, but entirely dependent on a bilge pump (it is quite obvious that the engine placement precludes a self draining cockpit). I recently owned a Horizon Cat gaff-rigged sailboat by Com-Pac Yachts which is a 20 foot boat with a 7 horse single cylinder diesel mounted just beneath the companion way. The hull shape and size are quite similar to the Ranger 21, so the comparison is pertinent. That boat was able to take a lot of water aboard that would drain quite quickly by way of 4, 1.5 inch scuppers, before the engine or interior would be flooded or the bilge pump was engaged. I have a new Ranger 21, and will use the beautiful little craft in conditions that will not challenge the above mentioned weakness, but I would be very concerned about green water over the transom or beam in big waves with just a bilge pump between myself and the bottom of the ocean. I have installed a wash down pump in my Ranger 21 that is very high capacity with a tee fitting that extends into the bottom of the bilge. If i got in trouble, I would feel better about having a 2nd big pump wired in a waterproof way to help get water out of the cockpit faster.

Be happy,

Andrew Holmes
 
I agree with your sentiment.

I love my R-21 EC, but my biggest fear is -- because of the shallow freeboard -- taking a wave over the side. The (12v) bilge pump handles 750 gph, or 12.5 gallons per minute. But a big wave can be 50 or more gallons, and would certainly hamper turning and navigability.

Having no backup bilge bothers me, too. What do we do if we take a wave over the side and the bilge pump, for whatever reason, doesn't work?

It does seem incumbent on all of us to develop a backup plan.
 
Finnegan's Wake":2a77dxj5 said:
What Commander Bill states is true. It's the seas in the Fisher Island Sound area up to Watch Hill (west of Misquamicut) can be a challenge with the changing currents. Definitely for scuba diving.
Click to expand...

Big Time!
I have done several dives on the Onondaga, and in general the reefs that run between Watch Hill to Fishers Island are very good for spear fishing. But you have only a 40 - 50 minute window during slack to dive anywhere in the area.
The other side of Fishers, "The Race" is great for rod and reel fishing. But i suspect you know that already.

About 5 years ago, I was fishing about a 1/2 mile inshore of the Race. Just me and my dog, a usually aggressive
Weimaraner. I caught a 4 - 5 foot shark ( I was fishing for Fluke ). When I finally got it into the boat, my dog was just standing there with his mouth open. Looked like he was thinking " i don't know what that is, but I ain't goin near it".

Chris
 
I share everyone's concerns about the low freeboard and have written about the issue before. Before I take my R21EC into an open water area, it will have an additional bilge pump, as large a capacity as I can install. And, I will install a length of hose to the raw water fitting just before the pump. It will be long enough to go into the bilge and will be capped. Hopefully, in an emergency I'd be able to get the cap off and add some more bailing capacity. Assuming of course, the water level didn't get to air intake of the engine. :cry:

Gene
 
I am pleased that my concerns about the possibility of the Ranger 21's cockpit flooding is not the idle wandering of an over active imagination. As the saying goes: There are old mariners and there are bold mariners, but there are no old, bold mariners.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I have a wash down pump that tees into the bilge but realized after thinking it through that the solution is still flawed. Although the wash down pump is mounted high above the bilge, the batteries are not; they are literally, in the bilge.

What I plan to do is set up a third battery in the pilot house next to the head so that it, and it's wiring are out of the water, so to speak. It should be quite easy to keep that 3rd battery charged with another output circuit from the alternator.

A good pump and battery with additional wiring might cost $300 or so, and a marine mechanic might charge $100 or so for the install. It seems to me that it would be a good investment.

Regards to all,

Andrew Holmes
 
There is no pump more reliable or effective than a frightened man with a bucket...

Alternatively, a manual bilge pump...
 
Yes it is true that a bucket is good and so in a manual pump if someone is available to take the helm.
 
I really wouldn't recommend installing a battery in the pilothouse due to the amount of corrosive and explosive gases they create when charging and all the spark sources in the pilothouse (not to mention all the pricey stuff that can corrode). Perhaps an AGM battery?... but those can be submerged, so just replace the batteries in the engine compartment with new AGM's and don't worry about putting a third battery in the house. The batteries aren't in the bilge, they're at cockpit deck level and under the engine cover.
A washdown pump (I have one thanx to the P.O.) installed so its intake hose can be flopped over the side for washing down or into the cockpit for pumping out should be plenty of insurance. Best bet is to keep the water out in the first place. If you plan to go offshore, install "leecloths" on your cockpit rails and effectively increase your freeboard by about 18 inches.
By the way, any "swamp=proofing" must be accessable or operational from outside the engine cover... if the water is so rough that taking on massive quantities of water is a problem, good luck lifting the engine cover and getting it to stay up.

ANY boat with an open cockpit is prone to swamping, even if they are "self bailing". The question here is more about operator judgement. The R-21 is just that , a 21 foot boat... THAT IS SMALL and offshore use should be limited to fair weather and how far you can run from bad weather surprises....and at 8 mph, that ain't very far.

It's high bow/pilothouse and hull shape make it exceptionally seaworthy even in a hard blow, but the R-21 is basically an open 21 foot boat with a protected helm. keep that in mind when you venture offshore.
 
Thanks Slackwater Jack for the battery advice, and you are also offering good advice I think about the Ranger 21's limits and strengths...
 
Thanks to everyone who responded to my question....I did buy it and look forward to trying her out....ecspecially in rough conditions. It's a huge step up for us from our 15' Boston Whaler which we are now attempting to sell. I look forward to any and all info i find on this terrific site
Vickie
 
To Slackwater Jack,

Please do say more about leecloths from a practical standpoint. I understand the concept but how would they actually be done and installed so that they functioned in rough conditions?

Andrew Holmes
 
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