Views from a "toolnut" - A person who likes to fix things, sometimes even before they are broken, an activity often referred to as "maintenance". After spending most of my working life in academic pursuits, working on my tug is all "party time" for me.
Special tools for specific machine/engine repairs have been required for a very long time. I can think of many instances when special tool would have made my efforts at repair of many items (cars, boats, appliances...) much easier. I have had to buy a few and rent a few special tools in the past. Cutting a $10 spanner in half was a nonissue for me. As to tight spaces it is not uncommon when doing machine repairs to not have much room to work. Many times one has to take nearby components off to reach the area of interest.
If my R27 had been offered , say a 100 HP engine as an alternative to the 180 would I have selected the smaller engine? Nope. More room sure, and I hardly ever run more than about 60% power with the 180. There are situations though when going to 90%, or more, is a real benefit.
Now could Ranger have improved access to some areas of the 180 engine? Yes! For example, access to the front of the engine is awkward almost beyond belief. I found that modifications to improve access to the front of the engine are readily done by an owner. However, it would be much better if Ranger made the modifications during the boats' manufacture.
Another problem area is access and repair of the stern thruster. Many posts have addressed this issue. I expect it would be possible to incorporate design changes to improve access to the thruster. Even so, access here is never going to be easy. From various posts, I understand that water intrusion into the thruster electronics happens occasionally. The result seems to be that the thruster spontaneously turns on. This issue would be much less common if improved drainage for the thruster compartment were added. Some owners, once having once experienced the spontaneous on issue, have installed a bilge pump in the thruster compartment.
Some negative comments here for sure, but I am still happy to have the thruster option even with the present design. In fact, overall, warts and all, I am pleased to be a Ranger Tug owner. (You can decide if "warts" refers to tug or this owner or both.) When asked by others, happens often at a launch ramp, for example, I recommend the tug.