West coast cruise

B

Babacoc

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Joined
Jul 17, 2021
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11
Fluid Motion Model
C-302 C
Vessel Name
Whoa Nellie!
My husband and I look forward to delivery of our new Ranger Tug next spring and are contemplating all our future cruises. Just curious who has taken their tug down a portion or all of the west coast. We’re interested to hear of your experience!

Thanks!

Barbara and Art
 
In my opinion only - not a good cruise. Not enough close together ports from the entrance of the Straight of San Juan de Facs to Morro Bay to duck into if waves, wind and/or weather turns bad. The West Coast can be brutal with 20+ ft waves during even the summer.
Maybe from Long Beach to San Diego in good weather but I don’t think that’s what you’re asking….

PS: A challenging cruise is circumnavigating Vancouver Island. Or going to Alaska. The Broughtons, Desolation Sound and the Gulf Islands could keep you busy for a decade or more!
If you really want an expedition trawler, because that’s what you are suggestion, there is a wide range of boats to choose from. https://www.yachtingmagazine.com/traveling-trawlers/
But even a R-43 would be a stretch for the trip you are describing.
 
If it were me with a new boat I would spend time on Puget sound. There are numerous places to visit and you will always be close to Ranger if you have issues. Every new boat has a shakeout period either because of owner error or installation. And as mentioned earlier going down the west coast will not be a recommended trip.
 
+1 these boats are not built or intended for ocean conditions. Limited crossings (like Bermuda or Dixon passage) can be fine with careful consideration of weather. But the Pacific is another matter!

Yacht classifications are one attempt to capture this difference, and a west coast passage would need a class "A" or (with caution) class "B". RTs are not officially rated AFAIK but would be similar to class "C" https://www.vanderheijdenyachts.com/class-a-classified-yachts/
 
Thanks all, for your good counsel! We recognize the Salish Sea and British Columbia have plenty to explore but just wondered about the seaworthiness of RTs.
 
Boosting this post. To remind, with the exception of the 41/3, RT’s are 10’ beam or less. It is actually quite reasonable to ship your boat to different locations and mess with it there. We have shipped our R29CB from San Francisco to Seattle multiple times—and back. It is not hard and is a great way to get a quick jump into the next adventure. For west coast cruising I would recommend: a ship to Seattle with a full two months of cruising in the Salish Sea. Then a ship to Kennewick, WA for a full month of cruising the Columbia and the Snake, ending in Astoria. Then a ship to San Francisco, with at least a month to explore the Bay and the Delta. If you are feeling adventurous, it is not hard to take it out the Golden Gate and down the coast to Santa Cruz and Monterey, hauling it there and shipping it to Oxnard. From there, you will need a month to cruise the Channel Islands, Santa Bárbara, etc. Or less, depends on your goals. Then you can pretty much move it down the coast all the way to Mexico on its bottom providing you have a good weather window or two. This includes stopping in Marina del Rey, working your way to Long Beach, then out to Catalina (a must), then down to San Diego. All depends on weather, but things get more benign (generally) as you go south. The toughest west coast water in my view is from Neah Bay (Juan de Fuca Straight) to San Francisco. Best to just skip that. A friend of mine just moved his boat from Portland to San Francisco. What should have taken less than 10 days took over a month due to wind.

There, I have just planned your first year of retirement. Enjoy!
 
@ Hydraulicjump: who do you use to 'ship' the boat to Seattle and what do does it cost?

I'm berthed in Half Moon Bay (south of SF) and don't trailer. As others have noted, the West Coast is not ideal for our type of boats. It's reasonable to run from HMB to SF Bay and there's lots to do inside the bay. That's about 30 miles and you need to check the tides to run thru the Golden Gate at slack tide, bask.org is a good site for checking. Also from HMB, it's 42 miles to Santa Cruz, then you can shoot across Monterrey Bay to Monterrey. MB is, by far, the calmest water in this part of Calif. Generally, going north from SF gets worse and I'd never try it. I would consider running all the way to San Diego, but, that would take patience as you may have to wait for weather breaks.
 
Just wondering why "ship to Seattle"?
Ranger Tugs is located between Tacoma and Seattle.
I'm not sure where they would put you in but close I'd bed.
I go to Seattle from Tacoma and back in an afternoon @7kt.
No truck involved.
 
Skippy,
Hydraulicjump lives in Davis, CA (west of Sacramento) and keeps his R29CB in the San Francisco Bay areas. So he has his boat trucked up to and then back down from the Puget Sound and/or Salish Sea for his PNW trips.
 
Sorry for the delay. I am cruising in the south Puget Sound where it is drop dead gorgeous right now. Is that a good enough excuse?

We use Cory Gracey from Sharp Yachts as our shipper.

Sharpyachts@gmail.com

Cory manages a bunch of independent shippers with trailers. Lots of places in the Bay Area to haul the boat and a ton of places to launch in the PNW. Pm me if you want more. Dealing with shippers takes a lot of patience.

And full disclosure, after 5 years of shipping back and forth to San Francisco, the arrival of our first grandbaby—now living in Seattle—has us leaving the boat here full time as our Seattle condo with a lovely view of the Space Needle, with a nearby miracle in a baby girl. And when they open the border, a gateway to the best cruising grounds in the world. To the chagrin of the locals, who might like to keep it secret, I highly recommend the PNW for RT cruising.

From, of all places, Swantown Marina in Olympia.

Jeff
 
Thanks all, especially to hydraulicjump, for planning our first year of retirement! And we’ve not yet even taken ownership of our RT!
 
Just to jump in here. Annie Time, our 2018 27OB, is normally slipped in Half Moon Bay, Ca on the F dock. We fish a lot on the open ocean for salmon when the weather allows. This year, we had 4 good weather days after the season opened June 26th. Like hydraulicjump, we are currently cruising in Desolation Sound. We have had a great time up here. We are 2 weeks in and plan on another two weeks before hauling Annie Time back to HMB. The bay and delta area provide for a lot of area to cruise, but we like HMB because of the fishing.
 
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