Why the change

[baz]

...snip...
It would be interesting to have a classic R-27 SC and the new R 27 side by side cruising in different sea conditions. I would have to say my money is on the old style hull and power providing the better ride. I don't bet and I do't know just guessing.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

I've had my R-27/OB since Aug 16, 2017. So that's around 5 weeks. I've cruised some 360 miles and put some 33 hrs on the F300. The F300 had it's 20 hr first recommended service about a week back and it cost $624 including taxes. $185 of this was for the service shop getting my boat from its slip, hauled out onto their trailer, taken 500 feet to their servicing shop, serviced, trailered back to the lift and put in the water and taken back to my slip.

Apart from some 20 miles of the 360 miles the water conditions were practically calm, with little wind and varying tide conditions and small currents with and against the boat.

The 20 miles were with the wind running at 20 kts and blowing on the port bow and with 2-3 feet waves and during the maiden voyage for our R-27/OB.

I've owned the 2010 R-25 and the R-21EC previously. I've been in very rough water conditions in the R-25 for the 6-7 yrs we had it. For the R-21EC we were lucky in not having to deal with any seriously bad water and weather. The R-25 was run in 6 footers and some 20-30 foot-spaced swells and strong head winds for fairly long periods when cruising up in the Canadian waters to/from Desolation Sound area.

So my comparison is between the R-25 and our new R-27/OB model for its 20 miles of rough waters.

The R-27/OB has a 22º deep V bow section. The R-25 has much less than this and is semi-dispalacemnt hull whereas the R-27/OB has a full planing hull.

I find the R-27/OB cuts into the opposing waves more smoothly than did the R-25. This meant the R-27/OB had less up/down longitudinal motion vs. the R-25 which was more of a bouncy motion. Both boats seem to roll about the same. The R-27/OB appears to be a bit noisier than the R-25 when the R-27/OB is running at less than 15 kts. I put this down to the R-27/OB having a much flatter hull so that water kind of slaps it and makes slapping water noises.... much like you hear with a waterfall hitting rocks at its base.

Thus, so far I have to say there's little difference IMO between the R-25 and R-27/OB in moderate sea conditions. It could be the R-27 (Classic) rides better than the R-25 (Classic) and if so then it could be a different story to what I've experienced so far on the R-27/OB.

I will tell you a short story that speaks to one of the R-27/OB's benefits.

At the recent Roche Harbor meeting most boats left on Sunday quite early on in the morning to ensure they got home by late PM. Many of them encountered fog conditions as they traveled south back home. I, on the other hand knew about how fog conditions are quite likely in early morning hours and was in no hurry to return south to home. I left Roche at around 12:30 pm and steamed at high speed all the way home for a distance of some 80 miles without encountering fog at all. I was home by 3:30 pm. Had I our R-25 (Classic) I would have been obliged to leave Roche in early morning hours to get home in late PM, and I would have had to deal with the fog which for me is very scary. The R-27/OB allowed me to safely return home without having to negotiate fog conditions.... plus I had a more leisurely time Sunday morning with no hurry to get going.

BTW.... I had a friend onboard with me yesterday who owns the R-25SC (2 yrs old) and one of his first comments when stepping into the cabin was how much he liked the all-around outside visibility from inside the cabin. 🙂

 

[rangs02jrt]

Interesting post, Baz.

So you have a good comparison between the R25 and the R27 OB in very similar conditions. Sounds like they are quite similar in behavior. Maybe the semi-displacement hull advantage for the R25 was offset by the additional length advantage of the R27? Question: Which boat allowed you to go FASTER in those conditions? At what speed do you get "on plane" with the OB? How does it ride below planing speeds?

I would think that the planing hull of the R27 would be a rougher ride than a semi-displacement hull in chop or 3-5 foot waves?

 

[Chimo]

I was at the Vancouver Boat Show last week and there were some great deals to be had. I'm sure there will be similar at Seattle. That being said and having regard for all the comments and opinions in Ranger shifting to outboard and 'pausing' the R25SC one factor alone would have made the decision if I were buying a new boat today. The R23 is US $110,000 and not enough of a difference to my former C-Dory 23 Venture for me to have made the jump. The R27OB is US $185,000 from the factory. Too much money for me whether I was in love with it or not. Our price point was in the middle of those two and I was glad we had the chance to buy the boat we did.

 

[rheimb1]

I'm with Curt on the Red Raven, our boats are at least holding their value even more. I love the classic look.

 

[TugSully]

Some great observations and comments on the change to OBs.

I recently purchased a 2018 R27 Ob with the Yamaha 300. Have not had an opportunity to launch it yet (Ice in harbor, you know Wisconsin is 50 weeks of winter and 2 weeks of bad sledding 😀 )

My wife and I have been kicking tires for several years, thinking someday we would make the plunge. Of course her YES to the plunge was a 42'/43' Grand banks Europa loaded with every option available ($1,075,000) Well that was a bit over our price point to say the least. That being said it didn't keep us from more kicking tires.

I grew up on a lake and am familiar with OBs. Am I an OB mechanic FAR from it. But I understand them. Our tire kicking always drew us to a Tug/Trawler style boat. One thing that always in the back of my mind was my lack of knowledge of diesel power plants on the kind of boats we liked. One moderating factor was their reputation for durability.

One concern with the classic design was impatience. While I wouldn't mind chugging along the Admiral would get impatient on a trip of some distance.

Then we went to the Milwaukee boat show and saw the RT R27OB for the 1st time. Bingo! It has the look, electronics, space, performance etc. etc. and all the things we wanted.

Did the OB seal the deal? Yes and No, but more Yes than no. It took away some reservations I had about familiarity with a diesel. It has the ability to get up and move when the Admiral gets antsy or weather dictates more speed.

So why the change? I think it is an evolution in boating. I remember seeing a boat with OBs hanging off the back that typically had IBs. At first i thought that looks odd, but then I kept seeing more and more boats with an OB configuration on typical inboard type boats. So they became less "odd"

While I will always love the look of a RT sans OB, the OB for is more practical for me.

I think RT made a wise decision to add an OB to its line up. However, I hope they don't do away with the classic diesel power plant. Better yet give a choice between OB or IB for the same size boat. Let the market decide. As long as RT keeps quality up/improving and doesn't cut corners to save a buck they will continue to to be a premier boat builder.

Now if we can get to boating season I will be a happy camper!

 

[baz]

TugSully: I liked your posting.... well thought out. Enjoy your new ride as they say. 🙂

 

[Namaste]

I hope all the new boat owners enjoy their boats for many years!

My wife and I have lived on our 2010 R25 classic for five winter months in Florida every year since 2011. This boat has filled the bill for us. I do not think we would enjoy living on the boat as much as we do if the head was in the berth area. The tradeoff of having the head in the starboard stern of the cabin is the loss of some visibility. This has not been an issue yet as I usually just stick my head out the window while backing into a slip. Being able to have a Portland Pudgy on davits on the swim platform is a joy.

I do all the regular maintenance work. Today I changed the impeller on the 4BY Yanmar. I still love this boat. Only folks who have done this impeller change in this setup know what a great endorsement that is.

 

[baz]

Jim: I certainly do not envy you at all about the impeller change task. It's a terribly awkward one to deal with IMO. I'm glad you're enjoying the R-25 (Classic) and the Portland Pudgy combo. 🙂

 

[Namaste]

Aye, it's a labor of love

 

[baz]

Jim: Your arm is thicker than mine and at times I had a hard time getting my arm back out. Is your arm stuck in that position in your photo.... :lol: I see you also had an onlooker...

As an aside... I stole 1st mate's make-up mirror and place it in the bilge under the impeller housing so I could see the bottom hidden bolt for removal etc.

Did you make sure to get the pulley belt back on to engage all the grooves correctly ?

 

[Namaste]

Thanks, all went well. I got my arm back minus a little skin taken by the hose clamps. I was able to feel the hidden bolt hole well enough to get it in there. I use a cut off from a 6mm allen wrench taped in solid to a small socket drive. I fill the screw head with butyl tape and press it on the allen wrench. Personal best 2.5 hours

 

[baz]

My impeller swap out took me two 6 hr days single handed.... and was first time and I went slowly with lots of breaks thinking I should never have attempted it. 😱 ... and my arms were black and blue and some bad/nasty fibre glass scrapes at the end of it all. I vowed never to do it again.

 

[Brian B]

There is a huge difference in access to the Yanmar between the 25 classic and the 25 SC. I have the SC and I do the complete impeller replacement working through the cabin step that I modified. I just changed the impeller a few days ago in 45 minutes working by myself.

 

[Matty]

As they say....to each his own. I was going to purchase used until i saw the awesome changes to 2018.
Luckily one was available at the miami show. Otherwise you wait 6 months for delivery. Was delivered last week and love it. Lots to learn.