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Old 02-23-2015, 07:22 PM   #27
Marin
Scraping Paint
 
City: -
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 13,745
The Ranger Tug http://www.rangertugs.com/ started as a relatively small trailerable cruiser concept. The line has grown to include models up to 31 feet long, still marketed as a trailerable boat. A friend has used some-- I believe the 25' model -- for short cruises up in the Desolation Sound area for several years now, and he is very impressed with the boats.

The Ranger Tug seems to be a fundamentally different concept than the Nordic and American Tugs in terms of their hull designs and performance but someone like Eric Henning is far more qualified to comment on these differences (or similarities) than I am.

We have peered into a new Ranger Tug 27 (I think) that was moored for a few months to the main dock we walk to get to our boat. It seems a very clever use of space, no question. My overall impression was the boat is kind of "flashy" compared to the more solid, conservative approach taken by Nordic Tug in terms of materials, components and finish. But that is just a superficial visual impression. We were quite surprised by the Ranger Tug's price, which seeme to us to be awfully high for the size of the boat.

Ranger Tug seems to be locked into Volvo engines on all their models and I did not see any reference to alternate choices on their website although I may have missed it. They are made in this area, too, so one could easily compare their build practices and quality with the other two makes.

Being something of a traditionalist as far as aesthetics go, of the three makes in question I would choose the Nordic Tug over the other two, particulalry if we could get it with a Cummins or John Deere engine.
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