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Old 01-19-2011, 08:35 AM   #21
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Ranger R29

If you want a trawler that's trailerable, your choices are fewer.* We've spent a ton of time in trailerable power cruisers.* You do have to make some compromises in space and layout to have a boat that really works for extended cruising that's also practical to tow.* Probably helps to have been tent campers in the past - our 26' diesel boat seems like luxury.

If I were doing it again, I'd also consider the North Pacific 28, or maybe a Nordic Tug 26.

If you want to consider faster boats:* Sea Sport made some really solid ones in 26-28 feet.* If you're willing to go 30 feet, Bounty made some great ones, Ocean Roamer does now, and Sea Sport Voyager could be a great choice.



-- Edited by RCook on Wednesday 19th of January 2011 10:41:45 AM
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Old 01-19-2011, 10:42 AM   #22
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RE: Ranger R29

Thanks again for your input, this is a great site. I'm sorry my post led into a minor "spirited" discussion, I hate to just barge in and disrupt harmony on any forum, unless I mean to do it..LOL.

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the trailerable aspect of the smaller trawlers is really insignificant to me. My wife and I are merely interested in a more compact trawler, which are REALLY darn hard to find. Our choices seem to be very limited, our lack of trawler knowledge prevented us from knowing this. But we remain undeterred, and will eventually find the perfect boat. We both REALLY like the Camano, just wish we could find some owners on these various forums to get the real inside scoop. From what I've gathered on them, they seem to be just what we are looking for, and there seems to be a good number available at very reasonable prices. When we saw the Ranger R29, we kinda veered offcourse (no pun intended), very neat little boat, but I'm not a huge fan of the interior layout, though I will admit that it is ingenious how they manage to squeeze so many features into such limited space. But as a few pointed out, it is light and compound that with the hull design...well, I can see one taking a beating when things kick up. The cats are intriguing, I've been in a few smaller center console cats, and they are stable boats, however there is a fine line in the hull designs, and if they don't get it right, the hull slap between the two hulls can drive a person nuts, unless of course one has an unlimited fuel fund and doesnt mind running hard to get on plane and on top of the waves to minimize the slap. This is a major problem with sailing cats as well.

Again, we both thank you all (wife has been reading over my shoulder) for your thoughts. Please feel free to add more advice if something comes to mind..! We are soaking up the trawler info like sponges..!
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Old 01-19-2011, 12:35 PM   #23
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Ranger R29

Why a "trawler"?

In most sizes they are simply motor boats that wont plane with a "trawlery " deck house.

Down in the 25 -30 ft size the Pug Ugly NIKE boats will have more room, go 3x to 4x the speed and cost less .

Easy to stay under $10,000 and still enjoy the ICW , the loop, or a winter in the Bahamas.

Sure there will be a higher fuel cost BUT the speed and comfort should make up for the gas bucks.

The lower cost maint on a gas motor will easily keep the 5 or 10 year cost lower than a diesel with yachting use.

$6000 for a set of injectors , plus installation , or $5500 for a factory new gas engine?

Tahiti is OUT , but it is OUT on 99.999% of the "trawlers" too.

A NIKE boat ( Profile view) is a Bayliner or any of dozen of its competition.



-- Edited by FF on Wednesday 19th of January 2011 02:36:57 PM
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Old 01-20-2011, 11:46 AM   #24
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Another boat to check out is the CanMar Commander. http://www.canmaryachts.com/ These are made in Canada.* I pulled the little photo off the web.* The company website has an excellent virtual tour you can take of the boat.* Note that there are additional views you can select from the boat planview on the tour page. For example, the photo "bar" has a virtual tour of the head but not the forward cabin.* But on the boat planview you can select a VT of the forward cabin.

Several years ago Carey (of this forum) and I went to the Vancouver boat show. Carey knows quite a bit about these boats but I'd never heard of them. There was a new Commander 30 on the floor and we went aboard it. VERY impressive and intelligent use of space. It seemed more like a 36' boat or even larger. They also make a 26' Commander but I've not been on one of these.

A fellow with a boathouse near our dock bought one of the larger SeaSport models a number of years ago.* He had it for a few years and then one day a new Commander 30 appeared in his boathouse.* He has had the Commander for several years now.* I've not talked to him about it but I understand he's a fairly discriminating boater and can afford what he wants so he must have had good reasons for changing from a SeaSport to a Commander.

Most of the photos on the company website show the boat planing.* So this isn't a "trawler" in the sense that many of our boats are.* But..... if the Commander is driven at planing speeds fairly efficiently, speed can be a major advantage.* I would much rather go fast than slow.* You can always slow down a fast boat, but you cant' make a slow boat go faster.* Plodding across the Strait of Georgia is a study in frustration as far as we're concerned.* If it's rough, sure, you don't want to pound your teeth out or tear up the boat.* But on a nice day, it would be wonderful to zip across at 15 or 20 knots.

Anyway, the Commander is very much worth checking out, in my opinon.* They've been making them for awhile now so there are certainly used ones on the market.


-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 20th of January 2011 01:51:39 PM
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Old 01-20-2011, 11:59 AM   #25
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RE: Ranger R29

Quote:
Marin wrote:

Another boat to check out is the CanMar Commander. http://www.canmaryachts.com/ These are made in Canada.* I pulled the little photo off the web.* The company website has an excellent virtual tour you can take of the boat.* Note that there are additional views you can select from the boat planview on the tour page. For example, the photo "bar" has a virtual tour of the head but not the forward cabin.* But on the boat planview you can select a VT of the forward cabin.

Several years ago Carey (of this forum) and I went to the Vancouver boat show. Carey knows quite a bit about these boats but I'd never heard of them. There was a new Commander 30 on the floor and we went aboard it. VERY impressive and intelligent use of space. It seemed more like a 36' boat or even larger. They also make a 26' Commander but I've not been on one of these.

A fellow with a boathouse near our dock bought one of the larger SeaSport models a number of years ago.* He had it for a few years and then one day a new Commander 30 appeared in his boathouse.* He has had the Commander for several years now.* I've not talked to him about it but I understand he's a fairly discriminating boater and can afford what he wants so he must have had good reasons for changing from a SeaSport to a Commander.

Most of the photos on the company website show the boat planing.* So this isn't a "trawler" in the sense that many of our boats are.* But..... if the Commander is driven at planing speeds fairly efficiently, speed can be a major advantage.* I would much rather go fast than slow.* You can always slow down a fast boat, but you cant' make a slow boat go faster.* Plodding across the Strait of Georgia is a study in frustration as far as we're concerned.* If it's rough, sure, you don't want to pound your teeth out or tear up the boat.* But on a nice day, it would be wonderful to zip across at 15 or 20 knots.

Anyway, the Commander is very much worth checking out, in my opinon.* They've been making them for awhile now so there are certainly used ones on the market.


-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 20th of January 2011 01:51:39 PM
On rare occasion, Commander also builds a 38 footer that is outstanding. They don't like to build them, because they take up the space of two thirty footers in the shop. I had a full tour of one of these a few years back and it met all of my expectations. One thing they do real well is to create built-ins for every little thing, including silverware, dishes, fishing poles, etc. The dishes and silverware actually come with the boat.
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Old 01-20-2011, 12:31 PM   #26
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RE: Ranger R29

Quote:
Marin wrote:

*But on a nice day, it would be wonderful to zip across at 15 or 20 knots.

Is it the voyage or the destination*one seeks?

*
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Old 01-20-2011, 01:00 PM   #27
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RE: Ranger R29

Quote:
markpierce wrote:

*
Marin wrote:

But on a nice day, it would be wonderful to zip across at 15 or 20 knots.
Is it the voyage or the destination*one seeks?
It's running the boat. Preferably fast but that's not going to happen with a GB.* I view the voyage as a reason to run the boat.* The destination is a place to stay before starting to run the boat again the next day.* Not that I don't enjoy a destination but the main reason I got into boating and flying is to run the machine.* One reason I prefere a twin is that I like running engines.* I'd have three or four of them if they'd fit

I like being on the move.* One reason I enjoy my job is that we do a fair amount of travelling around the world.** I like seeing new things but I like the act of getting to them more (in most cases) than actually being there.

*
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Old 01-20-2011, 08:35 PM   #28
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Ranger R29

jethro,
I'd look at the Nordic Tugs at the $150K level and above.
1. They have an engine that has a near bullet proof reputation and it's a common engine, well known and easy to get parts for and work on. Probably 3gph.
2. The fuel tanks are aluminum and your chances of problems are minimal. This is a HUGE problem or time bomb on most other boats.
3. I think Nordics are about as free of blisters as any boat on the market.
I think the 26 is a bit of a little tub and the 37 is certainly not a compact.
If you don't like it find another boat w great tanks, engine and hull.

-- Edited by nomadwilly on Thursday 20th of January 2011 10:49:16 PM

-- Edited by nomadwilly on Thursday 20th of January 2011 11:00:13 PM
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Old 01-20-2011, 08:42 PM   #29
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RE: Ranger R29

Quote:
nomadwilly wrote:

....he said the gel-coat they use is so smooth nothing can grow on it.
Hmmmm----* not sure I'd buy that one.* Slime can get going an anything, even a piece of glass.* And the photos of the Commanders on the manufacturer's website all have the bottoms painted.

*
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Old 01-20-2011, 08:55 PM   #30
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RE: Ranger R29

Quote:
Marin wrote:

*
nomadwilly wrote:

....he said the gel-coat they use is so smooth nothing can grow on it.
Hmmmm----* not sure I'd buy that one.* Slime can get going an anything, even a piece of glass.* And the photos of the Commanders on the manufacturer's website all have the bottoms painted.I'm with you on that Marin. My guess is the guy kept the boat out of the water except when cruising. Maybe he stored it a a place like Hilton Harbor Marina in Bellingham, where they place your boat on the trailer the majority of the time.

*
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Old 01-20-2011, 08:58 PM   #31
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-- Edited by nomadwilly on Thursday 20th of January 2011 11:06:07 PM

-- Edited by nomadwilly on Thursday 20th of January 2011 11:36:19 PM
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Old 01-20-2011, 09:04 PM   #32
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Quote:
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Well Marin I suppose I could raise hell about what you're call'in me....
I wasn't questioning what you related, I'm questioning what the boat owner told you.* No need to remove your post.* Others might*have heard the same thing from somebody else although I have to admit this is a*"show me" claim with regards to the Commander owner's statement.

The company website makes no statement or claim*about any sort of "miracle" gel coat and in fact lists "bottom paint" as a factory-applied option on it's spec sheets.

Carey speculated they kept their boat out of the water a lot and if so, that could account for what they were claiming.* Being a fast planing boat, it's possible that they "polished off" any growth that got started when the boat was in the water when they ran the boat, and then had the boat out of the water for the longer periods of no use.* Or perhaps the boat spent a lot of time in fresh water although that's no*guarantee of no growth.* And*we don't know how long they kept it in the water in Everett.* Which is in*a river, by the way, so probably has brackish water or fresh water on top much of the time like Bellingham marina which could slow growth.

Our Arima has no bottom paint on it either and it's never had a spec of growth on the bottom.** Of course it spends most of its days sitting on its trailer in the back yard



-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 20th of January 2011 11:21:27 PM
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Old 01-21-2011, 05:08 PM   #33
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Let's just forget about it. The guy moored the boat all the time at Evertt and cruised every summer way up the coast of northern BC. I think he said he waxed it but I'm not sure. If wax worked I'd do my 19' OB but I'd prolly be sorry when I wanted to paint it.
I thought the Camander thing would be interesting. Let's just forget about it.
The more I think about it I think he said he hauled it once a year, pressure washed it and then waxed it.

-- Edited by nomadwilly on Friday 21st of January 2011 07:10:52 PM
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Old 04-26-2011, 03:44 AM   #34
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RE: Ranger R29

All that being said , today with good weather info easily obtained , and a flexible sked there would not be that big a hassle IF the boat was quick, and had the required range at speed .

FL to the Caribbean only has one open water spot , tip of Hispanolia to PR. that would be a consideration.

Can the boat run 200miles at 20K or so?
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Old 09-08-2011, 06:48 PM   #35
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RE: Ranger R29

As a Ranger Tug owner I noted this thread with interest...

It is true these tugs do not have the fuel range needed for passagemaking and are neither designed as such nor marketed as such...
Mine holds 75 gallons... At 6 knots I burn 1 gallon per hour making my economy range some 400+ miles... It will do some 19 knots, though the range certainly goes down at those speeds...
It is intended to be trailered and mine is, having been to New York, down to Virginia, down to Florida and back to Virginia, then North to Michigan, down to Ohio, back to Florida and back to Michigan... Here in Michigan it has been on Lakes Huron and Superior the past two summers...

I see an opinion that the boat is too light to be trusted more than a couple miles offshore... That opinion does not match my experience out in the Gulf Of Mexico and especially in the Detour Passage between Superior and Huron... There we spent nearly three hours bashing into a measured (by electronic buoys) 35 knot wind against the current coming off Lake Superior, pushing up 7 footer absolutely vertical waves on a 7 second period... Now, I know you salt sailors will scoff at 7 foot claiming that is a dead calm on the ocean... Those of you who have sailed the Great Lakes will recognize that this steep a water wall on a 7 second cycle will beat you to death pitching the boat in well excess of 45 degrees twice every 7 seconds... The Tug absolutely could not have cared less.. The diesel hummed along at 1200 rpm and never varied in either the tach reading or the sound of the engine as every item in the boat was ejected from cabinets in a thunderous clatter (yes, the cabinet doors are not up to blue water status) the bedding ejected from the forward cabin and scrambled knee deep in the companion way, leaving our dog in hysterics and my wife folded over and a deep shade of green... I on the other hand was thrilled at the solid feel and response to the wheel that gave me confidence... While I would never go out on Gitche Gumee in the storms of November I have confidence that if caught in a blow like we were that day I have a good chance of reaching port...

There are a few things I would change on our tug (isn't there always) but Ranger has done an admirable job of crafting a boat that fills a niche for folks who want to travel with their boat and still have a craft that will handle reasonable wave and wind... Surely I would like a boat built as stout as a Nordhaven, with a big slow turning mechanical diesel, huge fuel tanks, etc. but then it would be impractical to trailer it... This is a high quality pocket cruiser that meets the needs of a niche group of sailors... While I admire your big, heavy, blue water cruisers I chose a pocket trawler that follows me to new waters at the drop of a hat...

cheers,
denny-o in Michigan (until the crops are off, then look out baby here we go again)
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Old 09-09-2011, 05:33 AM   #36
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Ranger R29

Quote:
denny-o wrote:
This is a high quality pocket cruiser that meets the needs of a niche group of sailors... While I admire your big, heavy, blue water cruisers I chose a pocket trawler that follows me to new waters at the drop of a hat...
******* Well written and I agree with your statements. I have never cruised a Ranger 29 but have been on one 3 times! I'm fascinated by the layout and how they fit all the goodies into this boat. Not to mention its salty good looks.


-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Saturday 10th of September 2011 03:20:25 PM
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Old 09-10-2011, 09:40 AM   #37
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RE: Ranger R29

We had a couple here in Thorne Bay this summer that I had a very very good time meeting. They were very adventurous green horns to boating and were way over their heads cruising to Alaska but the only real problem as I saw it was thier Wallace stove. There was a bit of soot on everything in their new boat. Sadly they shipped the boat home.

As to the R29s seaworthiness light flat bottomed boats have been comming up here to SE for many many decades. Old Chris Crafts of all sizes come to mind. And they were not only light but rather narrow. We have people running open skiffs long distances over waters that have terrible reputations for bad weather and bad seas. I have a friend that has property in Petersburg and Tennake Springs and she does not always take the ferry. At times she runs Chatham Strait in her 13' Boston Whaler w a 25hp Yamaha. And before anybody starts in about how seaworthy a Whaler is consider the fact that most others in SE do the same type of thing in aluminum skiffs. Going out in big seas w a light boat does not prove it's seaworthiness most of the time. Consider the 22' boat whose lines aren't that different than the R29 and that boat crossed the Atlantic. Most of the time taking a light boat into heavy seas amounts to a lot of discomfort but for more or less obvious reasons that can result in loss of boats and even lives.
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Old 11-18-2012, 07:25 PM   #38
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Eric, it's not so much the wind but the 15- to 20-foot seas such winds can create that are the issue.* By the way, I've already*run aground six times, including four times one night.

*
four times one night??? R u a sail boater? Geez...have u considered a new hobby, like maybe chess?

I ran aground once while a fellow experianced mariner was at the helm and since that day that bunch has named me Captain hard aground! I got even though i made them get into the water and pull the boat. They were worried cause i told them we had an out going tide and they were almost out of beer. The tide was incomming and we really were not hard aground haveing only passed one duck blind but in tulies.
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Old 11-18-2012, 08:03 PM   #39
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four times one night??? R u a sail boater? Geez...have u considered a new hobby, like maybe chess?
I'm not a fan of chess. ... The four-time episode happened some fifty years ago when I solo-motored my dad's 28.5-foot sloop from a boatyard in San Rafael, California across the bay to the boat's berth in Oakland. It was at night and there were no visible navigational markers along the very narrow channel exiting San Rafael. Fortunately, the tide was rising, so relied on compass and kept a-going after floating off each time.
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Old 11-18-2012, 08:26 PM   #40
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I'm not a fan of chess. ... The four-time episode happened some fifty years ago when I solo-motored my dad's 28.5-foot sloop from a boatyard in San Rafael, California across the bay to the boat's berth in Oakland. It was at night and there were no visible navigational markers along the very narrow channel exiting San Rafael. Fortunately, the tide was rising, so relied on compass and kept a-going after floating off each time.
chuckle.....sorry, i know those waters and thats why i mentioned sail. a sloop? oopps.. When out fishing in the winter i used to love listening to the distress calls from mud stickers calling the coast gaurd for help. My one sorta grounding was in the flats in Grizzly Bay up by the mothball fleet.
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