1st post/new members

[Jim and Lisa Favors]

We are long time cruisers, we were also live aboards for 5 years and have more recently downsized to a trailerable trawler Ranger Tug 27. We hope to make new friends on this forum, run into current and old friends we've met cruising, gain new knowledge and hopefully be able to share from our experiences. We are Jim and Lisa from Traverse City, Michigan.

Jim

[Scout]

Welcome! We recently moved up to a GB32 from a c-dory tomcat. We gave Ranger Tugs a good look when making our decision. Great looking boats.

[Jim and Lisa Favors]

We'll be in your area this summer. We depart Michigan in July with a stop on the Green River/Flaming Gorge in Utah before launching in Anacortes for 3 months worth of cruising. Are you members of the MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Association) PNW chapter?

Jim

[Scout]

If you haven't been here before I think you will love cruising the San Juan and the Gulf islands. We don't belong to MTOA but are members of the Puget Sound Grand Banks Association. We are still active on C-brats, the C-dory owners group. We also continue to monitor Tugnuts, as we have friends with a Ranger Tug.

[Jim and Lisa Favors]

Do you know Walt and Margie Plimpton of Seattle? They have been long time owners of a Grand Banks. We met them thru mutual Seattle friends while cruising their 6 years ago.

[Marin]

Welcome to the forum. There are about forty million Grand Banks up here. I would not be surprised to learn that there are more GBs in the PNW and BC than in any other region in the world.

The boats are coastal cruisers, not open ocean boats, so the mostly inside waters of this region from Olympia in WA to Glacier Bay in SE AK is ideal for Grand Banks. So while it's always possible that a GB owner may know so-and-so who is also a GB owner in this area, the huge number of GBs here can make that a statistical unlikelihood.

I'm guessing there are perhaps between thirty and forty GBs in our marina alone. While we are not social boaters by any means a GB at the dock or in a slip tends to cause other GB owners in the marina to wander by and say hi at some point. But of all the GBs in Squalicum Marina I know just three of them by name.

So don't be too surprised if Jay (Scout) who is one of the three I know, isn't familiar with Walt and Margie. But he might be, you never know.

The Ranger Tug is quite popular here, particularly the 27' model. Don't see many on trailers, however, as I assume it requires a pretty stout towing vehicle. The ones in our marina have permanent berths.

A good friend of mine has ferried new RT27s from the Seattle area to owners up in BC--- the upper Sunshine Coast, Campbell River, and in Desolation Sound. I have never been on one but according to him they are outstanding boats for this area. Anacortes is a good place to base out of as it's right at the south end of the really good cruising waters here.

[Scout]

Marin is right, we don't know Walt and Margie. There are just too many GBs around here. I have been on a RT27 and they are very nicely outfitted boats. Very user friendly and good boats for the PNW! Hopefully the weather will be as nice this summer as it was this past weekend.

[Peter B]

Welcome aboard, and yes, Ranger tugs are everywhere now. There was one (a 27') featured at our Sanctuary Cove Boat Show here just last year. This year's show is from 23 to 26th May, so coming up very soon, and no doubt they will be here again. They are impressive in their accommodation and functionality for a modest length, yet still legally trailable, so I think they will do well here, and I suspect over in my native NZ as well. We had a Maxi trailer yacht over there (26 footer), and the beauty of trailable is to be able to take the boat to all the beautiful lakes. Aussie does not have all that many lakes one would call beautiful, but has more sheltered sea cruising, so a moored boat is fine here for us now.