My take on a Ranger Tug

While I was considering a Sea Piper I checked out some Ranger Tugs as some people suggested.

The R-29 was nice, but just too big for me to consider as a trailer boat. Then we looked at an R-25. I was impressed with that one.

I was shocked how much they could cram into a 25. There was no wasted space and it had a ton of equipment, I was really surprised. This particular one had a feature which caught me by surprise - it was advertised as coming with a kicker motor. In reality it had about a 25 hp Yamaha, mounted on a jack plate and ready to go. Big gas tank on the transom, controls right at the console next to the diesel controls. It appears if your diesel sputtered you could just reach over to the outboard controls and in very little time and effort, continue with the outboard. Seemed like a hell of a setup.

So, we drove away thinking about this boat. Not all we wanted, but it was trailerable, diesel, seemed safe to go offshore, especially with the “kicker”. Had nearly all the equipment we’d want - generator, air, radar, big inverter, solar - it goes on. But the much bigger motor, smaller tankage and being more crowded gave us pause.

We drove about 200 miles, weighing all it had - and a little it didn’t - available right then, against waiting maybe a year to get a new seapiper that matched our needs closer. We were still struggling with that decision when I got a call that the contract on the almost new Sea Piper fell through - were we interested? Available right then. Well, you can guess which way it went, but I still am not sure what we’d have done if I hadn’t gotten that call.

Hopefully you made the "best" choice for you!!! Best of luck with your new boat.
Personally, a Ranger Tug is not a boat that I would want....... but that is a personal choice and in no way says bad things about the boat or anyone's personal choice in that regard. These boats are popular and have a large following!!!

Maybe do a review after you've owned it for 6 months or so here. Congrats..

Awesome man, congrats. Post some pics when you get her.

What year is it? New ones are outboard only I believe. I agree they make good use of the available space. Not sure how I feel about the "kicker" motor idea. On a boat like that I don't see it would get much use (emergency only?) or maybe it's better for fishing or something, but a lot of extra weight and gear and space on an already small boat.

For the new ones, it looks like the 23, 25, 27 are outboard powered, the 29 and 31 have a single diesel, the 43 has twins. Sadly, the diesels are all Volvo and the 43 has pods.

rslifkin said:

For the new ones, it looks like the 23, 25, 27 are outboard powered, the 29 and 31 have a single diesel, the 43 has twins. Sadly, the diesels are all Volvo and the 43 has pods.

Click to expand...

What are the downsides of pods and why are they often used on the biggest and most expensive luxury models?

backinblue said:

What year is it? New ones are outboard only I believe. I agree they make good use of the available space. Not sure how I feel about the "kicker" motor idea. On a boat like that I don't see it would get much use (emergency only?) or maybe it's better for fishing or something, but a lot of extra weight and gear and space on an already small boat.

Click to expand...

Here’s the listing. It would make a good boat for someone.

https://www.boats.com/power-boats/2009-ranger-tugs-r-25-7894511/

2009, 150 hp Cummins

As far as the kicker - being a sailboater I am used to having a backup method if something fails. And it has. I liked the idea of the kicker. Obviously the Sea Piper lacks that. I do have a backup plan though. First, it’s unlikely I’ll cross big water with it. Bahamas being the biggest goal. Second, my insurance includes Boat US towing, which they tell me includes unlimited towing. Not quite as good as hoisting a sail or hitting a start button, but hopefully it’s a bailout.

backinblue said:

What are the downsides of pods and why are they often used on the biggest and most expensive luxury models?

Click to expand...

They're a little more efficient and very maneuverable, but they're also very expensive. If you hit something with one, you'll either do serious prop damage (props face forward) or shear the whole pod off ($$$$$). And at least for the Volvo pods, they're very sensitive to alignment, so only a Volvo tech can do certain work on them. And in some places, the nearest Volvo tech that can do it is hours away, meaning you may wait weeks and pay serious $$$ when you need service on them.

The high end stuff often goes pods because of the fancy joystick maneuvering (which is more capable with pods than most other setups). And slightly more efficient drive means a faster boat, which is often a selling point in the high end market.

Personally, I have no interest in anything with pods. I'd much rather sacrifice a little bit of efficiency for a standard shaft / rudder setup. And skip the dripless seals too in my mind.

Been on a couple Ranger Tugs at boat shows.
Scratching my head over a 'kicker' motor on a Ranger Tug. For the price, and as long as it's been in production, it better not have engine problems. Fishing ? Really on a Ranger tug?? Not my choice for going off shore either.
They are nice boats and pack a lot into them. More of a plastic fantastic boat like a Searay. 27 and 29 seemed to be the sweet spot as far as room and being able to trailer it. I think if I was going for a cruiser I'd get an outboard for the extra room inside. Not sure how they compare.

I agree with you on the kicker, I don't get it either

Almost all boats where I live have kickers. No tow service, few boats, and complex mountainous waterways where radio contact is spotty means you have to be able to at least get to a safe anchorage on your own if the main engine dies.

Many I think are missing the point of choosing products.

One should in my opinion, at least re boats and probably many other products (like houses) pay much more attention to the thing as a whole. A boat. As a boat how does it measure up? But now-days people tend to buy things by how many cool features it has. Austinsailor has approached his buy thinking based on features. Little or no talk about the quality of elements of the boat including hull design. Everybody has their needs but I think one should select a product based on it’s intrinsic value. Like what’s it made of, how is it’s design and what’s most important?

The Ranger is very focused on compactness, integration of the parts, spaces and function re cruising needs. Ranger has done well.
But Ranger has missed the boat as the whole is presented as a list of the parts, not the basic boat. When you think of the GB boats you think of the boat as a hull and less about details like do they come w a washer/dryer, two heads, ect ect. It would seem to me owning a GB is like owning a fine car v/s a cheap car. I own two Toyotas thinking they are fine cars in most ways. Quality of design, materials, how things are put together and many other intrinsic elements are so much more important that “features”.

I’m not saying Rangers are cheap boats. They are actually expensive .. I think. But I hear little talk about what really matters to me. It matters to me, I recognize it and I see little evidence it has been recognized by others. Ranger’s get home feature is a big plus IMO but I consider it a feature. It dosn’t elevate Rangers to the hall of fine boats.
But in all matters all boats shall be judged mostly by as a whole, stripped of all add-ons.
A friend of mine went for a ride in a Ranger thinking of buying one. He was turned off by the quick motion, hyperactive non comfort feature of the Ranger product. He was comparing it to bigger and much heavier boats. Totally unfair and totally not objective. He would need to compare to like sized and weight boats to be objective. So it wasn’t a value of Ranger boats so much as it was a statement of preference to mass as in weight, beam ect.

So if I was to criticize Ranger of not being a serious boat I should be comparing it to boats of the same general size and price. But the Piper is a 35’ boat and a FD boat putting it in a far different world than a planing 25’ Ranger.

Austinsailor,
"We drove about 200 miles, weighing all it had - and a little it didn’t - available right then, against waiting maybe a year to get a new seapiper that matched our needs closer. We were still struggling with that decision when I got a call that the contract on the almost new Sea Piper fell through - were we interested? Available right then. Well, you can guess which way it went, but I still am not sure what we’d have done if I hadn’t gotten that call."
Based on the other responses and your last response, I must have totally misinterpreted your decision, especially the "Well, you can guess which way it went". I thought you went with the Sea Piper as that seemed to me where you were initially headed, but the largest negative was having to wait!! and that the phone call informed you of the availability of a Sea Piper????

If I had been "smart" enough to figure out you decided on the Ranger (?), I would not have given my personal thoughts on Ranger (for me owning one).
Sorry about that, good luck and much enjoyment with your new boat!!
You did purchase the Ranger??

Sorry, guess that’s why I’m not a writer for a living!

No, I agreed to buy the Sea Piper. It is slightly used, but also available right now. Deal is done.

Won’t have a trailer for a few months, seems in today’s world everything is behind, out of stock or something. But we will be heading for the Chesapeake soon to do a bit of cruising there - in the Sea Piper.

As to why you’d need a backup on the motor - are you guys kidding when you say it’s such a good boat it would never need one?? There are so many things that could leave you stranded - fuel issues, prop tangled or broken, clogged water intake - it could make a book in it’s self. If there were no chance of things going wrong I guess life rafts and Epirb’s would also have no place.

Austinsailor wrote;
“As to why you’d need a backup on the motor - are you guys kidding when you say it’s such a good boat it would never need one?? There are so many things that could leave you stranded - fuel issues, prop tangled or broken, clogged water intake - it could make a book in it’s self. If there were no chance of things going wrong I guess life rafts and Epirb’s would also have no place.”

Twin engines are expensive even expensive if equal to the power of a single.
I don’t feel safe w my single engine but I’m among those that have been dead in the water. I think I barely missed being w/o power just off the rocks at Cape Caution w an on-shore breeze. I’ve always been an optimist but now much less.

The OB get home is a very good way to go IMO. That is if you run the OB fairly often. There ust’a be a mount that consisted of two sliding tubes .. one sliding inside the other. The OB engine never changes attitude. Always in position to do it’s thing. Didn’t haft’a tilt at all .. just slide down. One should/could rig up a hose air intake that would mostly insure water stayed out of the engine cowling. Maybe that sliding mount is still available? Haven’t seen one in years tho.

Offering the OB mount says good things about Ranger.

I have no idea if this was a Ranger installed deal or if the seller came up with it. It did look like it was well done, though.

Austinsailor said:

Sorry, guess that’s why I’m not a writer for a living!

No, I agreed to buy the Sea Piper. It is slightly used, but also available right now. Deal is done.

Won’t have a trailer for a few months, seems in today’s world everything is behind, out of stock or something. But we will be heading for the Chesapeake soon to do a bit of cruising there - in the Sea Piper.

As to why you’d need a backup on the motor - are you guys kidding when you say it’s such a good boat it would never need one?? There are so many things that could leave you stranded - fuel issues, prop tangled or broken, clogged water intake - it could make a book in it’s self. If there were no chance of things going wrong I guess life rafts and Epirb’s would also have no place.

Click to expand...

So I guess there should be no single engine boats?

We have a 2016 R-27 with the 220 HP Volvo IB.
I don't like the look of the new 27's.
The cabin looks more like a speed boat and the OB hanging off the stern just does not look right to me.
But that's just me!
You do gain more storage where the diesel was located.

Congrats on the Sea Piper. Very cool boat!

Ok here is what I can offer about Rangers. I own a 2016 25’. It comes with a kicker plate. It comes with just about everything and there are very few options to add. It has a Volvo and has not hat any problems yet. I don’t have an outboard as space is precious on the boat. I use it in the Columbia exclusively and after much internal debate I will not take it to the Pacific. I just don’t trust it with my limited experience. Watching documentaries about Columbia bar pilots was enough to convince me. I am a gadget lover so all the blinky lights and shiny stuff is a big appeal for me. No one believes it is a 25’ including me. It really is a Swiss Army knife kind of deal. I am 6’ and am not limited by overhead space. The berth fits me and my wife and i can actually stretch out. I like the fact it came with all bells and whistles as my stomach churns when you look at something then add, this, that and the other and you are now looking at 50% more than you thought to purchase. It is a great weekender for us. It takes a lot of water up front when the river is choppy so I cant imaging how it would be in the blue. As for me, it is a great fit for my wife and myself. I don’t think this is the right fit for old salts or tars but for a weekender type like me it fills most of the checkboxes.

I started a thread asking for advice about whether I should buy a new R27 OB or something else, as I really didn't know anything about these kinds of boats, especially trawlers.

I specified that I wanted reliability, low maintenance, and not too big as I had no plans to live aboard.

The replies were pretty informative, but a lot were simply telling me why I should buy a 1985 48 foot trawler like the one they had themselves, and kind of hints that the Ranger was not really a good option.

Someone told me the Ranger was 'a Bayliner', and I had no idea what that meant, although now I get it, after reading and investigating on my own for weeks.

I really wish someone had said to me: Ranger's (under 30 feet anyway) are built to be lightweight and narrow so they can be trailered, as opposed to some more trawler like boats that might, for example, have 2,000 lbs of lead weight in the hull which I presume makes them a lot more stable, but not as fast.

A discussion of full displacement vs semi and planing hulls would have really helped me as well.

More info on fuel efficiency would have been great to know as well, even if not a deciding factor.

But I did hear a lot about dinghies, which just didn't seem to me to be a legitimate deciding factor in choosing a boat.

I suppose the people replying to me assumed I knew all the major differences. I should have made it more clear that I really had no idea about the big differences in the types of boats available. I thought it was Ford vs Ram.

Anyway, now that I know the differences (although I still have a lot to learn) I am almost certainly sticking with the R27 OB I have put a deposit on, and I imagine in a few years I'll trade it in on a more trawler like boat.

In the meantime I am studying up on Kadey Krogens, Grand Banks and Helmsmans.

Yes my Ranger will be lower in value when I trade it in. But I'm pretty sure a trade up will still work out as the more expensive trawlers will be less expensive in proportion.

And right now, I don't see much in the way of what I want that isn't pretty damn expensive. I'd rather make a switch when the market cools off and I have a whole lot more to choose from.

Some experience with the Ranger as a starter boat should be a good thing, if for no other reasons than insurance purposes and getting a slip.

kicker

The first option I asked for was a kicker, as I can't imagine how you could not have an alternate for propulsion on a boat that size.

If I am in open water, with a current, and my main motor breaks down, what are you supposed to do without a back-up? Get a really long paddle? Call the Coast Guard? Throw out an anchor in 300 feet of water?

I'm am really new to this but I can't see how you feel safe without a back-up.

Maybe someone can explain?

Tow Boat Usa and your radio.

LakeMJim said:

The first option I asked for was a kicker, as I can't imagine how you could not have an alternate for propulsion on a boat that size.

If I am in open water, with a current, and my main motor breaks down, what are you supposed to do without a back-up? Get a really long paddle? Call the Coast Guard? Throw out an anchor in 300 feet of water?

I'm am really new to this but I can't see how you feel safe without a back-up.

Maybe someone can explain?

Click to expand...

Get what you feel safe with. Maintain that kicker motor so it will start reliably. But also become a maintenance fanatic on your main engine. Then you might never need that kicker motor.

Well , I think the idea is to concentrate on the quality of the boat , not the frills . Ranger has more frills than most , and is very hard to service because of the tight spaces . I had a 2013 R 27 Ranger with the Volvo diesel . Almost impossible to work on the front of the engine as it was under the door step . I made a removable , bolt in step that made it 100 % better to work on . I showed the Factory this at a Rendezvous - They really didn't seem to care . I thought they might take note .

Happy wife - Happy Life , Wife wanted to go ''fast '' and she loved the ''frills '' and layout of the new outboard R 27 Ranger . Mistake number 1 - never buy a new production model . Traded in the 2013 with the Ranger Dealer on a 2018 with 25 hours on it . ---- That was over a year ago , boat had hull cracks , had a water leak when shipped to me .

Missed 2 seasons of boating , Laboratory testing is being done at the moment . Optical electron microscopy -Tensile strength - Resin burn off percentage etc. Two core hull sample cut outs 6-7 mm thick ( just under 1/4 '' ) and this is at the V of the keel !

I was ''deactivated '' from Tugnuts for asking about a Ranger owner JFRANO , that had a similar crack ( didn't hit anything ) . Oh , did I mention no transferable hull warranty because I was a '' 2 nd owner with 25 hours on the boat .''

You will find the Ranger owners will ''defend '' their brand till the end , but if you want the rest of story - rangertugtruth.com , ranger tug truth facebook and the same on my youtube channel . The boat's name is '' Lemon -Aid ''

I feel a lot safer with a kicker that I can start in seconds and that I can control from the helm than calling for help on my radio while I watch the wind, waves and current push me to shore.

I guess I'm the worrying type.

Seems like a very small investment for peace of mind imo.

Good to know the tow services can reach you quickly in the PNW though. I did see a few C-Tow boats in marinas on my travels.

Ranger 'truth'

Yes I have read all your complaints and your web page. I used to be in the hospitality industry and got a lot of reviews online. It was easy to spot ones that just didn't ring true. Especially when they were outnumbered 500 to 1.

So, sorry, didn't find it convincing. If my new boat is delivered with holes in the hull I'll be sure to complain though.

As I said, I now realize there are other boats that are a lot sturdier, a lot more 'seaworthy' and one day I hope to get one.

But for now I like the option of being able to tow my Ranger back to the Great Lakes if I decide the PNW is not where I want to live for the rest of my life. I'm still new here. A lot to like, but a few things not to like as well.

Like gas at $1.65 a liter lol.

But if I decide to stay here, yeah, I'm pretty sure a bigger, slower, more efficient, more roomy, more seaworthy trawler will be a must.

Ranger tugs are deceptive by their looks. They look “salty” and quite able, but in reality the are designed for protected waters such as the Puget Sound. I almost made a huge mistake by putting a bid on a 27 footer, but thankfully my offer was turned down. The more research I did the more I learned that they were not suited for offshore boating in my home waters of Southern California. This model was older and did not have the folding cockpit seats found on the newer ones. I can’t see those lasting very long in a wet rough environment. A lot of boats are sold at boat shows sitting still with wine bottles and cheese plates sitting on the settee, and the Rangers excel at this. It becomes a whole different story when you are pitching around in open water and it becomes chaos. One reason there are, or used to be pre COVID, a lot of low hour used boats on the market.

LakeMJim said:

I feel a lot safer with a kicker that I can start in seconds and that I can control from the helm than calling for help on my radio while I watch the wind, waves and current push me to shore.

I guess I'm the worrying type.

Seems like a very small investment for peace of mind imo.

Good to know the tow services can reach you quickly in the PNW though. I did see a few C-Tow boats in marinas on my travels.

Click to expand...

I don’t worry too much. I did have the experience of having my single engine go out while I was in a significant current.

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=566843&postcount=1

It pays to have good ground tackle.