Odd Bird Sighting: A Gulf Mariner

[Buddy_Y]

Here's an oddity that's been nagging at me for a time now.... On the float adjacent to my slip here in Vancouver, there's an strange little 25' powerboat, a sturdy little beastie that looks like an attempt to make a 'tugboat pleasure runabout' i.e., a small cabin snugged up tight to a tugboat's high blunt bow, with a just a bit of a cockpit. Fiberglass. Swimgrid. Livingstone mounted on rear davits. More of a workboat, almost, but clearly a pleasure craft. It was an odd enough bird that it aroused my curiosity.

The manufacturer's logo on it is "Gulf Mariner." I chatted up the office staff, and they said it's registered as a "25' Gulf Mariner, 1991. I looked it up on Yachtworld, and to my surprise couldn't find a single mention of any 'Gulf Mariner' no matter how I tortured the search engine. (I considered that it might be a 'Mariner,' but there's no Mariner of that config that I can find.)

Then I tried Google, but to my even greater surprise, I couldn't find a single mention of any "Gulf Mariner" boat of any kind (just a couple boats that had "Gulf Mariner" as a name).

The curiosity has been nagging at me to the point that I'm the verge of wheedling the owner's phone number from the marina staff, so that I can call him up and very politely ask him, "You do not know me, sir, but in regards your boat, WHAT! WHAT IS IT! JUST TELL ME WHAT IT IS!"

But first, I thought I'd ask here first. Anyone ever heard of a "Gulf Mariner"?

[David M]

Got a pic? I have seen a number of small psuedo mini-tugs that were never intended as a working boat. Perhaps it is one of these?

[Buddy_Y]

Quick plot twist to the mystery.... I had assumed that the boat was a "Gulf Mariner" because it had an ornamental wrought-metal 'Gulf Mariner' logo on it, the sort that typically would express the model. However, I took a stroll past the beastie today, peeked in its window, and saw a preserver with 'Gulf Mariner' emblazoned on it as a boat name.

Embarassed, but ironically relieved, I went home and searched Yachtworld for all 25' powerboats with single diesels built in 1991. (As odd as it seems that such a small boat would have a diesel, she looks like a single straight-shaft and has a 'Yanmar' manual visible inside its cabin.) Oddly enough, none of the hits I got from Yachtworld is that model boat. Moreover, I expanded all the parameters to include all single diesels with a length and year within that vague size range, yet I still can't find a boat on Yachtworld that looks like the beastie. (Really, can't even find one that looks close enough for me to at least link the picture as an example.)

So, the mystery continues. Since the owner registered it as a 'Gulf Mariner' model, I find myself wondering if he too is in the dark as to its model. I think I may indeed take David M's suggestion of taking a picture of the beastie and posting it.

[CaptG]

Sounds like a Ranger Tug......www.rangertugs.com/r/about.cfm - 6k

[never monday]

sounds like a Ranger. They were built in Wa state. Great little boats. !st gen is good for about 8-10 on 20-30hp. The molds were moved somewhere else and redesigned. The underwater stern area was flattened and the speed increased. they also do an extended cabin and a larger trawler.

[Buddy_Y]

Hello All:

I think Never Monday and CaptainG have a shrewd point--the odd bird that I'm talking about really does look like a Ranger Tug. In fact, a Ranger Tug is the closest thing I've seen on the internet to the odd bird. The odd bird is allegedly a 1991 (and appears at least that old) and so far the Ranger Tugs I have found on the net have been made more recently--but the Ranger web site says they've been in business since 1958, so it might very well be a Ranger Tug. I'll keep searching.

Meanwhile, to share the mystery, I brought my camera out and took a picture of the odd bird. I've just posted it to the "Photo Gallery" conference under the title of "Odd Bird." Enjoy the mystery, and let me know if you have any more ideas.

Thanks all!

[never monday]

that's not a Ranger Tug.

[Buddy_Y]

Hi All:

For those who tried to help me figure out the model of that mystery tug, I finally have the answer. The owner emailed me about a month after the marina passed on to him the message that I was interested in it (explaining that he had been in Alaska), and told me that the boat is an "I.S. 25," and that the model was originally made in Britain. He emailed me that:

The boat is an IS 25. Year 1991. It has 44 HP Yanmar diesel, about 2500 hrs. on the engine, cruises at 8 knots @ 3000 RPM, burns at the most 2 gallons per hour @ 3000 RPM, hydraulic steering, with a head and shower, waste water holding tank, diesel stove and oven, radar, depth sounder, VHF radio, sleeps 2 in the V berth, 2 more in the galley, etc. It is a good sea boat although with the trailerable 8 foot 6 inch beam is a little rolly.

Alas, his asking price for it is $40,000, which is about $25k more than I wanted to pay for it (but is in line with comparable boats), so my boat search goes ever onward. I'm a bit relieved, really, since although this boat was a nifty little beastie, a 30' or so sailboat would suit my needs better. Anyway, thanks to all who tried to help me.