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Old 17-10-2020, 09:14   #1
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new ranger tug vs used trawler

Hey All:
First time poster. We're looking to get a 2nd home in the PNW and want to get a cruiser boat to explore the Sound/Salish/San Juans, and once more experienced, the Pac West Coast.
We believe a trawler style is our best fit.
Curious any thoughts and experience on a new/newer "value" tug like Ranger, Nordic, American vs a more used Nordhavn/KK/Fleming/Gr Banks, etc.
We are doing an Anacortes Yachts charter with the first three days "school" with Captn in April 2021. It will be on a Nordic 42' to give us at least an initial idea as to the lifestyle and comfort.
Though it may seem premature to be asking about brands and nuanced or even significant differences, we want to make certain our initial chartering choices are best positioned to allow us to do our due diligence in investigating a big lifestyle change like this.
Thanks in advance,
Recently Retired at 47!
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Old 17-10-2020, 09:51   #2
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

Congratulations on the retirement, and welcome to the forum, tridoc.

Nordhavens have a good reputation among recreational trawlers. That said, none of the 40' or so recreational trawlers are in the same class as 40' sloops, because they are designed for interior space, not seaworthiness.
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Old 17-10-2020, 09:52   #3
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

Ranger tugs are much smaller than Nordhavn and are designed for coastal cruising, I believe most recent models are semi-planing type hull.
So it depends on the type of cruising you like to do, I am not familiar with Nordic and American tug, but they seemed more offshore type of design, but from the engine power, I suspect they eat a lot of fuel as well.
With older boats you mentioned, you get a more seaworthy kind of design but move slower.

I can't give you a lot of advice, but since you mentioned a 2nd home and probably didn't intend to liveaboard nor go offshore, so I think 30+ feet is plenty of boat for you, look for a single engine ones.
Try read "Coastal Cruising under Power"
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Old 22-10-2020, 12:00   #4
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

Ranger tugs are designed to be trailerable boats, the tug aspect goes from the water line up. While they have their fans, they also have their quality issues. Being in the PNW is a help because the factory is local.

There are a ton of tradeoffs between them all: speed, draft, beam, efficiency, stability, interior space.

I'm not a fan of traditional displacement hulls as I want to be less than 45' for state buoys, and I want the ability to go faster (20 kts) and not have to make overnight passages with all the sticks in the water here if I want to go down the coast.

Despite plenty of deep water here, a shallow draft allows for a lot more anchoring flexibility and there are a few places I wouldn't go with a 6' draft trawler.
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Old 22-10-2020, 13:24   #5
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

Quote:
Originally Posted by tridoc73 View Post
Hey All:
First time poster. We're looking to get a 2nd home in the PNW and want to get a cruiser boat to explore the Sound/Salish/San Juans, and once more experienced, the Pac West Coast.
We believe a trawler style is our best fit.
Curious any thoughts and experience on a new/newer "value" tug like Ranger, Nordic, American vs a more used Nordhavn/KK/Fleming/Gr Banks, etc.
Congrats on retiring so early - I was pretty pleased to be able to do so at 51. Sure makes longer cruises easier.

When you say the Pac West Coast, do you mean the Inside Passage from Olympia up through SE Alaska, or the open ocean south of Puget Sound? Pretty different boats would be suggested. The Rangers, Nordic Tugs, Am Tugs would be fine for the more protected waters of the Inside Passage, but most of them not so much for the open ocean. We've gone as far north as Glacier Bay in our C-Dory 22, our 26-footer, and our current Nordic Tug 37. Would want a sailboat or heavier powerboat designed more for open ocean (Nordhaven, Krogen...) if we planned to travel the unprotected waters of the west coast.

Your budget would be a big factor. For much more to help you sort through this, you might want to try the Trawler Forum.
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Old 24-10-2020, 11:34   #6
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

I will give you a link to an introduction to the Inside Passage that Slowboat has produced, a flotilla service for nervous nellies to use if they want to go from Seattle up to Alaska with an escort and lessons on how to do it.

One of the Slowboat owners did this trip in a 22 foot C Dory with a 90 hp engine and 50 gallons of fuel. He went down the West Side of Vancouver Island, a trip that many avoid. Translation: there are many varieties of boats that can transit the territory from Alaska to Seattle.

The issue is speed and your comfort level in a given size boat. Having a boat capable of higher speeds is nice. For example, my boats top speed is 30 MPH and in 15 minutes I can go the distance that a trawler or sailboat would take one hour to accomplish. Now I don't want to go fast a lot as the fuel burn is high but to move along at 14 MPH still covers twice the ground than a trawler of sailboat going 7 MPH. And remember you can still go 7 to 9 MPH if you want. You can always make a fast boat go slow, you can't always make a slow boat go fast.

Where I like to go quickly is transiting a "hop" I have to make to get to an area I want to cruise going slow. So if you look at a Google Map, I frequently make a hop from Comox BC to Powell River. At Powel River I can then go left to cruise Desolation Sound or a right to head towards Jarvis Inlet and Princess Louisa Inlet. I transit or "hop" from Comox to Powell River, its nice to do it in 45 minutes rather than 2 1/2 hours with my old engine on the boat with a top speed of 11 MPH.

I can be quite comfortable in small living spaces, a number of people can't be. The rule of thumb for boat buying is determine the smallest space you can comfortably live in, then get that, don't add another foot. Boating isn't about getting arm candy that will impress others but to purchase a tool that will fill your needs.

The recent tugs are not ocean going, the majority of boats out there, even some "heavy duty" cruising boats, like Fleming are not ocean going, Nordhavns are. Once the boarder opens up, you will want to do some cruising in BC, heck maybe to Alaska, why not. But listen to the video I link to and you will have a better feel and understanding of boats that will fill your needs:

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Old 24-10-2020, 12:18   #7
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

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Originally Posted by Avast View Post
Ranger tugs are designed to be trailerable boats,


I'm not a fan of traditional displacement hulls as I want to be less than 45' for state buoys,
29' @10,800lbs. , 31' @ 11,500lbs. ... I guess you could call those trailerable.

What "state buoys" and what do they have to do with being under 45' ?
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Old 25-10-2020, 12:16   #8
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

What "state buoys" and what do they have to do with being under 45' ?

In the state of Washington, there is a system of marine state parks with buoys made available. If you listen to the video I linked above, they are discussed in it. But the buoys have a maximum boat length they can handle.
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Old 25-10-2020, 13:44   #9
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

I would not be surprised if a DeFever 44 used was cheaper than a Ranger tug new! You might want to look at the Eagle 40 too. There are lots of good cruisers between 30 and 45 feet if that is your size range.

You will need to decide if you want to pay the extra price for a boat that can cross oceans, both in $’s and in comfort and livability. You give up a lot for the ability to weather a storm in mid ocean that you might enjoy having in a boat that is used for coastal cruising.

In our case we decided that a planing hull motoryacht run at trawler speeds was a better boat for us than a true displacement hulled trawler-type. Our cruising is from Maine to the Keys and out to the Bahamas: an ocean crosser is not needed here! Instead we need big windows, lots of interior living space, lots of outside living space with shade, a big cockpit with a big swimstep and easy water access, home sized kitchen appliances, lots of closet space and a king sized bed.
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Old 25-10-2020, 18:18   #10
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

By trailerable I mean they have a narrow-ish beam.

They limit mostly to 10’ whereas many of the others are 13’+
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Old 29-10-2020, 17:28   #11
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Re: new ranger tug vs used trawler

I have owned a 2013 R-27 Ranger Tug''Bucketlist ''
for 5 years and my wife and I have spent up to 6 weeks cruising at a time . After 6 weeks you are ready for your space ! 8 ft 6 '' beam is narrow , but made it easy to tow to areas far away .

I wish i never sold that boat , my wife wanted to go faster , so we traded on a new style 2018 R27 Ranger outboard model this summer . We ran into quality problems on it , and unfortunately ended up pulling it out of the water ( long story , named the boat ''Lemon Aid '' ) . I don't know too much about the larger Ranger Tugs . They looked nice at the Rendezvous .
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