Bahamas is a bust

C

captd

New member
Hi brats,
After an 11 day wait at Peanut Island, in Palm Beach, Noaa says Sea's will be 2 ft or less Sunday night. Winds from the South. We thought if we get a jump on starting across, it would just get better. Well we were wrong. 3 to 4's to start at 11:00 Am. Got worse instead of better. 4 to 5's . 20 miles out we thought we had it made, it was a go. Ranger handled them quite well. The heat sensor went off. Antifreeze in the bilge. Turbo was burnt. Seas building to 6 ft. Sea Tow was summoned. Large cruiser came to our rescue. Insisted on taking us in tow to get us out of the way of the ships flying by. Probably good thinking.
Sea Tow arrived and took us in tow. 5 hrs and $1200 later we were tied up to the dock at the ramp at the Blue Heron bridge. The new friend we met allowed storage at his house, and gave us a ride back and forth. He will do it for all C-Brats. $100 a month.

Took the boat to Marine Pro of Central Florida, same as last year. They found the problem right away. Drain plug on exchange was loose and lost all coolant. While he was checking it out the raw water intake fell off, The clamp was three inches back from the end of the hose. It could have sunk the boat at any time. Yanmar is great and have no fault is any of the problems. They really know their job.

Letting the cards fall where they may. waiting for a call from the factory.
Marc at Wefing is working on our behalf. We will see how it goes and I will keep you posted.
captd
 
Glad you're okay and had the sense to summon assistance in a timely fashion. That is not the time to cut corners because of a tow bill. Do you have a secondary means of propulsion? A kicker of some type? I'd be nervous anywhere without one. C.W.
 
Capd,

That sounds like a scary trip. Glad to hear that you are OK. The hose clamp issue was really an accident waiting to happen. I wonder if you would benefit by having a surveyor/mechanic giving the boat a good mechanical inspection. I sure wouldn't want to find another surprise.

Steve
 
Whew! Close call -- and a happy ending due to your prudence in calling SeaTow. A good lesson for all, but so sorry you had to go through the experience. With our best wishes to you, and so glad your back safe and sound.
 
Wow sorry to hear of all your problems. Hope the factory steps up to the plate and gets you ship shape soon. I guess the heavy seas revealed the loose coolant plug and vibrated it out? Good thing this happened before the raw water hose let go.
 
I am recommending the unlimited towing insurance from Sea Tow, Tow BoatUS or Vessel Assist. For around $100+ they will provide service for one year. They will come and help you as many times as necessary in the year. You only pay once for the insurance. In Florida towing starts when they leave their dock until they get back to their dock at $175.00 per hour and up. I have been a member of BoatUS since 1990 and would not be without the unlimited towing insurance.

Also for another small fee they will provide trailer assist and will send help if you break down while towing to the launch ramp.

My CD's name is "CHARITY", cause that is where my money goes.
 
Dave,
$225 per hour , for 5 hours= $1125.00 I had the insurance. Single engine....I wouldn't be without it. Sea Tow does a great job. :thup
captd
 
Yeah, I guess there is a lesson in there for all of us somewhere...we do not have towing insurance, but we did at least get a kicker (after going to Alaska and back on a single with no kicker!).


captd":2fv3nco2 said:
Dave,
$225 per hour , for 5 hours= $1125.00 I had the insurance. Single engine....I wouldn't be without it. Sea Tow does a great job. :thup
captd
Click to expand...
 
It sounds like you managed to dodge the most serious problem, loosing you raw water intake hose while at sea, or perhaps worse yet when the boat was unattended.

Best practice is double hose clamps of high quality stainless steel on any below water line fittings and top quality seacocks. Finally be sure you are carrying appropriate sized wood plugs for any below water line hole - best to just keep the appropriate plug near its intended thru hull.
Best
Eric
 
Hi Captd-- Glad to hear you are ok. What a waste of time and money on your part. What engine and H.P. do you have in your Ranger-25? I guess this is a good reason to have an engine survey along with a Marine survey on any boat new or old, even though you would expect some sort of vigilance on the manufacturer's part. Rich
 
Captd, sure glad you and Ranger made it back OK. Timing is everything, and appears you did yours well.

Sorry about the "bust" we were looking forward to story and pics. Glad you got a safe place to park, and good to hear about the factory stepping up. Good Luck,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
125 horse Yanmar, and no, I would not say they (the factory) have step up to the plate yet. So far they have shown sympathy, at least Andrew did. Still waiting for them to tell me what they are going to do. Have not heard from John or Dave. Ranger has had a lot of good free press as of late. Maybe it is time for the other shoe to drop. We are not happy campers at this point.
Will post the good, bad and the ugly, stay tuned.

Capt & Mis Dee
 
Captd-- I have been out of internet contact for the past three or four weeks. I'm very interested in what if anything is being done to repair your Ranger 25. I'm very concerned, because I'm planning on purchasing a trawler this year,I was considering the Nordic 32, although they can be a bit pricey. I was leaning towards the Ranger-25, until I noticed several problems occuring with members boats after they took delivery. I wouldn't expect major problems from a car priced over $100,000, nor should a boat, unless they had poor quality control. At least on land you can call AAA. Hopefully your problems have been handled to your satisfacton. Please advise. Thanks---- Rich
 
Does anyone have any info on repairs on the Ranger 25?, I'm getting ready to place an order for one and am more than just a little concerned. Especially, when a boat costs more than a house ---Thanks, for any details -- Rich
 
I've been watching the Ranger traffic here since day one, and it is my impression, based on anecdotal observations only, that the Rangers are highly reliable as they come from the factory, and whatever problems occur are dealt with efficiently and quickly. The one exception to this was the spectacular failure of the Yanmar diesel (search the messages for the discussion.) I would be inclined to go for the Cummins, but then again, I have a Cummins in my truck, so I am biased!

Warren
 
Back
Top