What would you like to see on the new C-Ranger R25 tug?
- Thread starter Seaboldski
- Start date
Seaboldski
New member
I like it! Make the fiberglass piece between the two hatches a separate piece that is backed up by a structural support (aluminum?). The structural support is removable by unscrewing machine screws that thread into molded in T-nuts. That would totally open up the engine bay when you seriously need access.
OK, I think I understand what you are saying now. You want the tri-fold door to be reconfigurable so that the main door panel is parallel to the passageway to allow more shoulder room in the head for changing clothes, etc. Getting it to work for showering (sealing the bottom) might be a bear though.
They look good don’t they? Lots of zincs, too. I checked out the fit and finish on the Solara line of “luxury powerboats” which Fluid Motion, LLC also makes and had on display next to the C-Rangers. It looked good. Quite a contrast, a Solara sitting next to a C-Ranger. It really shows you the versatility of the designer Dave Livingston.
I forgot to check at the boatshow what packing gland they were using. I have used both the flax type and the FMC unit. The flax type would be adequate since you have great access, but they require maintenance and a little vigilance. The FMC units are somewhat rare on the west coast but they are terrific. I put thousands of hours on one and it never gave me any concern. No maintenance, no nothing. Best $270 I ever spent. Hopefully they haven't gone to a Las-Drop or one of those. Although they are pretty good, there have been some rare disasters associated with them. Something to think about while the boat is still in the factory. Small thing now, but could be huge after delivery.
It is just a pipe dream, but a three fold door could be made to be concave to the passageway when the head was not in use, but by flipping out a top and bottom"half hex shaper", the door would then close convex to the passageway,but convex to the inside head compartment. a slight slope in the edge of the fiberglass step could guide water back into the drain pan. John
Another thing that concerns me - I think I remember Byrdman sayingthat his Wallace stove vents to the cockpit due to it's cross beam orientation, which would make using full canvas a bit fumey.
I noticed the stove on the prototype C-Ranger 25 was the same. Is it possible to vent a Wallace to the beam instead of aft when it is installed in this position? John
I noticed the stove on the prototype C-Ranger 25 was the same. Is it possible to vent a Wallace to the beam instead of aft when it is installed in this position? John
Re: outboards vs. diesel. As for me, I like the idea of the Yanmars. I ran one for 12 years on a tractor,only changing oil and it never failed me. Another tractor Yanmar I ran 3 years, then bought a big John Deere w/o the Yanmar, and the whole engine locked up at 70 hours! So the idea of a Yanmar is good reliability-wise. I also have a diesel motorhome which needs little maintenance and has great torque.
Outboards would be nice if they drained when taking out of the water at below freezinghere in the midwest. I don't think the diesel would drain itself upon ramp removal of the boat.
If one wanted to put an outboard on this boat, a sunken outboard well located at about the aft end of the engine ought to allow the hull most of it's designed performance. I do not think this hull design is compatible with dual outboards, nor stern mounted outboards. I am certain the factory is capable for some price of building an outboard well into the normal hull, but think most owners like the semi-planing, semi-semi-displacement design with the skeg and rudder. John
Outboards would be nice if they drained when taking out of the water at below freezinghere in the midwest. I don't think the diesel would drain itself upon ramp removal of the boat.
If one wanted to put an outboard on this boat, a sunken outboard well located at about the aft end of the engine ought to allow the hull most of it's designed performance. I do not think this hull design is compatible with dual outboards, nor stern mounted outboards. I am certain the factory is capable for some price of building an outboard well into the normal hull, but think most owners like the semi-planing, semi-semi-displacement design with the skeg and rudder. John
drjohn71a":1p3gwu49 said:
That's a big plus for the diesel, because the factory info indicates FWC (fresh water cooled) so all you would need to do is put some antifreeze in it. Heat and defrost easy to do, too.
Dr. John - you're gonna buy one of these things, aren't you?!?
LLoyd, thanks for the heads up on the packing "glands"....lol.... it took me awhile to figure out just exactly what that was!
Mike.... well, I am trying to get all the horses in a row to be able to buy one. I love diesel engines and the cruising at 16-18 mph sounds right up my alley.That's about twice the speed of most trawler designs, yet still economical.
I have had two small John Deere tractors with the Yanmar Diesels and they are economical to operate and absolutely dependable to my experience. My diesel motorhome only requires an oil change every 15,000 miles and it gets good mileage as does my Ford Superduty Diesel pickup. Most of my farm equipment is diesel which makes the few items with gas engines seem to be a real pain to keep maintaining.
I don't really care too much about the top as long as it is somewhere between the top of the TC 255 and a Tugboat. I don't see much need for a smokestack, but I guess that is part of the design mode....
John
Mike.... well, I am trying to get all the horses in a row to be able to buy one. I love diesel engines and the cruising at 16-18 mph sounds right up my alley.That's about twice the speed of most trawler designs, yet still economical.
I have had two small John Deere tractors with the Yanmar Diesels and they are economical to operate and absolutely dependable to my experience. My diesel motorhome only requires an oil change every 15,000 miles and it gets good mileage as does my Ford Superduty Diesel pickup. Most of my farm equipment is diesel which makes the few items with gas engines seem to be a real pain to keep maintaining.
I don't really care too much about the top as long as it is somewhere between the top of the TC 255 and a Tugboat. I don't see much need for a smokestack, but I guess that is part of the design mode....
John
Re: self-draining of Fresh Water Cooled inboards upon ramp exiting - my experience with this type of unit is that the lines beyond the seawater pump won't drain, so one simply disconnects a flexible part of the seawaterpump intake hose and dips it into a gallon of RV antifreeze and suck that up 'til red comes out to exhaust. not too much trouble if there is room in the engine compartment to do that. John
About the mast, roof area.... I read there are four small roof vents in the main cabin. Although I welcome roof vents in this hot area, it would seem the roof vents and the smoke stack might preclude strapping a dinghy up there.... How much flat roof is there on top?
Are the mast and boom pictured functional? Could one use them to load crab pots, or even a dinghy onto the boat or roof? Any possible function as a stabilizing sail? ...or too far forward and high?
any info would be good on this... John
Are the mast and boom pictured functional? Could one use them to load crab pots, or even a dinghy onto the boat or roof? Any possible function as a stabilizing sail? ...or too far forward and high?
any info would be good on this... John
Seaboldski
New member
Hey, don’t get rid of the smoke stack, I plan on putting a fog generator up there so I have the total look when I pull into a marina :wink
Here’s what the latest spec sheet I have says:
Hatches (4), pilothouse roof, opening with screens (Standard Equipment)
I'm assuming hatches as seen on the R21
Mast, 50” stainless steel, hinged $930 (Factory Option)
Functional (only?) as a mount for electronics
A functional boom would be nice. Hard to tell what they have in mind from the rendering
Stabilizing sail!? You want flopper stoppers with that too? :lol:
Maybe one of the factory guys will chime in here soon.
Be careful with the winterizing of the fwc diesels. The exhaust has a mixing elbow that partially sits below the waterline. That needs to be kept from freezing because if it freezes it will crack. The next time you launch it could sink. I used to disconnect the raw water intake and stick the end of the hose in a bottle of antifreeze then go watch the exhaust till you see green showing in the exhaust. I had friends on the columbia river lose their boats because they thought the winterized but didn't realize they forgot the really important part. I think now days a tee fitting is pretty common in the raw water intake side.
Pat Anderson
New member
I DO plan regular visits to the Livingstons starting in a week or two...will try to take pix on a more or less regular basis as things progress, I can put them in a C-Ranger nested album in the Daydream album I guess.
TyBoo":trlrayme said:
Lloyd - yes, there is a cooling/silencing trap at the final exhaust neck which always contains liquid unless a special, usually hard to reach plug is removed.
Pat - I saw a little on one of your posts about a composting toilet. Which model is that? Is that working well for you? Alot of our inland lakes here have no marine pump out facilities, and that looks alot better than porta potties... Thanx for your pix so far. I will be looking forward to any new info you glean on the Ranger 25. Thanks, John
Pat - I saw a little on one of your posts about a composting toilet. Which model is that? Is that working well for you? Alot of our inland lakes here have no marine pump out facilities, and that looks alot better than porta potties... Thanx for your pix so far. I will be looking forward to any new info you glean on the Ranger 25. Thanks, John
Pat Anderson
New member
Les Lampman
New member
drjohn71a":zv6k9mio said:
Given the dimensions and layout of the boat the best place for the dinghy is on the swim step and not on the cabin top. As always I appreciate observations from all viewpoints but there is a lot to recommend the swim step location on this boat.
Anybody that's tried to lauch and retrive a dinghy from a cabin top of a relatively tall boat will appreciate just how much motion there is up there with any wave action. Even with a mast and boom to help things get a bit interesting with a wildy swinging dinghy off to the side of the mother ship.
Adding more mass at the height of the cabin top also adds to the roll moment and adds windage.
It is much safer and more comfortable for folks to work on a flat deck at or near the waterline. It's doubtful that smaller members of the crew could even launch and/or retrieve a cabin top mounted dinghy yet even the smallest folks can safely lower and raise a transom mounted dinghy safely.
A dinghy attached to the swim step on brackets (when lowered) is also a safer vessel to enter into and exit from as it isn't able to slide around as a dinghy on the loose is.
Finally, a dinghy attached to the swim step gives one a better shot at positioning an outboard on the transom without going for an unintended swim (or for that matter having the outboard make a plunge to the bottom).
That said without the optional mast and perhaps by deleting the smokestack there would most likely be room on the cabin top for a small dinghy; especially if a support bar is fashioned for the after end to raise it to the same level as the forward part of the house.
The 'boom' on the mast is not functional; it's simply an aesthetic treatment and is fixed in place at the proper juanty angle.
Best use for a stabilizing sail is typically in rough conditions with the wind blowing (that's obvious!). In those conditions even small sail areas generate a lot of pressure and the mast and rigging must be able to take those loads and transfer them to the hull which isn't the case here.
Pat Anderson
New member
OK, I was in South Seattle for a meeting yesterday, and took a quick detour to the Ranger factory. Pictures are here. When I arrived, Dave Livingston was busy working on the plug for the house for the C-Ranger R-25. Anyone who understands this better please trump me, but the plug is a wooden mock-up for some part of the boat that is then covered with fiberglass, and the mold is made from the plug. Nobody at C-Ranger has been following this thread, and probably won't because they don't have time, but Dave explained that the idea for a side door would pretty much be physically impossible on this boat with its 8.5' beam - it would work, he though, on a similar boat that was perhaps 29' feet long with a 10.5' beam. I asked Dave if he was going to build one, and he just grinned as said "Maybe." John was over at C-Dory, but I also chatted a bit with David Livingston, Dave's other son. There was not a whole lot to photograph, I did get a shot of the plug under construction, the mold for the hull, and some other shots, for example, the stern thruster is now on the white hull. Dave promised to call when there is any more to see...stay tuned! The one impression I did come away with is that there really did not appear to be room for them to be working on two C-Ranger R25s in the shop at the same time - virtually every available square foot was full of the Ranger 21s, Solaras, etc. The size of this place seems comparable to the old C-Dory factory, if you had every been there. Dave said there are now 15 orders for C-Ranger R25s...I wonder if some part of the production of this boat will by necessity move to some C-Dory facility.
Spent about 30 minutes just sitting in the back of the R25 at the Livingston's display just talking boats in general and let him know how I have followed the R21 thru magazine articles, and letting him know that he had sent me information on one about/around the 1999 time frame. We discussed what I had truly hoped to see was the R-21 simply "scaled up" to a larger version.. and that I loved the changes made to the Extended Cabin R-21. I like the room in the back for friends and/or fishing/site seeing vessel. It was a great talk. We shared some time going over the current R-25. This is one great Tug boat, which hits the target for a TRAILERABLE Tug trawler type boat that is much more affordable boat for many more folks than the old Nordic Tug 26. I too asked, and got a simple grin and polite "who knows" when I asked if they were going to just make a larger version of the R-21 Extended Cabin vessel. We had a great laugh and I had to tell him...."Yes Sir...just what you needed was another new boat when you do not even have the very 1st one of the R-25 finished.." and he replied something to the effect of... Well... that's what makes this job so much fun is building neat boats for folks to enjoy and use. It was great to meet him and his son John. It will be great to see the partnership evolve and grow between the Livingston family and the C-Dory family. I for sure see some great boats about to emerge from this.