We use this channel to share our experiences in boating, snowmobiling, motorcycle riding, etc. so we may stay connected to family and friends across many time zones. Some of our videos include our learning experiences and we share those so others may benefit.
We are NOT trying to "build a channel" or an online business.
Thanks John. I figured 1. This is easier than trying to remember everything for a verbal briefing and 2. As stated in the description, asking guests to watch a video is a good “filter”.
Very interesting. Get out there more often! We need more videos like this one. And, I love the resource information. Very helpful to a prospective buyer.
Thanks for your comment. I don’t think that we are able to fully empty the tank. I think we stated something along the lines of being able to extract more than we otherwise would be able to. Sorry if I mislead you. The gentleman from the Discovery Harbour Marina in Campbell River would pump normally. When the normal “extraction limit” was reached, he would start over and only partially open the valve, moving a few times between closed and open. If I remember correctly from my physics classes ( Questionable and a long time ago), this is a combination of the Venturi Effect and Bernoulli's Principle at work. The constriction essentially creates a greater suctioning force or vacuum.
Wow! Beautiful video and we are torn between purchasing a sailboat or trawler/tug here in the Puget Sound area. Your Ranger is a dream! Thanks for sharing😊
I'll be interested to see how it works out. Been giving a lot of thought to getting an R-29 when I retire in a couple of years. It seems to offer a lot of options.
Thanks John. We appreciate the encouragement and your kindness. Here is a big secret: The reason the voices sound professional is because they are not ours. 🙂 I only do the scripting, post-processing, and such.
Great job with the video! I really enjoyed how you switched back and forth narrating. And the labels that were imposed on the screen were cool to help gate my Barings.
There is definitely some truth about debris floating about in the waters of the PNW area. Travelling at high speed is simply a matter of “when”you hit a log or other not “if”. And they’re not all sticks.
My favorite model of the Ranger Tugs. Others are either a bit small to vacation on for more than just a few days, or....too big (43) to trailer w/ too many fiddly folding contraptions. 31 not worth xtra money over the 29. Interior liveable space exactly the same.... I think a 32' (waterline) model that has a longer enclosed interior and same aftdeck as 29 is the sweet spot. Put in a full size fridge/freezer to starboard and a coat/wet gear locker or small day head/ guest head to port as you enter is the ticket. Use exsisting 1/2 fridge space for dry goods stores or something else. Not everyone cares about boating down south. Great lakes/pacific NW/ ST. Lawrence/coast of Maine are beautiful but cooler. Hence MORE interior space and room for a dingy. (NO outboards)....
Yeah, thanks. I've put these suggestions out there before. Maybe Ranger will look into them. Yes, a 3' plug in the molds amidship just forward of the 29's center of lift would be required. The added weight forward of the engine might help reduce bow lift at say 20 mph cruise speed. If you could still trailor and keep it at your house during the winter would be a great money saver. I imagine cruising the 1000 Islands area of the st. Lawrence or E. Shore of lake Superior in October. How beautiful but, you'll want more interior heated liveable space for those 35° nights.
Agreed. It is. Fortunately, the areas we have visited so far generally have good quality water available. Even with that though it is limiting and our cruise plans may have to include marinas. We’ll see how it works out.
We are always glad to see a new MV Emerson video! As fellow R-29 owners, we learn a lot from you. Intrigued by your "somewhat comfortable" comment because we can relate! Also, a question: it appears as if you have added some canvas that serves to extend the coverage over the cockpit. Is that standalone, or is it part of a full enclosure?
Hi Jay. Thanks for your comment. The "Somewhat comfortable" comment comes from the desire to stretch out a bit and lounge around with our feet up. We have seen some creative solutions and I think that we will figure out what works best for us. We opted for the stand-alone roof extension - or cockpit bimini - from King Marine Canvas. We are also adding a command bridge bimini in March. We enjoy sitting outside without the sun beating down on us. We asked that King Marine Canvas design our cockpit bimini so we have the option later on to add zippers and sides.
Your videos and style are very pleasing to watch. I also like the subject matter as I am interested in a tug myself. Very much looking forward to more of your content. Keep it coming!
Thanks for your comment. These are interesting boats. I found, after two years with this tug, that it helps to have clarity in what you want and if a particular boat and model is made for your chosen purpose. For example, if you have zero intentions to ever trailer (as we do), why limit your choices to boats that can be trailered with a regular pickup truck? It was always clear to me that there is much to be learned about the actual capabilities of a boat, but I did not know that I didn't have a clear picture on my requirements. Tough to know what you don't know.
Tried to reply twice already and I don't see my replies. Let's see if you get three replies. :-). The R-29 really does have great visibility in all directions, including for backing into a slip. Fortunately, we have found some cheap and easy solutions to block out the sun when needed and thus have no regrets. Thanks for your comment.
@@jordanpawley2248 it gets very toasty. The boat does have great ventilation and we block the sun on those days with homemade Reflectix panels that are a) held up by the screens that come with the hatches or b) fit nicely into the framing of the skylights.
Hi, are you still happy with the SCAD TM1 as a waste tank monitor? It sounds like a big improvement over the green/yellow/red system on the Tecma. Did you install this yourself?
Hi there. Yes and Yes. We are very happy with it and I installed myself. You need access to a side of the tank and in our boat, we were able to get to two of them.
Hi MV Emerson Crew :) I am a fan of your videos. Keep doing it. One question. At 2'48" you mention 64A at idle regime from 150A alternator. It seems very powerful. Do you know if you can charge your batteries at 60A (or higher) or the battery charger support less amps? My point is, lets say you have used 120Ah from your house bank, if you run your engines for 2 hours in idle regime, can I assume you recharged your batteries in 120ah? The alternator output is the same of the battery charger input? Thanks!
Thanks for your kind words. In regards to the charging, no. Sorry. Since making this video I have seen charging currents of more than 100A. However, the more my batteries get charged, the slower they charge. With AGM, which is what I have, you get fairly quickly to 80% of capacity. Things really slow down then. You could set something “very nice” up with a LiFePO4 conversion.
Thank you. One of my first projects when I get the new boat is to convert to LiFePO4 batteries. I am considering something like 2 Lithionics 320Ah to give me 640Ah total and around 500Ah usable. My concern is: will the boat alternator be able to give me a good amount of amps if I ride for 3-4 hours at 2500rpm regime. But good too see you observed more than 100A! It seems the alternator does a great job
Interesting. Any 6” pads should do. Here is what we have: IPELY 6 Pcs 6 Inch Wool Polishing Buffing Pad Polishing Buffing Wheel for Drill Buffer Attachment with M14 Drill Adapter a.co/d/g5tsWCj
Hello. We have been enjoying your videos while we patiently wait the arrival of our boat in a couple weeks!!! Can’t wait to get out and start exploring this gorgeous part of the country we live in. Your videos are very enjoyable. Would you mind sharing what cameras and video editing apps you use? We just want to document our trips! Thanks for making it look so easy!
Thank you for your kind words. I am using a GoPro 9 and 11 (last year 8 & 9). Handheld footage comes from my wife's iPhone 14Pro and I use an iPhone 13 mini. Editing is done in Final Cut Pro (FCPX). The maps are created in Apple Motion, ...a "companion product" to FCPX.
Excellent video - every one is so inspiring! Would love to see a video on our planning process and the program you use to print out the hard copies. Looking forward to your next trip.
Thank you very much. You may just get your wish in regards to a planning video. You are not the first to ask for that and the offseason is almost here. Spoiler alert, I use Apple product. For the planning charts I use Apple Keynote, which is similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. It took a bit of work to create the "objects" I am using, but it is all copy & paste now. For the maps, I like Savvy Navvy, a tool similar to Navionics. More to come in a video.
@@mvemerson That’s such GREAT news. I will look forward to it. Long time Apple user here and I know Keynote. Also user of Savvy Navvy. Thanks for the info.
@@craftyhodges it may not make a lot of sense without some explanation or video, but you are welcome to download the files from our website mvemerson.com. Somewhere in the “Hamburger menu” you can find a menu option for float plans. As you probably know, Keynote files are very large.
@@mvemerson Oh my gosh, thank you so much for your generosity!! I will definitely give it a look. We just bought a new Ranger 29 and have found all your videos so very helpful. We’re implementing almost every suggestion! Thx again. Joanne
Absolutely stunning and wonderful job capturing/editing the video. I hope to plan our first ever visit up there next summer. We're on M-Dock and would love to meet you all one of these days. Bright Side - 2023 Light Gray R27OB.
Thanks for sharing this great video. I am considering Ranger Tug 29 / Cutwater 30 as our next boat for next year. I have a question regarding the ride in choppy water. When the wind picks up, puget sound gets pretty choppy. Can you keep 10-12kts (or maybe more) with choppy waters without the feeling you are in a laundry machine? With flat waters, you can you cruise at 14kts (or more) for few hours? thanks again for sharing the videos. I am learning a lot from them.
The R-29 can cruise all day at 3,240 rpm (90% of rated power). That results somewhere between 16 and 19 knots, depending on currents, how heavy, how clean your the hull is, etc.. In terms of choppy waters, I am not sure I can answer that. We plan ... A LOT. We try to avoid "sporting conditions" for comfort. The boat handles itself well in adverse conditions and I have altered course to quarter the waves, which this boat handles very well. The wave period or degree of choppiness will determine what a comfortable speed is. I found that if I avoid wind against current and other combinations of nastiness, the boat handles very well. Of course, that is true for any boat. One thing I heard a lot and I agree with is: this boat can handle a lot more than the crew and guest on board. I engage in recreation boating, so when it is not recreational, I may reroute, wait, or even pass entirely. Hope this helps. LOOKING FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU TO THE R29 (or CW30) club. 🙂
@@mvemerson Thanks for providing all the details. 16-19kts is way above my expectations. I thought the R29 would cruise maximum at 14kts, which is pretty good for me. I am not ready for life at 7kts yet, maybe in a decade. About the ride, 100% with you, we prefer comfort instead of sporting conditions. Even with our current bowrider, we always plan to ride when puget sound is flat and glassy.
Nice approach in the chamber. Did you use bow and stern trust to control how close you were from the walls when you were getting in the locks? And same question for leaving the chamber, did you use bow and stern trust to move the boat to the center? The fact rudder doesn't help at such low speeds scare me. I currently have a bowrider and keep it at freshwater side. We go through the locks every weekend during the boat season, but its way smaller and easier to pass through the locks.
Entering eastbound, there was very little thruster use going in. A couple blips (1/10 sec) on the bow thruster. Entering westbound, I used the bow thruster (in the video) to bring the bow in as the lock attendant had basically left the bow line on the deck, but of course had not tied it. Leaving eastbound, you may have noticed that the bow was pulled in. A bad idea. That brought the stern out and I had to use the bow thruster to get straight. Leaving westbound a very shallow angle on the rudder helped us to move slowly away from the wall. I am not shy to use the thrusters, but not much of a need here.
@@mvemerson Thanks for replying back! Watching the video again I noticed the bow thrust helping to keep the bow in. Very nice and easy. I would not be shy at all to use thrusters! thats why I want a R29/C30, exactly to get the help from the thrusters for these situations 😃! Thanks for again for sharing the video. Very helpful.
August 2023. The Garmin OnDeck will be uninstalled and soon replaced with another solution. Had a few inches of water in the bilge. A remote monitoring solution should have let me know that my bilge pumps were not working.
Thank you so much for sharing! This is on our new boat owner orientation "Bucket List". We ran down from the Everett Marina yesterday and spent the afternoon outside of Shilshole/Golden Gardens hoping to catch a glimpse of the Blue Angels (only caught glimpses of the high-altitude maneuvers above Lake WA). Where did you all spend the night in there? 2023 RT27OB "Bright Side"
Congrats on you boat! Glad the video was of value to you. We made reservations at the Carillon Point marina. They use permanent slips that are vacant to place visitors. They also had availability on their first come, first serve guest moorage while we were there. Great place. A bit frantic due to their rental options. The facilities are top notch though.
Thanks. Although not my original intention, ...it is sort of becoming my theme. Share the beauty around here and make it informative. That's what I am now planning for an upcoming Desolation Sound cruise. I am limiting myself to whatever footage I get and taking video is never a primary objective, but ... if there are particular aspects that would be worth highlighting or sharing, please let me know.
Not just your lighter displacement. Lots of windage above the waterline. Recommend an anchor 'snubber' (not bridle) made with nylon line, attached to chain rode with a rolling hitch...for just the reason you mention below. If you need to veer more rode, just undo the snubber and let it feed out with more rode, then add a new snubber. Cheap, effective, flexible.
Thanks for your comment and advice. Truly appreciated. I will look into this deeper (how to best execute) soonest, ...before our trip to Desolation Sound.
Thank you for this outstanding video and wishing you great times on Emerson! After the untimely passing of my beloved wife/first mate, I needed to downsize from my much larger 43' trawler to something smaller and easier to manage. After extensive research and countless boat shows, I purchased a new Ranger Tug R-31 Command Bridge in 2021 from Winter Island Yachts in Salem MA. Like you, I absolutely love my tug. It has all the amenities and than some of my larger vessel. The clever use of space is incredible. As you do with Emerson, I often cruise at displacement speeds of 7-9 knots but am thankful that I can fast-cruise at 16+ knots if necessary. These Ranger Tugs offer a lot for the money. They come standard with features that are costly options on similar boats. As I boat in the NY, CT, and RI region, I opted for the northeast edition with air conditioning and a generator as it gets very hot here in the summer. My vessel JACKPOT II with is claret red hull attracts tons of attention wherever I go, and when those unfamiliar with Ranger Tugs board her they are amazed by all the features and the coziness of the teak adorned cabin. I have upgraded her with interior sliding hatch shades and screens, Bimini top, as well as a rollup canvas Eisenglass enclosure for the cockpit area. All the best to you and your beautiful tug Emeson!
Thank so much for your kind message and sorry for your loss. You are reminding us of an important lesson. We often contemplate getting a larger boat and we see/hear stories about folks downsizing due to circumstances or age. It might be best for us to check our urge to upsize (38-43’) and enjoy what we have. The future is not guaranteed to anyone. Thanks again for sharing your story and all the best to you and Jackpot II.
