Well,
As promised, I got some time to play on the C Ranger 25. I believe it is Hull #7--Flag Blue, and arrived the day of the beginning of the Gulf Coast gathering--so there had been very little detailing of the boat.
Marie and I took the boat out alone, and then a second time with a couple who was interesting in buying one.
Speed: Top speed--up and down River was average of 17.5 Miles an hour (not knots). This was at 3800 RPM, and I believe that the governer was limiting the speed. At 3200 RPM--or max sustained cruising speed, the boat was making 13.5 mph (I'll post the exact speed and RPM table we found with a GPS in the morning, when I put up photos). This boat had the 125 hp Yanmar. The engine was smooth--and quiet inside--especially at lower cruising speeds--The boat was most comfortable in the 8 or so knot category. The boat had to have the trim tabs fully down at all speeds over 7 knots to keep her running near level. I had the feeling that you would get significant spray into a head sea, but that the boat would handle most conditions well.
Visability foreward was excellent--much better than the C Dories and Tom Cat 255's. I think that the windshield wipers were adequate--but probably one would want fresh water washers eventually if in salt water.
The visability aft to the stb side was non existant--and this is where the Tom Cats and C Dories shine, with windows thru the head. The oval window in the center door also did restrict visablity aft--video cameras for your RayMarine 120?
The swim step was substantial, appeared to be of Starboard and would take a small kicker--or a dinghy on its side--but that would hurt visability--and be limited to less than 8 feet LOA.
The boat is very different than the C Dories--there is what I call "mouse fur"headliner--short nap type of poly carpet. Attractive, but in some places not well finished (will be in photo). The teak in the head and on the main saloon table was varnished and looked striking. Some of the other teak was oiled and looked very good. A lot of the teak was not finished--and looked unfinished. In my opinion it should be either oiled or varnished to be in keeping with the rest of the character of the boat.
The boat was very "yachty" appearing inside. There were recessed brass lights in the ceiling--I suspect a couple of them were red for preserevation of night vision. There were four opening ceiling clear hatches--I would have prefered at least one or three opening front/side windows for ventillation. But the light and airyness was very good.
I laid down in the aft coffin bunk (entrance aft of the dinette, feet under the table--and with a hatch to the outside cockpit)--I could sleep in there, but I am used to sleeping in quarter berths in racing sailboats. Most people would find this quite restrictive. I am a bit puzzled in the inclusion of this bunk--it would much better be used as a storage area in my opinion. I cannot see the family with two children who would use this--or taking two guests along who would use this bunk (it would be very tight for two adults). This is the type of bunk/cabin which has been used for years in Bayliners (and I don't mean this in a negitive way). But this is clostrophobic for many people and hard to get in and out of. The foreward V berth is slightly larger than a C Dory's, but since there were several cushions, I would think that a single over foam cover would make it much more comfortable.
The galley was quite nice size--with good counter space suplimented by the helms seat folding foreward and down. The stove was athwartships, and Marie did not like the idea of reaching across the one burner to reach the other. We have this arrangement in a Road Trek RV, and I don't mind it, but she does. Storage was good under the counter. The refigerator is larger than most of the C Dory line has and seemed ample.
The head was definately larger than the C Dory 25 and Tom Cat--it had a separate sink and was very nicely appointed--but a shower curtain would be necessary, and several gals noted that keeping the teak clean may be some work.
The helm seat was very comfortable. The navigator seat was both comfortable and easy to flip/flop to use for the dinette or navigator seat.
The boat was extremely maneuverable. She backed to port, but even berthing to starboard, without using the thrusters, she handled very well, and was easy to maneuver. She would turn in about her own length, even with out the the thruster--probably due to the large rudder. I could get her to steer well in reverse and put the stern most anywhere with ease. There was a slight port list--but not all tanks were full and batteries were to Port.
Then, with bow and stern thrusters--wow! What a joy to maneuver!
The boat tracked well. She seemed to be stable in the several boat wakes we went thru--but I suspect that she would roll some in a beam sea--narrow beam, fairly high windage, and weight aloft. We only ran the boat on the river/ICW.
The deck hardware: There were no stern cleats. No foreward chocks. I don't know if this was an oversight or just the way the boat was bult. I was concerned about the foreward railings--they were high, and I had difficulty getting between the house and railings (I am 6' 2" and about 185 lbs). I was not comfortable with what appeared to be two point anchorage of the base of the railing--it was much less substantial than what has been used on the Tom Cat 255. I hope it was thru bolted and backed. I could not varify this. There were holes for the nav nights which were just drilled in the fiberglass cabin roof--no sealant or cable pass thru fitting. I would be concerned that there would be leakage around these fittings.
The cockput hatches (over the generator, engine and batteries) had drains around the scuppers, both fore and aft, but there was no latch on the hatches (like on the fishboxes of the Tom Cat 255). I would be concerned that if a boarding sea got in the cockpit, (There is a transom door) that hatches would leak or allow significant water intrusion. The battery charger was right on the floor next to the lead acid batteries under a cockpit hatch.
The smoke stack did not seem to be an item which added anything to the boat. I would much prefer a well designed davit so a dinghy or inflatable could be hauled aboard. (Since there is no compression post, perhaps an A frame might have to be used) The "mast" did not appear to be suitable for any lifting--and even running radar cable thru it might be tight. The boat only had a depth finder (Garmin) and side mount VHF antenna, so I don't know how the cables are handled comming from the "Mast".
This boat also appeared to have an under sized fuse for the VHF radio (it blew on first transmission on high power, and we replaced it with a 10 amp fuse) There was a second fuse which was blown--not sure what it was, but a 10 amp fuse also solved that.
It is nice to have a built in diesel generator and air conditioning--but it seems a bit "Dear" at almost $12,000. The generator is definately louder than the Honda EU2000i. I am not sure how much better the marine AC unit is than the RV type of Polar Cub, but the latter can be used on a trailer of if the boat is pulled up to a sand bar--and only costs about 1/10th as much....
In some places the joinery was excellent--a couple of other places screw heads were left bare, without plugs. All in all, the boat gave a very nice impresssion. It certainly fulfills the easily trailerable "trawler" type of boat. But, with the 125 hp engine, it is not really a fast trawler--I would personally run it in the 8 knot range. Would I trade my Tom Cat 255 for the C Ranger? No way. The C Ranger 25 may well be more economical, but even at $450 a fill up of the fuel tanks of the Tom Cat, it would take a long time to make up for the increased cost of the C Ranger, plus there is the limited speed.
I would wonder if the boat might be offered with an option of storage in place of the under the dinette bunk--perhaps putting the air conditioning compressor under there too? With some detailing/varnish/upgrading of deck hardware, this will be a striking "mini" Trawler.
I would be happy to comment off list or send my photos who anyone who is interested.
As promised, I got some time to play on the C Ranger 25. I believe it is Hull #7--Flag Blue, and arrived the day of the beginning of the Gulf Coast gathering--so there had been very little detailing of the boat.
Marie and I took the boat out alone, and then a second time with a couple who was interesting in buying one.
Speed: Top speed--up and down River was average of 17.5 Miles an hour (not knots). This was at 3800 RPM, and I believe that the governer was limiting the speed. At 3200 RPM--or max sustained cruising speed, the boat was making 13.5 mph (I'll post the exact speed and RPM table we found with a GPS in the morning, when I put up photos). This boat had the 125 hp Yanmar. The engine was smooth--and quiet inside--especially at lower cruising speeds--The boat was most comfortable in the 8 or so knot category. The boat had to have the trim tabs fully down at all speeds over 7 knots to keep her running near level. I had the feeling that you would get significant spray into a head sea, but that the boat would handle most conditions well.
Visability foreward was excellent--much better than the C Dories and Tom Cat 255's. I think that the windshield wipers were adequate--but probably one would want fresh water washers eventually if in salt water.
The visability aft to the stb side was non existant--and this is where the Tom Cats and C Dories shine, with windows thru the head. The oval window in the center door also did restrict visablity aft--video cameras for your RayMarine 120?
The swim step was substantial, appeared to be of Starboard and would take a small kicker--or a dinghy on its side--but that would hurt visability--and be limited to less than 8 feet LOA.
The boat is very different than the C Dories--there is what I call "mouse fur"headliner--short nap type of poly carpet. Attractive, but in some places not well finished (will be in photo). The teak in the head and on the main saloon table was varnished and looked striking. Some of the other teak was oiled and looked very good. A lot of the teak was not finished--and looked unfinished. In my opinion it should be either oiled or varnished to be in keeping with the rest of the character of the boat.
The boat was very "yachty" appearing inside. There were recessed brass lights in the ceiling--I suspect a couple of them were red for preserevation of night vision. There were four opening ceiling clear hatches--I would have prefered at least one or three opening front/side windows for ventillation. But the light and airyness was very good.
I laid down in the aft coffin bunk (entrance aft of the dinette, feet under the table--and with a hatch to the outside cockpit)--I could sleep in there, but I am used to sleeping in quarter berths in racing sailboats. Most people would find this quite restrictive. I am a bit puzzled in the inclusion of this bunk--it would much better be used as a storage area in my opinion. I cannot see the family with two children who would use this--or taking two guests along who would use this bunk (it would be very tight for two adults). This is the type of bunk/cabin which has been used for years in Bayliners (and I don't mean this in a negitive way). But this is clostrophobic for many people and hard to get in and out of. The foreward V berth is slightly larger than a C Dory's, but since there were several cushions, I would think that a single over foam cover would make it much more comfortable.
The galley was quite nice size--with good counter space suplimented by the helms seat folding foreward and down. The stove was athwartships, and Marie did not like the idea of reaching across the one burner to reach the other. We have this arrangement in a Road Trek RV, and I don't mind it, but she does. Storage was good under the counter. The refigerator is larger than most of the C Dory line has and seemed ample.
The head was definately larger than the C Dory 25 and Tom Cat--it had a separate sink and was very nicely appointed--but a shower curtain would be necessary, and several gals noted that keeping the teak clean may be some work.
The helm seat was very comfortable. The navigator seat was both comfortable and easy to flip/flop to use for the dinette or navigator seat.
The boat was extremely maneuverable. She backed to port, but even berthing to starboard, without using the thrusters, she handled very well, and was easy to maneuver. She would turn in about her own length, even with out the the thruster--probably due to the large rudder. I could get her to steer well in reverse and put the stern most anywhere with ease. There was a slight port list--but not all tanks were full and batteries were to Port.
Then, with bow and stern thrusters--wow! What a joy to maneuver!
The boat tracked well. She seemed to be stable in the several boat wakes we went thru--but I suspect that she would roll some in a beam sea--narrow beam, fairly high windage, and weight aloft. We only ran the boat on the river/ICW.
The deck hardware: There were no stern cleats. No foreward chocks. I don't know if this was an oversight or just the way the boat was bult. I was concerned about the foreward railings--they were high, and I had difficulty getting between the house and railings (I am 6' 2" and about 185 lbs). I was not comfortable with what appeared to be two point anchorage of the base of the railing--it was much less substantial than what has been used on the Tom Cat 255. I hope it was thru bolted and backed. I could not varify this. There were holes for the nav nights which were just drilled in the fiberglass cabin roof--no sealant or cable pass thru fitting. I would be concerned that there would be leakage around these fittings.
The cockput hatches (over the generator, engine and batteries) had drains around the scuppers, both fore and aft, but there was no latch on the hatches (like on the fishboxes of the Tom Cat 255). I would be concerned that if a boarding sea got in the cockpit, (There is a transom door) that hatches would leak or allow significant water intrusion. The battery charger was right on the floor next to the lead acid batteries under a cockpit hatch.
The smoke stack did not seem to be an item which added anything to the boat. I would much prefer a well designed davit so a dinghy or inflatable could be hauled aboard. (Since there is no compression post, perhaps an A frame might have to be used) The "mast" did not appear to be suitable for any lifting--and even running radar cable thru it might be tight. The boat only had a depth finder (Garmin) and side mount VHF antenna, so I don't know how the cables are handled comming from the "Mast".
This boat also appeared to have an under sized fuse for the VHF radio (it blew on first transmission on high power, and we replaced it with a 10 amp fuse) There was a second fuse which was blown--not sure what it was, but a 10 amp fuse also solved that.
It is nice to have a built in diesel generator and air conditioning--but it seems a bit "Dear" at almost $12,000. The generator is definately louder than the Honda EU2000i. I am not sure how much better the marine AC unit is than the RV type of Polar Cub, but the latter can be used on a trailer of if the boat is pulled up to a sand bar--and only costs about 1/10th as much....
In some places the joinery was excellent--a couple of other places screw heads were left bare, without plugs. All in all, the boat gave a very nice impresssion. It certainly fulfills the easily trailerable "trawler" type of boat. But, with the 125 hp engine, it is not really a fast trawler--I would personally run it in the 8 knot range. Would I trade my Tom Cat 255 for the C Ranger? No way. The C Ranger 25 may well be more economical, but even at $450 a fill up of the fuel tanks of the Tom Cat, it would take a long time to make up for the increased cost of the C Ranger, plus there is the limited speed.
I would wonder if the boat might be offered with an option of storage in place of the under the dinette bunk--perhaps putting the air conditioning compressor under there too? With some detailing/varnish/upgrading of deck hardware, this will be a striking "mini" Trawler.
I would be happy to comment off list or send my photos who anyone who is interested.