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| EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT RANGER 21S
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March 29, 2002. Last December we posted a letter titled “A Week in the Gulf Islands on a 21-foot Boat,” sent to us by Jerry Schroeder. Jerry’s experiences prompted a note from Layne McWilliams, from Portland, Oregon, asking if Jerry would provide more information about his Ranger 21. We forwarded Layne’s request to Jerry, and the following e-mail correspondence developed between them, which Jerry copied to us. We found the exchanges interesting, and with Jerry’s consent we reprint it here.
JERRY: As you can see, Layne, Bob Hale of the Waggoner Cruising Guide sent me your note.
I’ve owned my Ranger 21 Surprise for about 2½ years, and I’m delighted with her. She’s about 21 feet long and is pushed by an 18 hp Yanmar 2GM diesel. At two-thirds throttle I can get up to 6 knots. When I push the throttle to the stop and run it full out I can as much as 6.1 knots. This is not a fast boat. But normal fuel consumption is less than a half-gallon per hour. The 13-gallon fuel tank will take me from Seattle to about halfway up the coast of Vancouver Island.
The R21 is a copy of a Bristol Bay fishing troller and is very seaworthy-much more seaworthy than I am. Unlike me, it handles 5-6-foot waves with aplomb.
I have two major problems with the boat. First, it’s about 5 feet too short. My ideal boat would be one just like the R21, only 26 feet long instead of 21.
The second problem is that I cannot moor the R21 anywhere without someone coming up and saying, “Oh, what a cute little boat.” I’ve heard the phrase from nubile teenagers and unshaven shipyard workers. Even my wife, who loathes boats and boating, has said it.
The Ranger is built by John Livingston of:
Ranger Fiberglass Boats
25802 Pacific Hwy. So.
Kent, WA 98032
253-839-5213
The boat is not highly finished. Wiring is exposed, and fiberglass edges are not trimmed. But much attention has been paid to the essentials. It is a solid, well made little boat. I paid about $31K (you should have heard my wife’s comments). John Livingston tells me the price is now almost $33K. Not cheap, but surprisingly competitive. Ranger has been cranking out one or two R21s every month for about 15 years now. They don’t do much advertising. Word of mouth is sufficient
 LAYNE: I keep looking for Ranger 21s in Boat Trader and on the Internet, but they don’t come up for sale very often.
JERRY: You probably won’t find many. When I spotted the boat I started looking for a used one. I found a guy in the Seattle area whose wife didn’t like the boat and he was interested in selling. Then he changed his mind. I didn’t inquire why, but I have my suspicions. If women like boats they love the R21. If they don’t, they hate them. In the two years I’ve owned the boat, my wife has been on it four times, my step-daughter, never.
LAYNE: We live in Portland, and this would be our first cruising-style boat. Our home waters would be the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. I’m a little concerned with the 6-knot maximum speed in comparison with the current in the Columbia River. Do you know if the 27 hp Yanmar option gives you any more speed (or maybe a better word is “reserve”) to help overcome the current?
JERRY: This is a displacement boat, and will not go faster than hull speed. You can put a 300 hp Cummins in the back and it will still do only about 6 knots. You could pull a barge with it, but you’re still stuck with 6 knots. Currents in Puget Sound run as fast as 3-4 knots, and I’ve never had any trouble with the 18 hp 2GM. I know of one guy who replaced his 27 hp with an 18. I did some rough calculations, and found it takes only about 3 or 4 hp to move an R21 up to hull speed.
LAYNE: Our primary use is simply puttering along, enjoying the scenery and visiting little towns along the river. Is the boat quiet enough at two-thirds throttle for conversation while under way?
JERRY: You’re not sitting in a canoe on a mountain lake, but you can hold a conversation without shouting. I find the chug-chug-chug of a small diesel comforting. Occasionally I will make or receive a phone call. Closing the pilothouse door is more than sufficient. I have no problem hearing the VHF radio with the door open.
LAYNE: On your Gulf Islands cruise you mentioned that you slept alone on the boat while your mate slept ashore. Is there room enough to sleep two in the V-berth, or is that where the 5 more feet would come in handy?
JERRY: Shari is my lady cousin. Her husband and my wife are aggressively uninterested in cruising and boating. Shari and I are cruising nuts. For obvious reasons we shouldn’t be sleeping together in the cuddy. But if my wife were my cruising companion she and I could (and would) sleep aboard.
The V-berth is about 6 feet across at the top and narrows to about 2 feet near the bow. It’s about 6½ feet long. A young couple I know have no problem sleeping in their R21. He’s about 6 feet and she’s about 5’ 6”.
LAYNE: I notice from the photos that you have a mast and boom rigged. Do you use them for an auxiliary sail, or are they for lifting only? Or is it because they make the boat (in my opinion) look even better?
JERRY: I had the remote thought of using the boom for lifting crab pots. I’ve used it to lift a dinghy into the cockpit. I plan to get a steadying sail one of these days. But mostly I got the mast and boom for looks. I think they look neat.
LAYNE: I’ve seen R21s with a framework and canvas rigged over the after portion of the boat, from the wheelhouse back. What is your opinion of that arrangement, and do you think it adds usable living space?
JERRY: I throw a sheet of canvas over the boom, but Ranger sells a more elaborate affair for a couple hundred bucks. I take the canvas down when I’m under way.
LAYNE: Regarding the engine, what kind of servicing is required? How would you rank access and working room around the engine?
JERRY: The engine has been completely reliable. I change oil every hundred hours and the fuel filter every 300. Access is very easy, the best I’ve ever seen. The engine has about 700 hours on it now. I plan to have a mechanic look at it this spring, but it’s probably not necessary.
LAYNE: You said the boat was “unfinished,” with untrimmed fiberglass edges and so forth. Can more finish work be added at the factory, or is that something that would have to be done by an owner? Would it be worth it?
JERRY: I probably shouldn’t have used the word “unfinished.” The boat looks pretty good fresh from the factory. I’m thinking of applying some edging, but it’s not critical. I’m sure that Ranger could tart the thing up for you, by why spend the extra? Since I moor outside my boat is a bit weather-beaten anyway, but it still looks pretty good.
LAYNE: With your single-engine, single-prop configuration is docking and maneuvering at low speeds a difficult proposition, or is this a good boat to learn the effects of “walking the stern” and other tricks and terms I’ve read about?
JERRY: The first month or two were a learning experience for me. I had sailed and rowed small boats, but this was my first power boat. I found that it wasn’t too difficult to learn how to maneuver. I now can get into some fairly tight places. I like to moor with the pier to starboard. Throwing the boat into reverse at the proper moment swings the stern to starboard, and the boat nuzzles right up to the dock. Friends are impressed, but it’s no big deal.
LAYNE: Have you had any problems with the boat or with support from Ranger?
JERRY: Ranger didn’t have the mast and boom in stock when I took delivery. They came in a few weeks later and Ranger sent a guy up to Ballard to install them. No charge. I’ve been very pleased with Ranger.v
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