Cutwater/Ranger Tugs
 

Does anyone have any experience with these "pocket yachts". Both built by the same company and smaller models are trailerable and narrow beam outboard powered.

Looking for build quality for price point and any personal experience.

I haven't heard anything good about the Ranger tugs over on thehulltruth

I had a Ranger Tug. The inboard diesel version. . Mine was a 2005 . So I can not speak of the quality of the new ones . I moved up and replaced it with a Grand Banks Trawler .

Local dealer had them in inventory for a couple years and no longer carries them. I thought the OB one was genius, it was relatively fast for a single and the OB seemed ideal for places like the FL keys were "shallow happens." The only thing that came to mind was the camper like interior, yes its small and they have crammed in everything you possibly could want or need but to me if you left anything out, even a newspaper the interior would feel cluttered. If you don't keep everything perfectly in its place then you might feel like its too small. The towing factor was neat but that might cramp the "exploring" idea if you have to keep moving the truck/trailer. You also need a smaller sized travel companion and only one of them, mix in a couple kids and you would lose your mind in that thing.

A local marina is bringing the Cutwater line to his dealership this Spring so hopefully it will be a chance to crawl around one. There is no doubt this boat has a ton of compromises at that price point with all those "features". 24 feet is tiny for a cruiser but I understand the appeal of just having a gas and go overnighter that you can drag anywhere. Would like Merc power but they apparently made a production deal with Yamaha.

The Benneteau and Jeanneau lines with similar pocket cruisers are little more trimmed back on features but for overnights do you really need a ton of gadgets?

I liked the boat.it was probably average quality. I saw it at a boat show before that had never heard of the them. Bought one a few months later. It was my stepping stone into the Grand Banks that I really wanted but couldn't afford at the time.

I like this lightweight easy planing concept.
https://bluejacketboats.com/product/bluejacket-28/

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...f32f9285f0.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...810b907de6.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...7438a63459.jpg

One of our long time marina customers purchased a Cutwater 242 with Yamaha power 2yrs ago. Retired couple took it out almost every week. They would typically spend 2 - 3 days on the boat. Cruising up and down the intracoastal waterway and the Gulf. They loved the boat.
Health concerns forced them to put the boat on the market.
Buyer purchased the boat first week at the same price they paid for the boat 2yrs ago.
I took it for sea trial with new owner.
What a terrible riding boat !!!
At cruising speed, it wants to lay on its side. Adjust tabs, it flops to the other side.
High speed cruise straightens it out, but it beats like a drum in the enclosed cockpit in a very light chop.
I was amazed when the purchaser said he thought it ran nicely. I couldn't wait to get back to the dock.
Fit and finish are very good, so is resale value.

Appreciate the feedback!

The cuddy cabin looks like it goes from the keel to the top deck so that is one giant resonate chamber so I wouldn't be surprised by the noise. Closing the cabin door might help?

It has a pretty aggressive bottom for a cruiser and being so tall, I wouldn't be surprised either by it being tippy. The fact that it settled down when you ran it up put the keel pad to work.

The aggressive hull design seems to be the cause of the downfall in ride quality. Most of the noise feels like turbulence between the first and second step.
The gentleman whom purchased the Cutwater I sea trialed seemed to move forward with the purchase based on a preconceived notion ,( based on reviews) that the boats ride quality was excellent.