Thursday, March 28

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From Seattle to Michigan to Florida to the Trent Severn Waterway in Canada: The Favors Find the Advantages of a Trailerable Ranger 29

By Peter A. Janssen

When we last visited Jim and Lisa Favors, they had just bought their Ranger Tug 29 in Seattle and were spending a few weeks cruising and getting used to their new boat. Not that they needed an introduction to Ranger or to cruising. They already had cruised extensively on their Ranger 27 (completing the Great Loop, for example), but a year ago they wanted to move up in size and traded up to their 29. Like the 27, the new 29 has a red hull; like the 29, it also is named Kismet.

Since then the Favors have enjoyed the advantages of owning a trailerable pocket cruiser. Last fall they trailered it to their home in Michigan, and then last winter they trailered it again down to Fort Myers, Florida;  then they cruised down to the Keys, spending a few months at their favorite spot there, Blackfin Marina and Resort.

They love the laid-back Keys lifestyle. Indeed, Jim wrote on their blog that one day he asked the manager there how his day was going. “Well, the day started off kinda slow and it tapered off from there,” the manager replied. Jim wrote, “If you like beautiful sunsets, funky music and casual outdoor bars and the company of easygoing and friendly people, Marathon could be for you too.”

But a few week ago it was time to leave. They cruised up to Fort Lauderdale and loaded Kismet on their three-quarter-ton GMC Sierra diesel for a trip north. Initially they had been worried about loading the larger boat, but Lisa wrote that “It was way easier than we feared; almost a non-event.”

Two weeks ago Kismet, powered by a single 300-hp Volvo diesel, was back in the water and part of the Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats Great Lakes Rendezvous in the Port of Orillia, on Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada. Some two dozen boats were there, with three days of seminars, potluck dinners, happy hours, blindfolded dinghy races and general good times.

Then the Favors started cruising on the Trent Severn Waterway (pictured above), the 240-mile canal from Trenton on Lake Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay; many cruisers say this is the most beautiful part of the entire 5,000 mile Great Loop. The Favors had cruised here a dozen years before, on their first Great Loop trip, and wanted to come back. “The scenery is hard to beat,” Lisa wrote. “No big cities along this route; small Canadian towns welcome boaters on the waterway.”

Next up: They’ll cruise up the equally beautiful Rideau Canal to Ottawa and Montreal, before heading back home for the winter. After that? With a trailerable boat, anything is possible.

http://trailertrawlerlife.com

http://rangertugs.com

 

 

 

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