Jim and Lisa Favors are certainly veteran travelers, but even for them this was a major undertaking, a 3,400-mile expedition from Seattle, where they picked up their new Ranger Tugs 25, to Fort Myers, Florida, where they started cruising on it.
This trip actually started just before Thanksgiving when the Favors left their home in Traverse City, Michigan, to head for Des Moines, just below Seattle, to pick up their new boat. This is the third Ranger Tugs they have owned (after a 27 and a 29).
They wrote on their blog, trailertrawlerlife.com, that they downsized because they want to keep boating for a long time, but they were preparing “for another stage in our boating adventures, one where trailering and maintenance are less of a chore. So, as we age, trailering will be easier because the boat is shorter, narrower (not requiring permits), and lighter.”
The advantages of the 25, they wrote, are that it’s easier to trailer and tow, less expensive to insure, store and dock, and it’s faster. Indeed, the 25, powered by a single 250-Yamaha outboard, tops out at 37 knots.
For the Favors, the big challenge to downsizing was the size of the water tank. The fresh-water tank on the 25 holds 34 gallons; the black-water tank,14 gallons. The Favors like to cruise off the grid, so they needed more water.
First, they decided to replace the standard electric head on the 25 with a composting Airhead toilet, requiring no water at all. Then, since the boat was straight from the factory, they decided to use the black-water tank as an extra fresh-water tank. Problem solved.
They got the Ranger Tugs’ new boat orientation at Des Moines, and took a short cruise down Puget Sound to picturesque Gig Harbor, just to get the feel of their new boat. Then, wanting to get warm, they loaded it on the trailer behind their 2011 GMC 2500 three-quarter ton truck and headed for Fort Myers.
Another advantage to a trailerable boat, in the Favors’ experience, is that it can double as a motor home on the road. On the way to Florida, they stopped at many RV parks, and camped out in the boat.
The Favors have been boating most of their lives; over the years they’ve owned a Four Winns 21, a Silverton 32, a Silverton 42, a Fathom Trawler 40, and then the two previous Ranger Tugs. They have cruised all over the United States, and have completed the Great Loop once and most of a second time.
In Fort Myers, they tied up at Legacy Harbour Marina, and it was old-home-week. Their first trip there was more than ten years ago and, minus the last two Covid years, they have been back many times since.
Then they crossed the state and cruised along the St. Johns River for two weeks (see the video below). Jim wrote me that they’ll probably leave in a few days and drive back to Traverse City “and the completion of our circumnavigation of the USA.” Read more: http://trailertrawlerlife.com and http://rangertugs.com and see the St. Johns video here: https://www.facebook.com/1326360557/videos/269363072036001
