Here’s a great picture of the annual rendezvous of some 150 Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats at Roche Harbor in the San Juans, one of the biggest gatherings of boat owners in the United States at one of the best cruising destinations in the United States. To continue the superlatives, Fluid Motion, LLC, the parent company for Ranger and Cutwater, is one of the most successful boat companies in the United States – having started with a 21-Ranger Tug in 1999 and now producing hundreds of Rangers and Cutwaters in six factories throughout Washington State. (See our “Boat Reviews” section for a story about the new Ranger 31 CB.)
One of the reasons that Fluid Motion is so successful is that it creates a community for its owners, everything from organized factory visits to weekend cruises and annual rendezvous. Then there’s the owners’ website –tugnuts.com, where the forums go on for an astonishing 681 pages. (Owners’ dogs, appropriately enough, are knows at “tug mutts.”)
But the boats speak for themselves. They’re all trailerable, even the Ranger 31, where the flybridge folds down on hinges to reduce the boat’s air draft on a trailer to 13’2”. With a single diesel, they’re fuel-efficient, user -friendly and cost-effective, providing easy cruising for families and couples. I’ve cruised Rangers throughout the Gulf Islands and the San Juans (including Roche Harbor), and a Cutwater from New York Harbor up to Quebec City; I’ve enjoyed every minute on board.
