Ranger R-25 Tug
The R-25 has a semi-displacement designed to let her handle like a traditional trawler at 7 to 8 knots, with a large rudder and full keel protecting her large bronze prop. However, she transitions to more of a planing hull as speed increases, to get these boats up to 19 knots when you need the speed. They have trim tabs to adjust the plane. With both bow and stern thrusters an R-25 can turn in her own length. Get the factory tour of the 2009 model in three and a half minutes: R-25 YouTube Tour and see her pirouette in her own length!
The R-25 has a semi-displacement designed to let her handle like a traditional trawler at 7 to 8 knots, with a large rudder and full keel protecting her large bronze prop. However, she transitions to more of a planing hull as speed increases, to get these boats up to 19 knots when you need the speed. They have trim tabs to adjust the plane. With both bow and stern thrusters an R-25 can turn in her own length. Get the factory tour of the 2009 model in three and a half minutes: R-25 YouTube Tour and see her pirouette in her own length!
Her trailer lets her go 60 mph when necessary. Take her to the inland lakes in Georgia, to the great lakes, out west to the dammed rivers and never fear being stranded on the Great Loop when the waterways are closed due to flooding or low water.
As you’ll see in this blog, the last year you could get a “Classic” model R-25 was 2009. After than they became the sport cockpit or SC model, which has a bigger cockpit, but much less cabin space. Both models were available in 2009, and the Classic cost $10,000 more than the SC. Building cabin space is more expensive the building cockpit space. So Alto is the latest version of the larger R-25 Classic, and many would say the best all around boat Ranger Tug ever made. From her, you’d have to go the the R-27 at much more expense, but with the R-27 you get Alto’s big cabin and the larger SC cockpit in one package.
You don’t want an earlier version of the R-25, either. They originally came with small Raymarine GPS systems, not the Garmin touchscreen GPS like on Alto and continues to be standard on all Ranger Tugs. The earlier boats also had small Cummins engines, and then shifted to 110hp Yanmars, and finally to the 150hp Yanmar which was introduced in late 2009 and is the engine in Alto. These engines had an thin metal pipe leading from a fitting on the engine to an oil pressure sensor, which vibrated and eventually wore out. With the high pressure oil system in the newer commonrail computer controlled diesels, this meant an almost instant loss of oil pressure.
In Alto’s case, the pipe failed and this damaged the engine; Yanmar replaced the entire engine with a 2011 model which has a rubber tube pipe to the oil sender. A number of other boats had this problem (Yanmar won’t say how many) which led to a nationwide recall, and Yanmar changed the metal tubes to rubber (like a $10 part) in all engines around the country to prevent this from happening. It wrecked our season in the Keys, but Yanmar was terrific and replaced the engine at their New England factory facility located, by luck, near Cape Cod. So we have a new engine, with few hours on it–about 160 at last check.
As you’ll see in this blog, the last year you could get a “Classic” model R-25 was 2009. After than they became the sport cockpit or SC model, which has a bigger cockpit, but much less cabin space. Both models were available in 2009, and the Classic cost $10,000 more than the SC. Building cabin space is more expensive the building cockpit space. So Alto is the latest version of the larger R-25 Classic, and many would say the best all around boat Ranger Tug ever made. From her, you’d have to go the the R-27 at much more expense, but with the R-27 you get Alto’s big cabin and the larger SC cockpit in one package.
You don’t want an earlier version of the R-25, either. They originally came with small Raymarine GPS systems, not the Garmin touchscreen GPS like on Alto and continues to be standard on all Ranger Tugs. The earlier boats also had small Cummins engines, and then shifted to 110hp Yanmars, and finally to the 150hp Yanmar which was introduced in late 2009 and is the engine in Alto. These engines had an thin metal pipe leading from a fitting on the engine to an oil pressure sensor, which vibrated and eventually wore out. With the high pressure oil system in the newer commonrail computer controlled diesels, this meant an almost instant loss of oil pressure.
In Alto’s case, the pipe failed and this damaged the engine; Yanmar replaced the entire engine with a 2011 model which has a rubber tube pipe to the oil sender. A number of other boats had this problem (Yanmar won’t say how many) which led to a nationwide recall, and Yanmar changed the metal tubes to rubber (like a $10 part) in all engines around the country to prevent this from happening. It wrecked our season in the Keys, but Yanmar was terrific and replaced the engine at their New England factory facility located, by luck, near Cape Cod. So we have a new engine, with few hours on it–about 160 at last check.
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