Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs/Cutwater Boats 2025 Rendezvous – Mackinaw City, Michigan
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Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs/Cutwater Boats 2025 Rendezvous – Mackinaw City, Michigan

GREAT LAKES AREA RANGER TUGS/CUTWATER BOATS 2025 RENDEZVOUS – Mackinaw City, Michigan – We just put a wrap on our ninth Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs 2025 Rendezvous. This year, we held it in Mackinaw City, Michigan. Twenty-four boats of all sizes and 53 people (representing 7 states) joined us (some came by land) for social activities and presentations from sponsors, including a session by Jared Dunning from the Ranger Tugs Factory. Jared spent all three days of the event walking the docks, talking to owners, getting on their boats, answering questions, or creating a plan to address the problem…

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Trailer Tales – Overland Boating – Power & MotorYacht

Trailer Tales – Overland Boating Jim and I have been trailering our boat, Kismet (we are on our third Ranger Tug, an R25) to cruising areas around the United States and Canada, ever since we completed our second Great Loop adventure in 2010 (we did those two Loops on two 40-foot boats). After experiencing the joys of Looping, many boaters gain a thirst to explore new cruising territory. That’s what happened to us. Once we took to the road, trailering our boat, there was no going back. Early on, we coined the term “boaterhoming” for this type of land/water recreation. If…

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Blackfin Resort & Marina
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Blackfin Resort & Marina – Marathon, Florida

 Blackfin Resort and Marina, Marathon, Florida, is an island paradise and a welcome slice of old Florida. Jim and I have been wintering at this marina since 2013. Because of its old Florida character and its relaxed atmosphere, we keep coming back. In our minds, when we leave Traverse City, Michigan, for Florida, after the holidays each year, we head to a warm, friendly place where our friends are also returning. We look forward to soaking up the sun and ending each day with beautiful daily sunsets over Florida Bay. Blackfin is not a high-end, fancy place, and that’s…

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Grandkids Cruise-Big Chute
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Grandkids Cruise-Big Chute—Trent Severn Waterway-Part-6

The Big Chute Marine Railway—One of the unique locks on the Trent Severn Waterway — Last leg of the Grandkids Cruise on the Trent Severn Waterway. Shortly after we pulled the boat out of the water and left Orillia, we arrived at the Big Chute Marine Railway, in Coldwater, Ontario. Had we stayed with our initial PLAN A, we would have started our trip in Severn, Ontario. The Big Chute would have been the first lock on our trip with that plan. However, in the summer of 2022, this lock was closed on and off all summer. The day before we would have…

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Grandkids Cruise–Big Chute
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Grandkids Cruise-Orillia—Trent Severn Waterway-Part-5

The Stretch from Fenelon Falls to Orillia Was the Last Leg of Our Boat Trip. Grandkids Cruise-Orillia. We will pull the boat out here to drive to the Big Chute to see the boats being carried over land. If we had gone with PLAN A, the Big Chute would have been our first lock, instead of our last. On this day we had fun taking the Kirkfield Lift Lock (below). This lock is similar to the one in Peterborough. Look what we spotted today (above). We immediately stocked up on Butter Tarts, while exploring downtown and the big park by…

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Grandkids Cruise-Fenelon Falls
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Grandkids Cruise-Fenelon Falls—Trent Severn Waterway-Part-4

Something for Everyone! Fenelon Falls, Ontario — Grandkids Cruise-Fenelon Falls. We have another fun stop today. Fenelon Falls has it all. The lock is right downtown and there is a magnificent park available within a short walking distance of the lock where we usually try to dock. We remembered from the last time we were here that there is a museum next to the park and they have lots of activities for kids. Grabbing a spot on the lock wall in Fenelon Falls means a chance to have water and electricity access. Sometimes Wi-Fi access is available at the park…

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Grandkids Cruise–Bobcaygeon
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Grandkids Cruise-Bobcaygeon—Trent Severn Waterway-Part-3

Bobcaygeon Is A Popular Town on the Trent Severn Waterway — Grandkids Cruise-Bobcaygeon. One of our favorite places on the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW) is the charming town of Bobcaygeon. A popular stop for Loopers, Bobcaygeon has many things boaters are looking for while cruising the TSW. We looked forward to visiting this town with the kids. The last time we were in Bobcaygeon was when we cruised from Orillia, Ontario, on the TSW to Montreal, on the Rideau Canal. After we went through the lock wall, we secured a spot on the park side of the lock.       I tried…

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Grandkids Cruise– Buckhorn
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Grandkids Cruise-Buckhorn—Trent Severn Waterway-Part-2

Grandkids Cruise-Buckhorn, On the Trent Severn Waterway — After leaving Peterborough, we made our way along the waterway to Buckhorn, stopping at Stoney Lake to anchor for one night. On the first two days of cruising the Trent Severn Waterway, we traversed 12 locks. That’s a lot!!! Safety First! Jim and I discussed how best to manage the kids while locking through. For safety reasons, we decided they had to sit still, inside or on the “Queen Seat,” while Jim and I handled the mechanics of catching lock wall ropes and securing the boat in the lock. While launching the…

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Grandkids Cruise–Trent Severn Waterway
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Grandkid’s Cruise to Peterborough-Trent Severn Waterway-Part-1

Grandkid's Cruise To Peterborough—First Leg of a 12-day Adventure The idea for the “Grandkid's Cruise” came almost a year before we actually set out on the road trip to Ontario, Canada with the boat in tow. We wanted the cruise to be educational by visiting somewhere, by boat, which had some historical content and some boating features. The Trent Severn Waterway (TSW) immediately came to mind. The kids would learn about how early commerce transportation came to be in Canada and the historical significance of traveling a waterway with a lock system in place. PROVISIONING AND PLANNING Our oldest grandson, Silas,…

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2022 Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs & Cutwater Boats Rendezvous
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2022 Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs & Cutwater Boats Rendezvous — Traverse City, Michigan

Last Week was the Sixth Great Lakes Area Ranger Tugs & Cutwater Boats Rendezvous — Our last rendezvous was in Charlevoix in 2019, Covid prevented the possibility of a get-together for some time. Thank goodness we could organize the event this year as pent-up demand showed in the number of interested attendees to be overwhelming. With limited space, we had to turn many away. It’s called the Great Lakes Area Rendezvous because we like to host it in many locations around the Great Lakes. This gives attendees an opportunity to cruise or trailer their boats to explore different ports. So…

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Adventure Cruising With Kids or Grandkids
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Adventure Cruising With Kids or Grandkids — Canada’s Trent Severn Waterway

Jim and I love to share our cruising experiences! Since 2005, when we headed out on our first Great Loop adventure, it was just the two of us. Our three sons who were engaged in their own adventures; college, jobs, and Marines, were too young to have kids themselves, which left us empty-nesters, and able to strike out on our own. When our first grandson, Silas, made his appearance, in 2013 (and subsequently, our granddaughter, Hadley, in 2016 and another grandson, Declan in 2021) our thoughts and energies eventually turned to how we could share our love of boating with…

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St. Johns River
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St. Johns River—Deland to Silver Glen Springs, Florida

This was not the first time we have cruised the St. Johns River. We were living on our Fathom 40, finishing up our second Great Loop boat trip, when Kismet left Key West, Florida, heading north to the Solomon Islands. It was June 2009. Our goal was to spend the summer in the Chesapeake Bay area. That was a fun thing to do. Spending the entire summer in Maryland gave us more of an in-depth experience of another part of the country we knew little about. We made lots of side trips during our stay in the Solomon Islands, either…

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Fort Myers
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Legacy Harbour Marina – Our Winter Hot Spot!

We Have Been Going to Legacy Harbour Marina Since 2012 — The Legacy Harbour Marina staff, Harbor Master, Eric, and Office Manager, Sheila, are accommodating, professional and friendly. Over time, we have docked all three of our tugs there for at least a one, or two-month stay. While it’s nice to try out fresh places, and marinas, it’s also fun to go back to familiar marinas, where you’ve made friendships and feel at home. We like a combination of the two when we go cruising, we enjoy finding a balance in life and everything we do. We have not been…

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Des Moines
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Outfitting the Boat in Des Moines, Washington

Des Moines, Washington for Ten Days — When you buy a Ranger Tugs boat, Des Moines is one place you would take delivery. It is a great location to become familiar with your new boat and load your belongings. Outfitting the boat is easy, being close to shopping, motels, restaurants, etc. Ranger Tugs is generous with its dock space during this process. We took advantage of the proximity to shopping to outfit the boat with items such as storage containers, bedding, and miscellaneous items we could not plan for until we took possession of the boat. Many items needed to…

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Gig Harbor
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Gig Harbor, WA – A Brief Trip to One of Our Favorites

Gig Harbor for a Pre-Christmas Cruise – The weather was iffy most days during our stay at the marina in Des Moines. However, we found a nice weather window to cruise to one of our favorite spots in South Sound, Gig Harbor. We took a three-day excursion to test out the boat and relax a little in Gig Harbor’s scenic location. We stayed at the town’s public dock, a magnificent spot, down from a city park. Downtown, restaurants, and shopping were all just a short walk from our boat. Arriving before the Christmas holiday, we were fortunate to be there…

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Our Ranger Tug Family is Growing to Include a Cutwater Boat

I imagine our blog subscribers are wondering where all the summer posts are. Well, we are still waiting to take delivery of our new Ranger Tugs R25, so we have been taking a little hiatus from the blog during this time. It was a long, hot summer for Jim and me without a boat, but we found a few things to do to distract from our misery. Jim continued working on his house projects until just recently, while I have been working on a new boating book. To keep us sane, at the end of many beautiful northern Michigan days…

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What’s Next?

One Thing Is Certain – We're Not Done Boating Yet!  – As many of you know, we sold our beautiful, hero red, Ranger Tugs R29 last fall while we were in the Pacific Northwest. We had a two-year plan with that boat, which turned into three exceptional years cruising in the USA and CANADA. No; we are not getting out of boating, just reevaluating and tweaking our boating lifestyle as we do every so often. Boat shopping is fun! We took our time deciding on" What's Next" for the crew of Kismet. Our boating needs have changed a little, so we…

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Blackberry Pie
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Sweet As Blackberry Pie – Blake Island, Puget Sound

Itching to make some blackberry pie! We stopped at a few of our favorite spots as we worked our way south on Puget Sound. Port Madison was first, then we headed for Blake Island, always a favorite for the crew on Kismet. We are still on our way through Puget Sound to spend some time in South Sound. A new favorite for Jim and me. Blake Island sits across from Seattle. It always surprises us to find slips available when we arrive. Today was no different, It was busy, and we had to jockey a few minutes for one boat…

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Kismet Slider
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Ranger Tugs – A Serious Choice for Cruising the Great Loop Adventure

Looking for a Worthy Boat to Take On the Great Loop Adventure? We received a comment on our YouTube Page, asking us why most people planning on doing the Great Loop Boat Trip look for and buy, “Vintage, 20-30-year-old planing hull, fly-bridge boats.” “Why not buy modern, semi-displacement trawlers, that portray a serious dedication to seamanship?” This comment caused me to ask myself the question of why we became Ranger Tug owners many years ago. If those boats had been on our radar, would we have gone with a newer, smaller boat to do the "Loop?" Jim and I did…

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Port Madison Anchor
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Party Time While Anchoring in Port Madison Bay – Puget Sound, Washington

We Love Anchoring in Port Madison Bay –  Port Madison Bay is a quiet inlet off Bainbridge Island, on the northeast part of the island. Bainbridge Island sits northwest of Seattle across Puget Sound. We are making our way from the San Juan Islands to South Sound. Anchoring in Port Madison Bay was a simple decision for us. We love it, it is well-protected and scenic, and anchoring in the bay is always peaceful. Because of social distancing, we have been anchoring out a lot. We have everything we need on the boat to keep us occupied. After fifteen years…

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Social Distancing
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Social Distancing Aspect of Cruising During the Pandemic

Social Distancing on Kismet This Summer – This summer’s cruise feels unique. Because of the pandemic, we are not forcing schedules to meet up with many people. There are no rendezvous to attend – all canceled this year. The social aspect of cruising has been a little different, leaving us feeling a little out of our element. The upside is we have been so relaxed with the simple day-to-day existence of floating on our little island of a boat, Kismet. We’ve been cooking, eating, playing games, and walking more than ever before. It is a good life without the daily,…

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Kismet
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KISMET FOR SALE – 2018 RANGER TUGS R29S LUXURY EDITION – $230,000

Jim and I had a mutual deal when we bought our Ranger Tug R29S, we would up-size from our six-year-old R27 (sold in 2017) and buy and keep a Ranger Tug R29S for two years. Before we decided to sell the R27, we had a decision to make – it was time to either sell her and try something else or keep her for the rest of our boating days. We both agreed it would be fun to try something new. It was one of the best decisions we’ve made together, as boaters. The R29S is roomier than the R27,…

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Some Boaters Catch Seafood, We Pick Blackberries – LaConner, WA

Our First Blackberry Haul of the Season Was in LaConner –  LaConner is a quaint little town on Swinomish Channel, we often take this route when on our way to or from Anacortes/Puget Sound. The channel is well-protected and scenic but, has a wicked current. Not a local boater, but the village of LaConner has the best shopping for boaters visiting the town dock. Unfortunately, we’re not doing too much shopping this year, but we have been window shopping and sometimes get take-out orders from local restaurants. We love to walk around LaConner, up the hills, and into the neighborhood…

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Anacortes
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Unexpected Crab Surprise and a Reunion in Anacortes, WA

Before Heading to Seattle and South Sound, We Stopped in Anacortes for Maintenance Chores and Visit with a Friend – Our return trip to Anacortes was just a quick stop to meet a friend, do laundry, get a pump-out, fill up tanks and get groceries and mail. We were busy during our two-day stay. When we leave Anacortes, we will point Kismet’s bow south, towards Seattle and South Puget Sound. Our itinerary this summer is very loose, having us decide every day if we stay one more night somewhere or skip a spot altogether. I like this kind of cruise…

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Hunter Bay
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A Lot of Happy Crabbers in Hunter Bay – San Juan Islands, WA

We’d heard a lot about Hunter Bay from other Tuggers – Hunter Bay is a big open anchorage, not too far from Anacortes. According to reports from local boaters, it’s an excellent spot for crabbing. On our way back to the mainland for a marina stop in Anacortes, before we head to South Sound, we stopped for two nights in Hunter Bay. We had fun watching the dinghies, and small boats, zip back and forth to their crab pots to set or pull in their catches. A lot of happy crabbers in Hunter Bay! We had recently met Bruce and…

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