Herd of Tugs?

[O C Diver]

Is it a herd of tugs?
Maybe a gaggle of tugs?
How about a flock tugs?

Whatever you would call it, I was quietly kayaking on Monday in the pelican bay anchorage which is on the NW end of Cayo Costa (Barrier island off of Charlotte Harbor FL), when a parade of tugs entered the anchorage.





Before I knew it, I was surrounded by a herd of angry tugs. Well actually there were about a dozen brightly colored and painstakingly detailed tugs that anchored close by my trawler.





Apparently the Ranger tugs were having a rendezvous near Port Charlotte and had come down to Pelican Bay to over night. I believe they were all 26s and had come from all parts far and wide. The organizer was from Rhode Island, and at least one of the tugs had come from the Pacific Northwest. Having a trailerable trawler has it's advantages.

Sorry the pics weren't better. Photography from a rolling kayak isn't as easy as you might think.

Ted

 

[markpierce]

Most of our "herd."

 

[Northern Spy]

A covert of coots?

 

[markpierce]

A couple of coots:

 

[Moonstruck]

Ted, that is one of my favorite anchorages. Great cruising in that area.

 

[sunchaser]

Last summer when cruising north of Nanaimo a herd of about 56 Rangers passed us. It was a real pain as they were staggered over a 10 mile length doing about 4 knots faster than us so we were waked for about 2 hours. It was hilarious to listen to them on the radio talking about lack of charts, bad chart chips and cheap booze. They headed into Comox thank God so we finally got a little peace.

I must say they are passionate about their parties.

 

[psneeld]

Last summer when cruising north of Nanaimo a herd of about 56 Rangers passed us. It was a real pain as they were staggered over a 10 mile length doing about 4 knots faster than us so we were waked for about 2 hours. It was hilarious to listen to them on the radio talking about lack of charts, bad chart chips and cheap booze. They headed into Comox thank God so we finally got a little peace.

I must say they are passionate about their parties.

Isn't that the old, sage advice...
"Buy the smallest boat you can live with...spend the rest on parties and booze"

 

[Hendo78]

 

[O C Diver]

Ted, that is one of my favorite anchorages. Great cruising in that area.

Don, definitely one of my favorites! Really enjoying this area! Too bad I have to head North April 1st. Coming back in November for 6 months this Fall.


Ted

 

[Rebel112r]

Moonstruck. We were on a buoy in Nanaimo when they came thru, quite a sight. Must have been a logistics nightmare. I think they travelled together until Gorge Hbr, then either headed south, or ventured on their own. Those boats have been a big seller.

 

[ancora]

Invited aboard one at our club. The attention to detail is the best I've ever seen. The layout is well thought out with every inch being utilized. Never seen such perfection in construction in any sized boat. I guess that's why they ain't cheap.

 

[psneeld]

Why they insist on the RED/GREEN plastic screen boards for their navlights is beyond me except for the uninformed buyer...bugs me that a factory is ignoring the NAVRULES...

CFR -
§84.09 Screens.

(a) The sidelights of vessels of 20 meters or more in length shall be fitted with mat black inboard screens and meet the requirements of §84.17. On vessels of less than 20 meters in length, the sidelights, if necessary to meet the requirements of §84.17, shall be fitted with mat black inboard screens. With a combined lantern, using a single vertical filament and a very narrow division between the green and red sections, external screens need not be fitted.

Makes me wonder about their overall mentality and rules....

 

[Northern Spy]

Invited aboard one at our club. The attention to detail is the best I've ever seen. The layout is well thought out with every inch being utilized. Never seen such perfection in construction in any sized boat. I guess that's why they ain't cheap.

Really? A few years back I was aboard a 29 with my then 10 year old son. He was crawling around in the cockpit and looked up at the hull to deck joint. With the political correctness of a ten year old he announced loudly in front of the crowd "Hey Dad! Look how crappy they finish off the parts of the boat you can't see!"

 

[bligh]

Personally, I like the Rangers. They are sharp little boats and very well equipped from the factory. One of sales reps told me they are garmin marines biggest customer. I have my eye on a 21 to use as a launch/tender and a fishing platform. I dont have any doubts about their seaworthiness or their 'drivetrain' reliability. But as I examined all the swiss army like features of the 25's and up (folding counters, chairs, settees, seats, cabinets, plexiglass shower enclosures, etc), I couldnt help but wonder what the result of a steady 2 hour pounding across the Strait of Georgia would have on all those little brass and SS hinges embedded in fiberglass and wood. I'm sure none of them are 'abused' like that, but I would want my boat to at least be able to endure that kind of beating if it had to and survive unscathed.
Scott

 

[N4712]

Really? A few years back I was aboard a 29 with my then 10 year old son. He was crawling around in the cockpit and looked up at the hull to deck joint. With the political correctness of a ten year old he announced loudly in front of the crowd "Hey Dad! Look how crappy they finish off the parts of the boat you can't see!"

I feel the same way, we went on a couple, lots of cool things to break. Imagine forgetting to fold in the seat that folds out, on the side of the cockpit, and then pulling out of the dock and ripping it off, ouch!

 

[Northern Spy]

Personally, I like the Rangers. They are sharp little boats and very well equipped from the factory. One of sales reps told me they are garmin marines biggest customer. I have my eye on a 21 to use as a launch/tender and a fishing platform. I dont have any doubts about their seaworthiness or their 'drivetrain' reliability. But as I examined all the swiss army like features of the 25's and up (folding counters, chairs, settees, seats, cabinets, plexiglass shower enclosures, etc), I couldnt help but wonder what the result of a steady 2 hour pounding across the Strait of Georgia would have on all those little brass and SS hinges embedded in fiberglass and wood. I'm sure none of them are 'abused' like that, but I would want my boat to at least be able to endure that kind of beating if it had to and survive unscathed.
Scott

The older (pre-Livingston) Ranger 21s are admirable little boats. I still might have one of those someday.

 

[FlyWright]

Why they insist on the RED/GREEN plastic screen boards for their navlights is beyond me except for the uninformed buyer...bugs me that a factory is ignoring the NAVRULES...

CFR -
§84.09 Screens.

(a) The sidelights of vessels of 20 meters or more in length shall be fitted with mat black inboard screens and meet the requirements of §84.17. On vessels of less than 20 meters in length, the sidelights, if necessary to meet the requirements of §84.17, shall be fitted with mat black inboard screens. With a combined lantern, using a single vertical filament and a very narrow division between the green and red sections, external screens need not be fitted.

Makes me wonder about their overall mentality and rules....

I don't see the problem in outfitting your boat to a higher level than the minimum required by the Navrules. Would it be wrong a boat under 12M in length equipped with a bell? How about a small boat with a loud horn? An inland waters boat equipped with flares?

I say kudos to those who go the extra measure beyond the minimum requirements.

 

[BruceK]

Back to the OP question.
"Flotilla of Tugs" is the obvious. In light of the odd words coined for aggregations, eg. "a murder of crows", how about a "pull of tugs"?

 

[psneeld]

I don't see the problem in outfitting your boat to a higher level than the minimum required by the Navrules. Would it be wrong a boat under 12M in length equipped with a bell? How about a small boat with a loud horn? An inland waters boat equipped with flares?

I say kudos to those who go the extra measure beyond the minimum requirements.

You missed the point..flat black paint (as required by the USCG) to keep reflected light down and avoid confusing the required light sectors...

 

[Conrad]

Back to the OP question.
"Flotilla of Tugs" is the obvious. In light of the odd words coined for aggregations, eg. "a murder of crows", how about a "pull of tugs"?

Or a "tow of tugs"?

 

[Moonstruck]

Or a "tow of tugs"?

I like it.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
A fleet of tugs.

 

[markpierce]

You missed the point..flat black paint (as required by the USCG) to keep reflected light down and avoid confusing the required light sectors...

Al, I believe psneed is correct on this issue.

My Coot has blackboards, as required.

 

[bligh]

convoy of tugs?

 

[Nomad Willy]

From this point of view Mark your railings look great.

I'm making a set of white boards as the white will be lit up by the red or green light and be much easier to see and identify the color. I don't see how much confusion of light sectors could be made. Would be the same from head on. Perhaps more color would show on the quarter beam aft.

 

[markpierce]

From this point of view Mark your railings look great.

They're great from any perspective!

 

[FlyWright]

You missed the point..flat black paint (as required by the USCG) to keep reflected light down and avoid confusing the required light sectors...

On vessels of less than 20 meters in length, the sidelights, if necessary to meet the requirements of §84.17, shall be fitted with mat black inboard screens.

Scott, when you say black is "required", you are stating that this is required to "meet the requirements of §84.17[/B]" on this vessel. Have you determined this as fact? If this is required on this vessel to comply with the Navrules, you are right.

I offer that it may not be a requirement to meet the horizontal sector intensity and cutoff requirements of §84.17[/B] on this vessel. If this is not a requirement to meet the requirements of §84.17[/B], the conditional requirements of this Navrule do not apply. One must know the requirements of this vessel before categorically stating that this rule requires mat black inboard screens.

I have seen many Grand Banks under 20m with red/greed sideboards to emphasize the color of the sidelights. Although I have never evaluated their sidelight coverage, I suspect their lighting does not require the black side boards to meet the requirements of §84.17[/B] and therefore, colored sideboards or no sideboards are permitted.

 

[psneeld]

From this point of view Mark your railings look great.

I'm making a set of white boards as the white will be lit up by the red or green light and be much easier to see and identify the color. I don't see how much confusion of light sectors could be made. Would be the same from head on. Perhaps more color would show on the quarter beam aft.

Illegal.....reflections change the angles of visibility...hope you never have to explain your "thinking" versus the USCG's "thinking" in a martime hearing...

Even glossy varnished boards are incorrect but certainly less of an issue...one can argue that the colors reflecting on white glossy fiberglass/painted boat sides would be the same and you would be correct...but if that ever created confusion to another boater and an incident occurred, you would be partially at fault.

 

[psneeld]

Scott, when you say black is "required", you are stating that this is required to "meet the requirements of §84.17[/B]" on this vessel. Have you determined this as fact? If this is required on this vessel to comply with the Navrules, you are right.

I offer that it may not be a requirement to meet the horizontal sector intensity and cutoff requirements of §84.17[/B] on this vessel. If this is not a requirement to meet the requirements of §84.17[/B], the conditional requirements of this Navrule do not apply. One must know the requirements of this vessel before categorically stating that this rule requires mat black inboard screens.

I have seen many Grand Banks under 20m with red/greed sideboards to emphasize the color of the sidelights. Although I have never evaluated their sidelight coverage, I suspect their lighting does not require the black side boards to meet the requirements of §84.17[/B] and therefore, colored sideboards or no sideboards are permitted.

See above post too.....bottom line is that the light sectors are not to be confusing....the USCG just says that if you HAVE light boards....they are to be flat black to prevent reflections and yes all the pretty varnished ones under the lights could be determined to be incorrect....but like most rec boats, we get away with a lot as not being inspected.

As to red/green....out tugboat cappy got cute and painted the ones on the tug red/green...I told him, but he wasn't convinced of the "required" and "did it really matter?"stuff...but sure enough when the tug went to get inspected the examiner said to flat back them.

Also if you go back to the early 2000's maybe, the USCG put out a safety notice that said many manufacturers were not installing lights correctly on vessels and the visibility arcs were incorrect. They went on to say it's the operators responsibility to ensure they are correct and the manufacturer isn't held solely to blame.

I had noticed the vast majority of little center consoles/bowriders/runabouts being pumped out back in the 90's had really poorly installed lights...I tried to pass that word up the chain of command and even laterally to whomever would listen in the USCG...but as usual...it took a fatal accident to get the ball rolling and many years later the safety memo finally came out.

So yes...like not flying an anchor ball, not watching your wake all the time, not using proper whistle(radio whistle) signals all the time, etc..etc...anything but flat black light screens are not correct....but getting hasseled over them in a lifetime of boating may never happen.

 

[rwidman]

Back to the OP question.
"Flotilla of Tugs" is the obvious. In light of the odd words coined for aggregations, eg. "a murder of crows", how about a "pull of tugs"?

Wouldn't "fleet" be appropriate?

I saw the latest 31' Ranger Tug at a boat show recently. It has a fold down flybridge for trailering (and I suppose low clearance bridges on the water). It's a really nice boat but costs $350K +.

And you would need a serious truck to tow it with and permits for towing a ten foot beam.