Well, we thought we were done with boats — but our hearts said otherwise. As much as we love being armchair sailors watching other people’s adventures on YouTube, we wanted to be out on the water ourselves again. Just one more boat adventure, while we still have the drive and mental capacity (sort of — after all, we did buy a boat!) to make our adventure dreams come true before the challenges of aging rob us of our abilities.
After lots of research and recommendations from friends and family, we shopped around and made a trip to the Pacific Northwest to find our boat. The adventure began almost immediately: the weather during our search was complicated by flooding in and around Seattle, WA, due to an atmospheric river that had us taking numerous detours to avoid flooded roads. We stopped off at the Ranger Tug factory and were given an impromptu tour. Thanks Guys! We walked quite a few docks and were shown a number of both Cutwater and Ranger Tug boats, and finally found our boat in Tacoma, WA. A 2023 25ft Ranger Tug with only 23 hours on her Yamaha 250, — and since she didn’t have a name yet, we’re calling her … what else, BEARCRUZER. We even designed a logo for her and my amazing brother sent us the Vinyl Decal to complete her outfit! Thanks Jamie!!!!
Making our dream a reality didn’t come without a few snags. When we arrived to take ownership of the boat we found that there had been a problem with electricity on the slip she was plugged into and we had to replace the house batteries, lucky for me, I know a great electrician!!! We were also in a pickle because she didn’t come with a trailer, so we had to find someone who could build us one so we could take her home to Colorado. That, in itself, was an endeavor — but the folks at King Salmon Marine came through for us. We hauled her home over mountain passes, through snowstorms & detours, but made it safely, and she fits perfectly under our carport.
The last few months we’ve spent learning her systems and adding a few necessities for longer trips. We bought a Sport Boats Dolphin inflatable dinghy and a small Hangkai motor to get to shore when we are anchored out. We took her over to Navajo Reservoir and practiced loading and unloading her onto her trailer… a new experience for us. We got a lesson in how to keep our boat and engine free of freshwater Quagga/Zebra mussles, which cause major problems throughout much of the US. Continued watching numerous videos to decide what are 1st big trip might be, and decided……Lake of the Woods on the Border between Minnesota and Ontario, Canada. With over 14,000 islands and designation as the Walleye capital of the world, we are headed your way. Will will spend a few weeks exploring & fishing, and then head over to Wisconsin to visit the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. Stay tuned!
Living the Dream 