Tuggin'...

Today, Wild Blue got to rest while I went out on another OPB (Other People's Boats). My friend, Herb, scored a good find on a Ranger 21 tug. Yes, the Ranger tugs in Port Isabel now outnumber the C-Dorys, 2:1.

Herb called and asked if I wanted to check out his new boat... "I'm on my way!" We visited for a bit, then headed out to his dock...



Herb's lovely wife, Wilma, waved good-bye to us, and we were off. It was a gray day, but the smiles were plenty bright...



We took the tug into the Laguna Madre, and Herb let me take the helm to get a feel for the boat. I did some tight maneuvers to get a feel for her manners at the dock. With the inboard diesel, prop shaft and rudder, there's a bit of prop walk, as you'd expect. She reverses better to port than starboard, but it's good to know how much. There was about a 1 foot chop in the bay, and the boat rode nice.

Herb needs to get a chip for this area for the GPS, but we checked out the radar, depth sounder, and VHF. It's a nicely equipped boat.


We put the 21 through its paces for about 3 hours... across the Laguna and into the jetties, around the dredge equipment and into some bigger waves. The little tug handled it all fine.

We made our way back to Herb's dock, then visited for a while - a great way to pass the day!