Ranger 12'

Jun 29, 2009
2
2 R-12 Tacoma
DISCLAIMER:

I know enough about sailing to be dangerous...no actually not even that much.

I have acquired a Ranger 12' sailing dingy. It is probably 30+ years old, but really I don't know.
I am in the process of trying to quasi restore it and it has been almost impossible to find anything information on this size of Ranger. I can find the 9' Minto and all the Rangers over 20', but nothing on this one. I do know this is a Ranger and it came from the Kent, WA factory.

Has anyone heard of, or know of this size Ranger? Any help in pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. See attached photo
 

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Aug 2, 2005
1,155
Pearson 33-2 & Typhoon 18 Seneca Lake
Hello jdgmbi1,

Welcome to the Sailboatowners site since it seems you now are one! [OOPS! I see you are a long-time member.]

Look on the transom of the boat to see whether you can find a series of letters and numbers as a code stamped into the hull. That might indicate the company that made your 12 foot long model they called a Ranger. I looked for the Ranger manufactured boats and found one as small as 16 feet, but it is not very similar to your boat.
Your boat looks like a reasonable daysailor to learn to sail. It also looks as though it would be a very "salty" dinghy to tow along behind a larger sailboat. It appears to have oar locks along the gunwales. It is also simple enough that there would not be too much restoring required assuming it doesn't leak or have rigging in poor condition.

Are there a rudder and a tiller plus a centerboard included? Basically, I like the lapstrake design of the hull. Enjoy your boat.
 
Last edited:
Jun 29, 2009
2
2 R-12 Tacoma
Hello jdgmbi1,

Welcome to the Sailboatowners site since it seems you now are one! [OOPS! I see you are a long-time member.]

Look on the transom of the boat to see whether you can find a series of letters and numbers as a code stamped into the hull. That might indicate the company that made your 12 foot long model they called a Ranger. I looked for the Ranger manufactured boats and found one as small as 16 feet, but it is not very similar to your boat.
Your boat looks like a reasonable daysailor to learn to sail. It also looks as though it would be a very "salty" dinghy to tow along behind a larger sailboat. It appears to have oar locks along the gunwales. It is also simple enough that there would not be too much restoring required assuming it doesn't leak or have rigging in poor condition.

Are there a rudder and a tiller plus a centerboard included? Basically, I like the lapstrake design of the hull. Enjoy your boat.
Thanks for your reply.

Yes. The dingy came with a rudder (gel coat over wood), center board (gel coat over fiberglass), 18' aluminum mast, 9' foot boom and a main and jib sail- Which by the look of the sail fabric, has never been installed and used. All the wood is teak and the screws are either stainless,copper, with brass oar holders. It is set up as a rower and actually does quite well in that task. Has a great glide to it.
There are numbers that are embossed into the stern area. I do know though, it is in fact a Ranger Dingy built by the company that was in Kent, WA. I just can't find anything on this size that was made by them. It seems to focus on the 8' Minto they made and then jumps to the 16' and 20'. How would I go about researching to find out what the numbers mean?

Thanks again for your feed back.
 

Misogi

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Mar 4, 2015
1
Ranger 12 Bellingham
I've got a Ranger 12 up in Bellingham. I bought it from a guy who had another one, and I think he used mine as a parts boat because it only came with the mast and some old sails off a Vanguard. I tried to find out where to buy the rest of the rig for it, and came across the same problem you did; there's barely any information online. There's definitely at least three of them, including yours!

Although I can't speak for the Ranger's sailing abilities, I've set mine up with sculling oars and row it daily on Bham Bay for exercise. It's amazingly stable and dry for such a small boat. I got caught out in some 3' chop at one point, and although I wouldn't really want to repeat the experience, I certainly didn't feel unsafe.

Oh, the transom on mine is plywood and not covered with fiberglass on the top, so if yours is the same way you probably want to re-bed that teak cap rail on the transom before the plywood gets wet and starts to rot. I learned that the hard way.
 

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lndsc

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Sep 16, 2016
6
Ranger 12 Seattle
Hi jdgmbi1,
I just bought an R12 on craigslist that is not the one in Bellingham, so there's another one out there kicking around. Mine came with the original bill of sale (originally sold in 1974) and a single-page brochure that looks like this: http://boatbrochure.com/products/ranger-r-12-brochure
Unfortunately that's about all I know. Please let me know if you have found any great sources of info. It seems like a nice boat.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
You guys should speak with the northwest wooden boats folks in Port Townsend. Seems to me I saw a similar boat there when I visited last month.
 

lndsc

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Sep 16, 2016
6
Ranger 12 Seattle
Are there any owner's groups for the larger Ranger sailboats, like the Ranger 20? Do you think they'd have any info on the R-12?
 
May 14, 2017
1
Ranger of Kent, WA Ranger 12 Federal Way, WA
Ranger Sailboats - Kent, Washington . Located on old 99 - built the Ninto, the Ranger 12, 26 and lastly, the Sea Dory. "Smitty" was the owner until he passed away. According to him the Ranger 12 is a one design, direct copy of an English racing class of wooden lapstrake hulls. Smitty was permitted to take a mold from one of these hulls provided that he would not disturb the class by selling his fiberglass boats in England. I owned one of three that had been confiscated from the infamous Bhagwan Rajneesh Cult located in eastern Oregon in the '80s. The boat was marked with large black letters that read "Bhagwan" which Smitty removed before I took delivery. I made several improvements and rigging additions which made the boat an excellent sailer. -- Sold it in 2010 in Seaview, WA.
 
Jan 25, 2011
2,391
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
Google Rich Passage Boats who are now still making the mintos. He may have some info on the 12.
 
Apr 8, 2010
1,942
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
Old story I heard from the guys at the factory, back in the day...
A local commercial airline pilot found a classic English sailing dinghy and wanted one built. So, having seniority and privileges (back in the day) brought a wooden dinghy back in the cargo bay, complete.
Smitty made a mold from it and it became the Ranger 12 sloop. The CB was galvanized steel, IIRC. Heavy boat, all up, with a lot of nice teak trim.
They only had one slick-print brochure, and that was only for the Ranger 20. For the other small boats - and one canoe- it was single page flyers with hand sketched rigging information.
I might have a flyer for it, but it will take some searching. :)

Looking at the nice picture of the R-12 resurrects wonderful mental images from an Arthur Ransom novel!

Cheerio!
 

lndsc

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Sep 16, 2016
6
Ranger 12 Seattle
Hey all, I've broken the ear on my gooseneck casting, one of the two that hold the tack pin for the main. I've had one marina shop try and weld it and they couldn't get the aluminum alloy to pool, so now I'm out $100 and still have a busted boom. I can keep sailing with the mainsail jury-rigged to the remaining ear with a bit of line, but I'm worried that I'll eventually break the other ear off also, or chafe through the sail because it's tied to the ear on one side instead of pulling straight on a pin passed through the grommet.

Does anyone have any leads on finding another Ranger 12 boom, or an old boom cap with the same cross section and fittings? There was a full R12 mast and sails set for sale in Bellingham back in 2013, but no way to contact the posters and the internet is not turning up much else.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
@lndsc Before you break the other ear, why not take the part to a metal fabrication shop. Ask them to make you a replacement part. You should have all the pieces. Might cost you a bit $150 or so but you would have the part and be sailing again. Based on what has been said about the boat. The parts you are seeking may have been made just for the boat.

Another possibility is to look at a spar manufacturer like Dyer and see if they may have a fitting that could be adapted to work.
 

lndsc

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Sep 16, 2016
6
Ranger 12 Seattle
Thanks jssailem. It's possible the original spars were from Dyer - I measured across my boom cap and got 1.94 x 2.625 inches, which is sort of close to their DM-275 Boom cross section (1.75 in. x 2.75 in). I could order the DH 355C Gooseneck Casting for $22.45 and have it pop riveted in if it fits. Does that seem like it will be close enough?
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I'd be shooting in the dark. I'd have to see the boom and match the fitting. The picture shows a wood boom. Is the shape oval or round? Usually wood spars get a longer fitting than aluminum. The image of the boat in Colorado by ricgeiman shows a wood spar.
Do you have any images of your spar?
 

lndsc

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Sep 16, 2016
6
Ranger 12 Seattle
Yeah, I'm in the same situation, not being able to have the boom and the replacement in the same place to compare before ordering. I certainly appreciate any thoughts you do have about what you would do in this case. The picture of the boat in Colorado is the only R12 I've ever seen posted with wooden spars so I'm guessing it's a replacement rig. I don't have any pictures of mine, but this youtube video shows an original rig just like mine: aluminum, oval spars. I would contact the seller who posted that video and see if I could just buy myself some old spare sails and rigging parts, but they don't seem to have an online presence anymore. As I wrote above, I measured my boom and thought its cross-section was close but not identical to Dyer's DM-275 boom cross section. At 0:29 the video has a close up of the boom cap. To me, it looks like Dyer's DH355C casting, but with slightly differently shaped ears that hold the tack pin:
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I looked at the image from the Dyer catalog (as above). I had them on speed dial when I had my M15.
If your boom is aluminum and the shape and size is as specified in the Dyer catalog then you should be able to make it work. Even if you have to shave a bit off the DH355C casting to slide it into your boom. I think I would go with tapped screws rather than pop rivets.
I would not think the ears are an issue as long as the boom stands off the mast so that the ears do not contact the mast. You'll have to move the gooseneck from your old fitting to the new fitting.
I found Dyer very helpful with parts for my boat. I talked to them and even sent them images/drawing of what I had and wanted. They have made parts for many boats like yours. I am guessing here but the Ranger 12 may have been designed as a rowing dinghy and then converted to a sailboat with whatever parts were available. That could explain why Dyer has a similar part available.
 

lndsc

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Sep 16, 2016
6
Ranger 12 Seattle
Here's an update to help anyone, like me, trying to find info about this boat that seems to just not exist on the internet. Ranger 12 was definitely designed originally as a sailboat. This is apparent from the heavy steel centerboard, but also from the original brochure which I posted a link to higher up in this thread. Here it is embedded:

I think at least for some R12s the original aluminum spars were from Dwyer.

I got in touch with Dwyer and found them spectacularly unhelpful on the phone, but I ended up ordering gooseneck casting DH 353C and it was a near-perfect match and is now riveted in and looks great. So anyone out there wanting to fix original aluminum spars for a Ranger 12 - that's the cross section you want.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Thanks for the update. You are well on your way to sailing fun this season.
 

evan s

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Apr 5, 2018
2
ranger r-12 bainbridge island
We just picked up an R-12 as a father-son project. Missing rudder and sails. I can make the rudder. Anyone willing to measure theirs? I can approximate the curve radius from photos. Finding a similar sail and modifying it will be a bigger challenge. Any suggestions? I saw the one for sale ...but that posting is ~ 5 yrs old.