Trailering a Ranger 23

Aug 23, 2018
6
Clipper Marine 26 Norfolk
So, I am thinking about trailering a Ranger 23 and was curious if this was a good idea or if this will end badly. I haven’t had a previous trailer-sailboat and know that it has a fin keel which will require a substantial amount of water to lift the boat off the bunks. Any advice?
 
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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Depends on your ramp and trailer. You need to be able to back the trailer wheels into 4.5 feet of water. That’s not a given, for either ramp or trailer. The R23 is a sweet little boat from the 70s. If you look at all the Bangor Punta boats, Rangers where by far the best designed and built.
 
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Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
There are several tricks one can use to extend the trailer tongue
Do a google search
Here are a few ideas
upload_2018-10-14_20-3-21.png



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Oct 15, 2018
3
Ranger / Lear Ranger 23 Blacksburg
I put a rolling tire holder on the tongue and mount the spare tire on it:
Tie-Down-Engineering-86079-Carrier
Then use a long tow strap to lower/back trailer into the water.
heavy duty recovery straps 30'
Never got my wheels wet, just my a$*. I had to find a boat ramp deep / steep enough ~5 foot deep.
Takes me 15 Min to launch 30 Min to recover.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
One thing to remember about using a tongue extender or a strap. Your ramp must be smooth enough to allow the boat to back in and be pulled out with the dolly wheel down. That’s impossible to do on a rough or pitted ramp.
 
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Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
One thing to remember about using a tongue extender or a strap. Your ramp must be smooth enough to allow the boat to back in and be pulled out with the dolly wheel down. That’s impossible to do on a rough or pitted ramp.
And you don't want the tires of the trailer to fall off of the ledge at the back end of the ramp. You won't be able to pull the trailer up and you will be stuck. Did that once and had to "float" my trailer up under the boat using tow straps and essentially float my trailer off of the ramp.
 
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Oct 15, 2018
3
Ranger / Lear Ranger 23 Blacksburg
One thing to remember about using a tongue extender or a strap. Your ramp must be smooth enough to allow the boat to back in and be pulled out with the dolly wheel down. That’s impossible to do on a rough or pitted ramp.
The ramp I use does have grooves cut into it for traction. And I did put a rope on the back of the trailer so I could pull it in if it stopped rolling backwards. But the ramp was sloped enough to go out as far as I needed. Including when I had an empty trailer when I went to recover boat.
Front tire hub and full sized spare tire allows it to roll quite well. But it is a fixed wheel and does not caster, I was going to put washer/shims on the mount so the trailer would roll straight but I was lucky and is was not needed. I think I have only a slight turn to one side (in 50' it would probably be off center line by less than 4 ').
Trailer rolls so well I use 4 large wheel chocks when transferring from hitch to tow rope. May be overkill but I did not want to take a chance. Hint: Use full sized tires on wheel bearing hubs. I would not use small tires or non bearing hubs. Expect it to roll EZ.
 
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Oct 15, 2018
3
Ranger / Lear Ranger 23 Blacksburg
And you don't want the tires of the trailer to fall off of the ledge at the back end of the ramp. You won't be able to pull the trailer up and you will be stuck. Did that once and had to "float" my trailer up under the boat using tow straps and essentially float my trailer off of the ramp.
I went out to the lake when they had it lowered for the winter and checked. Fortunately, I did not have to move any gravel and rocks around to the edge but I was prepared. This is an important tip!!!
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
There are a number of R-23's around here and I don't know one that is dry sailed off a trailer. The launch ramp I've used most has a 4-6 inch ledge at the end. Let your tires go off that with a boat on the trailer and you're not having a good day.
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Did that once and had to "float" my trailer up under the boat using tow straps and essentially float my trailer off of the ramp.
Don’t forget to remove the trailer from under the boat when heading out for a nice day of sailing. Especially if you’re going to be racing.
 
Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
Ha! Rgranger's first picture of a tongue extension is from my trailer! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
By the way, at our lake with a very nice, long, reasonably moderate slope concrete ramp, we routinely launch and retrieve 4.5' draft fin keels like Impulse 21, Santana 20, and J/24. This is usually done with a 25' tongue extension that is carried on the trailer and slides out. Most are actually alongside the regular tongue, with brackets attached to frame members such that the extension can slide out. Some people pull it in and out with the car, but I kinda like sliding it by hand if it's lined up well and smooth enough. A suitable jockey wheel is necessary - the bigger the wheel and softer the better. Eg. if it's a hard plastic wheel, bigger is better, or pneumatic wheel. The best jockey wheel I've seen was on a custom Triad trailer built for a Beneteau First 235 fin keel. It pivoted down, and was a nice sized pneumatic tire. Rolled nice and smooth... With a nice jockey wheel like that, strap launching is just about as easy. Nice and high keel guides REALLY help get everything in position.
 
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Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
Everyone looking for a tongue extension: If I did it over, I would use thinner wall thickness tubing, possibly even aluminum, and instead of the crazy bracket bolted to the tongue, I'd just have 2 tabs welded to the end of the extension with a normal trailer pin that goes between. This was my own design as realized by a friend, and it's unnecessarily heavy and complicated. :D
 
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Aug 27, 2020
4
Ranger 23 Braitos Marina
I am also keen on dry sailing a Ranger 23 but am not sure about raising and lowering the mast. The boat I am looking to purchase has the tall rig, and it looks like the mast is made to be lowered forward, which is not typical. Anyone have experience raising and lowering a Ranger 23 mast?
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
We had a number of Ranger 23's in our PHRF fleet years ago. We would use a gin pole and 4-5 guys to lower that stick. It is a tree trunk. A pretty hefty mast for a 23' boat. I would not regard it as hoist-able at the launch ramp. I'm pretty sure the masts we did were not tabernacles. They needed to be lifted off the mast step.
 
Aug 27, 2020
4
Ranger 23 Braitos Marina
Thanks for your response. Here is a picture of the mast step which I believe is a tabernacle? It also looks like the mast would be lowered forward because the mast bottom is rounded on the forward end. The rear end of the mast bottom is square so I don't see how it can tilt backwards. Any thoughts?
IMG_5713.jpeg
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
You clearly have some play in your mast hinge (red oval) so I don't think you will have any trouble tilting her backwards. My guess is that the V-shaped cut away in the front (yellow arrow) is where the mast wiring was supposed to be routed.

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