Newport 16, Mariner 19 or Ranger 20?

[Bob Kessler]

I'm in the market for something 16-19 feet. All three of these seem to be fairly seaworthy for coastal Lake Michigan voyages. The Ranger and the Mariner would certainly stave off 'two-foot-itis' (for a while). But the Newport/Gloucester 16 seems to be a little simpler when it comes to rigging (just looking at online images) Is that a worthwhile advantage over what you wouldn't be getting in the other two? I'm not concerned about seating numbers or sleeping more than 2 aboard.

 

[shemandr]

Assuming you will be trailering the boat the simpler rigging would be a worthy advantage. I started sailing via dry sailing a MFG Bandit 15, and sometimes the setup wasn't worth the time sailing. You will develop a sense of when there is wind and more importantly when there isn't. I didn't look that closely at the three boats but I thought they were similar in rigging.
The Newport is about half the displacement of the Ranger. A boat with more ballast will be more stable and better suited to bigger water. They are all what I consider daysailer (s) but I'm sure someone has done camping type cruises in each.
The Mariner has a class associate (Still active I think but I didn't check) and a large number of builds. That is always better to buy into. I've seen many Mariners and its sister ship the Rhodes 19. Not sure I've ever seen a Ranger 20 or Newport 16.

 

[rgranger]

I'd throw the Compac 16 (or any of the com pac boats) and the Rhodes 22 into your mix of contenders.

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Rhodes 22 - Practical Sailor

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