Ranger 23 - setup guide

Nov 23, 2012
26
Ranger 23 S.JPG
Ranger 23 S.JPG Hi All:
I recently acquired a 1975 Ranger 23. She is somewhat of a project but I just want her for racing. Having learned from my total restoration of an O'Day 25, race boats do better without stove, full seat cushions, water tank, large porta, extra beers, and other weight factors. I will be concentrating on getting a smooth hull, secure rigging, and competitive sails. Does anyone know about a starting point for mast rake on a Ranger 23? The deck is soft; are there any unique repait approaches to the Ranger deck? Any other restoration suggestions will be greatly appreciated. A digital copy of the owners manual is also desired.
I replaced the bulk heads with synthetic panels so now the shrouds have a sound footing that will never rot. Is there much danger of keeping tight shrouds?
I am looking for parts source for this Ranger 23: the wooden channels for the main hatch, and a tiller would be welcome.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Congrats! That's one of my fav pocket cruisers. I've sailed on several different ones. I don't know off hand the forestay length but there's not much fancy about the rig. The mast is a tree trunk. Some rake is probably good since the helm can load up. If you over tighten the shrouds you will bend the boat rather than add rigging tension especially with a soft deck.
The PHRF here is 222. I think it violates PHRF rules to remove the cushions although it is commonly done. I don't know about the other stuff.
 

DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
That is a great older boat.
You should be able to get a replacement tiller fairly easily, maybe even from this site. Defender is another possibility, or even WM.
If you are handy, you could possibly make the hatch rails.
The spongy deck: that will be a project. I don't remember whether it is a Balsa core or not. If you are not too concerned about aesthetics, and if the core is dry, you may be able to drill a bunch of small holes in a pattern about an inch apart and shoot epoxy into the core to stiffen it. Otherwise, Its going to be a big project. It is something that can be done though. There are some threads about this in this forum.
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
To avoid drilling so many holes into the deck, you could spread out the resin with hardner as it would spread easier using an air hose vs. using epoxy unless that epoxy is in a more liquid state. With the ACP construction of the earlier Hunter sailboats, I advised doing the above using less holes spread about 12-18 inches apart when inserting Gorilla glue so the plastic skin adhered to the construction foam spreading that out using an air hose but the outer skin had to be weighed down for 24 hours. Not needed so in a fiberglass construction to weigh the deck down. However, you have to find the source of water migration or penetration.
 
Nov 23, 2012
26
Thanks for the encouragement guys. I took the mast down to change the stays and get some aft rake. While it is down I am refinishing the wooden spreaders. They appear to be heavy teak. I will also change the lights to LED and add a good wind indicator. Measuring for Main sails will come after there is some rake.
 

POK

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Nov 25, 2020
3
Ranger 23 Milwaukee
I just got hold off a Ranger 23. Did you ever find a link to the original owners manual?
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I had a Ranger 29 of about that vintage. The manual wasn't much. It was about 5 pages mimeographed (Remember that?) and a line drawing of the hull and rig. It had been typed on a typewriter (Remember that?). Some part of the text was promotional material. Don't expect much from a manual. It did contain standing and running rig suggestions. But they are 40+ years out of date.